Addictions

"I really enjoyed Dr. McDuff's presentation style and was impressed with the clarity of his explanations."-Larry D., Psychologist, New Mexico 

Substance abuse is one of the most common clinical problems of patients who present for treatment.  These patients struggle with a life threatening, clinically complex problem that is subject to a variety of physiological and psychological factors.  This webinar will focus on treating people plagued by complex additions issues.  You will learn about the risk and protective factors related to addiction.  There will also be useful suggestions for assessing and treating addicted patients.  Adolescent addiction will be discussed.  There will also be material on motivational interviewing and effective stress control.

“Excellent, the Professor is an expert in the field and answered my many questions. Could not be improved..”-Eric B., Licensed Professional Counselor, New York

It is estimated that roughly 80% of clients who enter treatment are ambivalent about changing their behavior. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an intentional, client centered approach for facilitating increases in motivation for behavior change by assisting clients in exploring and resolving ambivalence. MI, as a counseling style, has been shown to be effective with a wide variety of problem behaviors such as substance abuse, adopting healthy behaviors (eating, exercise), treatment adherence and compliance, and other psychological problems. Thus, mental health workers from various backgrounds practicing in a variety of settings are beginning to integrate MI into their clinical repertoire. 

This introduction to MI will acquaint the audience with basic concepts and methods of MI. As such participants will be exposed to the foundational concepts including the “spirit,” principles and processes of MI that can be integrated with one’s approach to counseling and psychotherapy. Building on this foundation the foundational philosophy and active principles will be discussed with emphasis on MI’s unique focus on increasing change talk and reducing talk maintaining the status quo. The webinar will conclude with a brief overview of the evidence base for MI. 

“Excellent presentation. Presenter was very knowledgeable and thorough. No improvements needed.”-Bruce G., Counselor, Illinois

The biology of reward has been well-studied and is linked to numerous mental health diagnoses. Researchers identified an anomaly in this reward cascade called Reward Deficiency Syndrome or RDS. This anomaly and its impact on psychotherapy are less evident in psychological literature, yet it provides useful knowledge in one of the most prevalent and challenging of all mental health disorders…addiction. This seminar will help you understand the cascade theory of reward and provide you with working knowledge of RDS. You will be able to talk about how RDS affects the brain, what research has found regarding the impact of RDS, as well as discuss a model of therapy that considers highly this biological aspect of mental illness. The focus of this seminar is biopsychological and psychopharmaocological in nature.

"I really enjoyed Dr. McDuff's presentation style and was impressed with the clarity of his explanations."-Larry D., Psychologist, New Mexico 

Substance abuse is one of the most common clinical problems of patients who present for treatment.  These patients struggle with a life threatening, clinically complex problem that is subject to a variety of physiological and psychological factors.  This webinar will focus on treating people plagued by complex additions issues.  You will learn about the risk and protective factors related to addiction.  There will also be useful suggestions for assessing and treating addicted patients.  Adolescent addiction will be discussed.  There will also be material on motivational interviewing and effective stress control.

Motivational interviewing (MI), as a counseling style, has been shown to be effective with a wide variety of problem behaviors such as substance abuse, adopting healthy behaviors (eating, exercise),treatment adherence and compliance, and other psychological problems. Because of this MI in increasing in popularity. Many practitioners from diverse backgrounds are integrating MI into their clinical repertoire.

This webinar will build on the “Fundamentals of Motivational Interviewing” by introducing participants to the specific application of MI to clinical challenges encountered when clients are less ready to change. After a brief review of the foundational concepts, principles and processes of MI, participants will be introduced to MI consistent strategies to address these common clinical challenges. Each challenge will be briefly discussed followed by proposed MI consistent strategies. The webinar will conclude with a brief overview of the evidence base for MI. Participants are encouraged to have completed the Fundamentals of Motivational Interviewing webinar prior to this one.

The relationship between trauma and addiction is becoming increasingly well established in the literature. This is no surprise, as clinicians working “in the trenches” know all too well that people with unresolved trauma and emotional wounds often turn to substances as a way to “numb out,” forget, or otherwise self-medicate to regulate their emotions. Conversely, people with addictive behavior disorders may drive while impaired, gravitate towards toxic relationships, go to dangerous places to get their substance of choice, or engage in many other behaviours that increase their risk of being traumatized and their vulnerability factors for developing PTSD or other trauma and stress related disorders.  It is also known that when cooccurrence is involved, this presents clinicians with a more complicated course of treatment and less favorable treatment outcomes that when clients present with only one or the other.
 

The good news is, there is hope! While neuroscience has taught us much about this phenomenon in recent years, evidence-based Cognitively based treatments are still being shown to  be at least as effective as many “newer” approaches, and in some circles seem to have almost gotten lost in the shuffle. 

Recent protocols have attempted to incorporate PE (prolonged exposure) and other cognitive behavioral treatments with substance use disorder treatments. While further research is needed in this area, the mandate for integration of treatments when dealing with this population seems integral to obtain more favorable outcomes for individuals with these complex conceptualizations.
 

Leave this full-day online training let by international CBT expert Jeff Riggenbach, PhD, with an improved understanding of the neuroscience of trauma, a integrated approach to treating PTSD and addictions, and armed with a plethora of evidence-based, yet practical new tools to equip and empower this group to find levels of recovery that have previously been eluding them!