KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. J. David Hawkins,
Endowed Professor of Prevention and Founding Director of the Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle. 

From Practice Wisdom to Prevention Science: Advances in Promoting Healthy Development among Young People

Growing numbers of preventive interventions have been found to be effective in promoting positive youth development and preventing adolescent drug abuse, delinquency, violence, and related health and behavior problems.  The Communities That Care (CTC) prevention operating system activates communities to use advance in prevention science to plan and implement community prevention systems.  It provides tools that assist communities to collect and use local data on risk and protective factors to identify elevated risks and depressed protective factors and to select and implement, with fidelity, tested, effective youth development and preventive interventions that address priority risk and protective factors.  This presentation will describe the CTC system and the results of a 24-community randomized trial of the effectiveness of Communities That Care in reducing adolescent drug misuse and antisocial behavior.

Goal:

Learners will be able to describe how communities can use prevention science to achieve better outcomes for their children.

Raising Healthy Children: Building Resilience through Families and Schools

Research shows that families and schools can prevent problems including youth violence, heavy alcohol use and risky sexual behavior among adolescents by promoting positive social development.  Strengthening protective factors, including bonding to family and school, reinforcement for children’s positive behaviors, and healthy standards for behavior, can have long term benefits in increasing success in school and preventing adolescent health and behavior problems.  This presentation will describe Raising Healthy Children, a school-based youth development program that empowers teachers, parents and young people themselves to work together to build protection at school and at home during the elementary grades.  Long-term effects of the program 15 years after the program ended on positive adult functioning, mental health, risky sexual behavior, and drug use will be presented.

Objectives: 
Participants will

• Understand the research foundation of prevention science and positive youth development;
• Be able to describe the elements of the Raising Healthy Children program.
• Be able to describe the long-term effects of RHC; and
• Apply learning from the study of RHC to their own youth development and prevention work.

Looking Forward: Building Resilience, Supporting Recovery and Treating Trauma in Adolescents

This workshop will focus on treatment and recovery support services for adolescents that factor in the unique needs of youth who have experienced trauma, focusing on the evidence base and current clinical practice.

Objectives: 

This workshop provides an opportunity for participants to

• Understand the clinical models that are supported by evidence for treating    youth with substance use disorders
• Learn best practice for building resilience in youth to support their recovery
• Discuss various arrays of services and supports for youth in recovery; and
• Understand the unique needs and effective treatment approaches for youth who with substance use disorders who have experienced trauma.

Using the DSM  IV-TR in Assessment and Diagnosis of Co-Occurring Disorders

With the increasing emphasis on co-occurring disorders, it is becoming increasingly important for addiction counselors to be familiar with other disorders outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association.  Accurate diagnosis is needed for the development of an effective treatment plan, as well as for third party reimbursement.  This presentation will provide an overview of the DSM IV-TR, including the multi-axial diagnosis and the application of the manual for diagnosis and treatment planning.  The major diagnostic categories will be covered as well as treatment implications for these disorders.

Objectives: 

• To provide participants with an overview of the DSM IV-TR;
• To provide participants with an overview of multi-axial diagnosis;
• To provide participants with an understanding of the major diagnostic categories of the DSM IV-TR;
• To provide participants with a basic understanding of the assessment using the major       diagnostic categories; and
• To help participants understand treatment implications of specific diagnoses.

Neurotherapy as an Adjunctive Intervention for Substance Abuse Disorders: 
Research and Practice

This workshop introduces participants to the field of neurotherapy and its wide-range of “drug-free” interventions.  The research validating its use to improve the outcomes for people seeking to recover from substance abuse disorders are presented as well as several recent studies conducted in treatment facilities.  Several different forms of neurotherapy will be demonstrated during the experiential lab portion of the workshop including EEG biofeedback and rhythmic light and sound stimulation.

Objectives: 
Participants will be able to

• State the empirical rationale for using neurotherapeutic treatments to improve the outcomes for people seeking to recover from substance abuse disorders;
• Properly categorize the wide-range of neurotherapy treatments; and
• Directly experience one of the different forms of neurotherapy offered in during the experiential lab portion of the workshop.

