Description

This course focuses on intersecting issues and engagement skills for working with older adults experiencing behavioral health challenges, particularly substance use disorders. Participants will learn to identify how stigma and trauma impact older adult substance use, and gain practical strategies for engaging this population using trauma-informed and motivational interviewing techniques. This course explores common issues that might intersect with substance use for older adults, such as falls, hoarding, self-neglect, and chronic pain, and provides examples of how to approach these sensitively. Health inequities and disparities faced by marginalized groups are discussed. Case studies illustrate the complex interplay of mental health, substance use, social isolation, and physical disabilities in rural settings. Participants will practice person first language and motivational interviewing tools like affirmations and elicit-provide-elicit to improve their engagement skills. The course aims to help providers feel more confident working with older adults dealing with risky substance use, while emphasizing the importance of avoiding judgment and stigma.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify how stigma and trauma impact older adult substance use
  2. Learn about and practice basic motivational interviewing tools
  3. Practice applying engagement tools in situations relevant to older adults
  4. Learn strategies to feel more confident working with older adults dealing with risky substance use

Audience

This course is recommended for:

  • Staff and volunteers working in the aging services network (Area Agencies on Aging, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Aging and People with Disabilities, etc.)

  • Staff in community based organizations

  • Service coordinators in senior housing

  • Mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, art therapists, social workers, psychologists, and other mental health providers

  • Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors

  • Qualified Mental Health Associates

  • Qualified Mental Health Professionals

  • Long-term care and home and community based services staff

Instructors

Instructor Regina Koepp

Regina Koepp, PsyD, ABPP, is a Stanford trained, board-certified clinical and gero-psychologist and founder and CEO of the Center for Mental Health & Aging. A sought-after speaker and educator, she provides training and continuing education on mental health and aging. Dr. Koepp has held faculty and clinical leadership roles at the University of Vermont Medical Center, Emory University, and the Atlanta VA Health Care System, where she served on geriatric mental health advisory and ethics committees. She is a national media contributor, and she writes for Psychology Today and Psychotherapy Networker.

Instructor Lydia Bartholow

Lydia Bartholow, DNP, PMHNP, CARN-AP is a psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in addiction medicine and trauma-informed care. She serves as Medical Director of Addiction Services at a large behavioral health hospital and is faculty at UCSF and OHSU. Dr. Bartholow is a national speaker on co-occurring disorders, harm reduction, and substance use care system improvement. Her work is grounded in public health, harm reduction, and anti-oppression frameworks. She is based in Portland, Oregon.

Pricing

This course is free of charge, courtesy of Oregon Health Authority

ACORN

is committed to excellence.

ACORN has been approved by the Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) to provide continuing education courses. Additionally, ACORN has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7274. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. ACORN is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Oregon Health Authority (OHA) logo
Portland State University (PSU) Institute on Aging (IOA) logo
Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) logo
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) logo