Upcoming Events

This one-hour training is intended to provide an overview of stimulant use disorders. Topics include stigma, pharmacology, and physiology of methamphetamines and cocaine, identifying stimulant overdose (overamping), managing acute stimulant intoxication, de-escalation techniques, and evidence-based treatment for people with stimulant use disorders.

Intended audience

Medical providers, nurses, social workers, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors (LADC), Certified Alcohol/Drug Counselors (CADC), Community Health Workers (CHW), recovery coaches, counselors, Licensed Mental health Counselors (LMHC), and members of the community.

Speakers

Justin Alves, MSN, FNP-BC, ACRN, CARN, CNE (he/him)

Justin is a clinical nurse educator with Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance, where he contributes to peer-reviewed publications, evidence-based clinical guidelines, development and delivery of continuing education programs, and other resources for providers supporting patients with substance use disorders. Justin is also a nurse practitioner at Boston Medical Center and the nursing director of two housing first programs operated by the Justice Resource Institute, Inc. He has expertise in infectious diseases and their co-occurrence with substance use disorders, community outreach, and harm reduction. Justin's work in HIV/AIDS includes being president of the Boston Chapter of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, consulting for the New England AIDS Education Training Center, and other positions. He currently sits on the stimulant work group for the Opioid Response Network (ORN), the advisory board of the New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and the item writing committee for the Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB). Justin received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Northeastern University in 2013, his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2020, and his Post-Master's Family Nurse Practitioner certificate from the University of Massachusetts-Boston in 2023. He also holds certification as a Certified Addiction Registered Nurse (CARN) through the Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB), certification as an AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (ACRN) through the HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board (HANCB), and is a certified nurse educator (CNE) through the National League of Nursing.

Objectives

1. Understand the role of psychostimulants in the overdose epidemic and recognize population disparities.
2. Recognize signs of stimulant intoxication, overdose (overamping), and withdrawal.
3. Identify evidence-based interventions for acute stimulant intoxication and post-acute care for stimulant use disorder.
4. Describe the basic principles of de-escalation to promote safety for patients with active stimulant use and their caregivers. 
5. Identify health risks associated with stimulant use and how to apply harm reduction interventions.

Sponsored by

Boston Medical Center Grayken Center for Addiction TTA, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (DPH/BSAS), Opioid Response Network (ORN)

Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI083343 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Accreditation information

REQUIREMENTS for credit

1. Register for training.
2. Arrive/log into the training no more than 10 minutes after designated start time for program.
3. Identify yourself by typing your full name into the chat and ensuring your zoom name matches that used to register for training (or you cannot be marked on attendance).
4. Be present through the end of the activity (i.e. until the designated end time of training).
5. Complete evaluation within 2 weeks of program completion.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" We often ask young people to think about their futures, but the world we're asking them to think about living in is changing quickly. From screen time to social media to emerging substance use trends to being trauma-informed, preventionists have to stay up to date on the health of young people- so have you thought about climate change? Climate change is on the minds of upwards of 80% of young people, making it a standout issue. Increased stressors on communities, families, and individuals can mean increased mental health challenges, as well as other public health concerns, and people and communities will have different abilities to adapt to these changes depending on a host of socioeconomic factors. This training is designed as a conversation to help you begin to be climate-informed about these issues and more, so these subjects are familiar to you when bolstering youth and community resiliency, and helping young people find hopeful answers to the question, "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Meetings, do we need them? How do we make them meaningful?

In the field of prevention, we often have the responsibility of facilitating meetings. We use meetings to bring community partners together, to coordinate work, to create buy-in, and to facilitate community change, but most of us facilitate meetings without training on how to organize and run effective meetings.

How do we get people to the table, and once there get (and keep) them engaged? How can we make the most of our time together and ensure everyone feels their time was honored and well-spent?

Join us for this interactive, 3-hour workshop, where participants will learn practical skills to plan and facilitate effective meetings.

