Full Course Description

Substance Use Disorders Certification: Stigma-Free, Trauma-Informed, Recovery-Based Treatment

Co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health issues are the rule, not the exception.

Yet despite how common they are, assessment and treatment of substance use disorders isn’t typically a robust training area for clinicians – if it’s covered at all.

Which issue do you prioritize with the client with trauma who drinks to numb out? What types of interventions are best for the client with anxiety who uses marijuana to create a sense of calm, or the client with depression who self-medicates to get away from despair?

Now, with this intensive certification training, you can get step-by-step guidance from Paul Brasler, LCSW, CAIMHP, esteemed expert and author of The Clinician’s Guide to Substance Use Disorders. Packed with the latest tools you can implement right away, this certification training will teach you:

Top indicators that clients’ substance use has become a problem
Best practices to foster engagement in recovery
Latest interventions from MI, CBT & more for co-occurring disorders
Effective strategies for when legal and ethical issues arise

Best of all, you’ll be eligible to become a Certified Addictions-Informed Mental Health Professional (CAIMHP) through Evergreen Certifications.*

Even if you don’t specialize in it, you’re working with clients who struggle with alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs.

PURCHASE TODAY so that you can provide the comprehensive care your clients need!

CERTIFICATION MADE SIMPLE

No hidden fees – PESI pays for your application fee (a $99.99 value)!
Simple complete this live event and the post-event evaluation included in this training, and your application to be a Certified Addictions-Informed Mental Health Professional through Evergreen Certification is complete.*

Attendees will receive documentation of CAIMHP designation from Evergreen Certifications 4 to 6 weeks following the program.
*Professional standards apply. Visit www.evergreencertifications.com/CAIMHP for professional requirements.

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the causes of substance use disorders.
Analyze the basic neurobiology of addictive chemicals.
Categorize commonly misused drugs, including current “street names” of these substances.
Distinguish withdrawal syndromes between each drug class.
Distinguish substance use disorders from other mental health disorders.
Analyze the various levels of substance use treatment, including medication-assisted therapies, to inform clinical treatment interventions.
Evaluate the process of withdrawal management and its implication on treatment.
Utilize motivational interviewing strategies to foster behavioral change.
Modify clinical interventions for use with special populations, including adolescents or pregnant clients.
Utilize clinical strategies to engage the client’s family in treatment.
Determine strategies for addressing disruptive members and building group cohesion.
Identify circumstances related to substance use when you should disclose client records.

Outline

Attend this comprehensive certification training to get the skills you need to offer your clients a new chance at healing. This dynamic course will teach you:

The latest science behind substance use disorders
How to detect signs of intoxication and withdrawal symptoms
Assessment and engagement strategies that keep clients invested
How to determine what level of care is right for your client
Tools to help clients recognize and manage triggers to use
Interventions to deconstruct clients’ negative schemas and shame
How and when to engage the family in treatment
Treatment strategies for special populations like teens, LGBTQ clients, incarcerated clients, and more
Skills to manage legal and ethical issues in treating substance use disorders
Tools to uncover and minimize clinician bias in treating recovering clients

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Addiction Counselors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychiatrists
Physicians
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 06/19/2025

Harm Reduction Therapy Training

Not every client is ready or even wants to stop.

When you’re sitting with clients who struggle with drinking, procrastination, drug use, gaming, shopping, self-injury, or other self-defeating patterns, it’s not always about abstinence.

Sometimes it’s about reducing harm, building motivation, and helping them choose healthier behaviors step by step.

This is where many therapists feel stuck. Traditional abstinence-only approaches don’t fit every client. But simply “meeting them where they’re at” without exploring how they might want to change a grow isn’t enough either.

That’s why this harm reduction therapy training—grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Motivational Interviewing—offers such a powerful framework. You’ll join two renowned trainers, Kristin Dempsey and Ali Hall, who’ve trained thousands of therapists in MI, substance use and other process disorders, and harm reduction for this practice-enhancing training. Walk away with the skills to:

Address the shame, ambivalence, and self-criticism that fuel destructive cycles
Guide clients toward change without ultimatums or power struggles with MI
Create momentum, even when complete abstinence isn’t the immediate goal
Help clients live in-line with their values and aspirations as they work toward change with ACT techniques

Whether your clients are struggling with process addictions, SUDs, porn use, or just simply behaviors they want to change but haven’t figured out how yet—this training will equip you with the skills, approach, and confidence to help you help them break free from self-defeating cycles.

Give your clients something beyond “quit or fail.”

Learn the skills of harm reduction therapy, enroll now!

Program Information

Objectives

Define the terms harm reduction, motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
Identify three characteristics of harm reduction that create a more open and flexible environment for individuals to explore their relationship with substances or compulsive behaviors.
List the four components of the spirit of MI that help create psychological safety for individuals exploring their relationship with substances or compulsive behaviors.
Apply the four motivational interviewing micro skills in conversations with people questioning their relationships to substances or processes.
Analyze each of the six sections of the ACT hexaflex.
State how choosing at least one important value can foster motivation and growth among individuals with substance use disorders or compulsive behaviors.

Outline

The Promise of Harm Reduction Therapy

Harm reduction therapy and as a social movement
What is harm reduction therapy and how to use it
Key benefits of using harm reduction
Overview of the types of interventions that help reduce harm
Components of harm reduction therapy based on initial grounded research

Integrating Motivational Interviewing Strategies into Harm Reduction Therapy

Definition of motivational interviewing and history of the approach in SUD treatment
The “spirit” of MI and the importance of a trauma-informed approach to build trust
The skills of MI – OARS and how the OARS build trust, choice, and empowerment
The process of MI – The roadmap that can assist clinicians in when and how to move forward with harm reduction
Case study demonstration: Client ambivalence about substance use in a harm reduction conversation.

