Substance Use Prevention and Treatment

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Eisleben, Lauren, BS, MEd, LPC

Lauren Eisleben is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Missouri specializing in substance use treatment, couple’s counseling, and family systems trauma. She is the Clinical Director of The Intensive, an Intensive Outpatient Program within the Columbia, MO private practice, Individual, Marriage & Family Counseling.
Lauren has been a presenter at the Missouri Addiction Counselors’ Association Fall 2023 Conference, frequently facilitates trainings associated with ICEEFT (International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy), and regularly supervises practicum and internship students in the field of counseling.
Prior to her work in the field of mental health, Lauren was an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and was an active board member of City of Refuge, a non-profit organization supporting immigrants and refugees in mid-Missouri.
 

Presentation(s):

The Efficacy of the CRAFT Model of Therapy in a Group Setting

Harm Reduction: The Next Wave in Substance Use Disorder Treatment

 

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O’Kelley, Scott, MA, EdS

Scott O’Kelley has been with Missouri Department of Corrections since 2011, first monitoring behavioral health services and currently serving as Assistant Division Director for Behavioral Health, overseeing mental health, substance use, and sexual offense treatment for incarcerated residents and parolees and probationers. A Licensed Professional Counselor, Scott also teaches forensic psychology at Westminster College. Prior to joining the Department of Corrections, O’Kelley worked in community mental health in Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Columbia.

Presentation(s):

The Changing Face of Corrections Based Substance Use Services

 

 

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Kitson, Karin, BS

Karin Kitson has worked with individuals with substance use and criminal justice involvement since 2007. She joined the Gateway team in 2017 in the RRMAT Program (Reducing Recidivism through Medication Assisted Treatment), educating pre-release clients on MAT options, coordinating with DOC and other partners for pre-release MAT, and arranging warm-handoffs to aftercare in their home communities. In 2023 Gateway Foundation’s RRMAT program has reached their 10th year providing these services across the state of Missouri. Karin continues to strive to create partnerships and connections to empower clients in long-term success in their recovery, their families, and their communities.

Presentation(s):

The Changing Face of Corrections Based Substance Use Services

 

 

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Charting the Landscape of Missouri’s Recovery Community Centers

Room Paradise Ballroom A

Speaker(s)

Bridget Coffey, MA, MSW & Lindsey Pawlowski, MSW
Panelists

Description

Recovery Community Centers (RCCs), or places where people in substance use treatment and recovery can gather to find a supportive community and access resources, have increasingly played a part in many people’s recovery journey. RCCs provide essential services to people across Missouri, providing services that range from harm reduction materials to assisting with job placement.
Missouri has recently expanded access to RCCs. The state has funded four RCCs since 2018, with four additional RCCs receiving state funding starting in 2022. Each RCC offers services individualized to its community, and while each serves people in recovery, the support received at each can look very different.
This session will begin with a 20-minute presentation about RCCs in Missouri, including an overview of what RCCs are, the types of services available at each, and a summary of RCC usage data. After the presentation, we will moderate a focus group discussion with five individuals who are involved with RCCs at different levels.

Objectives

1. Define Recovery Community Centers (RCCs) and the role they play in recovery from substance use.
2. Describe what the RCC landscape looks like in MO from the perspectives of both RCC staff and participants
3. Discuss the future for RCCs in MO
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The Changing Face of Corrections-Based Substance Use Services

Room Leeward 74-75

Speaker(s):

Duane Cummins PhD, Karin Kitson BS & Scott O’Kelley MA, EdS

Description

This presentation will review the historical evolution of corrections based SU treatment services in Missouri, the current transitioning and development of these services, and the future expectations for these services, to include the important role of MAT.

Objectives

    • Describe the historical evolution of SU treatment interventions in Missouri Corrections
    • Identify the current status of these services
    • Describe the important role of MAT within these services
    • Identify the present behavioral health model focus being implemented within corrections-based services
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Harm Reduction: The Next Wave in Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Room Leeward 74-75

Speaker(s):

Lauren Eisleben, BS, MEd, LPC & Jeremy Duke, MA, LPC

Description

While the philosophy of harm reduction is generally welcomed and supported by industry professionals and the population alike, implementing harm reduction interventions is complex and often misunderstood. What does it look like – in practice – to approach a client from a harm reduction framework? Do we, as clinicians, approve or enable substance use and process addiction behaviors as we work from a place of compassion and curiosity?
Join us as we work together to understand and welcome our own professional and personal biases as they pertain to harm reduction. Let’s work together to provide a place for respect, dignity, and autonomy for those who are struggling with acute or chronic substance use disorder, eating disorders, and/or complex mental health challenges.

Objectives

    • Describe what harm reduction means and how it is applied in counseling practice
    • Identify systemic and micro barriers to providing compassionate and client-centered treatment
    • Practice real-time harm reduction interventions within the presentation
    • Connect with other professionals to learn how to utilize the harm reduction philosophy in our respective workplaces
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Inclusion & Affirmation: Improving SUD Treatment for the LGBTQIA+ Population

Paradise Ballroom B

 

Speaker(s):

Nesbitt, Donna, BA

Description

This presentation will focus on the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ individuals seeking treatment for substance use. It will examine important considerations for success in recovery as well as which interventions are most effective for long-term sobriety. Those attending will be educated on updated terminology, current societal issues, and concerns regarding treatment that all contribute to the prevalence of addiction among this community. The presentation will be given from the perspective of someone who specializes in working with LGBTQIA+ clients and has been one. The hope is to increase awareness, improve inclusivity, shift treatment protocols, and demonstrate to providers how they can be more affirmative in the support they are offering. The presentation will also give tips and ideas for increasing involvement with advocacy and potentially increase the number of clients that reach out.

