Friday

 Addictions Track | Specialized Clinical Assessment Track
How to Use the Clinical Mental Health Counselor's Decision Matrix for Medical Marijuana
Presented by Aaron Norton, MA, LMHC, LMFT, MCAP, CRC, CFMHE, DCMHS
In the United States, medical marijuana is now broadly or partially legalized in 31 states, though it remains illegal under federal law. Variation in state and local laws can create confusion for mental health counselors. Additionally, many counselors were trained to be attuned to the dangers and drawbacks of potentially addictive substances such as marijuana, yet we also sometimes work with clients suffering from debilitating biomedical conditions who might benefit from medical marijuana. This training was designed to provide counselors with a decision tree for choosing an appropriate course of action when working with clients presenting with medical marijuana cards. PLEASE NOTE: This breakout spans two sessions (3:00pm - 4:15pm and 5:00pm - 6:30pm). You must attend both sessions to receive full 2.75 CE credit.

 Child & Adolescent Track
Mindfulness With Teens
Presented by David Flack, LMHC, SUDP
Research shows that practicing mindfulness can be extremely helpful to those challenged by depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use disorders, and more. In fact, mindfulness is an essential component of evidence-based practices such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. However, the abstract nature of mindfulness can make it challenging to teach in ways that are meaningful and translate into the daily lives of many teen clients. In fact, those clients who would find mindfulness the most difficult to practice — due to significant impulse control issues, extreme hyper-vigilance, or chronic chaos-making behaviors — are generally the ones who would most benefit from it! Our task as helpers, then, is to present mindfulness in ways that are concrete, accessible, and provide obvious value. This workshop will focus on strategies for doing just that. Along the way, we’ll explore practical ideas for teaching mindfulness to teens, participate in several field-tested activities that make mindfulness concrete, review the evidence supporting clinical applications of mindfulness, and develop practical skills for integrating mindfulness into our own work as professional helpers. PLEASE NOTE: This breakout spans two sessions (3:00pm - 4:15pm and 5:00pm - 6:30pm). You must attend both sessions to receive full 2.75 CE credit.

 Trauma Track | Couples & Family Track
Trauma and Eating Disorders: Interventions Utilizing EMDR and Art Therapy Techniques
Presented by Marie Rothman, LPC-S
The presentation titled Trauma and Eating Disorders: Interventions Utilizing EMDR and Art Therapy Techniques, will explore the role that trauma plays in the formation and continuation of Eating Disorders, will provide an outline of the major types of eating disorders (as well as other DSM-V indicated Eating Disorders), will instruct clinicians on how they can assess for each disorder with clients, and will provide knowledge and skills required for clinicians to implement EMDR and Art Therapy technique interventions. The application of art therapy techniques and the extended resourcing in EMDR interventions enables the art created by clients to act as an intervention for body image issues by installing their positive beliefs portrayed in their artwork. Moreover, in managing negative beliefs, the clinician can desensitize the negative beliefs with another creative art technique called Storytelling. The client can draw a series of pictures surrounding the onset of the eating disorder with the emotional experiences and negative beliefs associated with that period of time to be desensitized and reprocessed through the EMDR model of therapy intervention. This presentation will show how this work can be used to assist in treating individuals, families, and couples. Included in this presentation is a practicum section for the clinicians/participants to acquire and strengthen skills learned that can be used when working with their clients who have experienced trauma and resulting Eating Disorders or body image issues. PLEASE NOTE: This breakout spans two sessions (3:00pm - 4:15pm and 5:00pm - 6:30pm). You must attend both sessions to receive full 2.75 CE credit.

 Diversity Track | Trauma Track
"Why They Don't Come Back": Understanding and Challenging Barriers to Treatment When Counseling Minority Clients
Presented by Portia X. Allie-Turco, MS., LMHC, NCC
Studies indicate that fewer than half of all racial minority adults in the U.S. who experience a mental health disorder receive treatment. Within those racial minority individuals who do seek treatment between 50-60% terminate therapy after the first session even though the rate of need for services is higher. Historical, cultural and environmental factors that create barriers include: Inability to recognize and accept mental health problems; reluctance to discuss psychological distress; social stigma against mental illness; the relationship between the client and mental health provider; insensitivity about historical trauma; lack of clinical skills or awareness of dominant cultural messages, and implicit bias towards minority clients. This presentation will focus on historical, political and cultural barriers impacting access to mental health services for minority clients with a deeper exploration of how traditional counseling theories and concepts in mental health may be culturally incongruent and may promote early attrition by minorities. Mental health providers will evaluate their competencies and learn evidence-based strategies to deliver culturally sensitive care.