Addiction and Recovery from the Inside Out: Learn from the Experts Who Have Been There

Dennis Daley, PhD; David Gardner, CPS, CRS; and Aubree Rosenberg, CRS, CPS

A recent study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that over 20 million individuals have a current substance use disorder (SUD), which includes alcohol use disorders and all types of drug use disorders. The SAMHSA study also shows low rates of treatment entry by individuals with less than 11 percent getting help in a licensed addiction program. In addition, this study shows that only a few percent of these individuals with SUDs believe they have a problem that requires professional help or support from peers in mutual support programs.

This workshop will present two professional's personal experiences with a SUD and their involvement in treatment and recovery. They will share what motivated them to get help, what helped them, and how they sustained their recovery over time. They will also share how they integrate personal experiences with professional interventions to reach individuals with SUDs. On the other hand, a recent study by the Harvard Recovery Research Institute reported that over 22 million individuals in the United States who had a SUD no longer meet criteria and are doing well. This study reports there are different pathways to recovery that individuals use including mutual support programs, professional treatment programs, medication-assisted-treatment and other methods, or a combination of methods.

The workshop presenters will also share their work screening, assessing, providing brief interventions, and linking individuals with SUDs to treatment and recovery.

Objectives:

1. Identify rates of substance use disorders based on a recent study by SAMHSA.
2. Describe personal experiences with addiction, and factors that influenced the presenters to engage in treatment and recovery.
3. Explain specific skills and tools learned that helped the presenters sustain their recovery from a SUD over time.
4. Relate the roles of professional peers who work with individuals with SUDs in different medical or behavioral health settings.
5. Distinguish barriers to engaging individuals with SUDs in treatment, and examine interventions that influenced affected individuals to get help.

Target Audience: Clinical personnel, counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, educators, criminal justice professionals, healthcare professionals.

Intermediate level. CE credits offered = 1.5 contact hours.