8:00–8:45am Continental Breakfast Sponsored by American Addiction Centers
    
9:00–10:00am    
Effective Trauma Treatment: A Review of the Latest Evidence
Christine Courtois, PhD, ABPP
Recently retired from Private Practice in Washington DC, Dr. Courtois had specialized in the treatment of trauma, particularly for adults experiencing the effects of childhood incest and other forms of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. She has worked with these issues for 30 years and has developed treatment approaches for complex post traumatic and dissociative conditions for which she has received international recognition. Past President of Division 56 (Psychological Trauma) of the American Psychological Association and a Founding Associate Editor of the Division’s journal, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, & Policy, she has recently served as Chair of the APA Clinical Practice Guidelines for PTSD in Adults and Professional Practice Guidelines for the treatment of Complex PTSD for the APA Division 56 and for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. Co-author of The Treatment of Complex Trauma and co-editor of Treating Complex Trauma: Scientific Foundations and Therapeutic Models and Treating Complex Trauma in Children and Adolescents, all with Dr. Julian Ford, and a number of other books on trauma treatment.
No clinical area has undergone more rapid development or benefited more from new research than the field of psychological trauma. The veritable flood of information had made it virtually impossible for therapists to stay on top of all the current research and clinical writing, learn about newest findings and techniques, investigate controversies and debates, and sort out results that matter from those that don’t. This keynote is an opportunity to examine the clinical implications of the latest evidence. It includes an overview of the recommendations of the Clinical Practice Guidelines of various organizations and discusses other issues in trauma treatment, including the role of clinical judgment and competence.

10:30–11:30am    
Mindfulness and Recovery: Quenching the Thirst for Wholeness
Rokelle Lerner
An international speaker and trainer on addiction, trauma and women’s issues. She is the Senior Clinical Advisor for Crossroads Centre Antigua.  For the past eighteen years Rokelle has been the co-founder and clinical director of Spring Workshops in London, UK. She was also co-founder of Children Are People, Inc., a program used in thousands of schools throughout the US and Europe. Recipient of numerous awards for her work including Esquire magazines “Top 100 Women in the US Who are Changing the Nation” and the National Association of Children of Alcoholic’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of several books including The Object of My Affection is in My Reflection: Coping with Narcissists and the recently released Inkspirations for Recovery: A Coloring Companion Celebrating Recovery.  
The thirst for alcohol can be compared to men and women’s thirst for wholeness and a hunger for the sacred. One often self-medicates in an effort to escape the present moment, numb their pain or avoid the “void” in their soul. Unfortunately the inability to be in the present moment doesn’t change because someone went to treatment. This lecture will explore the topic of mindfulness in recovery and offer tools that will allow recovering addicts to embrace their birthright of serenity and wellbeing.

11:30–12:30pm    
Slipping Through The Cracks:  Intervention Strategies For Clients With Multiple Addictions And Disorders
Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC
His most recent book is Slipping Through the Cracks: Intervention Strategies for Clients with Multiple Addictions and Disorders. He is a lecturer at the University of Chicago and conducts a private practice. Mark provides trainings nationwide to audiences of mental health clinicians and addiction counselors.
Many chemically dependent clients have multiple addictions and disorders, which, if unaddressed, lead to chronic recidivism. They include hidden psychiatric disorders, unresolved trauma, unresolved grief, and process addictions, including sex, relationships, romance, gambling, shopping, and religion. In this presentation participants will leave with strategies that will help them effectively address multiple addictions and disorders common among chemically dependent clients.

2:00–3:30pm  - Concurrent Workshops
15 Strategies for Engaging the Most Difficult-To-Reach Clients With Substance Use Disorders
Mark Sanders, LCSW
Participants will leave this workshop with tools that will enable them to increase programmatic retention, decrease premature termination, and facilitate change more effectively with difficult-to-reach clients with substance use disorders. A partial list of topics includes: The Use of Naturally Therapeutic Qualities to Engage Difficult-to-reach Clients in Treatment; 6 Strategies for Engaging Clients in the First Five Minutes of Contact; How to Turn a Mandated Client into a Voluntary Client; 15 Strategies for Engaging Clients with Substance Use Disorders in Counseling; Strategies to Ensure that Countertransference Does Not Impact Client Engagement; and much more!

