36th South Carolina School of Alcohol and Other Drug Studies
COURSES
(Click on the links below to read full descriptions of each course)
Are you a "newbie" – New to a topic or just wanting to "brush up"? Then try...
"NEWBIE" WEEKLONG COURSES (18.5 hours)
"NEWBIE" HALF-WEEK COURSES
Monday – Wednesday (10 hours)
- Assessing and Treating Co-Morbid PTSD and SUD (Course Code: MW-A) [May also be appropriate for "veterans"]
- Normal Childhood and Adolescent Development (Course Code: MW-C) [Also appropriate for “veterans”]
- Treating Criminal Justice and Offender Populations (Course Code: MW-D)
- The Use of Humor in the Recovery Process (Course Code: MW-E) [Also appropriate for “veterans”]
- "Strengthening Families Program" (Ages 12-16) Training (Course Code: MW-F) (8.5 hours)
Wednesday – Friday (8.5 hours)
- Implementing Rapid HIV Testing in an Addictions Treatment Setting (Course Code WF-B)
- Intercultural Competence Framework: The Practitioner, The Consumer & The Agency (Course Code WF-D)
Are you an "experienced" professional or someone with graduate hours who desires
to further their knowledge and skill level? Then try...
"EXPERIENCED" WEEKLONG COURSES (18.5 hours)
"EXPERIENCED" HALF-WEEK COURSES
Monday – Wednesday (10 hours)
Wednesday – Friday (8.5 hours)
- Clinical Supervision: Skills for the Future (Course Code: WF-A)
- Recovery: Can Medications Help??? (Course Code: WF-C)
- Defining the Disease of Addiction: Disease vs. Choice – It Only Matters If You Care (Course Code: WF-E) [May be appropriate for some “newbies”]
MF-A 
An Introduction to Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, Treatment and Recovery (NEWBIE)
Coordinators/Presenters: James A. Neal, M.C.J. (West Columbia, S.C.) and James M. Wilson, MRC, NCAC II • S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services
Presenters: Patricia Edwards, LPC-S, Drug Court Clinical Director • 13th Judicial Circuit (Greenville, S.C.); James Campbell, CAC II, Child and Adolescent Services Manager • The Phoenix Academy (Greenville, S.C.); Jane Pressly, Larry Wiseburn, MSW, MAC, and Michael Laughlin, M.D. • Board Members of Faces and Voices of Recovery (FAVOR);
Audience: Individuals who have been in the alcohol and other drug field for less than one year or work in a related field and seek a basic understanding of problems caused by use of alcohol and other drugs and what works in prevention, treatment and recovery
Description: There is little debate that the problems caused by use of alcohol, nicotine and other drugs present health and safety issues to users and non-users. For those who are new to the field of substance abuse and whose work involves preventing these problems or working with individuals who are abusers or family of abusers, learning what works is critical.
Using multiple expert presenters, interactive dialogue and individual learning goals, this course is designed to provide participants with a basic understanding of the problems caused by use and what works in prevention, treatment and recovery.
NOTE: This course also requires attendance of one open self-help group meeting. Therefore, participants will earn 19.5 hours for completion of this course.
Participants will:
- gain an understanding of the scope and complexity of problems caused by use of alcohol and other drugs;
- gain an understanding of evidence-based prevention programs, policies and principles;
- learn “what works” in addictions treatment; and
- learn ways to support the process of recovery.
MF-B
Neurobiology: A Course for Addiction and Mental Health Clinicians (EXPERIENCED)
Presenter: Cardwell C. Nuckols, M.A., Ph.D.
Audience: Substance abuse and mental health counselors who are interested in exploring the mysteries of the brain and learning how an understanding of our “little gray cells” can enhance their ability to work with clients
Description: To be able to understand and utilize current research, a clinician needs some understanding of the brain and its complexity. In many ways the brain still remains a mystery; neuroimaging and other forms of research, however, have uncovered some of the story about how our brains operate. In this skills-training event, participants will learn about the various descriptions and regions of the brain and how these regions function and relate. From this understanding, the Clinician can better understand how wellness, psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy and spiritual tools aid in the recovery of their Clients.
