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36th South Carolina School of Alcohol and Other Drug Studies

PLENARY SESSIONS

This year's School will offer six one-hour plenary sessions. (Click on the links below to read full descriptions of each session.)

“Fighting Winged Monkeys”: Stay Focused on Your Purpose
Sunday, July 11, 2010 • 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Hartness Pavillion • Charles E. Daniel Dining Hall

Marc Fomby • FTC Prevention Services
(Richland, Miss.)

This enthusiastic presentation encourages the rejuvenation of mind, body and spirit with a focus on PASSION and DESIRE being vital for successful outcomes in the “helping field.” Through a very creative technique, providers and caregivers will gain inspiration and/or knowledge about how imperative constant renewal of their commitment is to their role. Emphasis on the importance of self-maintenance, redirection and battling one’s own obstacles and barriers common to the field promotes self-exploration and self-awareness, which generates genuine trust with clients. Individuals will REFLECT and REMEMBER why they do what they do!

Marc Fomby, a professional trainer and motivational speaker with more than 19 years of experience, has entertained and informed audiences throughout the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Marc also brings 10 years of law enforcement experience and program development, as well as seven years as a Prevention Services Coordinator for a private non-profit organization in Mississippi. He specializes in youth development and trainings that directly affect issues concerning today's young people. Marc is a certified HIV/AIDS instructor through the American Red Cross, a certified Prevention Specialist, and an approved and certified consultant for hte federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. In December 2008, Marc was invited to New York to present information on gangs to Oprah Winfrey and Susan Taylor (former editor in chief for Essence magazine) before the kickoff of the national CARES mentoring movement.

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Medication Management in Co-Occurring Disorders
Monday, July 12, 2010 • 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Watkins Room • University Center

John Roberts, M.D. • Pavillon (Mill Spring, N.C.)

Dr. Roberts will discuss the prevalence and diagnosis of psychiatric and co-morbid substance abuse disorders. A review of the recent literature will illustrate the risks, benefits and efficacy of various medications in the treatment of co-occurring disorders. This presentation will familiarize attendees with the processes for identifying rates of co-morbidity in patients with substance abuse and psychiatric disorders; identifying and diagnosing co-occurring disorders; and identifying medication options for substance abuse patients with co-occurring disorders.

John Roberts, M.D., serves full time as the Addiction Psychiatrist for Pavillon, where he assists in diagnosing and treating co-occurring psychiatric and substance abuse disorders in a residential and outpatient setting. He recently returned to Pavillon with almost 20 years of experience as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina. While at MUSC, Dr. Roberts was the attending physician for the dual-diagnosis inpatient unit and was the director of the clinical outpatient division for the Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs. He received his doctor of medicine degree from Louisiana State University and completed his psychiatric residency – as well as fellowships in substance abuse and anxiety disorders – at MUSC. Dr. Roberts is board certified in psychiatry and has lectured throughout the Southeast on substance abuse and psychiatric disorders.

Title TBA
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 • 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Watkins Room • University Center

Sandy Queen • Lifeworks Inc. (Columbia, Md.)

Sandy Queen helps people take a better look at their lives through humor, laughter and play. She has developed many innovative programs in the areas of stress reduction, humor, children’s wellness and self-esteem. Sandy is known throughout the United States, Canada and Australia as a dynamic lecturer, humorist and educator, with a special focus on children and those who work with children, but most importantly, a focus on the child within each of us.

Defining the Disease of Addiction: Disease vs. Choice – It Only Matters If You Care
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 • 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Watkins Room • University Center

Jeffrey M. Georgi, M.Div., M.A.H., CCAS, LPC, CGP • Georgi Education & Counseling Services (Durham, N.C.)

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, diabete, 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. To misunderstand the complexity of substance use dependency leads to inappropriate treatment, misplaced interventions, public stereotyping and unnecessary mortality.

Jeff Georgi has served as the clinical director of the Duke University Addictions Program and Intervention Program. He received his B.A. degree from Duke and his M.Div. degree in Pastoral Psychology from the Duke Divinity School and The Philadelphia Divinity School. Jeff completed an Internship and Residency program in Pastoral Counseling at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical Center and a master's degree in Allied Health at Duke University. He is a licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist, a Certified Clinical Supervisor, a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Group Psychotherapist by the American Association of Group Psychotherapy. During his more than two decades at the Medical Center, Jeff held clinical appointments in the Departments of Surgery, Obstetrics, and Psychiatry. He remains a clinical associate in the Department of Behavioral Medicine as well as a faculty member of the Duke University School of Nursing. He has also served as the Director of Psychological Services for the Rice Diet Program in Durham, N.C., where Jeff applies a model of substance abuse treatment to patients with significant dysregulated© or compulsive eating disorders. Although primarily known for his work in the field of addictions with adolescents, adults and families, Jeff is also a national trainer and respected author in the areas of The Spiritual Platform™, a form of clinical spirituality; ethics; and the clinical application of our understanding of the adolescent brain, its development and vulnerability.

Y'uns From Around Here, Are Ye?
Thursday, July 15, 2010 • 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Watkins Room • University Center

Al Greene, CCS, LCAS • Appalachian State University [Professor Emeritus] (Winston-Salem, N.C.)

We will discuss the salient aspects of Southern Appalachian culture, including similarities with the culture of the rural south. Focus will be given to the impact of the culture on alcohol and other drug usage patterns and on our clients and their families. Practical suggestions for effectively working with these clients will be stressed. We'll also have some fun.

Al Greene, CCS, LCAS, has been a substance abuse therapist, educator and trainer for more than 40 years, serving as a clinical consultant and trainer for numerous programs at the regional, state and national levels. He is a Professor Emeritus at Appalachian State University, where he developed the master's-level curriculum in Addictions Counseling and implemented the Counseling Services for Faculty and Staff in 1975, serving as a clinician until 2004. He was twice a recipient of the Order of the Longleaf Pine and has been honored as the North Carolina Addictions Professional of the year. Al believes in a wholistic, individualized treatment approach with every client and is ever mindful and in awe of the miracle of recovery.

You Gotta Have Heart: Being Present to Pain
Friday, July 16, 2010 • 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Watkins Room • University Center

David J. Powell, Ph.D. • International Center for Health Concerns (Granby, Conn.)

After 100 years of psychotherapy, why are we still so messed up? This presentation examines that question, especially what we have learned from the three eras of medicine and psychology. It looks at the relationships between the brain, the heart and the spirit. It focuses on mindfulness and presence, and the importance of relationship in counseling, seeking as well to incorporate evidence-based practices. It answers the question “What brings change in counseling” and concludes with a view of therapy as a spiritual journey, helping people not only understand “how” to live, but also “why.”

David J. Powell, Ph.D., is President of the International Center for Health Concerns (ICHC), and is currently assisting in developing 12-Step programs and treatment centers in China, Turkey and Nepal. His seven books on health care and substance abuse are major texts in the field. Dr. Powell’s book, Clinical Supervision in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling, is considered the primary book on that subject in the substance abuse field. His latest book is titled Playing Life’s Second Half: A Man’s Guide to Moving from Success to Significance. Dr. Powell holds four master’s degrees – including degrees in psychology, counseling, Islamic Studies and medical ethics – and was a resident graduate at Harvard University. He holds a doctoral degree in counseling and psychology. Dr. Powell is a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, and Diplomat in the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine and Psychotherapy. He has lectured in all 50 states and traveled to more than 80 countries.