 “Good Enough” Endings*: Termination Issues in Psychotherapy
Christine Courtois, PhD ABPP
Just as “good enough” beginnings are important attachment relationships, so are “good enough” endings. In psychotherapy, endings can occur for a wide variety of reasons, among them, the client’s circumstances and wishes, forces outside of the treatment (agency policies, insurance reimbursement), and changes in the therapist’s circumstances, including illness/disability/death, location changes, and retirement. Therapists might also end a therapy prematurely and unilaterally if he or she determines the work is not going well, the client is not making progress or is unmotivated to change, or the therapist does not have the necessary competence to treat. Endings can occur on a planned or unplanned basis, and whatever the case, there are strategies for the therapists to consider and have in place before their occurrence. Endings are also affected by the length of treatment and the therapist’s orientation. Above all else, professional standards require that therapists not abandon their clients. A planned termination that is discussed and prepared for and that provides closure to the process is obviously preferred. This presentation is designed to address many issues that arise as psychotherapy ends, including attention to the effect on the therapist. We will discuss risk-management issues as well as practical ways to approach endings in ways that are good enough for therapist and client. *Title of book edited by Jill Salberg.

Ethical and Professional Issues for Therapists: Reel Therapy 1
Michael Kahn, LPC, JD
Research has shown that a significant factor leading to successful clinical outcomes is the therapeutic relationship. The primary tool we have toward developing that relationship is ourselves. The challenge is in deciding whether or how much of ourselves to bring to any given therapeutic moment. This session will focus on the differences between boundary violations and crossings using entertaining and provocative film clips. Issues discussed will include self-disclosure, dual relationships and touch.

From Disempowerment to Healthy Relationships: A New Paradigm for Recovery 

Rokelle Lerner
In order to move from reactivity to integrity in relationships, couples need to remain connected to their courage, truth and power without being consumed by another. This workshop will provide a different look at how couples become distracted by their partners instead of allowing the ‘best’ of themselves to come forward in their relationships. Drawing on the work of Gottman, Schnarch, Perel and others, this lecture will move beyond description of the problem and show a new paradigm of relational recovery.

4:00–5:30pm  - Concurrent Workshops
Interfacing Reality Therapy and Mindfulness: Practical Demonstrations
Robert Wubbolding, EdD, LPCC
Psychologist, internationally known teacher, author of 13 books and practitioner of Reality Therapy, has taught choice theory and reality therapy in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. He also served as Director of Training for the William Glasser Institute for 23 years.
This practical presentation shows the connectedness between mindfulness and reality therapy. The WDEP (Wants, Direction, Evaluation, Plan) system of reality therapy and the principles of mindfulness interconnect in concrete ways. Simulated role-play demonstrations will illustrate the relationship between these two systems.

Reel Therapy 2: More Ethical and Professional Issues for Therapists
Michael Kahn, LPC, JD
As with Reel Therapy 1, this workshop will discuss ethical and professional issues using entertaining and provocative film clips. Issues discussed will include managing termination and self-care as an ethical mandate.

Relational Healing for Relational Injury in the Treatment of Complex Trauma
Christine Courtois, PhD, ABPP
Individuals with histories of early, severe childhood abuse and neglect and those who suffer extreme and cumulative forms of interpersonal trauma experience a wide range of difficulties, now referred to as complex trauma. These difficulties often have their origins in disturbed and disrupted primary attachment relationships, abuse and neglect within these relationships, and the additive effects of multiple experiences of trauma. These, in turn, cause considerable psychological damage, both personally and interpersonally.  A therapeutic relationship is a primary intervention and context for distress of this sort, offering a secure base from which to examine and rework attachment difficulties, process the trauma, learn essential life and relational skills, and increase the capacity necessary for constructive relationships; however, developing a therapeutic relationship with complex trauma patients offers numerous challenges. This presentation will identify relational issues that arise in the treatment of this population and strategies for their identification and management. Ethics within the therapy relationship, vicarious trauma and countertransference responses and posttraumatic growth in the therapist will be discussed.