Learning Objectives

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Articulate the cost and value of meetings
• Develop an attendance strategy, create a strong agenda, select an effective format, define roles, and manage logistics
• Prevent uh-ohs in advance and avoid meeting disasters
• Encourage meaningful participation and collaboration
• Conduct effective post-meeting follow up and foster ongoing engagement

Presenters:

Jamie Comstock and Robin Carr of Info Inspired. Jamie Comstock and Robin Carr founded Info Inspired in 2014. Both are certified prevention specialists with over 30 years of combined experience in the field. Outside of their work on Info Inspired, Jamie is the Health Promotion Program Manager and Robin is the Substance Use Prevention Coordinator for Bangor Public Health and Community Services in Bangor, Maine.

There is growing concern among prevention specialists and public health officials regarding older adults and substance use, misuse, and increasing substance use disorders. Substance use in older adults is complicated and is often overlooked, especially when individuals are experiencing other aging related health conditions. While the number of older adults experiencing substance use disorders dramatically increased in the last 20 years, prevention services have not been tailored to the needs of older adults. This webinar will highlight the growing problem, approaches to understanding the older adult population in your community, and available strategies. Additionally, we will hear directly from preventionists who are implementing programming with this population.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Describe how to assess the prevention needs of older adults in your community.
• Identify strategies to prevent substance misuse and promote the health and well-being of older adults.
• Understand approaches and barriers to engaging older adults in prevention efforts.
• Develop new partnerships that can work across sectors to engage older adults.

CERTIFICATES:

Registrants who fully attend this event or training will receive a certificate of attendance via email within two weeks after the event or training.

Racism is a social and moral crisis, as well as a public health threat. In addition to causing direct physical damage, racism is embodied covertly through social, behavioral, and psychobiological mechanisms. In this talk, Dr. Chae posits a social-ecological and developmental framework to examine how racism shapes disease vulnerability. He will discuss his research on multiple levels of racism and the channels through which it compromises health, as well as next steps in anti-racism research.

This is the fifth of six highly interactive sessions focused on taking a deep dive into principles of the code of ethics for substance misuse prevention specialists. The focus of this session will be on the principle of Confidentiality and how to apply it to the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). After a short presentation participants will work together in small groups to look at how this principle can be applied to the SPF.

This prevention ethics series is for substance misuse prevention practitioners that have already completed a Foundations in Prevention Ethics training. If you would like to attend this series but have not yet completed the prevention ethics foundation course, complete the free, self-paced, online prevention ethics course on HealtheKnowledge before attending this ethics series.

Important notes: In order to receive a certificate of attendance for this training, participants are required to actively participate and be on camera. Participants will be allowed into trainings up to 10 minutes after the start of the session. After that time, no new attendees will be accepted into the session because the group will have moved into breakout rooms.

Visit the series landing page for information and registration links for the other sessions in the series.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Heighten understanding and daily implementation of the code of ethics for prevention specialists
• Better understand how the prevention code of ethics applies to the Strategic Prevention Framework

CERTIFICATES:

Registrants who fully attend this event or training will receive a certificate of attendance via email within two weeks after the event or training.

Many of our communities and organizations are seeking to understand how stigma, discrimination and racism interact within our systems and personal behaviors, and distort individual and public health outcomes. This has created a focus on Implicit Bias and Diversity and Inclusion trainings. However, the research shows us that spotting unconscious bias in your own mind, in the moment, is almost impossible. So, how do we change our biases and our behaviors? Join us to explore and challenge implicit bias by working with the architecture of the brain, not against it. This training is for a general audience, which may include local and state government agencies, mental health and substance use treatment providers, and nonclinical organizations that wish to expand their TIROES knowledge. Each participant will receive a certificate of completion after the training. This training is $90 per participant.

Learning Objectives: 1) Understand the neuroscience behind cognitive bias and its impact on individuals and teams. 2) Recognize where organizational missteps happen when attempting to roll out cognitive bias mitigation. 3) Learn practical science-based approaches to hack your brain’s biased perceptions.

Description: The training team will present an interactive program that integrates best practices and principles regarding training for cultural humility (Fisher-Bourne, Cain and Martin, 2015; Betancourt, Green and Carrillo, 2016), while communicating essential knowledge and nuanced understanding regarding Native communities in Massachusetts.

