Substance Use Prevention and Treatment

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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

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Transforming from CSTAR to ASAM

Paradise Ballroom B

 

Speaker(s):

Johnson, Clif, CRAADC

Adams, Dan, MBA

Description

This presentation is one provider’s experience and update on how transforming from CSTAR to ASAM in a SUD program went and how after 6 months it is developing and affecting outcomes. The focus is to have some interactive discussion with those attending to share input and experiences.

Objectives

1. Explain different ways agencies have transformed to ASAM from CSTAR
2. Review agency documents being used to guide staff for LOCA
3. Discuss some ideas for their EHR development around ASAM

Adams Presentation

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as it Relates to Mental Health and Substance Use in a Rural Setting

Paradise Ballroom B

 

Speaker(s):

Cornell, Alison, MSW

Tobias, Amanda, AA

Tranbarger, Raven, MSW

Description

Substance use and mental health populations have rapidly increased since the pandemic, with numbers increasing to 4 in 10 Americans reporting mental health concerns and 13% of people reporting use of substances. We will be focusing on Substance use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with emphasis on the impact of underserved communities. With the increased numbers, it has become imperative that we are able to offer individualized treatment to individuals in our communities. By understanding the relationship between Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs related to the stages of change, we are better able to serve our communities by using this knowledge to provide individualized holistic treatment designed to address barriers that are specific to the rural community before and after the challenges the pandemic has created.

This training will emphasize each level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how it is related to the stages of change. We will examine each stage and how it can both elevate and hinder successful movement during treatment. The training will utilize an open dialogue to engage individuals in the training with case studies as we discuss resources available in rural areas as well as the barriers that are faced as we work with individuals who are engaging in mental health and substance use treatment.

Objectives

1. Discuss the impact of mental health and substance use on individuals.
2. Describe concepts related to stages of change and its relationship in treatment settings.
3. Obtain information on locating resources in a rural setting

Cornell Presentation

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Rapp, Sherry, AAS

Sherry Rapp is a certified Missouri Recovery Support Specialist. For the past three years she has been employed at Recovery Lighthouse as the Family Advocate for the Family Recovery Program. She co-facilitates recovery workshops, the local family support group, holds community events to reduce stigma, and meets with families as needed to provide support and resources. Prior to this job, Sherry worked for other 15 years in the legal community at the Johnson County Circuit Clerks office and 13 years in a private attorney office. She identifies as a mother in recovery and brings her lived experience along with learned skills as MRSS to the role of the Family Advocate at Recovery Lighthouse.

Presentation(s):

Engaging Families in Services: The Family Recovery Program

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Connors, Liz, LCSW, CRADC

Liz Connors is a licensed clinical social worker, certified substance abuse counselor, and clinical program manager with thirteen years of experience in both clinical and research settings addressing substance use, mental health, criminal justice, and the opioid epidemic. Her work primarily focuses on addressing and eliminating barriers to accessing care for people who use drugs, naloxone distribution to high-need populations, and providing harm reduction education and resources to people who use drugs. Her recent work focuses on first responder occupational safety, public health oriented behaviors, and creating collaborative care networks within the scope of the opioid epidemic. Liz has expertise in community coordination, resource collaboration, infrastructure development, and advocacy work across organizational lines. She currently serves as the Director of First Responder and Public Health Programming at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health.

Presentation(s):

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

By

Green, Lauren, MSW

Lauren Green is the Director of Community Harm Reduction Programming at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri Institute of Mental Health. She has experience working collaboratively with partners across various sectors to reduce overdose mortality and increase access to harm reduction training and resources. Over the past six years, Lauren has worked to create more acceptance of harm reduction as a philosophy and vastly expand access to overdose education and naloxone across the state of Missouri. Lauren’s passion and focus is centered on reducing harm for people who use drugs and addressing stigma and inequalities related to drug use, incarceration, and access to care.

Presentation(s):

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

By

Tranbarger, Raven, MSW

Raven Tranbarger is the SUD/ITCD team leader for North Central Missouri Mental Health where she supervises multiple caseworkers and Certified Peer Specialists. Tranbarger began as team lead in February of 2022 and began her career with the agency in August of 2021 as a Community Support Specialist. She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Central Missouri in 2020. During this time, she was in the McNair Program and the university’s Honor Society. She conducted research regarding homeless populations in Warrensburg and presented this information at the McNair conference in 2020. After graduation, Tranbarger enrolled in the Advanced program at the University of Kansas for her Master’s in Social Work degree that allowed her to graduate in 2021. She was additionally accepted into the Integrated Scholars program, where she had the opportunity to conduct research and build a mock program designed to assist adolescents in crisis through community resources including hospitals and school districts.

Presentation(s):

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as it Relates to Mental Health and Substance Use in a Rural Setting