Moving from Perfection to Excellence in the Clinical Relationship
Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC
This topic focuses on the fact that many clients have been given the message since childhood, through their family, school, religion, and the media, that you have to be perfect. They either numb themselves through self-harming behavior, drugs, etc., or procrastinate, because perfection is impossible. The workshop focuses on how to help clients move beyond perfection and offers suggestions for clinicians who also have a tendency toward perfection and who become frustrated if their clients do not progress quickly enough.  

7:00–8:30pm Tuesday Evening
Wisdom Recovery & Heart Reconnection Therapy
Mary Faulkner, MA
A pioneer in the field of mind and body healing as a teacher and psychotherapist in private practice for the last 30 years. Mary is a co-founder of Integrative Life Center in Nashville and the originator of Hypnotherapy for Healing Trauma and she certifies therapists in its use. She has published eight books in the topics of spirituality and recovery and is coordinating the book for Heart Reconnection Therapy.
Holly Cook, LPC
Holly brings 25 years’ experience in the addictions and mental health fields to the Integrative Life Center. She received trainings over the years with several “masters” including Jay Haley, Chloe Madanes, Luigi Boscolo and William Glasser. Holly has managed several programs and received numerous awards for her leadership in the U.S. and Germany, and has provided training on various topics such as trauma and addiction, Motivational Interviewing, adolescent development and treating adolescent substance abuse, developing trauma-informed services and creating effective treatment systems for women on welfare.
A ceremonial circle honoring our wisdom and longing for deeper connection on the healing journey we are walking together. This special evening gathering is a time to come together as community and share the skills that nurture life and healing. Drawing from a variety of traditions and modalities, we will engage in conversations and ritual designed to open our hearts and minds to a new way of experiencing ourselves, others, and life itself.

9:00–10:00am   
Two-Eyed Seeing: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge with Brain Science for Psychotherapy.
Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD
Graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine and trained in family medicine, psychiatry, and clinical psychology.  He has been studying traditional healing and healers since his early days and has written about their work and the process of healing.  His goal is to bring the wisdom of indigenous peoples about healing to transform medicine and psychology.  He has been on the faculty of several medical schools.  He is the author of Coyote Medicine, Coyote Healing and Coyote Wisdom, a trilogy of books on what Native culture has to offer the modern world. His most recent book, with Barbara Mainguy, is Remapping Your Mind: the Neuroscience of Self-Transformation through Story. 
Throughout the world, indigenous people are becoming educated and entering into the modern world. Initially, the only choice available was to accept conventional academic explanations despite their being contradictory with indigenous perspectives.  A new idea of explanatory pluralism is emerging which allows the indigenous perspective to co-exist with Western scientific ideas.  Within psychotherapy, brain science is converging with the indigenous perspective in such areas as speaker-listener neurocoupling, the audience effect, social brain theory and the importance of community, the dialogical self with the Lakota concept of the nagi, the interconnectedness of everything through rhythm with the dendritic gap junction coherence theory of consciousness.  We will explore how both sides can further enrich the other for the practice of psychotherapy.

10:30–11:30am    
Neurobiology of Addiction for Counselors
Howard Wetsman, MD
The New Orleans-based, Chief Medical Officer for Townsend Addiction Treatment Centers and author of QAA: Questions and Answers on Addiction. He is Board Certified in General Psychiatry and certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Wetsman is a Clinical Assistant Professor at LSU School of Medicine and a frequent lecturer on topics including Genetics and Addiction and the Neurobiology of Addiction.  Addiction has been historically seen as a moral failing, a weak will or even long term damage from substance use. Models of the biology of addiction have been able to explain parts of the addiction and recovery experience, but to date, none of these models have been able to predict all the phenomena seen. Dr. Wetsman will present a biological model of addiction, consistent with the ASAM definition that explains, among other things, why some people need medical treatment and some do not. Other phenomena explained include Most Effective Reward, effect of social interactions, medications for MAT, and many others.