Participants will:
- learn to improve client compliance by understanding the neurobiology of both the client’s condition and the need for following through on the intervention;
- understand the genetic and species-specific role of the unconscious brain and how it relates to addiction and trauma;
- learn the functions of the prefrontal cortex (orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus and Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and how delayed development is associated with many clinical problems (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, personality immaturity);
- understand relationships between many different neural areas that help us understand the “seeking” of reward, brain lateralization (right and left hemispheres) and formation of beliefs;
- better understand the therapeutic relationship and how “healing” involves right-hemisphere-to-right-hemisphere “resonance”; and
- more fully understand addiction and recovery as an integration of spiritual, physiological, psychological, behavioral and social phenomenon.
MW-A
Assessing and Treating Co-Morbid PTSD and SUD (NEWBIE)
Presenters: Kathleen T. Brady, M.D., Ph.D. • Medical University of South Carolina [MUSC] (Charleston, S.C.); Therese Killeen, Ph.D. • MUSC (Charleston, S.C.); Sudie Back, Ph.D. • MUSC (Charleston, S.C.); Susan Sonne, Pharm.D., BCPP • MUSC (Charleston, S.C.)
Audience: Clinicians who work with clients experiencing both Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
Description: One of the most commonly co-occurring conditions seen in substance abusing populations is PTSD. Individuals experiencing trauma and PTSD frequently use substances to medicate distressing symptoms that significantly impair major areas of life functioning. This course will train clinicians on the best strategies for assessing and monitoring PTSD symptoms. Some common beliefs regarding what, when and how treatment is delivered have been challenged, and recent research in the field of co-morbid PTSD and SUD has shed new light on treatment approaches that are safe and improve outcomes.
Research supporting both pharmacologic and psychosocial treatment approaches will be presented, and clinicians will be trained on several techniques used in these therapies to reduce anxiety. The need for specialized supervision is paramount when delivering exposure-based treatment approaches in order to ensure client safety and maximize treatment benefits. Supervision tools will be presented and discussed.
Participants will:
- demonstrate the administration of interview assessments used to diagnose PTSD;
- identify the different treatment approaches currently being used for the treatment of PTSD/SUD and the evidence that supports these treatments;
- recognize the need for specialized supervision that addresses fidelity issues and provides support for the clinician;
- demonstrate several anxiety-reducing techniques commonly used in therapy for PTSD/SUD; and
- describe the new challenges associated with special populations such as veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
MW-B
Integrating Stage-Wise Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment for Clients With Co-Occurring Disorders (EXPERIENCED)
Presenters: Jenny Bouknight, LISW-CP • S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services; Ramona Williams Carr, M.C.J. • S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department; Matthew Duggan, M.A., LPCI • Charleston Mental Health Center (Charleston, S.C.); Kisha T. Guess, M.A. • Waccamaw Center for Mental Health (Georgetown, S.C.); Debbie Nieri, M.S. • S.C. Department of Mental Health
Audience: Prevention and treatment professionals, with an emphasis on individuals who have worked in the prevention field for more than three years
Description: It has been recognized that 40% to 60% of clients seeking treatment have co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. In these economic times – and with a growing body of research to support integrated treatment – today’s practitioners need the tools and knowledge to provide effective care. This course will provide intermediate to advanced training in assessment, treatment planning, and application of evidence-based treatment approaches for counselors who provide therapy to persons living with co-occurring disorders.
Participants will:
- increase their understanding and therapeutic use of the “stages of change” and specific interventions to utilize in each stage of change;
- understand the assessment and therapeutic process of stage-wise treatment, with specific focus on how to design interventions and effective treatment plans to address co-occurring disorders;
- increase their knowledge and understanding of the therapeutic effectiveness of incorporating supportive employment activities within treatment programs; and
- increase their understanding of the barriers and benefits of incorporating integrated treatment and collaboration-building within treatment services for individuals with co-occurring disorders.
MW-C
Normal Childhood and Adolescent Development (NEWBIE)
Sponsored by the "No Wrong Door" Project of DAODAS and the S.C. Department of Mental Health
Presenter: Melanie Hendricks, LISW-CP, ACSW • Lexington County Community Mental Health Center
Audience: Professionals from the mental health, substance abuse, juvenile justice and social services systems, as well as local school districts
Description: The study of child and adolescent development is part of the larger field of Developmental Psychology, which, at its roots, focuses on all aspects of human development. From the biological standpoint, human development is the process of a human becoming biologically mature.
