By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

FIFTY-SIX participants from the Department of Public Health, the Public School System and other government offices completed an advanced course in counseling and case management training last week.
The sessions that ran from Feb. 26 to March 9 were part of the training that the Area Health Education Center has been providing CNMI professionals over the past three years, according to Dr. Faye Untalan of the University of Hawaii, and the AHEC director for the Northern Marianas.
Last year’s basic training was attended by 126 participants, she said.
This year’s participants, who were among those who completed the basic course last year, received their certificates in a ceremony at the Aqua Resort Club on Friday.
Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, Education Commissioner David M. Borja and Northern Marianas College board chairwoman Rita H. Inos were among the guests.
Developed for human service professionals on Saipan, the training builds on basic counseling and case management skills and focuses on application and integration of skills into professional roles, Untalan said.
The training is for staff members that provide direct human services, like those in the probation office, PSS and Public Health, she said.
It aims to “effectively engage consumers in the helping process, convey and utilize empathy as an engagement tool, identify, gather and track relevant information for assessment, utilize assessment information to develop an intervention plan, effectively team and partner with consumers, empower consumers to effect positive change and monitor and track intervention outcomes.”
The training is delivered in three-hour sessions held over two weeks. It covers engagement, assessment, intervention strategies, evaluation, team building and conflict resolution skills.