11:30–12:30pm   
What “Expert” Psychotherapists Do:  A Take Home TO DO List
Don Meichenbaum, PhD
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and Research Director, The Melissa Institute of Violence and Prevention and the Treatment of Victims of Violence, Miami, FL, author of Roadmap to Resilience.
Research indicates the equivalence of various treatment approaches, while some psychotherapists obtain significant better lasting treatment outcomes. This presentation will provide a practical user-friendly description of what “expert” psychotherapists do that you can use right away in your clinical work.

2:00–3:30pm  - Concurrent Workshops
Remapping the Mind
Lewis Mehl Madrona, MD, PhD and Barbara Mainguy, MA
Her main interests include doing psychotherapy with people who have been diagnosed as psychotic, working with people who are having chronic pain, and exploring the interface between art and psychotherapy and healing.  She has written a book with Lewis Mehl-Madrona, entitled Remapping Your Mind: the Neuroscience of Self-Transformation through Story.
In the Lakota worldview, our identity is formed by a swarm of all the stories that have influenced us coupled with bits of the tellers of those stories, centered on our bodies, called the nagi. This worldview is similar to the dialogical self-theory of Hubert Hermans. In our approach to psychotherapy, we make maps of the stories and their tellers to help us understand the dialogue occurring within our minds. We identify the stories being told and who is telling them so as to understand our internal conflicts, anxieties, and stresses.  We make visual representations of the stories and their tellers.  Then we facilitate a change or re-mapping by strengthening some characters, adding new characters and stories, and forming coalitions among characters.

Family Therapy Updated for the Digital Age: Understanding the Role of Social Media and Digital Technology in the Lives of Our Clients
Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT-S
Author, international lecturer, and expert on the relationship between digital technology and human sexuality; Senior Vice President of Clinical Development with Elements Behavioral Health; founder of Sexual Recovery Institute, Los Angeles. He is an author and media expert who has appeared on CNN, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Dr. Drew, and the Today Show. Author of Sex Addiction 101: A Basic Guide to Healing from Sex, Porn and Love Addiction and the upcoming Out of the Doghouse (HCI Books Jan 2017).
While much fear and hype has been created in the past decade by well-meaning clinicians and the media, the actual role and effect of digital media on American family life has yet to be fully understood and researched. So what can a useful, caring counselor or therapist offer today to families struggling with issues such as digital boundaries, cyberbullying and tech stressors, as well as problems like online gaming, gambling and sexuality? This timely, engaging talk, by a clinical thought leader and author of several books related to our evolving digital world and its’ effect on the therapy space, gives attendees a chance to revisit, reshape and challenge their beliefs about how digital technology is affecting family life, relationships, school and the workplace. Blending current research with historical references, this talk will provide clarity in an area where we clinicians sometimes feel under-informed or even downright confused.

Ways to Enhance Compassion Toward Oneself and Others
Don Meichenbaum, PhD
Compassion is a positive emotion that enhances the recovery process from trauma exposure and victimization experiences. This presentation will consider a variety of intervention strategies designed to enhance compassion toward self, others, and where indicated, toward God. These strategies include forgiveness activities, gratitude exercises, loving-kindness meditation, engaging in meaning-making activities and altruistic behaviors. Specific interventions that address guilt, shame, anger, and moral injuries will be considered.

 
Answering the Questions, “Why Do They Do What They Do?” and “What Can I Say to Them?”
Robert Wubbolding, EdD, LPCC
Participants will learn 5 human motivators that drive all behavior and how to help clients become more aware of the motivations. Dr. Wubbolding will demonstrate practical skills for intervening in an empathic and direct manner with emphasis on dealing with excuses and will explain the Cycle of Counseling.

4:00–5:30pm - Concurrent Workshops
Managing Depression: Raising Energy and Changing Cognitions
Margaret Wehrenberg, PsyD
Author of six books, including The 10 Best Ever Anxiety Management Techniques, The 10 Best Ever Depression Management Techniques, and Anxiety and Depression. She earned her M.A. studying psychodrama and bioenergetics, and has years of experience as a certified drug and alcoholism counselor, especially working with adults who were traumatized as children, before earning her PsyD and beginning a private psychotherapy practice, in Naperville, IL.
Depression creates low physical and mental energy and those symptoms keep people stuck in a self-reinforcing state of depression. Thoughts and beliefs magnify the symptoms of hopelessness and helplessness. This session will focus on the therapy techniques that get clients moving out of depression and change the cognitions that keep them stuck.

