The Office of Continuing Education at The Chicago School’s Digital Badges are electronic credentials validating earned continuing education achievements. Participants who complete a Digital Badge Course with the Office of Continuing Education at The Chicago School will receive a Continuing Education Certificate AND and a professional Digital Credential to display in emails, resumes, and CVs. 

Using Credly, The Chicago School Digital Badges are linked to earner requirements and achievements so that earners can proudly display their professional credentials.

Upcoming Digital Badge Programs

Neurodivergence Competency Training - Intermediate Level

Program begins February 21, 2025

The word “Neurodiversity” describes a social movement as well as an array of clinical categories and diagnostic terms. This concept represents an effort toward inclusivity and valuing differences. Over the past few years, there has been an increased awareness of neurodiversity driving a greater support for neurodivergent individuals. Most, if not all, clinicians will find themselves working with neurodivergent clients, even when the neurodivergence is not the reason for therapy.  

This 10-part (25 hour) intermediate level Neurodivergence Competency Training will provide participants with a comprehensive exploration of the main topics they will need to successfully work with neurodivergent clients. All sessions attended in full earn the “Neurodivergence Competency Training – Intermediate Level” Microcredential. Single session on a topic of interest can be attended for CE/CEU credit.

Registration for this Microcredential course includes access to all 10 sessions (25 hours).

Participants will receive a Digital Badge alongside a CE/CEU certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Applied Forensic Psychology: A Survey of Topics

Program begins September 8, 2025

Forensic Psychology, in simplistic terms, is the interaction of psychology and the law and legal issues. The Online Programs in Forensic Psychology at The Chicago School want to provide students, faculty in other programs, and the general public an overview of topics in forensic psychology, to enhance participant’s understanding of forensic psychology and how the intersection of counseling and forensic psychology can improve social justice causes

This Microcredential consists of six modules, from topics relating to diversity and cultural awareness, youth resilience given the complexities of familial and environmental influences, identifying and treating trauma, understanding impression management, to animal-assisted therapy in the forensic context, and providing a thought-provoking conversation on policy-making to inspire participants in making social change in their career.  All sessions attended in full earn the “Applied Forensic Psychology” Microcredential. Single sessions on a topic of interest can also be attended for CE/CEU credit.

Registration for this Microcredential course includes access to all 6 sessions (6 hours).

Participants will receive a Digital Badge alongside a CE/CEU certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Digital Badge Programs Available for Homestudy

DSM-5-TR: Overview and Refresher for the Practicing Clinician

A 20-Hour Microcredential Course

The DSM-5-TR serves as the federal government’s official manual for diagnosing of mental disorders. The literature presented with the text provides practicing clinicians with research, current codes, and criteria for diagnosing mental disorders and other conditions. This program will provide a review of the chapters, cover changes to the DSM to the DSM-TR, and offer a refresher for the practicing clinician. 

Registration for this Microcredential course includes access to all 12 sessions (20 hours).

Participants will receive a Digital Badge alongside a CE/CEU certificate upon successful completion of the course.

DBT Lite

This program is a 7-day comprehensive introduction to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy “Lite”. This training will focus on mindfulness and emotion regulation modules. Additionally, it will focus on interpersonal effectiveness and distress tolerance modules. Participants will walk through the entire DBT manual and will have hands-on experience with the content and exercises for each module.

Registration for this Microcredential course includes access to all 7 sessions (14 hours).

Participants will receive a Digital Badge alongside a CE/CEU certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Approved Clinical Supervisor Training – Series I

This program provides an education in the art and science of clinical supervision provided over 2.5 days with 20 hours of continuing education training required to fulfill the requirements for most local clinical licensure boards.

Upon completion, a certificate will be provided and individuals can apply for the approved clinical supervisor status with their local licensure board. Covered areas include Roles and Functions of Clinical Supervisors, Supervisory Relationships, Theoretical Frameworks & Models, Clinical Supervision Methods & Techniques, Group Supervision, Evaluation, Remediation, & Gatekeeping, Clinical Supervision Administrative Procedures, Intro: Culturally Responsive Clinical Supervision, and Legal & Ethical Issues in Clinical Supervision I.