The workshop will include the following elements:

1. Introductions with icebreakers designed to highlight participants’ experiences of cultural identity and diversity;
2. Discussion of concepts of cultural competence and cultural humility, including, for example, best practice principles delineated by the organization “Culturally Connected” https://culturallyconnected.ca/skills/adopting-cultural-humility-in-practice/: 
3. Maintain lifelong learning and cultural curiosity by asking questions of Native persons and colleagues and consciously seeking out opportunities to learn about other cultures, e.g. through films, books, studying languages, etc.
4. Engage in continuous self-reflection about one’s own personal history, biases, assumptions and experiences;
5. Become comfortable with ‘not knowing’ and be open to learning from Native persons and their experiences; and
6. Recognize there may be power/privilege dynamics, and  relate to Native persons in ways that help bridge the distance that may be caused by real and perceived differences in status. Pair and small-group exercises will help participants personally reflect on these concepts and how they apply to their work.
7. Overview of the Massachusetts Native American community, including history, demographics, cultural strengths, and challenges, including discussion of substance misuse issues;
8. Discussion of lessons learned/ best practices for working with Native communities, including Native-focused substance misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and
9. Small group exercise focused on applying learnings from the workshop to hands-on prevention and treatment practices;

Objectives: Upon Completion of this training, the participants will (be able to):

• Participants will increase their knowledge of Massachusetts Native communities and their challenges in regard to substance misuse. 
• Participants will gain an understanding of best practices for working with Native communities and patients effectively.
• Participants will gain greater understanding of the key concepts of cultural humility and cultural competence. 
• Participants will gain experience applying concepts of cultural humility and cultural competence to working with Native communities and patients. 
• Participants will gain experience applying specific knowledge and increased understanding of Massachusetts Native peoples to their work with Native communities and patients.

Description: Looking for a more proactive and supportive way to talk about substance use with your youth participants?

Join us for an interactive virtual training focused on identifying and addressing substance use among youth, ages 12+. This training will introduce participants to the practice of SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment, an evidence-based approach.

SBIRT allows providers to quickly identify individuals with unhealthy substance use and initiate productive conversations focused on harm reduction. In this training, you’ll learn each step of the SBIRT process, become familiar with the CRAFFT+N screening tool, and practice skills and strategies to discuss substance use with youth.

This training will be interactive, with time to observe, practice, and debrief concepts through varied learning activities. Because we will be using breakout rooms, we hope participants will be open to actively participating from an individual computer with audio and video capability.

At the conclusion of this training, participants will be able to:

• Describe the intent of each component in the SBIRT process
• Demonstrate utilization of the CRAFFT+N to screen youth for substance use
• Apply a brief intervention method outlined in the training to a conversation about substance use
• Give an example of a substance use resource available in Massachusetts for youth and young adults who may need further assessment or an external referral

Target Audience: Youth serving providers, including clinical and non-clinical providers. This training was designed to meet the substance use screening requirement for Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative providers, but all youth-serving medical and behavioral health providers are welcome!

Can’t attend this session? We are offering additional dates below to better suit your schedule:

• January 19, 2024 9am-12pm
• February 27, 2024 1pm-4pm
• March 15, 2024 9am-12pm
• April 11, 2024 1pm-4pm
• May 8, 2024 9am-12pm
• June 18, 2024 1pm-4pm

Training Description:

Introduction to Transgender & Gender Expansive Communities” provides foundational knowledge and context of transgender and gender expansive identities and experiences. With presentation of information and vocabulary, collaborative discussions, and actionable skill building, attendees will gain basal understanding of gender diversity and transgender experiences.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Learners will apply understanding of lived inequities related to public health, substance use, and wellness that transgender and gender diverse people face in their practice in order to better serve Trans & Gender Expansive communities.
• Learners will use their knowledge of appropriate and compassionate to better communicate with transgender and gender expansive communities.
• Learners will utilize their skills when sharing or asking for pronouns.
• Learners will dispel common myths and misconceptions about transgender experience when serving these communities.

Training Description:

This training provides an overview of the disease of addiction, key issues to be aware of when working with youth and young adults struggling with substance use, and how best to support young people in recovery and their families.

