Scroll down for the list of available workshops
If you have any questions, please contact John Sanders -- JohnS [at] firstinc [dot] org -- or call/text (828) 989-8823
Thank you. Hope to see you soon!
List of workshops in chronological order...
Anger Management: Exploring Three CBT Curriculum
Tuesday December 18, 2018
9:00am - 4:30pm
6 contact hours total:
- 6 NBCC credit hours
- The NCSAPPB accepts NBCC credit hours
Anger Management will explore and develop a working knowledge around three currently popular CBT curriculum:
- Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients (Free on the SAMHSA website)
- The Anger and Aggression Workbook: Self-Assessments, Exercises, and Educational Handouts by Liptak and Leutenberg
- The Anger Management Workbook for Men by Karmin
We'll look at developing an anger management group as well as individual counseling using the suggested anger management CBT curriculum above. You are welcome to purchase any of these ahead of time or download the free digital version of the Anger Management Curriculum by SAMHSA to utilize in the workshop.
Objectives:
- Develop a working knowledge and comfort level with utilizing one of the three curriculum.
- Explore how to utilize these 3 CBT curriculum in group or individualized counseling.
Lunch, snacks, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
2019
Understanding the Opioid Epidemic
Tuesday January 8, 2019
9:00am - 12:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS)
This is the first half of the day. Understanding and Treating Toxic Shame is the second half of the day. You can sign up for just one workshop, or both.
The Opioid Epidemic is taking our country by storm. The statistics are alarming as the CDC reports 115 deaths a day in America. As counselors, how do we understand, recognize our role, and impact it.
We’ll view parts of the PBS documentary, “Understanding the Opioid Epidemic”, and lead a discussion on how we can impact it through screening, counseling, treatment, and ongoing recovery.
The opioid crisis has become a social issue that transcends all geographic and socioeconomic boundaries, affecting people of every age, gender, and ethnicity at rates never seen before.
Objectives:
- Develop an understanding of the current opioid epidemic, it’s trends, and how we as counselors can begin to screen and address the problem in our current clients.
- Identify resources for treatment and ongoing recovery.
- Learn about the physical problems that accompany opiate IV drug use such as infective endocarditis.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Understanding and Treating Toxic Shame
Tuesday January 8, 2019
1:00pm - 4:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS)
This is the second half of the day. Understanding the Opioid Epidemic is the first half of the day. You can sign up for just one workshop, or both.
“Toxic shame is often defined as a feeling of being wrong as opposed to doing wrong: flawed at the core irredeemably. There is no way out.” Elias, 2006. Whether toxic shame comes as a result of parents who gave us the clear message that ‘we are not good enough’ or the belief was developed as an adult while in active addiction, the result is the same…a feeling of being wrong that has no way out. It may be masked by a guarded sense of perfectionism and control and or a habit of condemning others.
This training will look at two methods for understanding, identifying, and healing toxic shame, resulting in acceptance and compassion for self and others.
Objectives:
- Explore a working definition of toxic shame and how it develops in a person as a feeling of being wrong as opposed to doing wrong.
- Learn and practice two skills for transforming toxic shame to acceptance and compassion for self and others.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Being Ourselves: The use of transparency and self-disclosure in therapy
Friday February 1, 2019
1:00pm - 4:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS)
Who are we as clinicians? As people? Our code of ethics, our clientele, our agency policy, and our training all combine to inform our approach to using transparency and self-disclosure as therapeutic tools - yet rarely do they provide definitive answers. We are human beings with real lives, thoughts and feelings, sitting across from other human beings who are struggling. Sometimes clients can feel validated and uplifted to know that their therapist struggles too. Other times, glimpses of our own internal lives can be used as weapons against us. This is a classic dilemma in the addictions field - does a clinician share their own journey of recovery? What motivates that sharing - ego or empathy? And how does agency policy inform this decision? This workshop will draw from professional guidelines and other resources, and will focus strongly on discussion of shared experience with boundaries and disclosure, successes and mistakes.
