Terms and Conditions

When you choose to participate in any of the trainings, you are also agreeing to allow your de- identified data to be used for research purposes. Your participation is subject to ethical protections, testing, confidentiality, and risks and benefits as described in the Important Research Components section.

About the courses

The study design and components have been approved by the WCG Independent Review Board (IRB) that oversees the ethical conduct of research. Connections Counseling Psychotherapy LCSW PLLC is an approved continuing education provider for the NYS Education Department for social workers and mental health clinicians. Individual courses have been approved by the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports for re-credentialing NYS CASACs.) The research has neither been developed by nor is it endorsed by any of the agencies which are granting CEs. After you register, you will be given an access code. You can log into the training site at www.b-p-t-i.com and can begin the courses. When you are logged in, you will see your Homepage which will allow you to take a (required) pre-test (for the research-related courses only). After you have completed the pre-test, you will have access to the course(s) which you have chosen. 

You will have access to these training materials until the end of 2024. At any time between now and the end of 2024, you can take the posttest. If you complete the posttest with a score of 75% or greater, you will receive your certificate of completion which documents your name, the instructors' names and your earned CEs. If you do not get a score of 75% or greater on the posttest, you may re-take the post-test once.

Contact information: If you have any questions about the training or study, please contact me, Ruth Campbell, LCSW, Ph.D. at (845) 255-5022 or through the e-mail at info@connectionscounseling.org or through the postal service at Connections Counseling PLLC, P.O. Box 1235, New Paltz, NY 12561. I am one of the directors of the study. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research participant, please contact WCG IRB at 1-855-818-2289.

Important Research Components

  • o Ethical and other Quality Protection Measures:Study design and components have been approved by the WCG Independent Review Board that oversees the ethical conduct of research. Studie(s) have been designed in compliance with New York State Education Department, and NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports requirements. Studie(s) have neither been developed by nor endorsed by the organizations which are offering CEs. Organizations involved have allowed CEs to be offered to social workers, mental health counselors and CASACs. All trainers are substance abuse and mental health clinicians, with a total of over 80 years’ experience providing services to clients with alcohol and drug problems. Their credentials have been approved by the organizations involved.
  • o Testing:Participation in this research is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete the registration which will request acknowledgement that your de- identified information will be used for research. You will also be asked to complete a pre-test prior to the course, and a post-test after the course (10 minutes for each).
  • o Confidentiality:Your participation and responses will be kept confidential to the full extent of the law. All findings will be reported as group trends, not individual reports. Only de-identified information will be collected. The master list of codes, names of trainees, email addresses, the list of which group they are in, the pre-test, and post-test answers will be kept in the principal investigator’s computer, which is password protected. The paper copies of the master list and any paper copies of questionnaires and certificates will be kept in a locked file drawer at the home of the Principal Investigator, and to which only the Principal Investigator will have the key. This master list, all the questionnaires and all copies will be destroyed after 3 years. Certificates will be kept on file for 10 years.
  • o Risks and Benefits:The only known risk is that you might experience very minor discomfort when answering some of the questions on the questionnaires, but this is not expected to exceed what you experience in conversation with colleagues. You may stop completing the questionnaires at any time. There is no direct benefit to you for your participation in this research; however your participation may contribute to knowledge about clinicians’ substance use disorder practice in several ways. When the study is complete, the results will be made available on www.connectionscounseling.org.