SAMHSA Headlines—Your one-stop source for the latest from SAMHSA.
|  SAMHSA is allowing flexibility for grant recipients affected by the loss of operational capacity and increased costs due to the COVID-19 crisis. These flexibilities are available during this emergency time period. Flexibility may be reassessed upon issuance of new guidance by the Office of Management and Budget post the emergency time period. Continue to check for updated information and resources to assist grant recipients during the COVID-19 emergency.
 Training and events are available for practitioners through SAMHSA Training and Technical Assistance Centers. Visit SAMHSA’s Practitioner Training webpage for a full list of the Centers. SAMHSA Headlines offers you a biweekly update of selected, upcoming trainings and webinars. However, for a broader range of activities, visit this website, as well as the training sections of individual technical assistance center websites. Selected events are highlighted below. Note that some of them require advance registration. Note: If you are unable to access an event or webinar or have questions, please contact the source given at the individual event URL. Monday, August 24, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT This course will: - Discuss the impact of cannabis use on the endocannabinoid system and fetal development,
- Evaluate studies that have evaluated the use of cannabis in pregnancy and lactation,
- Describe the risk factors associated with marijuana use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and
- Explain prevention strategies for practitioners and coalitions to minimize or eliminate the harm of cannabis use during pregnancy and lactation.
Thursday, August 27; Thursday, September 17; and Thursday, October 22 at 2:00 p.m. EDT
SAMHSA will be conducting a webinar on how to develop a competitive grant application.
The webinar will address: - The four registration processes that need to be completed
- Preparing to apply for a grant
- Key components of the funding opportunity announcement
- Responding effectively to the evaluation criteria
- Resources and technical assistance that are available
If you would like to receive the slides prior to the webinar, send an email to GPOtraining@samhsa.hhs.gov. | Thursday, August 27, 2020 2:00 p.m. EDT
SAMHSA’s Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) invites you to join national experts in a conversation about racial equity in recovery support communities and services. Presenters will highlight key indicators and challenges and describe best practices and promising strategies for advancing racial equity in recovery support settings. Please join us for this free, interactive virtual event. | The findings of CDC's MMWR on mental health issues and substance use during the pandemic are troubling but unfortunately not surprising. The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, has warned of the emergence of increased mental health and substance use issues since the start of the pandemic. | SAMHSA is committed to providing regular training and technical assistance (TTA) on matters related to the mental and substance use disorder field as they deal with COVID-19. View the updated available TTA resources to assist with the current situation. | On August 11, Second Lady Karen Pence participated in a Veteran Suicide Prevention Roundtable with Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, Congressman Dan Bishop, and organizations participating in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Governor’s & Mayor’s Challenges. | These FAQs address general questions associated with award and management of SAMHSA discretionary grants that may arise in relation to COVID-19. This information does not apply to SABG, MHBG, PATH or PAIMI grants. Applicants and grant recipients are strongly encouraged to continue to check for updated information and resources. | Tuesday, August 25, 2020 12:00 p.m. EDT Did you know that most codes of ethics include direction on self-care? It is the responsibility of the counselor to respond fully and be present for clients. Self-care enhances a counselor’s ability to do this. This course will review the definition of ethics and look at different codes of ethics (CASAC, NAADAC, CRC, and Social Work) and describe how self-care is important to maintain ethical practice. | Wednesday, August 26, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT This 90-minute training is part 1 in a two-part series on suicide prevention in rural primary care offices. This webinar will introduce a simple toolkit to help put suicide prevention protocols into place in a practice or clinic, and will walk participants through the screening, assessment, and intervention phases of suicide prevention.
Part 2: Intervention, Follow-up, & Telehealth Tips, will take place on Thursday, September 10, 2020 1:00 p.m. Part 2 of this two-part series will cover intervention, including medication, safety planning, documentation, and follow-up, for patients expressing suicidal ideation, and tips for helping patients via telehealth. | Wednesday, August 26, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT This event is aimed at physicians to increase awareness of the psychological, social, and biological consequences that describe the four corners of the disease in order to discuss the physical and psychological complexities of this process, with alcohol use disorder. This event will be held in Spanish. | Thursday, August 27, 1:00 p.m. EDT This series was developed to provide professionals with a review of implicit (i.e., unconscious) bias and how it negatively affects communications, interactions, decision-making, and service outcomes for racial and ethnic communities. It also offers tools and approaches to address, mitigate and diminish the effects of unconscious bias in the addiction, mental health, and prevention disciplines in order to collectively effect equitable outcomes for persons of color.
Session 1 of the four-part series: Origins of Unconscious Bias, will discuss how cognitive bias develops, how it is sustained by intrinsic and environmental factors, and how it contributes to inequitable outcomes for persons of color in behavioral health care.
Other sessions in the series include: - Session 2: Making the Case to Identify Not Blame, Thursday, September 3, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT,
- Session 3: Dismantling Bias and Building Equity, Thursday, September 10, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT, and
- Session 4: Learning from the Field, Thursday, September 17, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT.
| Friday, August 28, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT Learn how to navigate the field of integrated behavioral health and primary care successfully. Walk away equipped with knowledge of how to: - Integrate behavioral health into primary care,
- Use evidence-based practices in primary care, and
- Become a valued member of the medical home team in primary care.
Session 2 will focus on models of integrated behavioral health care with emphasis on the Primary Care model.
Other webinars in the series include: Ready to Hit the Pavement: How to Dive into Primary Care – Friday, September 25, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.; and Considerations in Maintaining Equity on Our Path to Pediatric Primary Care – Friday, October 30, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. | Saturday, August 29, 2020 9:00 a.m. EDT This pharmacist-driven training will provide detailed education on the induction and maintenance of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The webinar will: - Discuss the epidemiology of opioid overdose and opioid use disorder in the United States,
- Review the prescribing patterns of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain over the past two decades,
- Define and review the clinical presentation of opioid dependence, opioid withdrawal, and opioid use disorder, and
- Review the pharmacology and therapeutics for methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone, and naltrexone for the treatment of opioid use disorder.
| Monday, August 31, 2020 12:00 p.m. EDT This interactive learning community conversation is designed to equip peers, counselors, social workers, anyone working with people, with concepts and preparatory actions that can be used to de-escalate a wide range of interactions. The basics of de-escalation include the ABC model of assessment, the Seven Principles of Effective Verbal Interventions, and a worker self-care assessment tool. | Monday, August 31, 2020 1:00 p.m. EDT The webinar will provide a broad overview of the current state of underage drinking and related prevention efforts. A review of the data on the prevalence of alcohol use and alcohol use patterns will be provided, along with data on the adverse effects of underage alcohol use, and research on its risk and protective factors. The webinar also will provide an overview of the Federal landscape as it relates to underage drinking prevention, and conclude by identifying successful prevention strategies. | Friday, September 4, 2020 12:00 p.m. EDT Virtual sessions support our Native communities in these challenging times. These meetings cover major concerns that have been expressed, share resources, and encourage the peer support that has been happening among those who participated.
The next meeting in this series session in this series will be on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. | |