Key Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Strategies for Harm Reduction Therapy

Understand ACT and how ACT can assist in reducing distress and building hope
The ACT “hexaflex” and its role in promoting psychological flexibility
The importance of identify and building values in recovery
Case study demonstration: Clinicians will use ACT defusion technique to help client manage their distress over recurrent thoughts about using.
Case study demonstration: How to help client move toward taking steps (building basic goals) that move them toward their values.

Harm Reduction Approach for Self-Destructive Patterns & Maladaptive Habits

Conceptualization and sample intervention for:
Non-suicidal self-injury
Aggressive interpersonal interactions
Avoidance
Procrastination

Harm Reduction Approach for Substance Use, Abuse & Process Addictions Treatment

Harm Reduction for SUDs
Conceptualization
MI Interventions for SUD
ACT interventions for SUD

Harm Reduction with ACT & MI for Repetitive Compulsive Behaviors (Process-Based)

Gaming
Online Shopping
Pornography Use

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychiatrists
Psychologists
Case Managers
Addiction Counselors
Therapists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psych Nurses
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 11/13/2025

Co-Occurring Disorders in Substance Use Treatment: Integrated Assessment and Treatment Strategies for Dual Diagnosis Clients

Co-occurring disorders are more the rule than the exception with clients who have substance use issues.

But the unique interplay of psychiatric disorders and substance use makes co-occurring disorders difficult to diagnose and complex to treat. In many cases, clients receive treatment for one disorder while the other remains undiagnosed and unaddressed until it’s too late.

How can you ensure that you’re seeing the whole picture and are properly prepared to provide the very best treatment for clients with multiple co-morbidities?

In this comprehensive training, Hayden Center, PhD, LPC, will share the skills, interventions and clinical insights he’s cultivated over three decades of work with these clients.

Watch him and discover how you can:

Cut through the complexities to complete a thorough assessment of treatment needs
Confidently address high-risk issues like ongoing use of fentanyl-adulterated street drugs, and dangerousness to self and others.
Skillfully tackle stage of change and level of motivation challenges
Write observable and measurable goals and objectives for treatment plans
Reduce risk of relapse with individualized and whole person approaches
Integrate substance use disorder treatment with interventions for specific diagnosis such as PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, ADHD, and more

Best of all, Hayden will cover it all with detailed examples and real-world case studies that make the strategies he shares accessible and applicable to clinicians at every level.

These patients are already in your practice. Don’t miss this chance to enhance your skills so you can help them move with confidence into recovery and the lives they want.

Register today!

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate the clinical implications of intoxication and withdrawal syndromes that can mimic mental health disorders.
Assess the differences and relative merits and limitations of abstinence and harm reduction models.
Utilize specific instruments to assess for mood, trauma, anxiety, ADHD, and substance use disorders.
Formulate treatment goals and objectives for patients with co-occurring disorders that are behavioral, measurable, meaningful and client specific.
Determine how high-risk situations influence level-of-care decision making in work with patients with co-occurring disorders.
Analyze strategies and current best practices to work people who have opioid use disorders and co-occurring mental health diagnoses.

Outline

Key Concepts

Epidemiology of SUDs
The differences between harm reduction and abstinence models
The interplay of substance use and mental disorders
Co-occurring disorders and the DSM-5® and ICD-10

High-Risk Areas for Misdiagnoses and Missed Diagnoses

Prognostic implications of co-occurring disorders
The co-occurring matrix - SUD/mental health combinations to look for
Medical co-morbidities

Assessment and Screening Tools:
Uncover Mental Health Conditions and Their Relation to Substance Use

The intake and pitfalls in obtaining the history
How to assess for dangerousness to self or others
Specific instruments to assess for mood, trauma, anxiety, ADHD
Substance use screening tools
Physical signs and symptoms of intoxication or withdrawal states
Assessing readiness for change and motivation

How to Create Fully Integrated Treatment Plans for Clients with Co-Occurring Disorders

Establishing the problem/need list
Writing specific, realistic and measurable goals and objectives
Identify and address emergent issues
Wellness – nutrition, exercise, sleep
How to approach level of care decisions
How and when to access prescription monitoring databases
Case studies

Evidence-Based Therapies and Strategies for Improved Outcomes

Mindfulness for emotional regulation in recovery
CBT techniques to establish new perspectives and behaviors
DBT and dialectical abstinence interventions for non-judgmental problem solving
Match motivational enhancement strategies to your clients’ stage of change
Trauma-based therapies that target substance use disorders
The Seeking Safety Model in dual diagnosis treatment
Harm reduction and abstinence in the midst of the opioid overdose epidemic
Research limitations and risks of psychotherapeutic approaches

Medication for Opioid Use Disorders/Medication Assisted Treatment (MOUD/MAT)

Medication for opioid withdrawal
MAT for alcohol withdrawal
When MAT is not advised

Other Substance Specific Issues

Sedative hypnotics
Cocaine and other stimulants, including “Bath Salts”
How cannabis impacts clients mental and physical health

Target Audience

Counselors
Addiction Counselors
Social Workers
Case Managers
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psychologists
Nurses
Physicians
Other Mental Health Professionals