Healing the Veteran – Issues & Techniques in Substance Use Disorders

This workshop will discuss the issues facing a military veteran and their families.  Specific issues of the female veteran will be addressed.  This training will focus on multi-component, multi-media tools for use by addiction and other helping professionals and counselors to help veterans and their families heal from the trauma and conflict.  The techniques utilize psycho-emotional-social – spiritual cognitive behavioral therapy treatments that result in lifestyle change and long-term changes in the brain, with resulting behavioral changes. Participants will receive treatment materials that are easy to use and integrate into existing community residential, intensive outpatient, and outpatient substance abuse treatment facilities, as well as school-based counseling, faith counseling and other helping professional groups and faith-based groups.

Objectives: 

Participants will be able to

• Identify the issues facing the military veteran;
• Identify the issues of the female military veteran.
• Learn techniques to reduce trauma and sustain recovery of the veteran and their family members.

Grad Course EDUC C29:  Substance Abuse and Society
(Continued Monday through Friday)

This graduate course offering by the College of William and Mary provides three hours of graduate course credit.  A comprehensive overview of the physiological and pharmacological effects of drugs will be presented.  Models of addiction and prevention will be examined.  Screening, assessment, and treatment planning will be covered.  This course meets the substance abuse education requirements for the LPC in Virginia. 

This course requires different registration procedures and tuition payment; please email info@vsias.org for latest information.  It begins Monday morning and ends Friday at noon.  Participants must attend all sessions to receive credit.

Charlotte Chapman is the Director of Counseling Services for the Women’s Center at the University of Virginia where she supervises the Curry School graduate counseling students in their internship. Ms. Chapman has been a practitioner, trainer and consultant for twenty-five years. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.

Denise R. Hall is project coordinator and NIDA liaison at the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Technology Transfer Center (Mid- ATTC), located at Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine. Throughout her career, Ms. Hall has worked with adolescent and adult populations along the continuum of care, to include residential, inpatient, partial, IOP and outpatient. She is a member of the Motivation Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and has provided training in MI from beginner to supervisory levels.

Motivational Interviewing with Clients with Co-Occurring Disorders
(Continued Tuesday all day)

The original research on Motivational Interviewing focused on clients with substance use and abuse problems and health care issues. This approach is now being adapted for work with clients who have co-occurring disorders. This workshop will provide an opportunity for counselors with previous training in Motivational Interviewing to practice applying the principles and techniques with this client population. This is an experiential workshop to facilitate skills development. Participants must have prior training in Motivational Interviewing with at least a year of experience practicing this approach. Workshop is limited to 30 participants.

Objectives: 

Participants will be able to

• Describe differences in guidelines for MI application when serving clients with co-occurring disorders;
• Strengthen ability to identify and respond to change talk when serving clients with co-occurring disorders; and
• Practice integration of MI skills with personal counseling practice.

 

Substance Abuse 101

This session will discuss basics of understanding and treating addiction.  Approaches discussed will include medical, disease, cognitive- behavioral, brain physiology and structure, moral and twelve step.  The workshop will conclude with a discussion of risk factors and the role of denial in identifying addiction and providing treatment.

Objectives: 

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to discuss

• at least two different models of the causes of addiction
• at least four different risk factors for developing addiction
• the role that denial plays in the identification and treatment of addiction

Day 1 of 4: Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training
(Must attend full week, limited to 25)

This workshop will provide an overview of evidence-based Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists Training (SAPST) knowledge and skills. The workshop will address the following topics: origins of substance abuse prevention; prevention research; gathering and analyzing data to inform prevention program planning; outcome evaluation; and the impact and importance of understanding cultural context in prevention.

Objectives: 

Participants will learn to apply

• The building blocks of effective substance abuse prevention programs;
• The risk and protective factors approach to substance abuse prevention;
• The steps in building a successful substance abuse prevention plan; and
• The steps to effective evaluation of substance abuse prevention programs.

Reaching Hard to Reach Youth without Destroying Them in the Process

This workshop will provide prevention practitioners with message content and delivery techniques to effectively reach high-risk youth.  The session will stress designing and implementing prevention approaches based on evidence-based practices and using creative arts to engage youth.

Objectives: 
Participants will

• Learn strategies to reduce barriers in communication and create a welcoming learning atmosphere;
• Gain tools to develop and implement culturally specific games and activities to enhance learning;
• Understand how the use of “Hip-Hop” and other arts can be used in educational activities; and
• Understand the role of values in delivery of educational content