Other
The New England ATTC, in partnership with RICARES, held the next monthly installment of the Recovery Science and Harm Reduction Reading Group series. We discussed a paper titled, “Hospitalizations for Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders in Older Adults: Trends, Comorbidities, and Differences by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity,” by Acevedo and colleagues. A summary of the discussion is available for download.
Article link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/11782218221116733
Please find the the meeting summary here:
ATTC ReadingGroup 02222024 Summary
Published: February 23, 2024
Other
This Black History Month, let's pause to recognize the remarkable achievements, unwavering strength, and outstanding triumphs of the Black community. It's also a time for us to recommit to cultivating an environment of inclusiveness, fairness, and opportunities for all. By recognizing and elevating diverse voices, we enrich our workplace and the vitality of our organizations, communities, and society.
Take advantage of MATTC’s FREE Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) training to improve your organization’s quality of services provided to all individuals, which will ultimately help reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. More information is found in the flyer attached! Please email
[email protected] for additional information.
Published: February 22, 2024
Presentation Slides
Module: THC and Adolescents
The primary purpose of this manual is to provide specific strategies for teachers and service providers to counsel adolescents about the effects of marijuana use in a way that makes them receptive to the information offered by the provider. This is through a psychoeducation process presented in a structured, non-imposing manner.
Psychoeducate students, in a structured and interesting way, about the effects of marijuana.
Offer students/adolescents the opportunity to learn about and discuss marijuana and its effects on the brain.
Establish the difference between myths and realities regarding the information being provided about marijuana and its effects.
Allow safe spaces of dialogue for students/adolescents to express their concerns and questions regarding marijuana use and its effects.
Published: February 21, 2024
Presentation Slides
Módulo: THC y Adolescentes
El propósito principal de este manual es proporcionar estrategias específicas para los maestros y proveedores de servicio, para que orienten a los adolescentes sobre los efectos del consumo de marihuana. De una manera que los haga receptivos a la información. Esto es a través de un proceso de psicoeducación presentado de manera estructurada y no impuesta.
Psicoeducar a los estudiantes, de una manera estructurada e interesante, sobre los efectos del consumo de marihuana.
Ofrecer a los estudiantes/adolescentes la oportunidad de aprender y discutir sobre el consumo de marihuana y sus efectos adversos en el cerebro.
Establecer la diferencia entre mitos y realidades respecto a la información que se proporciona sobre marihuana y sus efectos.
Permitir espacios seguros de diálogo para que los estudiantes/adolescentes expresen sus inquietudes y preguntas sobre el consumo de marihuana y sus efectos.
Published: February 21, 2024
Multimedia
This webinar, hosted by the Northwest ATTC, PTTC, and MHTTC, provided an overview of the seven vital conditions for well-being and illustrated how the framework can be useful for conceptualizing holistic individual and community well-being. The presenters, Chris Kelleher (consultant) and Jennifer Johnson (Skagit County Deputy County Administrator), demonstrated how the framework can help address issues related to a community response to mental health and well-being, substance use disorder, and substance misuse prevention in Skagit County, WA, with the North Star Initiative. The framework is used by multiple state and federal agencies, including The Federal Plan for Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience as a guiding framework to organize and take action on social determinants of health.
Watch the recording here.
Published: February 20, 2024
Multimedia
Published: February 20, 2024
Multimedia
Participants will increase awareness about sexual orientation, gender identity, and how personal biases impede care and ultimately identify how to develop an environment that is LGBT user effective.
This training was approved for two renewal hours (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and two initial hours (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). As an IC & RC member board, OASAS accredited courses were granted reciprocal approval by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee. Many other states offered reciprocity.
Published: February 16, 2024
eNewsletter or Blog
The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.
The February 2024 issue features content from the Great Lakes ATTC celebrating Black History Month, including our upcoming 2024 Black History Month Panel Presentation. It also features a new educational brief on health equity in crisis systems, upcoming prevention trainings on drug trends in the region, and updates to the Classroom WISE curriculum for 2024. As always, you will also find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!
Make sure you're subscribed to our email contact list so you never miss a month of The Great Lakes Current newsletter, and thank you for reading!
