Headlines: Latest News from SAMHSA


Headlines
September 12, 2019
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The SAMHSA Headlines—Your one-stop source for the latest from SAMHSA.

Events


Training and events are available for practitioners through many of SAMHSA's Training and Technical Assistance Centers. Some of these are highlighted below. Note that some of them require advance registration. Visit SAMHSA's Practitioner Training webpage for a more complete listing.

SAMHSA's National Recovery Month 2019

Recovery Month is a national observance held every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy and rewarding lives. Now in its 30th year, Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery.
  • Watch the video message from Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Elinore F. McCance-Katz, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Save the dates for the Recovery Month webinar series
    • Friday, September 13, 2019 ­­ 1:00 p.m. EDT Working Together to Support Recovery
    • Friday, September 20, 2019 12:00 p.m. EDT Strong Community, Strong Recovery
    • Wednesday, September 25, 2019 1:00 p.m. EDT Recovery Is…
    • Friday, September 27, 2019 1:00 p.m. EDT Celebrating Recovery across the Nation

Establishing Peer-to-Peer Services for Adult Latinos in Recovery: Providing Strength, Hope, and Overcoming Stigma – Webinar

Monday, September 16, 2019 2:00 p.m. EDT
This VLC session will explore the developmental conditions that make peer-to peer services programs possible, the service components of the programs, and the linguistic and policy considerations that make, or will make, these programs culturally appropriate.

Suicide Prevention, Everyone can Help. Preventing Suicide in the Latino Community – Webinar

Tuesday, September 17, 2019 2:00 p.m. EDT
This webinar will provide an overview of suicide prevention with the intention of encouraging participants to be available to prevent suicide among the people with whom they interact. The facilitator will discuss warning signs and risk factors for suicide. Suicide prevention resources that are easy to implement and culturally based practices that have proven to work in the efforts of preventing suicide will be discussed.

Today's Marijuana – Stronger, More Edibles, Confusing Information about Driving – Webinar

Wednesday, September 18, 2019 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT
This webinar will provide an overview of factual information about today's marijuana products. They are stronger, often times contain no or less CBD in relationship to THC, and are vastly available in edible and other forms. Information is plentiful, while facts are difficult to extract with confidence. People using marijuana are confused regarding the safety of driving. CBD is promoted as a cure for everything and anything. Learn what is known and unknown.

Scope of Prevention: Promotion – Media Based Prevention Interventions along the Continuum of Care – Webinar

Thursday, September 19, 2019 11:00 a.m. EDT
This webinar will discuss various important components to implementing a successful prevention media campaign, including: important differences between commercial marketing vs. health marketing; the importance of understanding your audience; and how different generations receive information.

Understanding and Addressing Methamphetamines – Webinar

Thursday, September 19, 2019 Time TBD
This training is for behavioral health care professionals and advocates who are interested in improving cultural competence and humility in the delivery of behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery services and supports. The course goal is to increase knowledge of methamphetamine use in West Virginia.

Understanding the Role of Policy in Preventing Substance Misuse – Webinar

Thursday, September 19, 2019 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EDT (part 1)
Thursday, September 26, 2019 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EDT (part 2)
This two-part, introductory webinar presents clear steps you can take to select and implement policies that produce lasting change. Specifically, we will outline a process for identifying and enhancing the community conditions that promote policy adoption and review best practices for supporting policy implementation. In addition:
  • Part 1 will examine specific policies to prevent youth alcohol use and prescription drug misuse.
  • Part 2 will examine policies to prevent youth tobacco and marijuana use, with a focus on preventing vaping.

Engagement in Early Psychosis – Webinar

Friday, September 20, 2019 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT
Many individuals with first episode psychosis are reluctant to attend treatment and are at risk for dropping out before receiving the full benefits of care. This webinar will review reasons that teens and young adults may be wary of first episode psychosis treatment and offer practical suggestions for creating a program that promotes engagement and minimizes barriers at the outset of treatment.

