Travel Information

2019 UVU Conference on Addiction
Friday, March 8, 2019 – Sorensen Student Center, Utah Valley University

Opening Keynote – Randall Carlisle (Grande Ballroom – 9am - 10:15 am)

Randall Carlisle retired from a 50 year career in broadcasting last November and is now working as a media and community affairs specialist at Odyssey House of Utah, the largest treatment center in the state. He was the lead news anchor at TV stations across the country including Dallas, Minneapolis and most recently at ABC4 in Salt Lake City, where he spent more than 20 years. Carlisle was awarded 3 Emmys during his career and covered many major stories including the Kent State shootings, the Oklahoma City bombings, the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He began his broadcasting career at the age of 14 when he won the Ohio State radio announcing contest and was given a job at a small radio station in northeastern Ohio. That was the same year he started drinking alcoholic beverages and continued as a functional alcoholic for decades. He is now very happily 6 years sober and plans to be a vocal part of the recovery community for the rest of his life.

10:30 am Plenary Session (session ends at 11:45am) Charles Curie

Charles G. Curie is principal and founder of THE CURIE GROUP, LLC, a firm working with leaders in healthcare, particularly mental health (MH) and substance use (SU) to facilitate transformation of services and attain positive outcomes for people worldwide. Curie’s professional experience spans 40 years. He was nominated by the President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to head SAMHSA from 2001 to 2006. Accomplishments included The President’s New Freedom Commission on MH, Strategic Prevention Framework for SU prevention, Access to Recovery, National Outcome Measures, and work with post‐conflict and war‐torn countries MH and SU systems. From 1995 to 2001, Curie was appointed by PA Governor Ridge as Deputy Secretary for OMHSAS and implemented a nationally recognized MH and drug and alcohol Medicaid managed care program and a policy to reduce and eliminate seclusion and restraint practices in the state hospital system, which won the 2000 Innovations in American Government Award. He received his graduate degree from the University of Chicago.

11:45am - 1 pm Luncheon and Exhibitor Fair Grande Ballroom and Commons Area – Sorensen Center

11:45am - 1 pm Student Poster Presentations and Mini-Job Fair – Science Building Atrium

1pm Afternoon Concurrent Session 1 (sessions end at 2pm)

The Opiate Epidemic and Cannabis Legalization: Neurobiology and Emerging Concerns – David Yells, PhD (Centre Stage)

Recently, two issues in the addiction field have been particularly prominent. The first, the current opiate epidemic, represents a serious public health hazard. The alarming increase in opiate overdose deaths (nearly 50, 000 in 2017; although there are signs it may be abating) has increased the urgency of developing a better understanding of the nature of addiction in general and opiate addiction in particular. In specific, a more complete understanding of the neurobiology of addiction is essential. This presentation will address the neurobiology of opiates, including their mechanism of action in the brain and treatment options for opiate addiction. The second issue is focused on the legal status of marijuana. Thirty-three states and Washington D.C. have legalized medical marijuana. Ten states and Washington D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana. Two fundamental questions will be addressed in this presentation. First, is medical marijuana a useful addition to our medicinal arsenal, and what risks may be encountered with the increased availability of marijuana? Join David as he discusses the neurobiological concerns of these two issues.

*This session is appropriate for all audiences. 

Adult Children of Alcoholic or Disordered Parents – Cheri DeMoss, MA, LCPC, CAADC, NCADII, NCRS (SC 213 AB) THIS IS AN EXTENDED WORKSHOP – SESSION WILL END AT 3:15p

Most of our clients are unaware of the impact their parent's behaviors have on them as adults. The connection between parent’s behaviors determines over 81% of client’s choices in adulthood. This extended session workshop will teach you the differences between alcoholic, disordered and dysfunctional behaviors. You'll learn how to recognize the influences, similarities and differences that create the fabric of your client’s life. You'll understand how to help client’s make mindful choices that are grounded in their feelings, desires and interests that make them uniquely who they are without replicating their parent’s actions. You will leave with a clear, concise understanding of these behaviors and the most effective options to use.

*This session may be of particular interest to professionals and educators with an advanced understanding.

