Psychiatry and Addictions Case Conference (UW PACC):  For providers in Washington to build the confidence and skills of providers who care for patients with mental and behavioral health conditions. Any community providers (physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and mental health professionals) in Washington State are welcome to join the UW PACC series.

Thursday, May 9, 2024 12:00PM - 1:30PM PST

Topic: Leveraging Family in OUD Treatment

Speaker: Lara Okoloko, LICSW

Panelists: Mark Duncan, MD, Richard Ries, MD
 Kari Stephens, PhD  and Barb McCann, PhD --

Instructor: Lara Okoloko, LICSW

Level: Intermediate

CEs: 3

Smith College, School for Social Work, Professional Education

Stigma against people with substance use disorders (SUDs) degrades the quality of services available for clients. This stigma also radiates out to the family and limits the informal social supports that families receive from their community, and the development and dissemination of quality services for families. Are we, as helping professionals, unwittingly contributing to the stigma these families face? If so, what can we do about it? How can we use what we already know about the value of unconditional positive regard, cultural humility and the family system to guide us forward and improve services for families experiencing a substance use disorder?

Weaving together wisdom from multiple theoretical orientations, this short course will challenge the outdated paradigm of codependency, detachment and confrontation to build a more validating, strength-based, theoretically-grounded base to work from when helping families survive a substance use disorder.

This course is hosted by Smith College continued education program.

Substance use disorder is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders yet most social workers receive little training in how to respond to clients who may be experiencing problems with drugs and alcohol. Many social workers feel nervous about encountering addiction in their clients, but it cannot be avoided. Let’s reduce anxiety about discovering problematic substance use in your clients and increase your confidence about how to ethically and effectively address your clients’ substance use, whether or not you plan to provide “treatment” for risky or harmful substance use.

In this short course, participants will learn how to screen clients for substance use disorders and how to intervene in the context of the therapeutic relationship. Participants will consider how their responses to clients with substance use problems align with the NASW code of ethics, particularly the clients’ right to self-determination, considerations for termination of services and working within the bounds of our competence.

This course will cover:

1. What is typical substance use and what is a substance use disorder.

2. How to screen for substance use disorders using validated screening tools.

3. How to therapeutically respond to your clients’ problematic substance use in the context of your work with them.

4. How the NASW code of ethics can guide our work with people who have substance use disorders.

3 CEs available. Instructor: Lara Okoloko, LICSW

Working with families impacted by someone's substance use problems 

Beginning May 10th, I will be hosting a monthly small-group series for clinical learning including demonstration, role-play and case discussion. Reading suggestions will be offered between each meeting, if desired. Please email me as soon as possible to hold your seat (my office is limited in size). CEUs are available and cost to enroll is on a sliding scale.  

12pm to 2pm, every 2nd Thursday

This program [each session] has been approved for 2 CEUs for Licensed Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists by the Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work.