Trainings will begin at 9:00 A.M.  All classes will be held at The Consultation Center unless otherwise stated. A letter of confirmation and directions will be sent to you following receipt of your completed registration. Participants are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes before the training event.

JANUARY   FEBRUARY   MARCH   APRIL   MAY   JUNE

JANUARY 2008 

Prevention Group Work with Adolescent Girls   Register Now
1/18/08 9:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Faculty: Terry Freeman, MAT, LCSW, CPP-R

Gender-specific prevention work with adolescent girls challenges group facilitators to select topics and strategies that fit the developmental needs of group members. Based on experience with girls' groups for middle and high school age females, this workshop will emphasize specifics of gender-specific work with girls, review developmental issues of adolescent girls, examine curricular resources, and discuss activities, structure, and group leadership issues.

Core Competencies in Prevention  (3 NASW CECs)  Register Now
1/25/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Susan Ottenheimer Zimmerman, LCSW

This course provides an overview of prevention approaches by emphasizing its core competencies of practice, including training and community education, program development, consultation and technical assistance, advocacy, and program evaluation. At the end of the workshop participants in the course will: 1) be able to describe the major core competencies in prevention; 2) have developed skills to implement prevention services for at least two core competencies; and 3) be able to identify resources to gain further expertise in specific core competencies as their practice needs change. 

FEBRUARY 2008    Back to Top

Tools and Strategies to Facilitate the Development of Outcome-Based Programs  (3 NASW CECs)  Register Now
2/1/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Meghan K. Finley, Ph.D.

This workshop is geared to program managers and agency directors and will review how to develop and utilize mission statements, program goals and measurable outcomes. The workshop will include both didactic and participatory components and will give participants the opportunity to understand the importance of mission statements and program goals and how to develop them. In addition, participants will learn how to develop outcomes that are measurable, realistic (program can impact them), feasible (program can collect the data) and useful. Participants will learn how to develop their programs theory of change (mission --> goals --> activities --> outputs --> outcomes) and to articulate this theory in a logic model. Finally, participants will learn how to utilize these tools for strategic planning and on-going program monitoring.

Resource Development and Grant Writing for Youth-Serving Organizations  (3 NASW CECs)  Register Now
2/8/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Deborah Stewart, BA, CPP

This course will be an introduction to grant writing and to proposal development. It will include a format for proposal development, resource materials on effective grant writing, and examples of funding guidelines from a variety of public and private sector funders. Participants will: l) learn about the essential steps for proposal development and successful grant writing; 2) review formats and guidelines from different funding sources; 3) identify various funding sources and ways to find sources relevant to their particular interest areas; 4) practice the sequence of steps necessary to completing funding applications; 5) identify additional opportunities for obtaining training and technical assistance with grant writing and resource development.

A Perspective on Ethical Issues in Prevention Practice and Research  (3 NASW CECs)  Register Now
2/15/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: David L. Snow, Ph.D., and Susan Ottenheimer Zimmerman, LCSW

This workshop will provide a perspective on ethical issues frequently encountered in implementing community-based prevention programs and in conducting prevention research. Ethical issues will be considered related to: 1) values and value conflicts and determining intervention goals and objectives; 2) principles that guide the processes of action and implementation; 3) ethical dilemmas related to informed consent; and 4) conducting prevention research in community settings and how findings are shared with stakeholders. An experiential component will be built in throughout to involve participants in debating the resolution of various ethical dilemmas. 

MARCH 2008    Back to Top

How to Evaluate Your Program: Appropriate Approaches to Evaluation  (3 NASW CECs)  Register Now
3/7/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Amy Griffin, M.A.

This workshop will cover the basics of program evaluation, including interactive exercises to help participants learn how to prepare for and engage in the evaluation process. The workshop is meant to introduce participants to program evaluation and provide them with resources to help enable them to contribute to the development and utilization of evaluation within their programs. The course will cover needs assessments, logic models, evaluation design, and utilizing data to inform program decisions. Objectives: 1)introduce participants to program evaluation and various steps in the evaluation process, including logic models and evaluation design; 2) provide participants with resources to assist them in preparing for and participating in the evaluation process; 3) help participants think about how they can develop and utilize evaluation within their own programs.