Published: February 12, 2024
Presentation Slides
In partnership with the New England Association of Recovery Court Professionals, the New England ATTC hosted a webinar titled, “Peer Support: Why Your Program Needs It” by subject matter expert Abby Frutchey. The slides are available for download.
Published: February 5, 2024
Multimedia
Talking To Change: A Motivational Interviewing Podcast, hosted by Glenn Hinds and Sebastian Kaplan, is a series of conversations exploring Motivational Interviewing (MI) and its influence on supporting individuals and groups as they make positive health and lifestyle changes.
Talking to Change: An MI Podcast Episode 73: MI and Hope in Alaska, with Sarah Niecko, PhD
In this episode, Dr. Sarah Niecko of the University of Alaska Southeast joins the podcast to talk to Glenn and Sebastian about the transformative potential of motivational interviewing and the healing power of culture, resilience, and hope. Topics covered include: transforming burnout through hope and love, adapting to a new world through curiosity and compassion, embodying the MI spirit, MI spirit directed inward before radiating it forward, language as a way to rediscover identity, and her experiences creating a new integrated behavioral health program.
Published: February 5, 2024
Multimedia
The audio recording from the webinar, “Peer Support: Why Your Program Needs It” (described above) is also available for download.
Published: February 1, 2024
Multimedia
Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based, conversation model for evoking and enhancing intrinsic motivation to change behaviors. In this video-conversation, participants will discuss the core components of this model and practice using the skills of Motivational Interviewing, particularly in the context of substance use behavior change(s). Prior knowledge of Motivational Interviewing is not required. This learning community is open to everyone engaging in conversations about behavior change - educational degrees or credentials are also not required.
This three-part training series was approved for six renewal hours (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and six initial hours (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). As an IC & RC member board, OASAS accredited courses were granted reciprocal approval by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee. Many other states offered reciprocity.
Published: February 1, 2024
Multimedia
Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based, conversation model for evoking and enhancing intrinsic motivation to change behaviors. In this video-conversation, participants will discuss the core components of this model and practice using the skills of Motivational Interviewing, particularly in the context of substance use behavior change(s). Prior knowledge of Motivational Interviewing is not required. This learning community is open to everyone engaging in conversations about behavior change - educational degrees or credentials are also not required.
This three-part training series was approved for six renewal hours (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and six initial hours (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). As an IC & RC member board, OASAS accredited courses were granted reciprocal approval by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee. Many other states offered reciprocity.
Published: February 1, 2024
Multimedia
Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based, conversation model for evoking and enhancing intrinsic motivation to change behaviors. In this video-conversation, participants will discuss the core components of this model and practice using the skills of Motivational Interviewing, particularly in the context of substance use behavior change(s). Prior knowledge of Motivational Interviewing is not required. This learning community is open to everyone engaging in conversations about behavior change - educational degrees or credentials are also not required.
This three-part training series was approved for six renewal hours (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and six initial hours (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). As an IC & RC member board, OASAS accredited courses were granted reciprocal approval by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee. Many other states offered reciprocity.
Published: February 1, 2024
Multimedia
Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology that creates a simulated experience. Unlike traditional media, such as television or computer screens, VR offers a three-dimensional (3D) experience. One of the remarkable aspects of VR is Social VR, which allows individuals to interact with each other in 3D virtual spaces in real-time. This interaction is facilitated through the use of 360-degree immersive content and head-mounted displays, providing a sense of presence and realism in virtual interactions.
In this session, Sarah E. Clingan, Ph.D., Associate Project Scientist at UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, delves into the current state of VR technology, particularly focusing on its application in treating substance use disorders. The presentation explores how VR can be utilized in therapeutic settings, offering insights into both the proven benefits and potential applications of VR that have yet to be fully explored or tested. This exploration includes examining how VR can simulate various environments and scenarios, which could be instrumental in developing new treatment strategies for substance use disorders.
Download slides | Download citations handout | View recording
Published: January 24, 2024
Multimedia
Talking To Change: A Motivational Interviewing Podcast, hosted by Glenn Hinds and Sebastian Kaplan, is a series of conversations exploring Motivational Interviewing (MI) and its influence on supporting individuals and groups as they make positive health and lifestyle changes.