We will review key risk factors for the development of youth substance use disorders, including early onset, trauma, co-occurring mental health issues, genetics, and environmental factors. We will look at trends of use and how best to intervene through screening, assessment, and referral to treatment. Best practices for engaging youth in treatment will be emphasized (e.g. Motivational Interviewing). This training will also review the different levels of care currently available in Massachusetts, licensed by the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS)/Office of Youth and Young Adult Services, including detox/stabilization, residential treatment, recovery high schools, outpatient services, etc. Family recovery supports and peer recovery supports will also be identified.

This training is aimed towards anyone working with youth and young adults; prior knowledge is not required.

Objectives: Participants will be able to...

• Identify the key risk factors for addiction, including early onset of use, trauma, and mental health issues.
• Discover the key neurological processes during adolescence and how substances can change neural pathways and lead to addiction.
• Identify evidence-based tools to assess youth substance use (e.g. CRAFFT).
• Identify evidence-based practices to engage youth and young adults in substance use treatment (e.g. Motivational Interviewing).
• Classify the BSAS continuum of care (licensed treatment) for youth and young adults in Massachusetts, peer recovery supports, and key family recovery resources.

The 20th anniversary of the Alcohol Policy Conference series will bring together experts, policymakers, and advocates from around the world to delve into the latest research, innovative strategies, and actionable solutions in the field of alcohol policy.

Recent studies show a dramatic increase in drug overdose deaths among American teenagers as fentanyl contamination becomes more prevalent in drugs used by young people. Young people are very receptive to harm reduction, and do not respond well to “just say no” or abstinence only approaches to substance use prevention. Despite this, youth programming does not tend to embrace harm reduction or discuss harm reduction strategies with young people. In Boston, there are stories of a lack of access to treatment, harm reduction, and recovery.  This 3-hour training aims to equip service providers, youth workers, and other serving youth and working in substance use and/or harm reduction with practical skills related to positive youth development, motivational interviewing, and thinking about how they can incorporate more harm reduction messaging and approaches into their work with young people. 

Learning Objectives:

• Define and link the concepts of adultism, youth development, and harm reduction 
• Understand the impact of the War on Drugs on youth and current drug policy  
• Practice 1-2 strategies of motivational interviewing for talking to young people about substance use 
• Gain skills to rewrite policies to be more inclusive of harm reduction when working with youth 

Is your organization ready to engage young people in your prevention work? Could the framework of social justice youth development add to your planned or existing work with and for youth? This 2-part series builds on highly attended and well-received previous webinars hosted by the Southeast PTTC and responds to requests for additional practice-oriented and interactive content.

In the second workshop, we invite participants to learn more about the social justice youth development framework and we will focus on how to identify and address unequal distributions of power in youth-adult relationships. The workshop will close with reflection and discussion, tailored to participants’ own level of youth engagement identified through a pre-survey, about how to engage in practices that enhance authentic collaboration between youth and adults and to apply concepts to their own contexts to deepen commitment to youth voice.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the five core elements of social justice youth development
• Identify unequal distributions of power in youth-adult relationships
• Identify at least one practice approach to enhance youth-adult collaboration

Faces & Voices of Recovery invites the recovery community to a FREE virtual training sponsored by the Opioid Response Network.

Participants will be introduced to the principles of harm reduction and given the basic skills to help individuals understand the spectrum of positive and negative effects of drugs, process addictions and compulsive behaviors and their impact. Skills and techniques will be practiced through role-play, examples, and peer feedback including attainable goal progression, treatment readiness, motivational change, and maintenance of behavior change. A special section will concentrate on Medicated Assisted Treatment as a pathway of recovery.

We have all heard it before: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! However, in today’s busy world, it is challenging to create and execute a plan flawlessly; things can and will go wrong. This means that it is exceedingly important to have an effective project management plan and process in place. A prevention organization’s project management process helps your team define roles and responsibilities and ensures no one gets burned out from taking on too many tasks. It is also easy to lose sight of how much money has been spent when we are busy spinning our wheels. A sound project management process will keep track of all expenses, making sure you know where the money is going. During this 3-hour training, tips for effective project management will be shared to provide you with the knowledge and a step-by-step guide to move your projects from start to finish.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define what project management is and why it is important to prevention organizations.
• Describe the 5 phases of the project management life cycle.
• Explain what makes a project successful and what can lead to project failures.

