When You've Lost Your Self: The Use of Mindfulness in Trauma Treatment

These morning mindfulness sessions will give participants the opportunity to learn and practice the basics of mindfulness: deep breathing, gentle stretching, and body scanning. Mindfulness helps the individual be in the present moment, and has also been used with trauma survivors to help them center, connect with the Self, and process cognitive and emotional experiences more effectively.

Objectives:

• Quiet your mind
• Relax your body
• Be in the present

What About the Girls? Creating Gender-Responsive and Trauma-Informed Services
(Continued from Tuesday, and continued in the afternoon)

Adolescence is a time of tremendous discovery, struggle, and growth, a process particularly difficult for girls as they face unique challenges along the road to healthy development. Their challenges can be exacerbated by our culture, which often offers girls a toxic environment in which to grow. Many young women lose their voice in this process. This workshop is based on the curriculum, Voices: A Program of Self-Discovery and Empowerment for Girls. It is designed to encourage girls and young women to find and express themselves. The program materials (facilitator’s guide and participant’s workbook) can be used in schools, treatment facilities, and juvenile justice settings. Topics covered include developing a positive sense of self, building healthy relationships, substance abuse, physical and emotional wellness, sexuality and planning for a positive future. Issues of young women and girls in the criminal justice system are also addressed.

Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, participants will have:

• Learned about the world of girls;
• Received an overview of the elements needed for creating gender-responsive services;
• Discussed specific principles for designing services;
• Learned to facilitate interactive exercises that demonstrate strategies counselors can use with girls and women, including:
• Self
• Relationships
• Healthy living (physical, emotional, and spiritual)
• The journey ahead.

Current Trends in Chemical Dependency among LGBT Clients

Recent years have brought new challenges and opportunities to counselors who work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients in the area of addictions. Grounded in the latest research, this presentation will offer practical considerations concerning trends, contributing factors, and treatment approaches for working with LGBT adults, college students, and youth.

Objectives:
Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be able to discuss the following:

• Prevalence of use in LGBT community
• Research issues and limitations
• Classification of Drugs: A Brief Review
• Implications for LGBT Clients
• Possible Environmental and Psychosocial Contributing Factors
• Types of Treatment
• Assessment
• Individual Counseling
• Group Counseling
• Aftercare and discharge planning
• Role of 12-step Meetings (AA/NA/CMA)
•  Counseling Implications
•  Barriers to Treatment
•  Counselor Bias

Fundamental Components of a Successful  Drug Testing Program

Effective drug testing for abstinence monitoring of clients is essential to overall program success.  This presentation is designed to provide information and strategies for building and maintaining a successful drug testing program. 

Objectives: 
Participants in this session will:

• Become informed about the basic principles of drug testing, including drug testing techniques, scheduling, selecting specimens for screening, and testing approaches.
• Understand which drug testing myths are true and false
• Learn how to control specimen tampering
• Understand how to interpret drug testing results

Introduction to Motivational Interviewing
(Continued in the afternoon)

Motivational interviewing, or MI, is an increasingly important tool in clinicians’ repertoires as both a stand alone treatment or as a component of several evidenced-based approaches to substance abuse treatment. This introductory workshop will blend information with opportunities to experience and practice motivational interviewing skills.

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will have:

• Increased knowledge of Motivational Interviewing;
• Practiced motivational interviewing style and skills to engage clients, handle resistance, and evoke change language to facilitate improved outcomes; and
• A greater comfort level with utilizing a motivational interviewing approach.

Motivational Interviewing Clinical Skills Training
(Continued in the afternoon and on Thursday)

This two-day workshop is designed for practitioners who have at least six hours of introductory training in Motivational Interviewing.  After a brief review of the fundamental spirit, principles and methods of MI, the workshop will provide an intensive opportunity for clinical skills development.  Participants will learn strategies to help clients explore ambivalence regarding problematic behavior, reduce resistance, discover their own reasons for making changes, build confidence in their ability to change, and take steps towards a brighter future. The workshop will be interactive, and participants will observe, experience, and practice basic MI skills.  Participants are expected to attend both days of this workshop. (Limited to 20 participants)

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will have an

• Increased understanding of the fundamental spirit, principles and methods of Motivational Interviewing;
• Increased skills in applying Motivational Interviewing (e.g. use of OARS, reducing resistance, eliciting change talk, moving clients towards taking action) in clinical settings;
• Practiced clinical techniques to be used with clients from a variety of backgrounds, and in a variety of clinical settings; and
• Learned to further develop their MI skills in MI from the clients they serve.

