Past Events

This is the final virtual session in part 2 of the larger series: Enhancing Workforce Capacity to Provide Clinical Supervision for Substance Use Disorders. The virtual sessions prepare the clinical supervisor to observe job performance, provide feedback and coaching, prioritize learning needs, and develop achievable learning objectives.  This cohort is full. If you are interested in participating in a future cohort, please email Bree at [email protected].  

Description: Difficult moments don’t have to grow into ‘incidents’ that can threaten client engagement and retention. This interactive learning community conversation is designed to equip peers, counselors, social workers, anyone working with people, with concepts and preparatory actions that can be used to de-escalate a wide range of interactions. The basics of de-escalation include the ABC model of assessment, the Seven Principles of Effective Verbal Interventions and a worker self-care assessment tool. Credits: This training meets the requirements for one renewal hour (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and one initial hour (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). Participants must attend the session IN ITS ENTIRETY to receive a certificate of completion.  All participants registering are required to turn on their video cameras and to actively participate in order to receive credit.  

DESCRIPTION: Opioids use disorder (OUD) is a chronic condition that affects millions of Americans. If left untreated it can result in serious consequences including increased morbidity, relapse, opioid overdose, and death. Medication-assisted treatment is effective for OUD and has been shown to decrease all-cause mortality and opioid overdose-related deaths. This pharmacist-driven training will provide detailed education on the induction and maintenance of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Discuss the epidemiology of opioid overdose and opioid use disorder in the United States Review the prescribing patters of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain over the past two decades Define and review the clinical presentation of opioid dependence, opioid withdrawal, and opioid use disorder Review the pharmacology and therapeutics for methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone, and naltrexone for the treatment of opioid use disorder   PRESENTER: Jasmine Carpenter, Pharm.D, BCPS, BCPP, mental health clinical pharmacist at a hospital in D.C. where she provides direct pharmaceutical care to patients of the mental health service and SUD rehab program. Jasmine also serves on the faculty of Howard University’s non-traditional Pharm. D program.    

How are our veteran patients faring during quarantine? What can we, as providers, do to support them during this time? These questions are on our minds and we hope to share strategies, resources, and support each other as we work with and care for our veteran patients, especially those in Native communities. If you work with veterans, or are a veteran who supports others, we welcome you to join us for these discussions. We hope to offer support and guidance and answer questions you may have about this issue, so please feel free to get in touch and share your ideas if there are any specific topics you would like to have covered. We look forward to sharing with you. 2-3 EDT . 1-2 CDT . 12-1 MDT . 11-12 PDT . 10-11 ADT

Plenary Session

Description: Often training on Motivational Interviewing, lays out or defines the 'concept' of "Change Talk". The success of MI is dependent on skill evoking and using Change Talk as the engine of the process of change. This conversation goes beyond the definition of Change Talk and into capitalizing on its power. We will discuss how to evoke Change Talk and what to do with it. A prior knowledge of the CORE skills of MI (OARS) is helpful but not required to join us.  Credits: This training meets the requirements for one renewal hour (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and one initial hour (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). Participants must attend the session in its entirety to receive a certificate of completion.

Contingency management is an evidence-based intervention for substance use disorders that has been proven to be applicable in a variety of real world treatment settings.

This training will provide information on how to use groups as a treatment strategy. We will address why using Motivational Interviewing in a therapeutic support group format is extremely effective. Group work provides several important steps that help break isolation often experienced by a consumer. This training will provide information on the issues and treatment of special populations (adolescents, dual diagnosis, addiction, intimacy, low-incomefamilies, parents, etc.) through the use of support groups in treatment. We will also explore the issues of assessment, interaction, group norms, and various forms of support for the consumer. We will also address why the therapeutic support group format is extremely effective. In addition to the role of group leader, the roles of the participants will be discussed and compared in various types of group settings, as well as the importance of therapeutic contracts, goal setting, and group frequency duration, course, and process.LEARNING OBJECTIVES:Participants will be able to: define the different types of groups and to understand the effectiveness of groups; identify an effective group work strategy for different group problems; learn a model of stages of change in group work and to anticipate potential pitfalls as a group leader; and understand the consumers' reactions to groups and the effects those reactions have on the group as a whole.

Choose Your Language! Join Us for a Dynamic Webinar Series on Compassion. One Day in English and One Day in Spanish Este webinar ofrecerá a los participantes una exploración de como incluir auto-compasión en programas de salud mental para mujeres Latinas inmigrantes. Compartirémos nuestras experiencias facilitando Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma (ALMA), un programa comunitario basado en conciencia plena y auto-compasión para reducir el estrés, ansiedad y depresión entre las mujeres Latinas inmigrantes. Presentadoras Serena Maurer, PhD Georgina Perez, MSW, LICSW

Behavioral health disparities reflect the lack of access to quality care for specific populations. Despite notable efforts  to address inequitable outcomes, research suggests that race and ethnicity are predictors of how services are delivered, and unconscious bias is one component that has been identified as influencing the provision of poor care. With the steady rise of the US population and the expected increase in communities of color, the need to address behavioral health disparities has never been  more urgent. This first session of the four-part series will discuss how cognitive bias develops, how it is sustained by intrinsic and environmental factors, and how it contributes to inequitable outcomes for persons of color in behavioral health care.  Credits: Each session meets the requirements for 1.5 renewal hours (CASAC, CPP, CPS) and 1.5 initial hours (CPP, CPS) through New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS). The NJ Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services offers reciprocity for CADC, LCADC, and LPC. SW CEUs will be available for LMSWs and LCSWs through New York State Education Department’s Board for Social Work. Participants must attend the session in its entirety to receive a certificate of completion.

