Training at Prevention First

While many organizations are trauma-informed, becoming trauma-responsive means looking at every aspect of an organization’s programming, environment, language, and values and involving all staff in better serving clients who have experienced trauma.
Moving from Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Responsive provides program administrators and clinical directors with key resources needed to train staff and make organizational changes to become trauma-responsive. This comprehensive training program involves all staff, ensuring clients are served with a trauma-responsive approach.

Objectives:

1. Identify three examples of “Big T” and “little t” stressors
2. Describe two of the major findings from the ACE study relating childhood experience to substance use and mental
   health impairment.
3. Perform at least one technique for engaging consumers in a trauma informed approach.
4. Describe at least one impact of trauma on cognition and physiological functioning.
5. Identify one Domain of Trauma-Informed Care and how, organizationally, activating this domain enhances trauma care.

During this interactive virtual classroom course, participants will learn about the steps and best practices involved in campaign planning and implementation.

All SUPS and CSUPS staff reporting hours for communication campaigns who have not previously completed Planning and Implementing Communication Campaigns are required to complete this course.

Understanding Complex Trauma and Chronic Stress {Part 1}

AND

Responding to Complex Trauma and Chronic Stress {Part 2}

Complex trauma can affect young people in a multitude of ways. During this training, participants will learn how trauma impacts behavior, cognition, self-concept, future orientation, and long-term health consequences. Participants will also discuss the effects of living with chronic community violence. An overview of the stress and anxiety young people experience when public health emergencies occur will be provided. Participants will learn about service delivery rooted in understanding a trauma-informed care approach. Participants will learn how cultural awareness, responsiveness, and knowledge need to be infused throughout every level of an organization to effectively address the needs of young people who have experienced trauma. Lastly, participants will discuss the intersection between culture and trauma, racial injustice and trauma, historical trauma, and trauma in LGBTQIA+ youth. 

*This is a training series. Participants must attend each webinar to receive CEUs.

This training is recommended to have a copy of the ASAM 4th Edition Criteria textbook available. If one is not available, an excerpt link will be provided for use in the training. The excerpt cannot be printed or saved. 

This two-day, application-focused training will provide participants with an in-depth look at some of the significant changes and improvements in the Fourth Edition. Participants will have opportunities to apply and practice key components of the Criteria, including but not limited to; the six dimensions, level of care assessment, application of Risk Ratings to each of the Five Dimensions, Dimensional Admission Criteria Decision Rules, shared decision-making and an overview of Service Characteristic Standards, Discharge and Transition Criteria.

All participants receive an in-depth electronic training journal to guide the training experience and as a resource for continuing skill application, as part of the training.

Books are not required, but highly recommended.

The Illinois Department of Human Services funds this training and is only open to license-funded treatment professionals in the state of Illinois.

The goal of this presentation is to describe Seeking Safety, an evidence-based model for trauma and/or addiction (clients do not have to have both issues). By the end of the training, participants can implement Seeking Safety in their setting if they choose to. Seeking Safety teaches present-focused coping skills to help clients attain safety in their lives.  It is highly flexible and can be conducted in any setting by a wide range of counselors and also peers. There are 25 treatment topics, each representing a safe coping skill relevant to both trauma and addiction, such as “Asking for Help,” “Creating Meaning,” “Compassion,” and “Healing from Anger.” Topics can be done in any order and the treatment can be done using as few or many of them as time allows. Seeking Safety strives to increase hope through an emphasis on ideals; it offers exercises, emotionally evocative language, and quotations to engage patients and provides concrete strategies to build recovery skills.  In this training, we cover (a) background on trauma and addiction (rates, presentation, models and stages of treatment, clinical challenges); (b) an overview of Seeking Safety, including its evidence-base; and (c) clinical implementation, such as the use of the model with specific populations. Assessment and treatment resources are provided. The training is highly experiential, with role-plays and exercises to “learn by doing”; methods also include PowerPoint, video, and discussion.