Healthy Steps to Freedom: A Gender-Specific Response to Women and Addiction - Anne R. Lindsay, PhD (SC 206 ABC)

Heroin deaths have increased for women at more than twice the rate of men. Synthetic opioid-related deaths have increased 850% in women. In 2015, of the 3.9% of adolescents (12-17) that misused pain relievers, more than half were girls. While the use of opioids in women is increasing at an unprecedented rate, the use of stimulants is not subsequently declining in this population. Methamphetamine, the most widely used drug in the western United States, is also one of few drugs that are used by women at a rate equal to or higher than men. This session will explore some of the unique reasons that women are using stimulants at a higher rate than their counterparts and using prescription opioid pain medications for longer periods and in higher doses than men. Additionally, eating pathology, a co-morbidity with substance abuse especially in women, will also be discussed including its role in use/misuse, recovery and relapse. Overweight and obesity, lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, perceived weight concerns and poor weight management behaviors often lead to “self-medication” to lose weight, including disordered eating, unhealthy weight loss practices, prescription OTC medications and illicit drug use. These also account for the high rate of re-offense for female prisoners and addicts. As a result, gender-responsive education appears warranted in this population. Implementation of such as the program, Healthy Steps to Freedom (HSF), will be shared in this session. HSF is an evidence-based program that augments existing treatment to address general addiction in women especially related to methamphetamine, prescription stimulants, heroin and other opioids.

*This session will be of particular interest to professionals and educators with at least a basic level of understanding.

Naltrexone for Compulsive Behavioral Addictions – Robert Joel Bush, MD (Ragan Theatre)

Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, has long been used as a medication to treat opioid overdose. It has more recently been used to treat patients with alcoholism by reducing their desires to drink alcohol as well as lessening the reward feelings when drinking. It also has been very useful in treating patients with opioid use disorder to prevent opioid craving and use. Naltrexone is now an emerging treatment that is gaining popularity in the addiction medicine community to treat certain addictions related to compulsive behaviors, such as sex/pornography, gambling, video gaming and other technology overuse, and sugar addiction leading to obesity. Dr. Bush is experienced using this medication to help treat patients with these issues, and will explain the proposed mechanisms of action in the brain as well as medication effects, dosage recommendations, and side effects to consider.

*This session may be of particular interest to professionals with advanced understanding.

2:15 pm Session (sessions end at 3:15pm)

Trauma and Addiction – Kristine Doty-Yells, PhD, LCSW (Centre Stage)

An increasing body of literature identifies traumatic experiences as a root cause of addiction. Whether the trauma happened years ago or is a present condition, the addiction is borne of the desire to temporarily escape the pain of the past as well as the present. Regardless if the addiction is to substances or behaviors, it can leave the addict bereft of peace and hope. It also compounds the trauma, which if left untreated may cause the addict’s life to spiral out of control. This presentation will include a discussion of the current literature on the relationship between trauma and addiction, and the need for trauma-informed care as the focus of a client’s treatment. This will include using an integrated care model to give the client maximum support and teaching coping skills to help the client emotionally self-regulate. The therapeutic modalities of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Somatic Experiencing (SE) will be explained and briefly demonstrated and applied to specific case examples. By placing the emphasis on resolving trauma, these treatments help the client avoid the trap of shaming and blaming and concentrate on healing.

*This session is appropriate for all audiences.

Health Information Behaving Badly: Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder, and Confidentiality – Gerald (Jud) DeLoss, JD (SC 206 ABC)

This session will address the unique laws and regulations that govern mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) information including state mental health statutes and federal Confidentiality of SUD Patient Records regulations under 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2). In addition to an update on state mental health laws, the presenter will guide attendees through the two separate Final Part 2 Rules issued over the past two years, along with where those Rules stand after attempts to modify them under legislation, regulations, and sub-regulatory guidance.

*This session will be of particular interest to professionals with an advanced level of understanding.