Objectives:
- Review the therapeutic purposes of transparency and self-disclosure
- Discuss levels of safety and comfort with disclosure
- Practice transparency, self-disclosure, and redirection
- Refine and confirm professional boundaries, in compliance with professional and agency guidelines
Snacks, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by:
Papillon DeBoer is an LPC in private practice in Asheville, and provides counseling for survivors of sexual trauma.
Working with Veterans
Tuesday February 12, 2019
9:00am - 12:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and substance use disorders affecting veterans (SUDV)
Our country has been at war for more years than some young veterans have been alive. Veterans who are physically and mentally challenged or disabled are returning home in large numbers. They are utilizing mental health services to ask for help as they suffer from depression, anxiety, panic attacks, addiction, and more symptoms of trauma. Using your skills learned from the first half of the day, you’ll have a skill set to offer veterans.
We’ll look at the specific challenges that veterans faced in leaving their families to fight, the losses, anger, and grief of engaging in battle, the loss of connection to fellow soldiers, survivor’s guilt, and the return home to a family and a world that has greatly changed. We’ll explore and discuss the neuroscience behind trauma, loss, and recovery. We’ll learn emotional regulation skills and identify resources at the grassroots level of offering mental health care and addiction treatment in western North Carolina.
Objectives:
- Participants will identify specific care concerns in addressing mental health and addiction in veterans.
- Participants will identify skills for emotional regulation.
- Participants will learn about referrals to the VA as well as several grassroots community care resources for veterans in western North Carolina.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Immediate Help for Clients Using CBT with Self-Inquiry
Tuesday February 12, 2019
1:00pm - 4:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and evidence based treatment (EBT)
This is the second half of the day. The first half is Working With Veterans. Sign up for just one workshop, or both.
This training will focus on immediate help in assisting the client with skills to narrow down or clarify problem(s) that they are facing. The form of self-inquiry will utilize the pretzel posture to calm the emotional brain, allow for the thinking part of the brain to identify and contemplate the most immediate problem(s), allow for natural insight to develop, and then identify an action plan for making changes in their life. During the process, there are short periods of writing down the insights as they arise to assist with insight development.
This form of CBT will allow and support the removal of blockages to behavior change and a clear path to a plan of action. Bilateral tapping may also assist with emotional regulation and an emphasis in supporting the thinking frontal lobes of the brain. We’ll utilize this technique focusing on both substance abuse and mental health recovery.
Objectives:
- Understand the 3 part brain and how trauma and emotional blockages often sabotage the changes a recovering person will attempt to make in their life.
- Practice and develop the skills of self-inquiry with CBT seeing how it can benefit both counselor and client.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Ritual: Using ceremony in therapy
Friday February 22, 2019
1:00pm - 4:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS)
Our lives are full of rituals, ranging from weddings to communion to bedtime routines. They are not necessarily spiritual, but do form a stability and a way for us to process thoughts and feelings that is distinctly different from talk therapy. Ritual behavior can also be part of what is keeping us stuck - people addicted to substances often speak of the ritual of getting high, and people with OCD are consumed by ritual behaviors. In this workshop we will explore various ritual frameworks for supporting our clients in working through psychological difficulties such as grief, and in establishing supportive routines.
Objectives:
- Learn appropriate frameworks for supporting clients with the use of ritual
- Discuss the ethics and therapeutic applications of ritual
- Develop one or more rituals in the workshop
Snacks, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by:
Papillon DeBoer is an LPC in private practice in Asheville, and provides counseling for survivors of sexual trauma.
DBT Skills
Tuesday March 12, 2019
9:00am - 12:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and evidence based treatment (EBT)
This is the first workshop of the day. HIV and Hepatitis C is the second half. Sign up for just one workshop or both.
