NOTE: This event is specifically for Washington State attendees who are part of the behavioral health workforce.
This session is part of the Co-occurring Disorders track of the Mental Health Institute.
In this training, you will be introduced to principles and practices of harm reduction. Harm reduction is a broad set of compassionate and pragmatic approaches that aim to reduce substance-related harm and improve quality of life. Harm Reduction Treatment (HaRT) is an evidence-based practice in which 3 components are delivered compassionately and pragmatically:
Schedule for Monday, October 24:
Contact hours will be available for participants who attend the entire session. The University of Washington is an approved provider of continuing education for DOH licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, psychologists, chemical dependency professionals, nurses and physicians under the provisions of: WAC 246-809-610, WAC 246-809-620,WAC 246-811-200, WAC 246-840-210, WAC 246-919-460 and WAC 246-924-240.
Seema L. Clifasefi, PhD, is an associate professor and codirector of the Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center at the University of Washington-Harborview Medical Center. Her research lies at the intersection of substance use, mental health, criminal justice and housing policy. Since 2006, she has been part of several collaborative academic/community-based research partnerships evaluating the effects of individual and community-level harm reduction programs and interventions designed for people with lived experience of homelessness and substance use problems, including Housing First.
Susan Collins, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and faculty at Washington State University and the University of Washington School of Medicine. At Harborview Medical Center, she codirects the Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center with her colleague, Dr. Seema Clifasefi. Dr. Collins has been involved in substance use research, assessment and treatment for over 25 years and has disseminated this work in over 7 dozen book chapters, abstracts and peer-reviewed articles. In 2013, Dr. Collins received the G. Alan Marlatt Memorial Research Award for her contributions to alcohol research. In 2015, she was invited to speak on her work at the White House and was honored with the New Investigator Award for her Harm Reduction Treatment development in the University of Washington Science-in-Medicine Lecture Series. She also brings her own lived experience as a person in recovery from addictive behaviors and as a woman embedded in families with the intergenerational experience of substance use disorder and harm. Currently, she works with multidisciplinary research and clinical teams, community-based agencies, and people who use substances to codevelop a toolbox of evidence-based treatments that empower individuals to reduce their substance-related harm and improve their quality of life – even if they are not ready, willing or able to stop using.
