Professional Training Courses
APDA offers specialized online training courses to help professionals better care for and support people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). By better understanding the disease, the symptoms, and the needs of the PD community, you can serve people with PD more effectively and compassionately.
Bridging Mental Health and Parkinson’s Care: A Training Course for Mental Health Practitioners
This five-part training course is designed for mental health practitioners who work with individuals and families affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD). The course will provide valuable insights into the mental and emotional experiences of people with PD, as well as the unique needs of care partners. Each session will offer practical knowledge and strategies to help you better understand this population, strengthen your clinical skills, and provide more compassionate, informed support.
Taking Care of the Person with Advanced Parkinson’s Disease
This specialized online training course will help those who care for people with PD – particularly home health aides, nursing home staff, and visiting nurses – better understand the symptoms and challenges that come with advanced PD and how to best manage them. The program provides an overview of PD including the motor and non-motor symptoms of PD, treatments for PD, advice for living well with the disease, and more.
Parkinson’s Awareness Training for First Responders
The unique symptoms of Parkinson’s can be mishandled and misunderstood in emergency situations. This training program educates police, firefighters, and emergency service providers to help them recognize and understand the symptoms and needs of those with PD, and enables them to provide the best and most appropriate care. The training program provides overall education on PD and information on protocols when interacting with a person who shows the signs of Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s Training for Fitness and Movement Professionals
This online training course is tailored for fitness, health, and wellness professionals so they may safely and effectively work with people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in ways that will support treatment of their symptoms and improve their quality of life. The course gives an overview of PD, including its symptoms, and explains the important ways in which exercise can improve those symptoms. It gives practical examples of how fitness classes can be conducted to support people with PD throughout the continuum of their disease.