Certified Addictions-Informed Mental Health Professional (CAIMHP): Two-Day Intensive Competency Training

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Paul Brasler, LCSW, CAIMHP Related seminars and products

---

Paul Brasler, LCSW, CAIMHP, became a licensed clinical social worker in 2002. Paul is the coordinator for the Chesterfield County (Virginia) Employee Behavioral Health Program, through which he and his team provide clinical services to first responders and human services personnel. He has extensive experience working with people in crisis and people living with substance use disorders, including adolescent residential treatment, community mental health settings, hospital emergency departments, juvenile drug court, and private practice.

Paul has been a national presenter (through PESI) since 2016, and he has presented classes across the country on mental health emergencies, high-risk clients, resiliency, and a certification course for clinicians working with people with substance use disorders. He has written three books: The Clinician’s Guide to Suicide Management, PESI Publishing, 2025; The Clinician’s Guide to Substance Use Disorder, PESI Publishing, 2022; and High-Risk Clients, PESI Publishing, 2019. Paul lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his beautiful wife, three sons, cowardly dog, and two dwarf rabbits who are quietly plotting to destroy the world.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Paul Brasler maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Chesterfield County. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Paul Brasler has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Objectives

1. Appraise the causes of substance use disorders & factors that reinforce drug use as related to case conceptualization.
2. Analyze the basic neurobiology of addictive chemicals and its treatment implications.
3. Categorize commonly misused drugs, including current “street names” of these substances, as related to assessment and treatment planning.
4. Assess the signs and symptoms of substance intoxication and distinguish withdrawal syndromes for each drug class as related to case conceptualization.
5. Perform a clinical assessment to distinguish substance use disorders from other mental health disorders and inform the clinician’s choice of treatment interventions.
6. Analyze the various levels of substance use treatment, including medication-assisted therapies, to inform clinical treatment interventions.
7. Evaluate the process of detoxification and its treatment implications.
8. Utilize clinical strategies, such as motivational interviewing, to improve client engagement and foster behavioural change.
9. Modify clinical interventions for use with clients in special populations, such as adolescents or pregnant women.
10. Utilize clinical strategies to engage the client’s family in treatment to improve treatment outcomes.
11. Demonstrate strategies used to improve the efficacy of group therapy, such as strategies for addressing disruptive members and building group cohesion.
12. Evaluate ethical and legal issues related to substance use and substance use treatment, including circumstances when you should disclose client records.

Outline

The Science Behind Substance Use Disorders

• Biopsychosocial aspects of substance abuse
• Attachment & trauma
• The brain’s reward system
• How metabolism impacts substance abuse

Signs of Intoxication & Withdrawal Symptoms

• Alcohol & other depressants
• Stimulants
• Opioids
• Cannabinoids
• Psychoactive plants & chemicals
• Inhalants

Assessment of Substance Use Disorders

• How to ask sensitive intake questions
• Take-home screening tools
• Identify substances that mimic other disorders
• Spot co-occurring disorders & trauma
• How to navigate a high risk of misdiagnosis
• Non-invasive drug screenings

Treatment Planning: Determine Level of Care

• How to approach level of care decisions
• Why detox alone is NOT treatment
• Detox protocols
• Types of inpatient & outpatient treatment
• When is partial hospitalization necessary
• Which treatment level is right for your client?

Recognize & Treat Behavioural/Process Addictions

• Compulsive gambling
• Compulsive sexual behaviours
• Electronic addictions

Treatment of Substance Use Disorders

Strategies to Improve Client Engagement & Treatment Compliance

• Motivational interviewing
• Reward gains & treatment compliance
• Case management: Link the client to resources
• Medication-assisted treatment

Psychodynamic Approaches

• The role of the ego in addiction & recovery
• Identify & confront defence mechanisms
• Recognize & heal past trauma

Cognitive-Behavioural Interventions

• Apply the A-B-C model to substance abuse
• Recognize triggers to use
• Foster coping skills
• Deconstruct negative schemas

Substance Use Disorders & The Family

• The family’s role in recovery
• Family member roles: Enablers & heroes
• Overcome family rules that block progress
• When the client is shielded form consequences
• How & when to engage the entire family

Treatment Strategies for Special Populations

• Children & adolescents
• Active military & veterans
• LGBTQ clients
• Pregnant women
• Older adults

Group Therapy Strategies

• Handling intoxicated members
• How group support works differently
• Barriers to treatment
• Getting people to talk
• Spotting dealers within the group
• Referring to 12-step groups & alternatives

Legal & Ethical Issues in Treating Substance Use Disorders

• Privacy laws & when you should disclose
• Impaired practitioners
• Working with incarcerated clients
• Drug treatment courts
• Bias in treating recovering clients
• Recognize & address vicarious trauma
• Limitations of the research & potential risks

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Addiction Counselors
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Nurses
• Nurse Practitioners
• Case Managers
• Physician Assistants
• Physicians
• Psychiatrists
• Paramedics and Other First Responders
• Probation/Parole Officers
• Police Officers
• Clergy