DBT is a highly effective model of CBT, originally used to treat Borderline Personality Disorder. It has now branched out to treat addiction, depression, and other conditions. The training will be based on the four basic DBT Skills of: core mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills are designed to specifically assist individuals in better managing behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. Be prepared to learn the skills and explore current curriculum as well as online multiple sites for worksheets.
Objectives:
- Develop and understanding of healthy and unhealthy attachment can lead to personality disorders, anxiety, and depression.
- Identify the four core skill areas of DBT and develop a comfort level with curriculum and worksheets to utilize with clients.
- Learn about how to utilize curriculum with both individuals and groups.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
HIV and Hepatitis C
Tuesday March 12, 2019
1:00pm - 4:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and HIV/AIDS/STD/TB/Bloodborne Pathogens (HIV)
This workshop is the second half of the day. DBT Skills is the first half. Sign up for just one or both workshops.
The HIV and Hep C training will explore current trends, testing, and treatment for HIV and Hepatitis C. We’ll explore and practice skills in client education, screening, pre- and post-test counseling, prevention, and referral. We’ll also identify resources in western NC for clients.
Objectives:
- Develop an understanding of current trends in HIV and Hepatitis C and how they affect counseling in your area of practice.
- Develop a comfort level with practice skills in client education, screening, pre- and post-test counseling, prevention, and referral.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Seeking Safety: A Treatment for PTSD and Substance Abuse
Tuesday March 26, 2019
9:00am - 4:15pm
6 contact hours total:
- 6 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and evidence based treatment (EBT)
Seeking Safety is an evidenced based treatment curriculum that addresses both PTSD and substance abuse. It's an excellent curriculum that supports the development of skills for emotional regulation and life skills, structure, and recovery from mental illness and substance use. Come join us as we learn the foundational theory and the actual carrying out of the Seeking Safety group. We encourage purchasing the Seeking Safety book ahead of time to bring with you if you plan on facilitating the group in your agency.
Objectives:
- Develop an understanding of how PTSD contributes to substance abuse and how basic CBT can support better decision-making and more positive outcomes in the clients you treat.
- Participate in a mock Seeking Safety group to learn and develop a comfort with the structure of carrying out a Seeking Safety group.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Ethics
Tuesday April 9, 2019
9:00am - 4:15pm
6 contact hours total:
- 6 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and ethics (ETHICS)
If you’ve had “Ethics” workshops before, you know how boring they can be…. Well, this one is definitely far from boring! Ethics will be specific to both mental health and substance abuse. Participants will explore the gray areas of ethics and submit their own past and present ethical dilemmas for the group to examine and share their feedback. Case studies will support developing a clear and concise strategy for holding professional ethics and confidentiality as well as making decisions about how to address infractions. We will draw from NCSAPPB, NASW, and ACA ethical standards and how licenses in more than one discipline will impact your practice. We’ll look at current trends in ethics violations and where ethics meet NC Mental Health Law.
Objectives:
- Identify most commonly breached ethics.
- Share and resolve real-time ethical concerns as brought forth by workshop participants.
- Learn and develop a plan for addressing ethical concerns you may encounter as well as how to support fellow co-workers and supervisees in addressing them.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Positive Psychology and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Friday April 26, 2019
9:00am - 4:30pm
6 contact hours total:
- 6 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and evidence based treatment (EBT)
It is human nature to avoid the negative, the painful, and the uncomfortable, but it is also the inevitable human condition. How many of our clients spend so much energy struggling against their negative experiences that they have become nearsighted losing vital connection with not only positive experience but self as well. This workshop is an introduction and review of both the concepts of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Positive Psychology and their common goal as psychotherapy modalities which use mindfulness, acceptance, positivity and value-based methods. Workshop will offer both theoretical and experiential instruction. Using these treatment modalities with substance use and mental health clients will be covered.
Objectives:
- Explore and identify the six core therapeutic processes of ACT.
- To become familiar with the concepts of positive psychology as strength and value based modality.
- Learn to apply mindfulness and acceptance processes to promote psychological flexibility.