TAKE IT BACK: Community Briefing on Underage Drinking

TAKE IT BACK is a dynamic national, youth-directed movement to reduce alcohol problems that is focused on research and action.

The TAKE IT BACK movement is driven by facts such as:

• In the US alone, alcohol kills more kids than all illegal drugs combined;
• The average age of first substance use is age 13 in Hanover County (Virginia Community Youth Survey, 2005).
• Nearly half of Hanover 12th graders who completed the survey drank alcohol during the previous month (Virginia Community Youth Survey, 2005).  

For the first time, more than 350 youth groups from 49 states conducted youth-led Community Briefings to call attention to alcohol as the single most important health issue facing young people today.  At the Hanover Briefing, teens focused on the following alcohol issues that were found while conducting research in our own community:

• Easy access to alcohol from family refrigerators and older siblings.
• Teen perception that drinking is not considered a big deal by adults in our community.
• Concern about the prevalence of binge drinking among Hanover teens.

Objectives: 

Participants in this session will

• Receive an overview of the TAKE IT BACK movement including the Community Alcohol Personality Survey
• Replicate the Community Briefing
• Discuss lessons learned and opportunities for future briefings

Advances in the treatment of adolescents with opioid dependence.

Opioid dependence in adolescents, including both heroin and illicit use of prescription pain medications, is a dangerous and growing problem. This presentation will describe new approaches to the engagement and treatment of opioid using adolescents, emphasizing the integration of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments.

Objectives: 

Participants will

• Become familiar with the trends in heroin and prescription opioid abuse in adolescents
• Identify pharmacological treatments for opioid dependence
• Learn about barriers to caring for adolescents with opioid dependence and integrated treatment approaches to improve their treatment outcomes

Spirituality with Addicted Clients

Addiction counseling has traditionally been on the cutting edge of applying counseling approaches with a spiritual emphasis.  Addiction counselors have been among the first to integrate spirituality, spiritual surrender, meditation, imagery, and other similar modalities into the counseling process.  This presentation will provide participants with a conceptual understanding of these approaches, and applications to addiction counseling issues and settings.  Participants will be encouraged to explore application of these approaches for their counseling setting.

Objectives: 

• Introduce the connection between spirituality and recovery.
• Explore the use of spirituality in AA
• Explore the concept and application of spiritual surrender
• Explore the use of meditation and imagery in addiction counseling
• Apply spiritual approaches to the addiction counseling process

 

Frank and LeAnne Brant,

LeAnne Brant is the Supervisor of the Office of Consumer and Family Affairs within the Mental Health Substance Abuse Division of the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services. 

Frank Brant co-authored Friends and Family Education in 2003 and is the primary class facilitator. He has served on numerous state-wide, national and international committees related to improving the credentialing process and ensuring the highest possible standards set forth and met by professionals in the field. 

Friends and Family Education - Train the Leader
(Continued in afternoon and Thursday all day)

This two day session trains facilitators to provide the Friends and Family Education curriculum.  Friends and Family is a series of six two-hour classes that provides education about substance use and addiction, co-occurring disorders,  how addiction affects family members and relationships, facilitator tools to enhance personal responsibility, and community resource information.  The goal of the program is to help those whose lives are affected by the substance use of a significant other take the focus off the behaviors associated with the disorder and put the focus on their responses to those behaviors.  These changes can lead to a more dignified, emotionally healthy and productive life.

Objectives: 

Participants will

• Learn the significance of education when substance use disorders are present in the family or in friends.
• Participate in a curriculum and methods for teaching that provide education for the friends and family members of persons who have substance use disorders to learn
  • The effects of addiction on the person with the disorder
  • The effects on family dynamics and relationships
  • How friends and family members can benefit from modifying their expectations and responses to addictive behaviors.

• Learn about resources that are useful for families affected by substance use disorders.
• Learn marketing strategies for the Friends and Family Education classes.

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.

Advocacy for People with Substance Use Disorders

Day 3 of 4: Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training
(Must attend full week, limited to 25)

James Pritchett is the Prevention Supervisor, as well as the Child and Family Services Program Coordinator at the New River Valley Community Services Board.