Facing Client Resistance with Paradoxical Techniques and the “Indirect Asset”
Robert Wubbolding, EdD, LPCC
The WDEP (Wants, Direction, Evaluation and Plan) system has incorporated paradoxical techniques and the Ericksonian principle “sometimes the solution seems to have nothing to do with the problem.” The presenter will demonstrate how to use paradoxical techniques and will discuss their ethical contraindications. He will also clarify with a demonstration the Ericksonian principle describe above which he calls the “indirect asset.”

Ways to Treat Clients with Prolonged and Complicated Grief
Donald Meichenbaum, PhD
Following a significant loss, whether it is of a loved one or some other form of loss (financial or job loss, loss of property due to natural disasters, physical capacity due to injury, cultural or spiritual loss due to victimization), the severity of bereavement often subsides. In a minority of cases (10%–20%), some individuals evidence prolonged and complicated grief that interferes with their daily functioning. This presentation will consider what distinguishes this effected group and ways to assess and intervene at the individual, familial and community levels. A variety of interventions will be considered to help the bereaved to reengage and reconnect.

Sex Addiction 101:  The Basics
Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT-S
In the real world, tens of thousands of men and women daily voluntarily choose to attend sexual addiction 12 step programs and related therapies. Yet in the clinical world, the DSM 5 does not acknowledge the issue (Hypersexual Disorder), while many consider it a joke, a form of social control or simply “an excuse” for bad behavior. This talk is designed to offer realistic, useful insight into the problem of compulsive/addictive porn use, infidelities and other sexual acting out (on and offline). The talk will provide insight into the process addictions, their treatment and the empathic insight required to view this problem for what it is—the adult expression of early complex trauma and attachment loss.

Improv Therapy—You Gotta be Kidding!
Margot Escott, LCSW
She is a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice in Naples for 32 years. She is a graduate of NYU School of Social Work and has worked in a variety of healthcare settings­­—from psychiatric and addictions rehabs to hospice. Several years ago she began acting classes (a childhood dream). She was introduced to Improvisational Comedy and became hooked on Improv. She has been performing, teaching to youth and adults, giving workshops for community groups and healthcare settings on the art of Improv.

Psychotherapists are recognizing the therapeutic benefits in applying life skills from Improv games to personal challenges. Improv Comedy is not about telling jokes or being funny. It is about being in the “here and now”, learning to listen and understanding that there is no “wrong way” to improvise. Everyone constantly needs to improvise when life throws curve balls. Improv Comedy techniques teach how to improvise in life, especially in dealing with daily anxieties.  Although this is an experiential workshop, participants are free to observe or join the games.

7:00–9:00pm Wednesday Evening
Out of the Doghouse: Healing Relationships Affected by Digital Infidelity
Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT-S
What defines cheating today in our age of webcams, online porn and “adult friend finder apps”? “Out of the Doghouse is designed to help attendees gain insight into the meaning and experience of relationship infidelity in the digital age-for both ‘cheater’ and spouse. Today, clinicians and hurting couples need new language and revised skillsets to get beyond 20th century, “analog-understandings” of cheating” to actively help such couples rebuild relationship trust. Sadly, those who repeatedly betray their deepest relationship commitments (online and in-person) are often both intimacy- and empathy-challenged, lacking the mature concrete insight and the related skills needed to help revitalize a wounded relationship. These tools are especially important, “after the affair” when anger and emotional instability tend to rule the roost. This talk provides a reset for professionals working with those acting out their needs and desires in a digital world, while offering new views toward addressing sexual and romantic acting out- via social media and the web. With new clarity regarding what defines ‘cheating’ today, we can help couples find the empathy, honesty and lasting behavior change required to grow relationship intimacy. This discussion will offer an overview of the problem along with specific empathy, and relationship rebuilding skills.