Medications for Addiction – Robert Joel Bush, MD (Ragan Theatre)

Imagine a doctor seeing a patient for seizures, Parkinson’s disease, high blood pressure, or asthma - and telling the patient they just need to ‘try harder’ not to have the disease, and that they should see a good therapist to talk about it. This is the approach traditionally used with the brain disease of addiction, and it is the wrong approach. While counseling and therapy, along with group support meetings, are a vitally important part of many disease treatments (including addiction), neglecting to treat patients with medicines when appropriate only prevents the patients from getting well. Dr. Bush has an approach to addiction that is like treating diabetes, seizures, or high blood pressure. He encourages patients to attend counseling and group meetings - but also evaluates if medications can help. Some people know medications can help with alcohol, nicotine, opioid, and other drug use problems. However, there are medication choices to help ALL types of addiction, including addiction to sugar which causes obesity, addiction to pornography, addiction to technology such as video games or electronic media, and gambling problems. This session focuses on best and most effective medications and medication classes for common addictions.

*This session is appropriate for all audiences.

3:30 pm Session (sessions end at 4:30pm)

Behavioral Approaches for Group Process – Deborah Harkness, MSC, AMFT, CATC, LAADC (Grande Ballroom)

This presentation includes education on the skill needs and clinical techniques used for different types of group processes used to treat substance use disorder patients. The education includes definitions, skills, and techniques used for Psycho-Educational groups, Skills Development groups, Cognitive-Behavioral and Problem-solving groups, Support Groups, Interpersonal process groups and Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) groups. The focus of the presentation will be on the fundamental steps of each behavioral process group, implementation of clinical practices in the different group processes, and the benefits and problems associated with each orientation.

*This session will be of particular interest to professionals with an advanced level of understanding.

Addiction as a Response to Developmental Trauma - Chaz Franke, MSW (Centre Stage)

In this training we will look at the role of early life trauma in developing addiction in adulthood. Utilizing the work of Gabor Mate, DW Winnicott, Mark Epstein, and others - we will look the ways in which early childhood trauma can create an infrastructure that predispositions a person to addictive patterns. Early attachment theory will be discussed to give a clear view of the ways in which addictive patterns can become a surrogate for the lost parenting and affection we all deserve in early life. Looking at the Adverse Childhood Events scales and other research on trauma we will take an in depth look at the ways practitioners can create a safe holding place for people to heal these early wounds while creating an internal holding space.

*This session is appropriate for all audiences with an advanced level of understanding.

Why Social Media is Addictive: The Neurological Impact of Modern-Day Electronics – Christy Cane, PhD, CMHC (SC 213AB)

Today’s modern electronics not only affect us socially, they also neurologically change neuropathways and the development of the human brain. In Dr. Kane’s presentation, the audience learns how electronics impact the brain, why social media is addictive, and what the risk factors are for humans both socially and neurologically due to electronics. Dr. Kane then provides practical solutions on how to create balance in an electronic world which is not going away. The creation of balance can thus help diminish the effects of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Overall, this presentation covers the brain and the three neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, while providing solid intervention to help stabilize individuals and families.

*This session is appropriate for all audiences.

Opioid Overdose Prevention Training – Malyce Warner, CHES (SC 206 ABC)

Anyone who wants to learn how to prevent an opioid overdose, and respond with naloxone in an opioid overdose situation, is encouraged to attend. Participants will learn what an opioid is, how an opioid overdose occurs, and common types of opioids. Malyce will share local overdose statistics, risk factors for overdose, opioid misuse prevention tips, what naloxone is and how it can reverse an overdose – and provide information on overdose prevention laws and liability, and local resources to access naloxone and substance use treatment. Finally she will review the four types of naloxone and how to administer them each, as well as how to identify and respond to an overdose using the 5 R's.

*This session is appropriate for all audiences.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE VETERANS GONE? Why Trauma and Addiction Follows Them – Neil G. Anderton, ACSW, LCSW, BCD (Ragan Theater)

This presentation will briefly review the many wars the US has fought starting with the Revolutionary War up to – and including- the most recent wars. Participants will explore how the psychological trauma terminology has changed from one war to the next. Neil will elaborate on the casualties suffered by military members and their families, and how their trauma and addictions have been addressed and treated – and whether treatment has been successful or not. How have military veterans and their families coped with all of this? How have we as a country responded to caring for our returning veterans to re-orient them back to a more civilian way of life. Why are there so many suicides taking place today among our veterans compared to previous times and wars? Neil will conclude by discussing where we go from here in helping returning veterans, and resources available to them.

*This session is appropriate for all audiences.

 
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