Indigenous Cultural Explorations

The lived experience of Indigenous Peoples is often misunderstood, misdirected, and misrepresented by the mainstream cultures, even though according to the United Nations they currently comprise 6.2% of the world’s total population, or about 476 million people representing 5,000 distinct groups, and speak the majority of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. 

In this series of online presentations, participants will have the opportunity to learn more deeply about important aspects of Indigenous Cultures and gain a new appreciation of their customs and worldviews.

Registration for this Microcredential course includes access to all 5 sessions (12.5 hours).

Participants will receive a Digital Badge alongside a CE/CEU certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Supporting Individuals with Disabilities in the Workplace

A four-part series on strategies for understanding individuals with disabilities in the workplace and application with diverse clientele

This program provides an intermediate level overview and reflective journey in understanding individuals with disabilities in the workplace and application with diverse clientele. Cultural and contextual examples will be explored and discussed throughout this program. The four program topics are:

Module 1: Background and Rationale

In this module, participants will learn the reasoning for advocating for people with disabilities, which includes but is not limited to trends in income, inclusion, and discrimination. The session will also address why consulting with employers is crucial for supporting individuals with disabilities in the workplace.

Module 2: Considerations in the Workplace

In this module, participants will be able to describe what variables employers need to consider for the workplace, such as the reasoning for standardized and inclusive accommodations, as well as accessibility clauses in job descriptions in order to attract, hire and retain individuals with disabilities. Laws within the United States and globally that are applicable to hiring individuals with disabilities will be presented and some case examples will be shared. Participants will also be presented with differences between diversity and Equal Opportunity in order to deepen participant understanding of what authentic inclusion looks like.

Module 3: Strategies in the Workplace

In this module, participants will learn specific strategies to assist in the retention of individuals with disabilities in the workplace. The facilitators will present scientific literature applicable to people with specific disabilities.

Module 4: Coming Together, Sharing, and Next Steps

In this module, participants will process and present actions that they may take at their workplace to support employers hire and retention of individuals with disabilities. This is a live session where the facilitators will lead conversations with the participants.

Health Communications: Methods for Meaningful Collaboration

A four-part series on strategies for elevating collaborations between patient and practitioner

Operating from the premise that effective patient-provider communication is essential to the efficacy of health related interventions, this multi-part presentation will cover a variety of topics in health communication. The first part, Narrative & Medicine, will discuss strategies for honoring patient stories in practice, and for using those stories as a diagnostic tool. Drawing upon the principles of narrative medicine (Charon, 2001), practitioners will learn to see patients’ stories of illness not only as sties for harvesting relevant clinical information, but as opportunities for patient and provider to engage in mutual meaning making.

The second part, organizational health communication, focuses on how organizational dynamics and structures influence the provision of patient care. Participants will consider how institutional practices such as the transfer of care, institutional hierarchies, and interactions that occur “front stage” and “back stage” both facilitate and inhibit healthcare delivery.

The third part of this presentation, health and culture, will consider how cultural beliefs impact health outcomes, especially from the perspective of historically marginalized communities and people of color. We will pay special attention to health beliefs outside of a Western context, and aim to identify ways to reconcile traditional and alternative healthcare approaches. Practitioners will learn specific strategies for adopting a culturally sensitive approach to healthcare, developing intercultural competency along the way, and ultimately eschewing ethnocentric beliefs, which may interfere with their practice.

Finally, the fourth part, end-of-life matters, will reflect on the ethics of healthcare. They will question previously held assumptions regarding the rights and responsibilities of both the patient and provider. They will become familiar with end-of-life cultural movements and laws surrounding physician-assisted suicide. They will also interrogate these matters in conjunction with concepts like medical paternalism, asymmetrical power dynamics between patient and provider, and patient autonomy.

Systemic Racism and Disparities

A four-part series on systemic racism’s contribution to disparities in health and mental health for BIPOC communities

This four-hour, four part series will address how systemic racism has contributed significantly to disparities in health and mental health for BIPOC communities. These historical inequities in mental health can also be seen in educational institutions. Current and future education as well as treatment strategies committed to social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion will be provided. The goals of this series are to:

a) more fully understand ways systemic racism has a direct impact on disparities in health and mental health for cultural and ethnic communities as well as BIPOC individually,

b) to recognize strategies clinically as well as educationally leading to greater equity, diversity and inclusion in clinical practice for mental wellness.