South Southwest ATTC

New Ethical Dilemmas Every Thursday from May 23, 2024 to June 27, 2024 (2:00pm- 3:30pm CT) Online Enhanced Professional Learning (EPL) Series  Registration Information Coming Soon!   With the sudden onset of the coronavirus, the use of technology and social media by behavioral health and recovery support for personal and professional purposes has increased dramatically. As such, ethical and practice issues like self-disclosure in postings, unintentional boundary crossings and violations, privacy and security problems reflect just some of the new dilemmas clinicians and peer support specialists encounter frequently. Adding to the problem is a lack of definitive guidance from existing professional and ethical codes until recently. This in-depth, online learning series will address common ethical dilemmas behavioral health and peer support specialists face related to the use of technology, social networking sites, and web-based search engines. Case scenarios, PowerPoint slides, and activities will be used to highlight these dilemmas and encourage discussions among participants related to: 1) Ethics, competency, and the use of technology in the time of COVID-19; 2) Digital Novice vs. Digital Pro; 3) HIPAA and 42CRF Part II considerations for texting, email, and videoconferencing; 4) Use of social media and potential ethical pitfalls; 5) Employer/employee issue with technology ; and 6) Applying ethical decision-making models with ethical dilemmas. This online learning series will provide instruction, learning activities, and self-study as well as interactive discussions/activities, videos, feedback, and articles. This EPL is hosted by NFARtec, a partner with the SSW ATTC.   

Supervision and Leadership Every Thursday from August 22, 2024 to September 26, 2024 (12:00pm - 1:30pm CT) Online Enhanced Professional Learning (EPL) Series Registration Information Coming Soon!   Supervision is more than tending to schedules, checking documentation, and reviewing cases. Clinical supervisors are in the unique position to assist clinicians in their ongoing clinical skill development. Adopting the concept of deliberate practice, supervisors can help clinicians implement clinical skills that may lead to better outcomes for the people they serve. These interactive sessions will guide participants in exploring current practices, focusing on skill practice to enhance supervision, and incorporating routine feedback for specific skills. Participants will practice using real- and case-examples to examine managing feedback, difficult situations, and cultural differences. This EPL is hosted by NFARtec, a partner of the SSW ATTC.

The purpose of the listening sessions was to gather information from family members and loved ones of people with substance use challenges to better understand family members’ experiences supporting and seeking support for their loved one who is using substances; to ask what questions family members have about supporting their loved one who is using substances; to ask who or what is providing support for family members; and the unmet needs for support for family members. Version 1 of this report in February 2023, which described the process and findings from the initial round of listening session in 2022. Version 2 of this report describes the process and findings of additional follow up community outreach in 2023 to enhance the first phase of this consultation process: including a new round of listening sessions with family members and loved ones of people who use substances.  This project is in collaboration with the African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence and National Hispanic and Latino ATTC.

  The South Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (SSW ATTC) collaborates with Faith Partners, Inc. a non-profit 501©3, which was founded in 1995 by religious leaders seeking ways to mobilize faith communities’ resources to address alcohol and drug issues in their communities. Faith Partners provides the leadership, training, educational materials and consultation to initiate, develop and sustain a faith communities’ efforts to address drugs and alcohol and its impact on their members. Faith Partners provides an individualized plan to start an effective team effort to address the needs of the whole faith community. As part of the process of building capacity and identifying the unique needs and goals of each faith community around the development of their ministry, Faith Partners utilizes community surveys at several points in time. Following is a practical guide developed by the South Southwest ATTC with best practices for engaging the entire faith community in the survey process.

The purpose of the listening sessions was to gather information from family members and loved ones of people with substance use challenges to better understand family members’ experiences supporting and seeking support for their loved one who is using substances; to ask what questions family members have about supporting their loved one who is using substances; to ask who or what is providing support for family members; and the unmet needs for support for family members. This report describes the process and findings of the first phase of this consultation process: listening sessions with family members and loved ones of people who use substances. This project is in collaboration with the African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence and National Hispanic and Latino ATTC.