Objectives:

1. To describe current understanding of trauma, addiction, and their combination.
2. To increase empathy and understanding of trauma and addiction.
3. To describe Seeking Safety, an evidence-based model for trauma and/or addiction.
4. To identify how to apply Seeking Safety for specific populations, such as homeless, adolescents, criminal justice, HIV, military/veteran, etc.
5. To discuss adaptation based on setting, provider, and client factors (e.g., age, socioeconomics, culture, gender).
6. To provide assessment and treatment resources.

Limited spots are available.

This training provides skill-building in the use of the ASAM Criteria as a framework for determining the most appropriate intensity of services and how a harm reduction model/approach, specifically providing strategies for working with clients on goal setting, application of risk reduction skills and evaluation of treatment goals fits within the broader framework of the Criteria’s six dimensions and levels of care.

All participants receive an electronic copy of an in-depth training journal to guide the training experience and as a resource for continuing skill application as part of the training.

The link to join the training will be emailed to you prior to the training.

The Illinois Department of Human Services funds this training and is only open to license-funded treatment professionals in the state of Illinois.

This training increases the treatment professional’s knowledge base about ethical and legal standards, ethical principles, and the application of these principles to clinical practice. Common ethical pitfalls, such as boundary crossings, as well as federal and state laws and regulations surrounding client confidentiality will be examined. The training participants will explore case studies, ethical decision-making models, and other strategies to resolve ethical challenges.

Objectives:

1. Recognize common ethical dilemmas and identify strategies for treatment professionals to effectively manage and resolve various types of ethical challenges that may arise.
2. Summarize ethical codes and Illinois-specific ethical and legal standards for treatment professionals.
3. Examine laws and regulations that protect and safeguard confidentiality for clients seeking mental health and substance use treatment.
4. Determine how treatment professionals can best maintain personal and professional boundaries as well as competency and integrity.
5. Review case studies that scrutinize ethical conflicts faced by treatment professionals.
6. Outline the fundamental steps of decision-making for treatment professionals seeking to resolve ethical dilemmas.

Foundations of Youth Prevention Education prepares direct service providers to implement evidence-based Youth Prevention Education (YPE) programs. Participants will obtain a basic understanding of the components and best practices related to implementing any YPE model program. This training will increase participants’ knowledge and skills related to planning, managing, facilitating, and evaluating a Youth Prevention Education program.

All SUPP providers reporting hours for youth prevention education are required to complete this course.

Virtual Classroom Training Note: Regular classroom time for this course is 12 hours. Since the classroom time for this modified course is only 9 hours, participants must complete 3 hours of individual work to obtain credit for the course. Prework will be assigned for each session.

This training is recommended to have a copy of the ASAM 4th Edition Criteria textbook available. If one is not available, an excerpt link will be provided for use in the training. The excerpt cannot be printed or saved. 

This two-day, application-focused training will provide participants with an in-depth look at some of the significant changes and improvements in the Fourth Edition. Participants will have opportunities to apply and practice key components of the Criteria, including but not limited to; the six dimensions, level of care assessment, application of Risk Ratings to each of the Five Dimensions, Dimensional Admission Criteria Decision Rules, shared decision-making and an overview of Service Characteristic Standards, Discharge and Transition Criteria.

All participants receive an in-depth electronic training journal to guide the training experience and as a resource for continuing skill application, as part of the training.

Books are not required, but highly recommended.

The Illinois Department of Human Services funds this training and is only open to license-funded treatment professionals in the state of Illinois.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn, in a short timeframe, how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.

Veterans have their own culture and rich life experiences that can present unique challenges and opportunities to civilian community mental health care providers. It is crucial to be informed on culturally humble practices and have a basic understanding of co-occurring disorders that are seen when working with this population, as well as resources available to mental health clinicians. This interactive training will provide an overview of what makes the Veteran population truly unique including the impact of rank, enlistment, branch of service and potential deployments. Special populations will be discussed along with the impact of Military Sexual Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. This training will assist community providers in making an effort to understand key aspects of the Veteran experience which may help to establish a connection, build trust and inform treatment planning.