By the end of the 19th century, several important trends were preparing the way for the scientific study of child development. The argument of "nature vs. nurture," or the relative importance of inborn characteristics and external influences, was born. The discovery of germs and immunization made it possible for many more children to survive infancy. As child labor laws were enacted, children were allowed to spend more time in school, and parents and teachers became more concerned with identifying and meeting children's developmental needs. Psychology was a newly developed science that taught that people could understand themselves by learning what had influenced them as children. Today, we have learned from the expansive research in the field of Developmental Psychology the importance of the detailed study of development in order to fully comprehend human behavior. The study and understanding of childhood and adolescent development is a vital part of every practitioner's training when learning to manage and address issues affecting this population.
In this course, constructs of human development focusing on childhood and adolescence will be explored to further participants’ understanding of the impact of three major developmental domains on growth: 1) Physical Development (growth of the body and brain, sensory capacities, motor skills, health and well-being, hormonal and physiological changes; 2) Cognitive Development (change and stability in mental abilities such as learning, memory, language, thinking, moral reasoning, and creativity; 3) Psychosocial Development (change and stability in personality and social relationships).
Within these domains, topics will include the typical developmental crises faced by children and adolescents, impacts of parenting and environmental influences on development, and emotional/social/behavioral challenges that may alter the course of growth and development. At the end of this course, the participant will have an increased understanding of child and adolescent development constructs as they affect basic clinical care, while gaining a more thorough appreciation of the interplay between the clinical issues presented by our clients and the unresolved developmental crises from which they may originate.
Participants will:
- apply child-development principles to practice by recognizing and responding to children’s developmental differences;
- learn how to support positive parenting practices to foster age-appropriate child development and enhance parent-child rapport;
- demonstrate an understanding of common childhood stressors, effective coping mechanisms, and problems affecting development and mental health challenges in childhood and how to support the child’s social/emotional development;
- learn to identify a child’s disorder and intervene to ameliorate the presenting problem; and
- learn the impact of prenatal, parental substance use, and the youth’s substance abuse on child development.
MW-D
Treating Criminal Justice and Offender Populations (NEWBIE)
Presenter: Donna L. Johnson, CAS, ICADC, ICCJP, ICCDP, LADC • Addiction Solutions of Georgia Inc. (Cartersville, Ga.)
Audience: Professionals (all levels) who work with addicted criminal justice and offender populations
Description: Addiction and crime appear to have a causal relationship and each impacts the other. This course will provide information on how to treat this difficult population. Topics will include not only how to treat addictions, but also who to appropriately integrate criminal thinking as a process. Participants will also discuss criminogenic factors and how treatment professionals need to address these issues. In addition, there will be discussion of the treatment differences between an addicted offender who commits crimes to support his addiction and the antisocial personality who uses alcohol and other drugs.
This training will utilize a didactic approach along with PowerPoint presentations and group activities. The presenter will address issues related to clinical assessment, treatment screening, counseling services, and discharge and continuing care.
This training will benefit professionals working with mandated offenders and will offer evidence-based practices for treatment this population.
Participants will:
- understand addiction as it relates to offender populations;
- understand criminal thinking and criminogenic factors;
- understand brain chemistry and treatment models;
- receive an introduction to evidence-based approaches for treating mandated offenders and other offender populations; and
- understand the differences in working with offender populations.
MW-E
The Use of Humor in the Recovery Process (NEWBIE)
Presenter: Sandy Queen • Lifeworks Inc. (Columbia, Md.)
Audience: Substance abuse and mental health counselors, probation officers, and anyone who wishes to bring some lightness into the serious process of recovery
Description: Often we get so caught up in the seriousness of recovery that we forget that humor and laughter are integral parts of this important process – both for the client and the clinician. A major part of recovery is being able to appreciate the importance of humor, laughter and play, and to avoid becoming so bogged down in the seriousness of healing that we forget how to celebrate!
This course will help participants identify places in their practice and work where these important skills and tools can be used effectively and still maintain the clinical process. Learning approaches involved are lecture and group participation with lots of tools (read: toys!). If you have never explored the use of laughter and play in your work, this is the place to try it! Far from being “unprofessional,” this brings new possibilities to the treatment arena!
Sandy provides many hands-on tools and activities that are wonderfully easy to take back and use with your clients or organization.
Participants will:
- explore the methods of incorporating laughter and play into the clinical process;
- explore the nature of laughter and how it is integral in the therapeutic setting;
- examine the tools and techniques that are available;
- develop personal skills of utilization of activities and tools;
- effectively incorporate these skills into the clinical setting to create an atmosphere conducive to helping and healing; and
- most of all – celebrate!