CERTIFICATES

Registrants who fully attend this event or training will receive a certificate of attendance via email within two weeks after the event or training.

Introduction to Transgender & Gender Expansive Communities” provides foundational knowledge and context of transgender and gender expansive identities and experiences. With presentation of information and vocabulary, collaborative discussions, and actionable skill building, attendees will gain basal understanding of gender diversity and transgender experiences.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Learners will apply understanding of lived inequities related to public health, substance use, and wellness that transgender and gender diverse people face in their practice in order to better serve Trans & Gender Expansive communities.
• Learners will use their knowledge of appropriate and compassionate to better communicate with transgender and gender expansive communities.
• Learners will utilize their skills when sharing or asking for pronouns.
• Learners will dispel common myths and misconceptions about transgender experience when serving these communities.

The New England School of Addiction and Prevention Studies, commonly called Summer School, is an intensive 4-day learning experience to further knowledge, skills, and experience in the field of substance use disorder services. For over 55 years, participants from many disciplines have come together to form a unique, diverse learning community.
This year will be our second hybrid year, with options to attend the program in person in Worcester or to attend the program virtually!

We are delighted to return to Worcester State University for a face-to-face program.

Due to the continued strong demand for intensive Summer School programming online, we are happy to also offer a live virtual program.

• Select from many intensive courses from across the continuum of treatment, prevention, and recovery.
• Virtual courses will take place live by videoconference, allowing for course group work and interaction.
• In addition to courses: plenary sessions, community, and more!
• Options are available to attend the full program, or any number of days.
• Earn 26 Contact Hours during the week.

Courses are designed for the extensive demands of today's professionals and organizations:

• Certification, licensing, and re-credentialing;
• Evidence-based practices;
• Addressing health disparities and equity issues;
• Behavioral healthcare and primary care integration;
• Recovery oriented care across the continuum;
• Addressing the opioid crisis, stimulants, and other current drug trends;
• And many other current and emerging topics!

Partial New England State Scholarships are available from most New England states. Application coming soon!

Complete course information, registration, and scholarship information will be posted to this website in March. Click here to sign up for the Email List.

Please contact AdCare New England with any questions at 207-621-2549 or neias@neias.org.

Looking for a more proactive and supportive way to talk about substance use with your youth participants?

Join us for an interactive virtual training focused on identifying and addressing substance use among youth, ages 12+. This training will introduce participants to the practice of SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment, an evidence-based approach.

SBIRT allows providers to quickly identify individuals with unhealthy substance use and initiate productive conversations focused on harm reduction. In this training, you’ll learn each step of the SBIRT process, become familiar with the CRAFFT+N screening tool, and practice skills and strategies to discuss substance use with youth.

This training will be interactive, with time to observe, practice, and debrief concepts through varied learning activities. Because we will be using breakout rooms, we hope participants will be open to actively participating from an individual computer with audio and video capability.

At the conclusion of this training, participants will be able to:

• Describe the intent of each component in the SBIRT process
• Demonstrate utilization of the CRAFFT+N to screen youth for substance use
• Apply a brief intervention method outlined in the training to a conversation about substance use
• Give an example of a substance use resource available in Massachusetts for youth and young adults who may need further assessment or an external referral

Target Audience: Youth serving providers, including clinical and non-clinical providers. This training was designed to meet the substance use screening requirement for Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative providers, but all youth-serving medical and behavioral health providers are welcome!

Can’t attend this session? We are offering additional dates below to better suit your schedule:

• January 19, 2024 9am-12pm
• February 27, 2024 1pm-4pm
• March 15, 2024 9am-12pm
• April 11, 2024 1pm-4pm
• May 8, 2024 9am-12pm
• June 18, 2024 1pm-4pm

This 1.5-hour webinar will introduce substance misuse prevention professionals to the basics of media literacy. Media literacy education provides the tools necessary to analyze and understand the impact of media on our everyday decision making.  Participants will identify different types of media and practice analyzation strategies and skills.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Define media literacy and explain the importance of being media literate.
• Analyze several types of media.
• Teach media literacy basics to middle school and high school aged individuals.

CERTIFICATES:

Registrants who fully attend this event or training will receive a certificate of attendance via email within two weeks after the event or training.