- Practice using treatment modalities with substance use clients.
Lunch, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by: Jolene Gervasi, LPC, LCAS, CSI
Clinical Supervision I
Tuesday May 14, 2019
8:30am - 5:30pm
7.5 contact hours total:
- 7.5 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and clinical supervision specific (CSS)
We will focus on the The TIP 52: Clinical Supervision and Professional Development of the Substance Abuse Counselor. We’ll cover both SA and general mental health clinical supervision and move directly into forms offered in the TIP: Informed Consent, sample Policy on SA in in the Workplace, Supervision Contract, Initial Supervision Session Checklist, Risk Management Review for Supervisees, Counselor Evaluation of Supervisor, Counselor Competency Assessment, Individual Counselor Development Plan, Outline for Case Presentation/Conceptualization, Consent for Audio/Video Recording.
We’ll explore some basic skills, sensitizing us to the beginning SA counselor all the way to challenging the more experienced counselor. We’ll be following David Powell’s “Blended Model of Clinical Supervision” that draws on evidenced based supervision as well as a more advanced clinical supervision called “Contemplative Clinical Supervision”. We will spend a full 7.5 hours of face to face (1/2 of the requirement for NCSAPPB CCS Renewal) with interactive exploration of your personal style as well as the “nuts and bolts” of enhancing your existing supervision practice or begin a new practice. We’ll complete the workshop with a look at the benefits of “Contemplative Clinical Supervision”. Lots of practice time so you leave with integrated skills.
***If you are seeking your LCAS, the new NCSAPPB requirement of 6 CEUs for clinical supervision hours will be met by this workshop.
Objectives:
1. Participants will develop basic and advanced skills in clinical supervision.
2.Participants will develop a user friendly relationship with the basic forms needed to support a new or existing clinical supervision practice.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Tools for Healing Sexual Trauma
Friday May 31, 2019
9:00am - 12:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and psychopathology training (PSY)
This workshop is the first half of the day, Group Therapy for Sexual Trauma Survivors is the second half of the day. You can purchase and attend just one or both workshops.
The objective of this workshop is for clinicians to develop skills and tools in working with sexual trauma. In part one, we will discuss facts and statistics concerning sexual abuse and trauma. In part two, we will briefly look at sexual trauma - did you know that sexual trauma survivors are 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, and 26 times more likely to abuse drugs? In part two, we will briefly look at sexual trauma through the lens of neurophysiology, and how it affects the nervous system long-term - including predisposing survivors towards addiction and other psychological disorders. In part three, we will introduce and practice interventions shown to be useful for three main areas of sexual trauma: emotional dysregulation, boundaries, and shame.
Objectives:
- Develop skills and tools in working with sexual trauma
- Discuss facts and statistics concerning sexual abuse and trauma
- Develop skills and learn practice interventions
Snacks, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by:
Papillon DeBoer is an LPC in private practice in Asheville, and provides counseling for survivors of sexual trauma.
Group Therapy with Sexual Trauma Survivors
Friday May 31, 2019
1:00pm - 4:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC approved credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS)
This workshop is the second half of the day, Tools for Healing Sexual Trauma is the first half of the day. You can purchase and attend just one or both workshops.
Group work with sexual trauma is both treacherous and deeply restorative. Few competent resources for this work exist, and most important is a strong and secure group culture necessary to foster growth and healing for clients who have been so specifically wounded. This workshop will cover group planning and facilitation from beginning to end, including interviews for potential members, group rules and expectations, and curriculum (for example, a group topic on how and why survivors typically struggle with addiction). It will include both lecture and active practice.
Objectives:
- Learn and be able to apply several group models for sexual trauma survivors
- Be able to plan, advertise and facilitate a sexual trauma group
- Develop group therapy skills and practice several group activities for sexual trauma
Snacks, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by:
Papillon DeBoer is an LPC in private practice in Asheville, and provides counseling for survivors of sexual trauma.
Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Friday July 12, 2019
1:00pm - 4:15pm
3 contact hours total:
- 3 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and evidence based treatment (EBT)
ACT is considered a "third wave" CBT theory. It contains hard science via behaviorism, while also incorporating the use of mindfulness and present moment experience to support clients in developing psychological flexibility. ACT is an evidence-based approach, and shows significant benefit for a range of mental health issues, including substance use, anxiety, OCD, depression, and borderline personality disorder.
This workshop will provide an introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, covering its philosophy, approach, and basis for interventions. It will include both lecture and active practice. Participants will walk away with a clear understanding of ACT theory and its application as well as with practical ACT tools and skills.
Objectives:
- Conceptualize a client's issues according to ACT principles
- Form a treatment plan according to ACT principles
- Practice ACT interventions
Snacks, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by:
Papillon DeBoer is an LPC in private practice in Asheville, and provides counseling for survivors of sexual trauma.
Clinical Supervision II
Tuesday June 11, 2019
8:30am - 5:30pm
7.5 contact hours total:
- 7.5 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and clinical supervision specific (CSS)
We’ll look at ethics of clinical supervision more closely as defined by the American Counseling Association, National Association of Social Workers, and NCSAPPB. In small groups, we’ll identify ethical dilemmas participants have experienced as both a counselor and as a clinical supervisor.
This training will re-examine the use of case presentation and case study, targeting the barriers to treatment and working with client “resistance”. We’ll also examine the difference between the roles of administrative supervision vs. clinical supervision and if a participant has responsibility for both, how to provide a true informed consent when in each role.
This advanced clinical supervision training will also redefine the old authoritative role of clinical supervision with a new role of collaboration and mutual support leading to a co-vision of shared responsibility for the guidance of the counselor-client relationship.
Last but not least, we’ll define David Powell’s model of contemplative clinical supervision, discussing and integrating those skills.
Objectives:
- Explore ethics in relationship to clinical supervision.
- Revive the skills of case presentation and study to support the in-depth look at targeting barriers to client treatment and client “resistance”.
- Redefine authoritative roles of the clinical supervisor, moving to the development of a co-vision of shared responsibility for the guidance of the counselor-client relationship.
Lunch, coffee, tea, and water served!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by Linda Harrison, BSW, LPCS, CCS, MAC
Developmental Trauma: When childhood adaptive styles become adulthood maladaptive behaviors
Friday June 28, 2019
9:00am - 4:30pm
6 contact hours total:
- 6 NBCC credit hours
- NCSAPPB approved substance use specific (SS) and psychopathology training (PSY)
Description: Ann takes care of everyone else and often to her own detriment, Bridget is afraid she will be rejected if people knew the “real” her, and Craig is concerned that he cannot maintain a relationship for longer than six months. Although clients present with a variety of issues, there may be a common denominator, developmental trauma. In this workshop, we will explore early childhood attachment trauma, adaptive survival styles and long term impact into adulthood. We will learn how developmental trauma affects future substance use. We will explore how early trauma impacts self-image, connection and self-regulation and how we as clinicians can promote healing and connection.
Objectives:
- Become familiar with the five adaptive survival styles as proposed by the Neuro-Affective Relational Model.
- Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experience study and correlation between early trauma and increased risk of mental health and substance use issues.
- Identify best practice and be able to apply therapies which promote connection, healing and resiliency.
- Be able to describe how developmental trauma affects future substance use in individuals.
Lunch, coffee, water, and tea are all included!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Presented by:
Jolene Gervasi, LPC, LCAS, CSI
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"Linda Harrison is a phenomenal trainer. She is real and engaging. I can't wait to learn more from her. John Sanders and the FIRST team provided an excellent environment for workshops. What a great opportunity to learn and to network with other WNC providers." - Attendee 10/13/15
100% refunds are available up to 48 hours before a workshop. 50% refund in the two days prior to the workshop. No refund for cancellations on the day of the workshop or for no-shows.
