Inpatient Psychiatric Unit Specialist Certificate
Enroll in the Online Self-Study and complete the training on your own schedule.
Earn the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit Specialist (IPUS) Certificate and 8 CEs
Working in an inpatient psychiatric unit requires more than just good intentions—it demands knowledge, self-awareness, and skills that are rarely taught before stepping onto the unit. Without proper training, staff are left to navigate a high-pressure environment where safety, ethics, and compassion are always on the line.
This certificate program was designed to meet that need. It provides essential training for behavioral health professionals who are new to inpatient psychiatric care or who want to strengthen their foundations with expert-led strategies.
Gain the skills to lead confidently in inpatient settings—and save $41.
$259 · 2 courses · 8 CE hours · certificate included
Dr. Rosalind Polk-Hall, EdD, LPC, MA, CMFT, CPCS, brings over 27 years of diverse clinical and supervisory experience to this program. Having worked in inpatient hospitals, community mental health centers, correctional facilities, and private practice, she offers both the academic grounding and real-world insights that will help you thrive in psychiatric unit settings.
Dr. Roz’s approach blends evidence-based teaching with applied learning. Through detailed instruction, case examples, and skill-focused demonstrations, you’ll not only learn the theory but also see how to put it into practice—ensuring that what you gain here translates into competence on the unit floor.
Across two integrated courses—Foundations for Success and Practical Applications—you’ll explore psychiatric diagnoses, trauma-informed care, ethics, legal standards, cultural competence, crisis prevention, de-escalation techniques, team-based interventions, professional boundaries, communication strategies, and the essential role of staff self-care. This certificate program provides the complete roadmap for anyone serving on an inpatient psychiatric team.
Instructor
Dr. Rosalind Polk-Hall, EdD, LPC, MA, CMFT, CPCS
Dr. Roz is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor practicing in the state of Georgia. She currently works as a Clinical Director in a community mental health counseling setting, provides clinical supervision to clinicians in various settings, and is a mental health counselor/clinical supervisor in private practice. She earned her doctoral degree from Argosy University (Nashville) in Counselor Education and Supervision. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Psychology with a specialty in Counseling at the Georgia School of Professional Psychology (Argosy University).
With over 27 years of clinical experience, Dr. Roz is a licensed professional counselor dedicated to transforming lives and shaping the next generation of therapists. Throughout her career, Dr. Roz has worked across a broad range of settings, including community mental health centers, private practice, jails, in-patient psychiatric hospitals, and educational institutions—bringing compassionate, evidence-based care to individuals from all walks of life. Her clinical expertise spans mood and thought disorders, addictions, trauma-informed care, and life transitions, always with a focus on empowering clients to reclaim their well-being and purpose. Passionate about professional development, Dr. Roz now devotes much of her time to mentoring emerging therapists, helping them build confidence, integrity, and clinical excellence in their practice. Whether guiding clients through healing or supporting new clinicians on their professional path, Dr. Roz remains deeply committed to making a meaningful impact—one life, and one therapist, at a time.
Key Takeaways:
- Practical competence: Apply trauma-informed care, crisis prevention strategies, and team-based interventions to ensure patient safety and staff effectiveness.
- Ethical and cultural fluency: Navigate HIPAA, confidentiality, boundaries, and cultural competence with confidence in high-pressure environments.
- Professional resilience: Strengthen your ability to manage stress, maintain emotional safety, and practice effective self-care while supporting others.
Why this certificate program?
- Comprehensive design: By combining both foundational knowledge and applied skills, this program ensures you leave with confidence in both theory and practice.
- Expert-led training: Learn directly from Dr. Roz, whose decades of inpatient, community, and supervisory experience bring depth and practicality unmatched by most trainings.
- Mission-driven excellence: Offered by the Telehealth Certification Institute, this certificate reflects our commitment to equipping behavioral health professionals with the tools they need to deliver exceptional care.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of the "Foundations for Success: Training for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit Specialist" course, participants will be able to:
- Consider foundational concepts in mental health care.
- Assess legal and Ethical Considerations.
- Interpret key factors of HIPAA and confidentiality.
- Recognize the value of cultural competence.
- Differentiate between professional vs. nonprofessional boundaries.
- Integrate Trauma-Informed Care into daily work functions.
- Identify the use of de-escalation techniques and crisis prevention.
Upon completion of the "Practical Applications: Training for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit Specialist" course, participants will be able to:
- Analyze trauma-informed care and its relevance in psychiatric settings.
- Examine mental health diagnosis through the demonstrations provided.
- Identify signs of trauma and patient distress and describe strategies to support emotional safety.
- Recognize early indicators of escalating behavior and apply de-escalation techniques to prevent crises.
- Integrate effectively in team-based crisis intervention, while ensuring patient dignity and staff safety.
- Demonstrate understanding of HIPAA, confidentiality, and the importance of maintaining professional boundaries.
By the end of this certificate program, you will be equipped with the confidence and clarity to serve effectively on an inpatient psychiatric unit—supporting patient recovery, strengthening team collaboration, and protecting your own professional well-being along the way. Consider this your next step toward becoming the kind of specialist your colleagues trust and your patients need.
Enroll now in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit Specialist Certificate and take the next step toward confident, competent practice in inpatient care.
This is a non-interactive, self-study course with a total of 8 hours of video instruction. Each course requires a post-test.
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Availability: From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.
Who Should Attend: This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.
Teaching Methods: This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.
How to attend: Directions for completing a course can be found by clicking here.
This program was recorded July 16 & 17, 2025
Testimonials
Bridgette Nalumu
Public health consultant, Green and Purple Consultancy Network
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