Objectives:

1. Identify the factors that contribute to military culture and that lead to the development of Veteran identity and the camaraderie among this population.
2. Acquire knowledge regarding the potential higher risk of suicide among Veterans.
3. Increase understanding of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders that are commonly treated among Veterans.
4. Gain awareness of resources available to civilian mental health clinicians.
5. Increase knowledge of frequently used interventions, including CBT, MI, and safety planning

Traditional addiction treatment models often overlook the unique biological, relational, and systematic realities of women. This workshop provides a comprehensive, gender-responsive framework anchored in Women’s Integrated Treatment (WIT) models. Participants will analyze the "telescoping" effect, examining why women face accelerated medical and psychological consequences from substance use, and how the pressure to maintain a high-functioning exterior creates barriers to seek help.  

Participants will walk away with practical tools to foster the healthy connections essential for long-term recovery. We will address life-saving interventions like MAT for pregnant women, family-based treatment, and grounding techniques. Finally, we will explore structural solutions for common barriers, to ensure treatment is accessible and sustainable for mothers and caregivers.  

By the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:  

1. Define the "telescoping effect" and explain how accelerated progression of SUD in womenimpactsclinical timelines and physical health.  
2. Apply Women’s Integrated Treatment (WIT) Models: Implement the six guiding principles of gender-responsive care to create safer, more respectful therapeutic environments. 
3. Identifyhow the pressure to maintain caregiving roles contributes to "invisible" addiction and significant barriers to seeking help.  
4. Describe how women heal through healthy connection and how to move away from isolation-based treatment models. 
5. Articulate the standards for family-based treatment and the life-saving role of MAT for pregnant women. 
6. Implement tools (grounding, somatic) and approaches (relational model) that meet the needs of women with lived experiences. 

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is defined as “a particular way of talking with people about change and growth to strengthen their own motivation and commitment” (Miller & Rollnick, 2023, p. 3). MI is designed to evoke and enhance the individual’s own motivation to change, using strategies that are empathetic and non-confrontational. While it has long been recognized as an effective way to promote behavior change within individuals in substance use treatment, MI has a wide range of applications beyond the clinician-client interaction. MI is designed to help draw out the individual’s own strengths and resources to help them make the behavioral changes needed to reach their goals. In this introductory training, participants will learn about spirit of MI and its basic skills and strategies, and will have the opportunity to apply and practice those core skills in an experiential skill-development training.

Objectives:

1. Describe key aspects of the spirit of motivational interviewing as well as its relation to the transtheoretical model and the importance of effective engagement
2. Describe the core skills of motivational interviewing, including open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries
3. Generate effective responses consistent with motivational interviewing to draw out and highlight the individual’s own desire, ability, reasons, and need to change
4. Demonstrate application of concept as well as use of core motivational interviewing skills in practice activities

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is defined as “a particular way of talking with people about change and growth to strengthen their own motivation and commitment” (Miller & Rollnick, 2023, p. 3). MI is designed to evoke and enhance the individual’s own motivation to change, using strategies that are empathetic and non-confrontational. While it has long been recognized as an effective way to promote behavior change within individuals in substance use treatment, MI has a wide range of applications beyond the clinician-client interaction. MI’s guiding helping style draws out the individual’s own strengths and desires to help them make the behavioral changes needed to reach their goals. Participants will learn about the guiding spirit of MI and the four tasks, and will have the opportunity to practice core skills and appropriately respond to challenges in an experiential skill-development training.

Objectives:

1. Describe key aspects of the spirit of motivational interviewing as well as the four tasks and the importance of effective engagement
2. Describe common traps and communication barriers (e.g. the persuasion trap, the wandering trap) which can arise and contribute to potential discord
3. Generate effective responses consistent with motivational interviewing to elicit change talk and to help clients explore and resolve ambivalence
4. Demonstrate use of core motivational interviewing skills, as well as the ability to identify and appropriately respond to sustain talk and discord