MW-F
"Strengthening Families Program" (Ages 12-16) Training (NEWBIE)
Presenter: Representative of Lutra Group Inc. (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Audience: Substance abuse prevention professionals who wish to be trained as Strengthening Families Program (SFP) group leaders
Description: The Strengthening Families Program is a 14-session, evidence-based parenting skills, children's life skills, and family life skills training program specifically designed for high-risk families. Parents and children participate in SFP, both separately and together.
SFP sessions include all the critical core components of effective evidence-based parenting programs, including parent and child practice time in the family sessions where they learn positive interactions, communication, and effective discipline.
This course will train participants to deliver SFT with families of 12- to 16-year-olds.
For more information on SFP, visit www.strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org.
Participants will:
- learn about the conceptual basis and origins of SFP;
- understand the overall structure and operation of SFP;
- receive an overview of the parent, child and family curricula;
- receive simulation experience in delivering sessions from the parent, child and family courses;
- learn about recruiting and retaining families and decreasing attrition;
- understand how to administer evaluation instruments;
- understand how to deal with ethical and legal problems, handle crises, and provide referrals; and
- develop group-leading skills.
NOTES: This course is limited to 15 participants and is intended for agency teams of three to five staff members. Although classified as a Monday-Wednesday course, this course will actually end at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13. Therefore, participants will earn 8.5 hours for this course. On-campus participants who wish to leave on Tuesday after the course's conclusion may pay a reduced fee of $315.
WF-A
Clinical Supervision: Skills for the Future (EXPERIENCED)
Presenter: David J. Powell, Ph.D.• International Center for Health Concerns (Granby, Conn.)
Audience: All healthcare providers and substance abuse and mental health professionals who are working towards certification in clinical supervision
Description: The substance abuse and mental health fields are constantly changing. Staff need training in an array of issues, such as co-occurring disorders, working in a cost-driven world, and new legal and ethical standards and requirements. As training resources are often limited, clinical supervision becomes the cornerstone for staff development and quality assurance.
This course provides a foundation for supervision of personnel. Based on “The Blended Model of Clinical Supervision” published by the presenter in Clinical Supervision in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling, this course fulfills the training requirements for certification in clinical supervision of the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC).
This course is recommended for present and future supervisors. It is ideal for training of agency management staff.
Participants will:
Assessment and Evaluation
- provide the Powell definition and their own definition of clinical supervision;
- demonstrate five intervention skills including facilitative, confrontive, conceptual, prescriptive and catalytic comments;
- demonstrate knowledge of at least three indirect and three direct methods of observation and the advantages and disadvantages of each method; and
- differentiate between case management and clinical supervision.
Counselor Development
- define the four foci of clinical supervision according to the Powell definition;
- define five characteristics of each of the three stages of counselor development;
- define at least three characteristics of each stage of supervisor development;
- determine their own stages of counselor and supervisory development;
- describe at characteristics of at least three of the Descriptive Dimensions;
- define isomorphism and its relationship to the clinical supervisory process; and
- define transference and counter-transference and their relevance to clinical supervision.
Professional Responsibility
- define two clinical supervision credentialing organizations and their requirements;
- describe at least four of the ICRC requirements to be a clinical supervisor;
- describe two legal and ethical issues in clinical supervision;
- define vicarious liability in supervision; and
- identify at least four authors who have written extensively in the area of supervision.
Management and Administration
- define five models of supervision, including the Structural/Strategic, Interpersonal Process Recall, Conflict, Bowenian, and Psychotherapeutic Psychodynamic models;
- define at least three components of the Powell Blended Model of Supervision; and
- begin to define their own models of supervision.
WF-B
Implementing Rapid HIV Testing in an Addictions Treatment Setting (NEWBIE)
Presenter: Louise Haynes, MSW, National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network [NIDA CTN] (Charleston, S.C.) • Beverly Holmes, MSW, LRADAC (Columbia, S.C.) • Ed Johnson, CAC II, MAC, LPC, Southeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center (Atlanta, Ga.)
