The Take 10! Transforming Care for Women with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) and their Families series discusses current issues and challenges confronted by diverse women presenting with substance use, SUDs, and who are in recovery. Women experience SUD in ways that are distinct from men. Historically, access to treatment for women has been limited, a disparity that persists today. Studies show that when women begin treatment for SUDs, they frequently arrive with more severe medical, behavioral, psychological, and social struggles compared to men. For these reasons, there is a need for gender-specific services.

Topic 3 (Overview Session): Considerations for Male Clinicians Treating Women with SUDs

This 30-minute overview session will introduce participants to the emotional, physical, and socioeconomic factors that uniquely impact women during treatment, and especially how these factors relate to considerations for male clinicians treating with women with SUDs.

Learning Objectives

This overview session will address the assessment and screening of co-occurring disorders in women with a special focus on the following information:

• Women’s treatment history and current aspects of women-centered treatment in the United States, with a focus on the Midwest
• The link between trauma, substance use, and other co-morbidities in women
• Trauma-informed and culturally responsive approaches for specific racial/ethnic women in recovery
• Effective clinical strategies, interventions, and resources that help improve engagement, retention, and completion of treatment programs

Trainer:

Tim Devitt, Psy.D., LCPC, CADC, is a clinician, trainer, consultant, researcher and executive leader with a 35+ year commitment to providing recovery-oriented services to individuals, families and organizations. He currently operates a clinical therapy and consultation practice in the Chicago Metropolitan Area with a specialization in integrated mental health and substance use care for adolescents and adults. His past programmatic development work has included leading the integration of mental health and substance use treatment in assertive outreach, residential and center-based outpatient and intensive outpatient programing. Tim has presented nationally and co-authored 20 peer-reviewed articles and a book chapter on the integration of evidence-based practices to best meet the comprehensive needs of people with substance use and mental health conditions. Tim is the proud recipient of the 2022 William White.

Lifetime Achievement Award (awarded by the IL Chapter of The National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors, NAADAC), a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), a lecturer at the University of Chicago, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice, a senior adjunct faculty at Adler University (MA in Military Psychology and MA in Applied Psychology), and serves as board member for Serenity Academy of Chicago, a start-up 501(c)(3) organization committed to the formation of alternative peer groups and a recovery high school for youth and families struggling with addiction and Edna’s Circle, a start-up recovery home and comprehensive recovery services program on the Westside of Chicago.

The Great Lakes ATTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders.