Instructor: Susannah Mallon, LCSW 

This two-part workshop offered in a virtual format. Assessment & Therapeutic Approaches addresses assessments and therapeutic approaches for both substance use and trauma related disorders. In this class participants will be reviewing evidence-based assessment tools used to evaluate clients for trauma and/or substance use disorders and to provide an overview of the different therapeutic approaches shown to be effective. We will also discuss new treatment models and approaches as appropriate.

CE Credits: 6 Clinical

Instructor: Stephen Andrew, LCSW, LADC, CCS, CGP

The two-day advanced level workshop allows Motivational Interviewing (MI) trained substance use, criminal justice, health care, and social service practitioners to review and expand on the practice of MI care approaches toward effective therapeutic interventions. This two-day training will discuss this effective approach in the treatment of substance use, co-occurring, and other challenging symptoms, and provide participants with an opportunity to explore creative ways of integrating these approaches into an effective intervention. Participants will be offered a brief review and practice of, Motivational Interviewing spirit, some basic skills and structure with an overview of what’s important to the client. Participants will learn more about “change talk” and methods of communication to better elicit from clients. We will also consider how Motivational Interviewing overlaps with other models. This course will provide both useful theoretical models and hands-on opportunities to improve skills.

CE Credits: 9 Clinical

Instructor: Natalie Bembry-Moore, EdD, LCSW  

Crisis Intervention and Self-Care is a class offered in a virtual format. This class will focus on both crisis intervention and self-care. First, the class will familiarize participants with what crisis  intervention and trauma response are and the acute psychological distress that is often associated with trauma and/or substance use.  The focus will be on participants gaining knowledge on the importance of understanding and treating crisis and trauma in combination with substance use. As well as training participants on working with clients who have had these experiences. Participants will become familiar with different frameworks, assessment models and intervention models.  The class will familiarize participants with ethical responsibilities (review), clinical supervision, and the importance of continual growth.  The second half of the class participants will identify the personal and professional risks to health and mental health for counselors and learn self-care and other strategies to ensure professional effectiveness. The relevance and study of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma will be addressed. Finally, experiential exercises geared towards expanding participants’ awareness and understanding of the psyche/soma relationship will serve as the basis for discussion of self-care, professional and personal well-being.  

CE Credits: 6 Clinical

Instructor: Andrew Walsh, MSW, LCSW

Parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals are starting to discuss the concept of video game addiction in the United States. Alternatively countries in Asia have been treating video game addiction as a public health crisis for over a decade. Video game addiction is the latest behavioral disorder to hit the United States. Recent research in the United States found that up to 8.5% of U.S. youth meet the criteria for pathological gaming. While millions of Americans have already been affected by video game addiction, overall the United States is unprepared and ill-equipped to help.   This seminar will discuss research, prevention and treatment to help attendees start to recognize and help individuals struggling with video game addiction. With the recent release of the new ICD-11, video game addiction has become a public topic of discussion. News networks air segments of parents sharing how their children are addicted to video games. On the other end of the spectrum, many question if a person can really be “addicted” to a video game. Regardless of professional’s personal beliefs regarding video game addiction, it is imperative to be informed and provide services to those in need. While this issue is just starting to get examined in the United States, several Asian countries have been treating video game addiction as a national public health crisis. If the video game addiction trend in the United States is similar to video addiction trends in Asia, there is going to be a tremendous need for services. This workshop will explore the history of the gaming industry, starting with is inception in 1940 at the World’s Fair in New York up to present date with the popular hit Fortnite. A historical analysis helps shed light on explaining the complicated relationship between video games and the world overall. As the video game industry is a global industry, the history of video games in other regions of the world, particularly Asia, will also be explored. Video games rose to prominence in Asian countries much faster than it did in the United States. With the Asian video game markets more mature and gaming more readily acceptable, video game addiction has grown into a prominent societal problem. Starting in 2003, certain Asian countries started to draft legislation to combat video game addiction. Within a few years state sponsored treatment programs started to open to deal with the growing population size of citizens addicted to video games. Examination of the legislation and treatment in Asian countries can shed light on what the future may look like in the United States. The workshop will conclude with best practice recommendations for dealing with clients addicted to video games. Recommendations will also be made for best practices for family therapy for those who have a loved one who struggles with this disorder. Overall the objectives of this workshop is to inform attendees of a new disorder that may have a significant impact on the behavioral health field in years to come.

CE Credits: 3 

Instructor: Natalie Moore-Bembry, EdD, MSW, LSW

In order to challenge racial disparities, we must start at home, with us, the clinicians and practitioners. This requires a dual examination of the role of institutionalized racism and other forms of oppression in the field along with a commitment to understand and identify the ways in which our own acts of microaggression (whether intentional and/or unintentional) impact our work with one another and clients. Microaggressions are unintentional, subconscious expressions of racism and other forms of oppression that occur in our everyday personal and professional lives and thus inform and impact our work with clients (Forest-Bank, 2016; Spencer, 2017). Microaggressions occur towards those who are of marginalized populations based on ability, religion, sexuality, gender, status, age and mental health problems (Sue, 2010). 
Understanding microaggressions provides a concrete example of the ways in which racism and systems of privilege can be subtle and unintentional and can be a powerful tool for combatting racism and discrimination (Forrest-Bank, 2016). As one increases his or her knowledge regarding microaggressions, it is natural to speculate on the origins of these thoughts and behaviors. This deliberation compels us to examine our own values and beliefs that are ingrained through culture, experiences, and racial identity development. Our values and beliefs can manifest into microaggressions, furthering the cycle of oppression (Edmonds-Cady & Wingfield, 2017). As we assess our development, we will begin to make strides through the stages of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity continuum, transitioning from an ethnocentric worldview to an ethnorelative worldview (Hernandez & Kose, 2012).

CE Credits: 6 Cultural

Instructor: Ana Guerra, LCSW, LPC, LCADC, CCS

This online class focuses on awareness of trauma and its impacts on wellness and recovery as well as the bidirectional relationship among substance use and trauma. Topics include trauma and substance use as a social problem, the detrimental health effects of co-occurring trauma and substance use and other social determinants of health. The aim of this course is to introduce participants to the basic concepts relevant to understanding the intersection of trauma and substance use.

CE Credits: 6 Clinical

Instructor: Allison Dickens, LPC, LCADC, ACS 

Understanding substance use disorders means understanding that abstinence-only treatment does not work for all individuals seeking treatment.  Research shows that treatment-seeking individuals respond more positively when the treatment environment is non-coercive and non-judgmental, and assists the individual in meeting their personal goals in safe and effective ways, as opposed to insisting upon complete cessation of use.  As our country moves towards increased legalization of formerly illicit substances, clinicians must learn how to understand substance use within the context, assist our consumers in learning to reduce harmful consequences of their use, and educate these individuals on how to minimize these harmful consequences while still empowering them to make their own decisions about their substance use.  The purpose of this workshop is to explain the principles of harm reduction as it applies to substance use and how to incorporate these principles into clinical practice.  Further, this workshop will explore some stigma regarding harm reduction and will address harm reduction policy in practice.  Finally, this workshop will discuss the use of Motivational Interviewing to set meaningful goals for individuals in treatment, support all goals set by individuals, and explore motivation to change.

CE Credits: 6 Clinical

Instructor: Andrew Walsh, MSW, LCSW

Rates of depression, loneliness, and anxiety are increasing in youth in the United States. Suicide is now the 2^nd leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. These increases have occurred in a very short period of time. The Pew Research Center conducted a survey among teens on their perception of social media in 2018. They found that 24% of teens described social media as having a negative effect on their life. This workshop will explore the history of the social media industry, starting with “Six Degrees” in 1997 to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. A historical analysis helps shed light on explaining the complicated relationship between social media and the world overall. A financial market analysis of the social media industry provides insight into how the market acts. This analysis will look at industry-wide practices that help explain how social media platform design lends itself to excessive use through the work of B.F. Skinner and B.J. Fogg. This workshop will conclude with best practice recommendations for dealing with clients who struggle with social media use. Recommendations will also be made for best practices for family therapy for those who have a loved one negatively impacted by social media. Finally, this workshop will provide guidance to social workers on how they can effectively educate the public about the negative impact of social media and how to mitigate it. Overall the objectives of this workshop is to inform social workers on the impact that social media has already had and will continue to have in years to come. 

CE Credits: 6 Clinical