Audience: Staff of substance abuse treatment agencies that wish to implement HIV testing
Description: Prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS among drug users continue to be a challenge for addictions professionals. Scientifically validated interventions have been developed to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS among substance users. Yet implementing those interventions requires staff training and, until now, that training has not been easily accessible. This is a skill-building course to prepare addictions professionals to provide HIV risk-reduction counseling and conduct on-site rapid HIV testing for clients in addictions treatment. The course, which will be team-taught by staff from the NIDA Clinical Trials Network, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the Southeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center, is designed to give participants the knowledge and skills to implement a testing program in their local treatment programs.
Participants will:
- increase their knowledge of HIV, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases;
- improve their ability to communicate with clients about the interface between HIV risk behaviors and substance abuse;
- learn to conduct the RESPECT 2 HIV risk-reduction counseling model;
- learn to conduct HIV rapid tests;
- become familiar with South Carolina laws and reporting requirements for HIV test results; and
- review a model manual of Standard Operating Procedures for conducting HIV testing and counseling in substance abuse treatment programs.
WF-C
Recovery: Can Medications Help??? (EXPERIENCED)
Presenters: Albert Hasson, MSW • David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California – Los Angeles; Louise Haynes, MSW • National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (Charleston, S.C.)
Audience: Counselors and treatment directors
Description: In the addictions field, there continue to be differences of opinion regarding the ethics and value of using medication for the treatment of substance abuse. This course is designed to inform counselors about current pharmacotherapies and to facilitate discussion on the use of medications in augmenting quality treatment.
Participants will:
- understand the disease concept of addiction as it relates to neurobiology;
- understand the use of pharmacotherapy in combination with behavioral therapies;
- be introduced to pharmacotherapies currently available for use in addiction treatment, including buprenorphine, naltrexone and acamprosate, as well as medications under development; and
- identify and discuss barriers to using pharmacotherapies in their practice settings and possible strategies to overcome these barriers.
WF-D
Intercultural Competence Framework: The Practitioner, The Consumer & The Agency (NEWBIE)
Sponsored by the "No Wrong Door" Project of DAODAS and the S.C. Department of Mental Health
Presenter: David Michael, M.A., LPC • S.C. Department of Mental Health (Columbia, S.C.)
Audience: Professionals from the mental health, substance abuse, juvenile justice and social services systems, as well as local school districts
Description: Participants will come to understand culture in terms of the many variables that define it. A major focus will be on cultural adjustment and how our clients may be affected as they attempt to acculturate. The presenter will define levels of cultural adjustment as well as how specific cultures may respond to these transitions. Specific techniques will be provided for use in the area of cultural competence and counseling. The course will address resources for meeting the needs of clients who may require assistance navigating South Carolina's human services systems.
Participants will:
- understand culture in terms of the variables that define it;
- recognize the levels of cultural adjustment;
- acquire specific techniques in the area of cultural competence and counseling; and
- learn about resources for meeting the needs of clients who require assistance navigating the state's mental health, substance abuse and other human services systems.
WF-E
Defining the Disease of Addiction: Disease vs. Choice – It Only Matters If You Care (EXPERIENCED)
Presenter: Jeffrey M. Georgi, M.Div., M.A.H., CCAS, LPC, CGP• Georgi Education & Counseling Services (Durham, N.C.)
Audience: Professionals who work in the substance abuse field
Description: For many years the scientific community has been clear that a diagnosis of alcohol and/or other drug dependency meets the same criteria as asthma, diabetes, and Alzheimer's in terms of its definition as a disease. All the above are chronic and incurable, yet treatable. All have biological, psychological, social and spiritual variables that conspire to express the disease within the lives of the afflicted. Unfortunately the medical community, the general public and the treatment community have continued to confuse what we loosely term as "addiction" with poorly placed choices or failures of character. Such a position is not only ill founded but dangerous.
Only 50 years ago, it was generally believed that asthma was caused in large measure by overprotective mothers. As absurd as this position seems today, it made the appropriate treatment of asthma difficult and led to unnecessary guilt and shame. To misunderstand the complexity of substance use dependency as anything other than a disease leads to inappropriate treatment, misplaced interventions, public stereotyping and unnecessary mortality.
NOTE: This course will expand on the material covered during Jeff Georgi's Wednesday plenary of the same title.
Participants will:
- identify how alcohol and/or other drug dependency is misconstrued by the treatment community;
- review the science that challenges a cognitive frame as the dominant intervention for alcohol and/or other drug dependency; and
- examine the potential stigma and its impact in addressing substance use disorders as volitional anomalies.