Jennifer Smith has worked in the non-profit prevention field for more than 30 years. She has extensive experience in program and community development with an emphasis on maximizing resources through community partnerships.

Exploring Ethics in the Prevention Field
(Continued in the afternoon)

This workshop will focus on exploring ethical dilemmas in the field of prevention.  It will also help professionals identify core standards, values, and principals that will assist them in responding to these dilemmas in a responsible and ethical manner.  Participants will learn to identify standards of conduct for prevention professionals, set goals with prevention values in mind, and utilize a decision-making method for responding to difficult situations and ethical dilemmas.  If you are a professional in the field of prevention, this workshop is for you.

Objectives: 
Participants will be able to

• Identify standards of conduct for prevention professionals;
• Set professional goals with prevention ethics and standards in mind; and
• Utilize a method of decision-making for difficult ethical situations in prevention.

 

Advocacy for People with Substance Use Disorders

This workshop will discuss the need for advocacy, including facts about stigma and discrimination,.  The session will also discuss how consumers and providers can work together to balance and respect professional roles and boundaries, advocacy with anonymity, using personal passion and beliefs, and helping recovery community members to find their voices for advocacy.

Objectives: 

• Understand why we must advocate for people with substance use disorders
• Define our advocacy priorities
• Suggest advocacy activities for consumers, addiction professionals, family members, friends
• Gain new tools for advocacy efforts
• Learn how to use the power of our stories for advocacy

 

Stephanie S. Covington, PhD, LCSW, Recognized internationally for her pioneering work in the design, development, and implementation of treatment services for women and girls.

What About the Girls? Creating Gender-Responsive and Trauma-Informed Services
(Continued from morning)

Ethical Issues in Substance Abuse Services

This half-day seminar will review the most compelling ethical issues that arise in the field of substance abuse services.  This session will be highly interactive and will revolve around case studies on topics such as paternalism and the individual’s right to refuse or direct care and dual relationships in SA staffing.

Objectives: 
This workshop will:

• Present a practical method for analyzing an resolving ethical issues in SA services;
• Provide opportunities to apply an ethical model to real-world cases in order to demonstrate its effectiveness; and
• Explore specific ethical issues in substance abuse work.

Yoga in Recovery - Integrating Yoga into Personal Recovery from Addiction
(Limited to 25 people)

This workshop explores the relevance of Yoga to recovery from addiction and trauma.  Addiction can make individuals forget the strength of their own resources; Yoga helps them remember who they are and what they are capable of doing.  This workshop is designed to introduce participants to the benefits of Yoga practice for individuals recovering from addiction and trauma, and to help individuals develop an easeful body and a peaceful mind.

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will have:

• Practiced breathing techniques
• Practiced meditation techniques
• Discussed how these techniques can assist recovery from addiction;
• Participated in a Hatha Yoga class to promote balance and flexibility; and
• Participated in a deep relaxation session.

Introduction to Motivational Interviewing
(Continued from morning)

Motivational Interviewing Clinical Skills Training
(Continued from the morning and continued on Thursday)

When You've Lost Your Self:  The Use of Boundaries in Trauma Treatment

This half-day skill-building workshop will focus on specific clinical tools to help the client dealing with trauma learn to establish his or her boundaries from the inside out.  As an important way to help the individual heal and develop the Self, the workshop will present skills in three areas: Listening to Self, Interacting with the Other, and Being with Self as You Interact.

Objectives:
 
Participants in this workshop will

• Understand how the impact of trauma affects the very sense of Self.
• Learn conceptual ways to present the relationship of Self to Others that can facilitate healing and development of Self.
• Learn numerous specific skills to help the traumatized person safely connect with the Self and develop and maintain boundaries that are essential to the healing process.

 

Which is harder: understanding the adolescent or understanding the psychiatrist? An approach to adolescents with co-occurring disorders.

Adolescents with co-occurring disorders present special challenges in diagnosis and treatment. But as hard as it is to understand and engage these adolescents, it can be frustratingly difficult to understand and engage the psychiatrists who treat them. This presentation will review some of the key concepts and jargon used in the psychiatric treatment of dual diagnosis adolescents, discuss approaches to integrated treatment, and suggest methods for engaging psychiatrists and other mental health professionals in collaboration.

