DHSS Press Release

DHSS TO PRESENT PROGRESSIVE CONFERENCE ON TRAUMA, TREATMENT AND INTENSIVES WITH 3 WEEKLONG SESSIONS BEGINNING OCT. 24 IN DOVER

NEW CASTLE (Sept. 27, 2016) - The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental will present a progressive conference on trauma, treatment and intensives featuring national speakers leading more than 50 workshops during weeklong sessions in October, November and December. The conference begins Oct. 24 in Dover with a daylong opening session devoted to addressing violence in Delaware.

The weeklong conferences over three months will include workshops on trauma-informed care, suicide prevention, dementia diagnoses, clinic supervision, counseling skills, family work, LGBTQ, psychosis, opioids, autism spectrum disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, relapse prevention, dialectical behavior therapy and more. The conferences will be Oct. 24-28 at Delaware Technical Community College in Dover; and Nov. 14-18 and Dec. 12-15, both at the Embassy Suites in Newark. The cost of almost all workshops is $50 per day, and applications for continuing education credits have been submitted for all sessions. Exhibitor opportunities are available at $100 per day.

"This conference will bring some of the country's foremost experts in mental health, addiction and other health issues to Delaware," Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Rita Landgraf said. "Collectively, the way that we improve the screening, early intervention and treatment of individuals with behavioral health issues is to learn from the best practitioners in our region and across the country."

More than 400 people are expected to attend the Oct. 24 session on addressing violence in Delaware featuring Wilmington Police Chief Bobby L. Cummings on policing in an urban setting; Special Agent Jin Kim from the FBI's New York office on what an individual should know when confronted with exposure to firearms; and Alex Crosby from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how community violence, personal violence, self-violence, generational violence and exposure to violence are connected. The session is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with registration beginning at 8 a.m. at the Delaware Tech Conference Center. The cost of this daylong session is $25. "As the state continues to build a more robust community-based system of care, this progressive conference will help providers to build their knowledge bases in so many areas, including understanding the influence that trauma has on addiction, integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders, cognitive therapy for suicide prevention, and best practices in behavioral health treatment for LTBTQ people," said Michael Barbieri, director of DHSS' Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health."

Only online registrations with credit card payments are accepted for the conferences through the state's Delaware Learning Center. Non-state employees or state employees whose agency does not participate in the Delaware Learning Center will need to create an online account to register. State employees must register through the link at the Office of Management and Budget's website. Questions about conference content, logistics and registration can be emailed to DSAMH.Training@delaware.gov. Participants may be eligible for college credit at Wilmington University. For more information, email coel@wilmu.edu.

"A Progressive Conference: 3 Weeks, 3 Months, 3 Foci: Trauma, Treament, inTensives" was designed and developed by Dr. Carol Kuprevich, Marco Brown, Heaven Capone, Christopher Knox, David Matias and Jessica Washer.

Co-sponsors of the training include the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, Autism Delaware, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center, City of Wilmington, Delaware Certification Board, Delaware Council on Gambling Problems, Delaware Division of the Arts, DHSS' Division of Developmental Disabilities Services and Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families' Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Sciences, FBI, New York Office, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Frontier and Rural Addiction Technology Transfer Center, Northeast and Caribbean Addiction Technology Transfer Center, Strategic Prevention Framework - State Incentive Grant, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.