Peer Support Engagement Skills on Mobile Crisis Teams

Friday, September 20, 2019 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT
Many states utilize mobile crisis teams (MCTs), but the inclusion of peer support on teams is a relatively new addition. A MCT is committed to decreasing unnecessary incarceration as a result of a mental health (MH) crisis; decreasing unnecessary hospitalizations; providing safe, compassionate and effective responses to individuals experiencing a MH crisis; increasing their participation with MH providers by problem solving barriers; increasing knowledge of local resources; and increasing public safety. Peer support specialists have proven to be highly effective in providing a sense of safety, respect, and personal agency for people experiencing a crisis in the community.

Reducing Relapse Risk by Increasing Body Awareness Skills – Webinar

September 25, 2019 3:00 p.m. EDT
Interoceptive dysfunction, or a lack of body/sensory awareness processing, is common among people with substance use disorders. This webinar, "Reducing Relapse Risk by Increasing Body Awareness Skills: Practical Tips and Research Findings for Clinicians Who Work in Substance Use Disorder Treatment," will describe the importance of body awareness/interoceptive skills for promoting emotion regulation and reducing risk of relapse.

Suicide and Opioids – Webinar

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
This webinar will discuss how to identify key links between opioids and suicide and how to prevent both by utilizing crisis management and suicide prevention models.

The Evolution of State Marijuana Policies and Where Prevention Fits In – Webinar

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Cannabis laws and policies are rapidly changing. This webinar provides an overview of the evolution of marijuana policies in the New England states and where prevention fits into the overall picture and conversation. The training discusses the importance of policy and the different layers of policy that need to be considered: federal, state, municipal, and organizational. Participants will learn about unintended consequences that can arise from policy not informed by the science of marijuana, addiction, and public health, and will be introduced to how to use the prevention tools we already have at our disposal as commercial marijuana sales begin in some of our states and communities.

Zero Suicide: Taking a Systems Approach to Suicide Prevention in Health Care – Webinar

Thursday, September 26, 2019 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
This webinar will provide an overview of the Zero Suicide framework and describe its core elements. This includes the key clinical, organizational, and continuous quality improvement components that comprise the Zero Suicide framework. Clinical components that are particularly relevant for individuals with serious mental illness, such as special considerations for suicide risk identification and engagement in suicide prevention interventions, will be discussed.

Mental Health and Children: Perspectives from Family on Screening, Diagnosis, and Support

Thursday, September 26, 2019 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. EDT
Family members are the most consistent adults in children's lives and have important information to share with schools which may improve the behavioral health of their children. Learn ways to enhance the lives of students through effective family engagement strategies designed to improve the behavioral health of children.

The Nurses' Role in Treating People with Persistent and Severe Mental Illness – Webinar

Tuesday, October 1, 2019 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. EDT
The mental health treatment community is learning more about evidence-based practices that result in increased quality of life and improved recovery trajectories. This webinar will discuss nursing roles within mental health treatment and novel approaches to treatment with a multidisciplinary team.

Resources


The Sequential Intercept Model

This brochure provides an overview of the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM). The SIM is a strategic planning tool that helps communities better understand the gaps and resources they have in helping those with mental illness or substance use disorders who are in the criminal justice system.

Apply for a Practitioner Waiver to Prescribe or Dispense Buprenorphine

The Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act affords practitioners greater flexibility in the provision of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). It extends prescribing privileges to "qualifying other practitioners" beyond physicians and expands the number of patients that may be treated, with conditions.

 

U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

Surgeon General Vice Adm. Jerome M. Adams has issued an advisory emphasizing the importance of protecting youth and pregnant women from the health risks of marijuana use. Until and unless more is known about the long-term impact, the safest choice for pregnant women and adolescents is not to use marijuana. It is critical to educate women and youth, as well as family members, school officials, state and local leaders, and health professionals, about the risks of marijuana, particularly as more states contemplate legalization.

SAMHSA Directing $932 Million To Nation's Communities Through the Continuation of Its State Opioid Response Grant Funding

SAMHSA announced that it is awarding $932 million in the continuation of its State Opioid Response grant funding to states as part of President Donald Trump's far-reaching, multifaceted approach to combatting the national opioid crisis. Funding has been used to support innovative models of medication-assisted treatment delivery, enhancement of community prevention and messaging strategies, and the utilization of peers to advance recovery from opioid use disorders. Individual states' awards can be viewed at https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2019/09/04/state-opioid-response-grants-by-state.html.

Contact Us

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