Objectives: 

Participants will:

• Become familiar with the commonly used assessment and diagnostic terminology for co-occurring disorders in adolescents
• Learn a framework for evaluation of psychiatric disorders in adolescents in the context of substance abuse
• Learn an approach for more effectively collaborating with psychiatrists in the care of adolescents with co-occurring disorders

Frank and LeAnne Brant,

LeAnne Brant is the Supervisor of the Office of Consumer and Family Affairs within the Mental Health Substance Abuse Division of the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services. 

Frank Brant co-authored Friends and Family Education in 2003 and is the primary class facilitator. He has served on numerous state-wide, national and international committees related to improving the credentialing process and ensuring the highest possible standards set forth and met by professionals in the field. 

Friends and Family Education - Train the Leader
(Continued from morning and continued Thursday all day)

Laurie Rokutani, Research and Evaluation Training Coordinator for the Office of Substance Abuse Services, Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services and Adjunct Instructor in the School of Education, College of William and Mary. 

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.

Implementing Medication Assisted Treatment for Opiate Addiction – A Range of Possibilities

Methadone, long the sole medication available to treat opiate addiction, has recently been joined by buprenorphine, a medication that can provide remarkable results.  However, legal requirements and clinical practice raise many questions about its use:  Why is medication assisted treatment for opiate addiction an important evidence-based practice in Virginia?  What are the challenges to implementing medication assisted treatment? What are the clinical indicators for its use?  What factors should you consider in deciding if the populations served by your program would benefit from either of these drugs?  How do geography and the characteristics of the populations you serve influence the design and delivery of services?  How can clinical sites minimize diversion?  This workshop will present a panel of experts who serve very different regions of the state, all of whom have experience using both methadone and buprenorphine to treat people with opiate addiction.

Objectives: 

Participants will

• See the trends in geographic distribution of deaths related to opiate overdose  in Virginia;
• Hear how methadone and buprenorphine are made available and accessible in very rural treatment settings and urban settings;
• Learn what clinical supports need to be in place for successful implementation of either of these medication assisted treatments;
• Discuss how implementation issues affect clinical practice; and
• Learn how to minimize diversion opportunities.

 

Day 3 of 4: Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training
(Must attend full week, limited to 25)

When You’ve Lost Your Self: The Use of Boundaries in Trauma Treatment ***
(Limited to 35)

Mary McMasters, M.D., Co-Medical Director for Project REMOTE (Rural Enhanced Model for Opiate Treatment Expansion), a SAMHSA funded Treatment Capacity Expansion project in rural, Southwest Virginia. 

James May, PhD, Director of Substance Abuse Services for the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority, a position he has held since 1989.  

Jane Peay, LCSW, Director Of Substance Abuse Services (and mental health services for children) for the Cumberland Mountain Community Services Board, where she has worked for 25 years. 

Tony Crisp, Clinical Services Director, Norfolk Community Services Board, where he previously served as Director of Substance Abuse Services. 

Implementing Medication Assisted Treatment for Opiate Addiction – A Range of Possibilities

Methadone, long the sole medication available to treat opiate addiction, has recently been joined by buprenorphine, a medication that can provide remarkable results.  However, legal requirements and clinical practice raise many questions about its use:  Why is medication assisted treatment for opiate addiction an important evidence-based practice in Virginia?  What are the challenges to implementing medication assisted treatment? What are the clinical indicators for its use?  What factors should you consider in deciding if the populations served by your program would benefit from either of these drugs?  How do geography and the characteristics of the populations you serve influence the design and delivery of services?  How can clinical sites minimize diversion?  This workshop will present a panel of experts who serve very different regions of the state, all of whom have experience using both methadone and buprenorphine to treat people with opiate addiction.

Objectives: 

Participants will

• See the trends in geographic distribution of deaths related to opiate overdose  in Virginia;
• Hear how methadone and buprenorphine are made available and accessible in very rural treatment settings and urban settings;
• Learn what clinical supports need to be in place for successful implementation of either of these medication assisted treatments;
• Discuss how implementation issues affect clinical practice; and
• Learn how to minimize diversion opportunities.

 

James Pritchett is the Prevention Supervisor, as well as the Child and Family Services Program Coordinator at the New River Valley Community Services Board.

Jennifer Smith has worked in the non-profit prevention field for more than 30 years. She has extensive experience in program and community development with an emphasis on maximizing resources through community partnerships.

Exploring Ethics in the Prevention Field
(Continued from the morning)