Talking to Change: An MI Podcast. Episode 72: Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and MI with Victoria Kress, PhD, and Rachel O'Neill, PhD
In this episode, hosts Glenn and Sebastian talk to Drs. Kress and O'Neill about non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and how MI fits into conversations with people who exhibit NSSI. They cover how to engage effectively with people who exhibit NSSI, how to reframe "attention seeking" as an effort to connect, the clinician's experience of working with someone who exhibits NSSI, harm reduction and safety planning, blending MI with narrative therapy, pre-session intention setting for clinicians, change talk in the context of NSSI behaviors, and how to go beyond behavior change to help your client.
Published: January 22, 2024
Print Media
La hoja informativa provee información sobre la importancia del servicio de navegación de pacientes y su propósito de guiar a la persona a través del sistema de salud. Se le apoya en la identificación del o los diagnósticos, tratamientos y seguimiento de condiciones médicas, incluyendo el trastorno por uso de sustancias. Proveyendo asistencia en la programación de citas, pruebas médicas y en obtener ayuda financiera, legal y social, de ser necesarias. La finalidad de la navegación de pacientes es la eliminación de barreras para lograr la atención adecuada en los servicios de salud que recibe la persona.
Published: January 16, 2024
Multimedia
Contingency management is the evidence-based behavioral intervention associated with the most robust evidence for effectively treating individuals with a stimulant use disorder (StimUD). Contingency management provides monetary incentives (such as gift cards) for meeting treatment goals, including stimulant non-use as measured by negative point-of-care urine drug tests (UDTs), rewarding individuals for changing their behaviors. Substance use offers a powerful, immediate reinforcement. Contingency management confronts this challenge by offering immediate financial awards that can help activate the brain’s reward system, thus encouraging the replacement of stimulants with the incentive to achieve a dopamine release. This 90-minute webinar is designed to provide a broad overview of contingency management for treating individuals with a stimulant use disorder (StimUD). Ample time will be provided for group discussion and audience Q&A.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
-Describe at least three (3) patterns and trends regarding the scope of stimulant use in the Western U.S. and beyond.
-Identify at least three (3) acute and three (3) chronic effects of psychostimulant drugs on the brain.
-Formulate a list of the four (4) essential elements of an evidence‐based, protocol‐driven contingency management program to address stimulant use.
-Specify two (2) barriers to implementing contingency management and two (2) strategies to address the barriers.
Published: January 11, 2024
eNewsletter or Blog
The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.
The January 2024 issue features the third installment of the Counselor's Corner blog series: Integrating Spirituality and Counseling with African American Clients, information on the Opioid Response Network's 2022-2023 regional summits, and a call for applications for the upcoming HEART (Healing Ethno And Racial Trauma) Training for Behavioral Health Providers Serving Hispanic & Latinx Communities intensive training series. As always, you will also find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!
Make sure you're subscribed to our email contact list so you never miss a month of The Great Lakes Current newsletter, and thank you for reading!
Published: January 11, 2024
Print Media
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.
Published: January 5, 2024
Multimedia
Despite the demands of a profession in the health and behavioral health care disciplines, providers are dedicated to their craft and enjoy a deep satisfaction from helping others. But with the job are pressures and at times unanticipated factors that can increase susceptibility to exhaustion leading to compassion fatigue and other occupational hazards, referred to as “the cost of caring for others.”
The adverse effects of compassion fatigue can decrease the provider’s emotional and physical well-being, influence the quality of care they provide for their clients, and have a profound effect on service delivery and person-centered care with communities served. This interactive webinar will help to identify often elusive work-related conditions that promote empathy strain, self-assessment tools and practical prevention strategies for self-care and means to resiliency and wellness for us, the people helping people.
This training was approved for three renewal hours (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and three initial hours (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). As an IC & RC member board, OASAS accredited courses were granted reciprocal approval by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee. Many other states offered reciprocity.