The Peer Support Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (PS ECHO) is a movement to share knowledge, and amplify capacity to provide best practices. The PS ECHO is an online community for Peer Recovery Specialist and Mental Health Peers to: Share community and statewide resources Learn new skills and tools for doing peer work Meet and connect with other peers

This course presents a protocol for providing clinical intervention that incorporates stages of recovery and the stages of change (Transtheoretical Theory). A generic outline of treatment objectives is followed by discussions of how this model will benefit working with persons with co-occurring medical disorders (chronic pain), co-occurring psychiatric disorders, women who are pregnant, adolescents and young adults, and those with multiple substance use. Participants should have a working knowledge of Opioid Use Disorder and the three FDA-approved medications to assist persons in their recovery efforts.Participants should come prepared to share some of the challenges they’ve experienced while working with this population.

This event is aimed at counselors, teachers, and social workers of the University of Puerto Rico to offer identification and prevention strategies for problem alcohol use, and how to address it in young adults. This event will be held in Spanish.

Plenary Session

Choose Your Language! Join Us for a Dynamic Webinar Series on Compassion. One Day in English and One Day in Spanish This webinar will offer participants an overview of one approach to centering self-compassion in mental health programing for Latina immigrant women. We will share our experiences implementing Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma (ALMA)/Latina Friends Moving the Soul, a mindfulness- and self-compassion-informed community-based intervention to reduce stress, anxiety and depression amongst Latina immigrant women. Presenters Serena Maurer, PhD Georgina Perez, MSW, LICSW  

This event is aimed at physicians to increase awareness of the psychological, social and biological consequences that in themselves describe the four corners of the disease in order to discuss the physical and psychological complexities of this process, with alcohol use disorder. This event will be held in Spanish.

Presenters: Colleen Marshall, MA, LMFT and Anette Sogaard Nielsen, PhD This webinar will focus on how leaders can adapt and apply the evidence-based approach of Motivational Interviewing (MI) to support change in their employees and organizations. The two speakers will discuss the main elements from their new book and introduce attendees to the benefits and risks of using MI in leadership and supervisory roles. Download flyer

The presence of female offenders in the correctional population within the criminal justice system has been expanding at a rate that far outweighs their male counterparts. Historically, correctional institutions are designed to serve predominately male offender populations. Agencies in the community have not addressed the multifaceted problems that form the context for women’s criminal behavior. Women are released from correctional supervision without tools to help them live responsibly in the community. Like their male counterparts, most female offenders are poor, under-educated, unemployed and unskilled. However, women enter the criminal justice system with unique needs that distinguish them from male offenders. Addiction, poverty, unemployment, physical and mental illness, sexual abuse and violence often traps women in a cycle of hopelessness and crime. The separation caused by incarceration has a damaging effect on children of female prisoners, who often become the innocent victims of the criminal justice system. Participants will identify key strategies and emerging issues of female offenders and the family that is useful in developing effective programming to address the unique and challenging needs of women offenders. Emphasis will be placed on the evaluation of management and risk reduction strategies that consider the different characteristics of female offenders. OBJECTIVES: Participants will: Identify, evaluate and complete a highly structured case-management plan for women with focus on the family unit and issues affecting a woman's situation including alcoholism/addiction, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and relationships; Examine evidenced based risk assessments/provide an overview of unique needs of women offenders; Identify programs or approaches for supervision of female offenders in the community and through the correctional setting; and Discuss women as victims of domestic violence convicted of assault on abusers, sexual abuse survivors, pregnant women and women with children.

Plenary Session

This regional meeting for TOR grantees in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho is a chance for grantees to get together to share their barriers, successes and experiences with neighboring programs.  Over two half-days, grantees will present briefly on their programs and discuss forms of improvement.

Description: Did you know that most codes of ethics include direction on self-care? It is the responsibility of the counselor to respond fully and be present for clients. Self-care enhances a counselor’s ability to do this. This course will review the definition of ethics and look at different codes of ethics (CASAC, NAADAC, CRC, and Social Work) and describe how self-care is important to maintain ethical practice. Credits: This training meets the requirements 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). Participants must attend the session in its entirety to receive a certificate of completion.

This is the 6th of 7 virtual sessions in part 2 of the larger series: Enhancing Workforce Capacity to Provide Clinical Supervision for Substance Use Disorders. The virtual sessions prepare the clinical supervisor to observe job performance, provide feedback and coaching, prioritize learning needs, and develop achievable learning objectives.  This cohort is full. If you are interested in participating in a future cohort, please email Bree at [email protected].  

The semi-annual meeting of the Mountain Plans ATTC Workgroup for Opioid Treatment Providers.

This course is designed to highlight and explore the needs of addiction service professionals working with culturally diverse individuals, organizations, and communities. The participants will be able to understand the role behavioral health disparities, cultural competency, and health equity in clinical settings and will learn proven techniques and strategies for engagement. The training will include didactic as well as interactive exercises designed to engage participants and elicit their input. OBJECTIVES: Participants will be able to: •Define health disparities, health equity, and cultural competence, and their connection to SUDs treatment and recovery supports; •Understand the importance of addressinghealth disparities; Identify barriers to addressing health disparities; Identify starting points/action steps to address health disparities at the individual and/or organizational level; and•Name at least 3 resources available for addressing Cultural and Linguistic competence. TARGET AUDIENCE: Clinicians, prevent specialists, recovery support workers, and all interested.