Introduction to Suicide Prevention  (3 NASW CECs)    Register Now
3/14/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Susan Ottenheimer Zimmerman, LCSW

In any given year in the United States, approximately 30,000 individuals commit suicide and thousands more make attempts. It is estimated that 90% of those who die by suicide at any age have a diagnosable mental illness, most often depression, making the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with emotional disorders critical to suicide prevention efforts. Suicide is clearly a clinical issue, but it is also a public health or environmental issue, requiring a shift in focus that not only includes prevention and treatment at the individual level, but also includes prevention at the community level. This course will include an overview of risk and protective factors across the lifespan that place certain individuals at increased risk for suicide. An array of preventive intervention strategies will be explored, including examples of “Effective” and “Promising” Evidence-based programs. Participants will: 1) learn about the signs and symptoms of mental illness and the risk factors for suicide for individuals across the lifespan and 2) increase their awareness of multi-level preventive intervention strategies targeting individuals and communities. An interactive component will be built in throughout. 

APRIL 2008    Back to Top

Coping with Work and Family Stress^TM 
A Workplace Preventive Intervention  (SAMHSA Model Program)  (3 NASW CECs)   Register Now
4/4/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: David L. Snow, Ph.D. and Susan Ottenheimer Zimmerman, LCSW

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Healthy Relationships/Preventing Violence for Young Adults (3 NASW CECs & .3 Ed. CEUs)   Register Now
4/11/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Terry Freeman, MAT, LCSW, CPP-R, and Desreen Dudley, Psy.D.

This interactive workshop will include principles, curricula and strategies for working with adolescents to promote healthy relationships and prevent relationship violence. Based on our curriculum, "Healthy Inside and Out," the workshop will prepare participants for planning and implementing relationship-focused programs to fit young adults. Participants will review current knowledge about adolescent relationship violence, sample strategies and materials they can use with adolescents, and exchange ideas on tailoring curriculum to their own population and setting.

Life Skills for the Transition to Adulthood  (3 NASW CECs & .3 Ed. CEUs)  Register Now
4/25/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Terry Freeman, MAT, LCSW, CPP-R

Prevention research emphasizes the effectiveness of "life skills" training in order to decrease the likelihood of risky behaviors by adolescents. This workshop will place emphasis on the developmental needs of older adolescents and the skills they need for successful adulthood. Components of life skills curriculum that support their growth will be reviewed, including topics such as decision-making, goal-setting, career exploration, self-care and coping, independent living, etc. Strategies and materials useful for community-based group work or formal educational settings with older adolescents will be explored. Emphasis will be on interactive activities that involve youth in learning and positive development.

MAY 2008    Back to Top

An Overview of the 5 Steps: Strategic Prevention Framework (3 NASW CECs)  Register Now
5/2/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon

**THIS WORKSHOP IS ALSO BEING OFFERED ON 5/23/08** Register Now
 

Faculty: Susan Ottenheimer Zimmerman, LCSW, and David L. Snow, Ph.D.

The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) has introduced a new process for prevention planning on the local community, state and national levels, referred to as the “Strategic Prevention Framework”. Several years ago the state of Connecticut, with DMHAS serving as the lead agency, received funding support through a State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) to implement this process. The SPF SIG process includes five steps: 1) conducting a statewide needs assessment; 2) building state and community prevention capacity; 3) developing a comprehensive statewide strategic plan; 4) implementing evidence-based prevention programs and infrastructure development activities, and evaluation. In this training, participants will be introduced to each of these steps, including how the SPF-SIG is currently being implemented in Connecticut.

Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse  Register Now
5/9/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Susan Ottenheimer Zimmerman, LCSW

Over $78 billion in prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are produced each year in the United States. Although most people use these medications properly, a significant number do not. They might take them without a doctor's prescription, use more than prescribed, or take them for reasons other than those that the drugs were prescribed for. Misuse of prescription and OTC drugs can often lead to psychological and physical dependence. This is a significant problem across the lifespan, from teens to older adults. Participants will learn which prescription and OTC drugs are most widely abuse, including risk and protective factors for abuse and sample prevention strategies.  

Needs Assessments and Program Evaluation:  
Collection and Utilization of Archival and Novel Data  (3 NASW CECs)    Register Now
5/16/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Amy Griffin, M.A.

This workshop is geared to participants who have some understanding or experience with needs assessments and/or program evaluation. The workshop will review how the collection of needs assessment data and the development of outcomes that are measurable, realistic (program can impact them), feasible (program can collect the data) and useful impact both the development of a program and the evaluation of the efficacy of a program. Participants will also be exposed to a variety of ways to collect or access data for needs assessments and assessing program outcomes including: program data, social indicator data, archival data, qualitative data (including key informant interviews and focus groups) and survey data. Finally, participants will learn how to utilize data for ongoing program development and evaluation.

Impact of Family Violence on Alcohol and Other Drug Use  (6 NASW CECs)    Register Now
5/29/08 9:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Faculty: Tami P. Sullivan, Ph.D. and Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Ph.D.

This course is designed for participants with minimal to some experience in working with populations that struggle with family violence and/or substance use issues. Traditional instructive methods will be used to review approaches to understanding the multiple relationships that exist between domestic violence and substance use for individual children, adolescents, and adults, as well as families. Skill enhancement will focus on identifying family violence as a significant contributor to substance use and how that relationship differs for men and women, assessing the impact of family violence on substance use, and developing methods to more effectively work with clients with these co-occurring issues. Participants will: 1) Review existing research and practice regarding the multiple relationships that exist between family violence and substance use for youth and adults and men and women; 2) enhance skills to identify family violence as a contributor to substance use for men and women; 3) be introduced to tools that can be used to assess for family violence and substance use; and 4) enhance skills to intervene with clients who experience family violence and substance use.

Domestic Violence and Women's Health: Advancing a Prevention Approach  (3 NASW CECs)    Register Now
5/30/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Ph.D.

This training will provide participants with both didactic and practical information about domestic violence and women from a public health framework. Traditional instructive methods will be used for participants to focus on: 1) multiple approaches to examining and preventing domestic violence; 2) risk factors for domestic violence along with correlates and outcomes of domestic violence; 3) the effect of domestic violence on women’s ability to parent; and 4) screening for domestic violence. An overview of strategies to prevent domestic violence will be presented.

JUNE 2008    Back to Top

Promoting Resilience Across the Life Span  (3 NASW CECs)    Register Now
6/13/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Jacob Kraemer Tebes, Ph.D.

An overview of resilience across the lifespan will be presented with an emphasis on its relationship to other types of adaptation and well-being. At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: 1) develop a program to promote resilience for a specific target age group of their interest; and 2) understand some of the complexities in evaluating resilience-promotion programs.   

Identification of Risk and Protective Factors for Alcohol and Prescription Substance Abuse in Older Adults:     Register Now
Implications for Program Planning
6/20/08 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
Faculty: Donna Fedus, M.A.

This interactive workshop will explore awareness, attitudes, and understanding of individuals, families, and health professionals toward alcohol and prescription substance abuse in older adults. It will include an overview of the prevalence of substance abuse and addiction, risk and protective factors related to alcohol and other substance abuse, the potential role of ageism in under-identification of alcohol and prescription substance abuse in older adults, and the bio-psycho-social factors involved. As a result of this training, participants will be able to: 1) identify their own pre-conceived ideas relating to substance abuse and older adults; 2) understand the physical, psychological, and social aspects of substance abuse in older adults; 3) understand the impact that preconceived notions, including ageism, has on the identification of elders at risk for substance abuse and the on development of interventions addressing alcohol and substance abuse in elders; and 4) outline techniques for working with older adults and their families around alcohol and substance abuse that address risk factors and enhance protective factors for elders.

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