Published: January 4, 2024
eNewsletter or Blog
by Raymond Crowel, PsyD, Clinical Director, The Danya Institute
In March 2020, COVID-19 made its presence felt literally around the world. Within weeks, our lives were upended, as businesses shuttered their doors, schools closed, and our social connections were severed. The same was true for substance use and recovery programs when outpatient addiction treatment, medication-assisted treatment, and residential treatment programs closed. In the early months, both face-to-face services and AA/NA support networks were nonexistent.
Successful substance use recovery requires access to treatment, connection to people, and a strong community that supports recovery. Limited access to treatment and services, paired with isolation, anxiety, and depression caused by the pandemic, proved to be devastating for many people in recovery. Relapse and overdose rates jumped in the first year of the pandemic, destroying the progress that was beginning to be made in combating the opioid abuse epidemic. In addition, many vulnerable people turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with the chronic stress, loneliness, loss of work, and grief. Lastly, the drug trade in fentanyl exploded. The result was a dramatic spike in overdoses and substance use-related emergency department visits.
<em>Image by Enrique from Pixabay</em>
While the COVID-19 pandemic has become less deadly, substance abuse has not. The ongoing trauma from the pandemic, untreated relapses in recovery, limited treatment capacity, and increasing potency and availability of illegal drugs contributed to more than 100,000 deaths in 2022 (NIDA).
The pandemic forced substance use treatment systems to think of creative ways to continue to support recovery. Peer Recovery Specialists, trained in outreach and connecting with persons ready to begin their recovery process, shifted to disposable cell phones and virtual support services and support groups. Flexible Federal and state government policies allowed medication-assisted treatment programs to provide more walk-up and take-home dosing. The entire substance abuse and mental health service system migrated to telehealth services to provide safe access to ongoing treatment.
Online networks and virtual referral processes made identifying and matching treatment providers with those seeking treatment easier. As residential programs reopened, providers implemented masking, testing, safe distancing, and sanitation processes to protect residents and staff from COVID-19. Many such practices put into place during the height of the pandemic have remained in place, permanently altering how services are delivered. Sadly, our rates of addiction, overdose, and death by overdose remain high. Although education, prevention, and treatment efforts are back to near pre-pandemic levels, still more needs to be done to save the lives of the many still struggling with addiction.
At a minimum, we need:
More treatment professionals, including Peer Recovery Specialists and credentialed foreign-trained professionals.
Integrated approaches to healthcare that consider both mental health and substance, along with social determinants of health.
Increased adoption of harm reduction efforts, including the widespread distribution of Naloxone, needle exchanges, and fentanyl test kits, as well as supervised consumption sites.
COVID-19’s legacy is one of suffering and rising to the challenge. We are hopeful that the enduring legacy will be a stronger system of care for behavioral health, built with the same determination brought to combatting COVID-19.
Published: January 2, 2024
Multimedia
Talking To Change: A Motivational Interviewing Podcast, hosted by Glenn Hinds and Sebastian Kaplan, is a series of conversations exploring Motivational Interviewing (MI) and its influence on supporting individuals and groups as they make positive health and lifestyle changes.
Talking to Change: An MI Podcast. Episode 69: Coding MI for Learning and Research, with Denise Ernst, PhD
In this episode, Dr. Denise Ernst joined hosts Glenn Hinds and Sebatian Kaplan to talk about the importance of coding in MI research and teaching. They discussed the MITI, used for treatment integrity and learning enrichment, softening sustain talk, what to start paying attention to as a new learner, and more.
Published: December 20, 2023
Multimedia
Talking To Change: A Motivational Interviewing Podcast, hosted by Glenn Hinds and Sebastian Kaplan, is a series of conversations exploring Motivational Interviewing (MI) and its influence on supporting individuals and groups as they make positive health and lifestyle changes.
Talking to Change: An MI Podcast. Episode 70: MI in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, with Dr. Jim Carter
In this episode, hosts Glenn and Sebastian talk to Dr. Jim Carter, a licensed clinical psychologist who recently founded a specialized online clinic called OCD123. Dr. Carter talks about what obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is, how to help people with OCD, and how our minds work and alternatives for when we get stuck. The episode ends with the group performing and then debriefing a role play focused on helping a new father with fears of contamination/germs.
Published: December 20, 2023