Objectives

Define common terms important to know for working with the LGBTQIA+

Increase knowledge of changes occurring within & outside community

Identify the unique issues LGBTQIA+ individuals face which contribute to SUD

Describe the difference between inclusivity versus affirmation in treatment

Utilize suggestions in order to improve current practice for better outcomes

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Five Years of Missouri’s Medication First Approach to Opioid Use Disorder: What We’ve Learned and Where We Go From Here

Paradise Ballroom B

 

Speaker(s):

Winograd, Rachel, PhD

Description

The overdose death crisis across the United States continues to worsen, despite some glimmers of hope in certain regions and in certain strategies. In Missouri, the State Targeted and State Opioid Response (STR/SOR) grants initiated in 2017 supported the development and implementation of the Medication First approach to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and demonstrated positive initial results. Medication First for OUD is a “low-barrier” treatment approach and is analogous to the Housing First approach to chronic homelessness; both prioritize rapid and permanent access to life-saving resources (housing for homelessness and treatment medications, particularly buprenorphine and methadone, for OUD).

Early findings from the first 18 months of Medication First implementation across Missouri’s state-funded substance use disorder treatment programs found uninsured clients enrolled in STR/SOR programs were more likely to receive medications for OUD (MOUD), to receive them faster, and to be retained in treatment significantly longer than uninsured clients enrolled in non-STR/SOR programs. However, subsequent analyses covering years 2019-2022 yield less straightforward results. For example, medication utilization has decreased within STR/SOR programs while increasing in non-STR/SOR programs (plateauing at approximately 60% of all uninsured clients combined receiving any form of MOUD), and disaggregation by race reveals notable racial disparities in treatment retention across timepoints.
This presentation will review statewide findings from STR/SOR treatment programs from the last five years, offer insights into why low-barrier MOUD treatment continues to be difficult to access and implement, reflect on lessons learned through Medication First dissemination, and provide tangible recommendations for Missouri’s future substance use treatment funding and programming endeavors.

Objectives

1. Describe a summary of broad trends of Missouri’s STR/SOR treatment outcomes from the last five years
2. List three specific barriers to implementing and sustaining low-barrier medical treatment for opioid use disorder within specialty substance use disorder treatment programs
3. Identify two strategies for reducing racial disparities and improving opioid use disorder treatment outcomes for Black individuals in Missouri

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Engaging Families in Services: The Family Recovery Program

Paradise Ballroom B

 

Speaker(s):

Likcani, Adriatik, PhD, LMFT

Larkin, Nicole, MS, CDAC, SMFT

Rapp, Sherry, AAS

Description

Dr. Likcani developed the Family Recovery Program with the support of the Department of Mental Health, and the contributions of a team of colleagues at Recovery Lighthouse and the University of Central Missouri. This presentation will focus on specific interventions on how to engage families and how to partner with them when they have a loved one struggling with SUD/OUD. Participants will learn concrete interventions they can use in their communities to engage families, promote family recovery, reduce stigma, and increase their knowledge on family systems-based interventions for family therapy, psychoeducational groups with families, and how to develop local support groups for families. The three main Family Recovery Program goals are to: 1) Help families get their loved one into services and in recovery; 2) Coach families to use their strengths and resources as a healthy support system for their loved one; and, 3) Help them develop a vision of a healthy relationship and improve family structure & functioning. Goals are accomplished through a comprehensive approach focusing on the following five overarching program components: 1) Family Education Workshops; 2) Open Support Group for Families; 3) Family Therapy; 4) Immediate Access to Resources; and, 5) Public Relations and Service. Participants will learn about program goals, components, and implementation strategies of the Family Recovery Program at their agencies.

Objectives

1. Discuss strategies how to engage families in services.
2. Explore ways to integrate family systems-based interventions in alcohol and drug treatment and recovery support programs.
3. Review concrete ideas for implementing the Family Recovery Program.
4. Discuss qualitative and quantitative research outcomes of family engagement in services.

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Expanding Harm Reduction and Naloxone Access throughout Missouri – Overcoming Objections and Knocking Down Obstacles to Build New Paths Forward

Paradise Ballroom B

 

Speaker(s):

Green, Lauren, MSW

Connors, Liz, LCSW, CRADC

Description

Since third-party access to naloxone became legal in Missouri in 2017, naloxone access across the state has drastically increased. In 2018, the UMSL-MIMH team distributed nearly 11,000 naloxone kits through the Missouri Opioid/Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education (MO-HOPE) project and State Targeted Response (STR) grant. In 2022-2023 grant cycle, our team is on track to distribute over 197,000 kits through the following projects: Navigating Overdose Response Through Harm reduction (North*) project, State Overdose Response (SOR) grant, Expanding Naloxone Access and Community Training (ENACT) grant, Drugs Overdose, Trust and Safety (Connecting the DOTS) grant, and the Missouri Coordinating Overdose Response Partnerships and Support (MO-CORPS) grant. With this massive increase of resources, our programming can reach many more partners and sectors and better meet the needs of those we serve. This presentation will outline the various naloxone initiatives in Missouri and provide guidance on how both agencies and individuals in Missouri can get free access to naloxone and harm reduction training. Additionally, presenters will share their experiences expanding harm reduction programming across various sectors including obstacles they have encountered, lessons learned, and their strategies for overcoming common objections to harm reduction.

Objectives

1. Describe the plans for harm reduction growth across the state of Missouri
2. Review how to access naloxone in Missouri
3. Discover strategies for overcoming common objections to harm reduction
4. Describe implementation barriers that presenters have encountered and how they overcame them