Plenary Sessions

NO PARTIAL CREDIT

* * * THERE IS NO PARTIAL CREDIT * * * 
You MUST attend sessions in their entirety. Certificates will be emailed AFTER Mid-March.

OPENING PLENARY-A: Working Title: Wellness and Community for SUD Clients and Clinicians

Presenter: Ruby Herring-Brown, M Ed, BSW

Description: [COMING SOON]

PLENARY-B. The Gamblification of the Digital World and Impact on Youth Addictive Gambling Behaviors

Presenter: Alison Wood

Description: Youth gambling behaviors are on the rise as online gambling products and services have become easily accessible 24/7 from electronic devices. Even further, gambling mechanics or persuasive design methods have been translated into the digital world. These methods can take advantage of a young person due to their developing brain or other vulnerable populations who have experienced toxic stress. Understanding how addictive behaviors like gambling and toxic stress can impact brain health is a part of the journey towards understanding how connecting brain development to lived experience can transform the lives of youth both academically and personally. This lunch and learn will introduce those who attend to these types of research-based concepts while also providing information on opportunities for free access to modules for more in depth learning for those who work directly with youth and an opportunity for the schools and teachers to apply for a mini-grant to provide youth prevention education to students.

PLENARY-C. Invisible Sentence (Addiction, Incarceration and Childhood): Advocating for Children of Incarcerated and Returning Parents

Presenter: Melissa Radcliff

Description: On any given day, there are an estimated 2.7 million children in the US with at least one incarcerated parent (20,000+ in NC). The most recent Annie E. Casey Foundation report shows that more than 5.2 million children (160,000 in NC) have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives. This workshop will focus on what we know and do not know about the children, impact of parental incarceration and re-entry, what strategies could be developed and implemented to identify and serve the children, current gaps in resources and data collection, and new ways to partner and collaborate to better meet the needs of the children. The presenter will discuss the importance of gathering information and insight from the children themselves to ensure that their voices are heard. This presentation incorporates information on the prevalence of parental substance use among incarcerated adults and examines how addiction shapes children’s experiences before, during, and after incarceration. The session also includes a treatment and systems perspective, highlighting barriers to care, gaps in services, and practical strategies addiction counselors can use to support affected families. Participants will be given a homework assignment and encouraged to continue the conversation within their own organizations and determine next steps.

PLENARY-D. Understanding the Generation Gap – Addictions Professionals and SUD Clients

Presenter: Virginia Johnson, CPS

Description: [COMING SOON]

PLENARY-E. Isolation and Belonging: Addictions Professionals Finding Connection in a Disconnected World

Presenter: James Campbell

Description: More people live on the planet than ever before, and yet the experience of loneliness and isolation is pervasive. There are more means to stay connected than in all of history, and yet many have never felt more disconnected. The physical and mental health impact of this is substantial and documented.

Why is it that we struggle so much to find a sense of connection to others? Why does intimacy seem to be so elusive? This session will take an honest look at these issues, and offers practical solutions for building honest, authentic connections in our lives and helping those we serve to build them in their own.