QNADA

Superskills for supervisors
2022-06-06 09:00 - 16:30 (Australia/Brisbane) | Online
Build your leadership skills and contribute to the next generation of practitioners
The key to great practice is great supervision. If you are a practice or clinical supervisor in the alcohol and other drug sector or want to become one, and you are ready for your next professional challenge, this workshop is for you. Gain a deep understanding of the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’ and ensure that you have the right theoretical and practical foundation skills to offer powerful practice supervision across different contexts and supervisees. You will learn about developing and implementing supervision contracts and plans, assessing supervisee development needs, and navigating challenges and roadblocks
Learning outcomes:

Understand the relevant approaches to supervision and which one is right for you
Understand and apply structured practical supervisory processes to deepen core supervisory relationship skills, including listening, questioning, guiding, and giving and receiving feedback
Increase skills in motivating staff to use reflective practice
Understand and utilise a framework to support decision making with ethical dilemmas

Who should attend:
This is a specialist skills workshop suitable for advanced practitioners who are current or future practice supervisors.
Facilitator: Paula Ross and Dr Richard Cash

From 'Bro, do you even lift?' to 'Bro, do you even science?': Consumer perspectives on enhancement drug harm reduction
2022-05-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
This presentation describes how people who use image and performance enhancing drugs reduce the harms of their drug use. It illustrates how the shift towards scientifically informed drug practice has impacted on the harm reduction practices of enhanced bodybuilders. Furthermore it highlights the opportunities that this shift presents for collaboration between enhanced bodybuilders and the professionals who seek to care for and support them.
Dr Mair Underwood is an anthropologist who has been conducting participant observation in online communities of enhanced bodybuilders for the last 5 years. She is passionate about reducing the harms of these drugs through culturally appropriate interventions, and through increasing understanding of the harm reduction practices already in use in enhancement communities.

Responding to trauma in alcohol and other drug treatment
2022-05-19 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Deepen your understanding of trauma and gain real skills in managing trauma-related symptoms in alcohol and other drug practice settings
Building on our trauma-informed training, this workshop will give you a step up in responding to trauma. You will learn how to recognise the biopsychosocial impacts of trauma and integrate recovery-oriented interventions into your alcohol and other drug work. You’ll also find out about the possible impacts on you, and how to look after yourself when working with people with trauma symptoms. This one-day online workshop provides you with a practical, skills-based approach so you can respond sensitively and effectively to clients with co-occurring trauma and alcohol and other drug use.
Learning outcomes:

Deepen your understanding of the impacts of trauma on alcohol and other drug use
Apply a flexible therapeutic model to a range of trauma presentations
Learn how to integrate trauma focused assessment, formulation and interventions into your alcohol and other drug work
Identify evidence-based specialist trauma interventions, including how and when to refer

Who should attend:
This is a specialist skills workshop suitable for experienced and advanced practitioners. We recommend you do our trauma informed care workshop before participating in this workshop.
Facilitator: Dr Richard Cash

The eyes have it. Or do they?
2022-05-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
This presentation will provide an introduction to Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) including review of the evidence base and considerations for use within AOD treatment.
Anthony Bligh is Director of Psychology, Metro North Mental Health. Anthony has been using EMDR in private practice since initial training in 2014 and uses it to treat complex trauma.

FASD Forum '22 Conference
2022-05-13 08:00 - 2022-05-14 17:00 | Online
The inaugural FASD Forum ’22 Conference aims to provide an opportunity for everyone interested in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) to hear from research-leading and lived-experience experts.
The conference theme is FASD@50 reflecting that it is 50 years since FASD was first identified in medical literature in the English-speaking world.
Presentations over the two-day conference will cover themes related to:

behaviour support
behaviours of concern
transitions in education and employment
parent/carer support and self-care (including an expert parent panel)
mental health
sexualised behaviour
justice.

Presentations will combine lived experience perspectives with professional knowledge and current research topics. They will also enable opportunities for information sharing to deepen understanding. Practical strategies and interventions to assist those living with FASD and their families will be a key focus.
The opening keynote address will be presented by world-renowned paediatrician and researcher, Professor Kenneth Lyons Jones MD (University of California, San Diego), who, together with Dr David Smith, was the first to identify FASD in their research fifty years ago.

MDMA: Dosages of tablets and capsules seized across Queensland
2022-05-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
This presentation will provide a brief overview of the outcomes of a project investigating individual dosages, co-detections and purity of illicit MDMA tablets and capsules seized across Queensland. General trends in the Queensland illicit drug market will also be discussed.
Shiona Croft has worked as a forensic chemist within the illicit drug team at Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services for the past 15 years. She has a keen interest in researching with this presentation focusing on a recent project that was undertaken.

2022 Australian and New Zealand Addiction Conference
2022-05-09 08:00 - 2022-05-11 17:00 | JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa, Gold Coast, Queensland, 4217, Australia
The 2022 Australian and New Zealand Addiction Conference theme will be Bold dreams and new directions.
Topics discussed at the conference will include:

prevention, promotion and early intervention
intervention, withdrawal and treatment
aftercare and peer support.

Important dates:

Friday 10 December 2021: presentation submissions close
Friday 4 February 2022: presenter acceptance and registration due
Thursday 10 February 2022: program released
Friday 4 March 2022: scholarship applications close
Friday 25 March 2022: early bird pricing ends.

Three fully paid scholarships are available to attend the conference. Eligible people include: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, Maori or Pacific Islander people.
The Australian and New Zealand Addiction Conference is an initiative of the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association, a non-government, not for profit organisation.

Treatment outcomes of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer alcohol and other drug counselling service in Sydney, Australia
2022-05-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
LGBTI people report disproportionately higher rates of AOD use and harms. Stigma towards sexual and gender minorities creates additional barriers to treatment. ACON has a long history of LGBTI community engagement and provides AOD treatment. This presentation reports on an Evaluation of ACON’s Substance Support Service, an outpatient counselling service for LGBTI and other sexually and gender diverse people, and those affected by HIV, experiencing problems with AOD use.
Loren Brener: Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW. Loren’s research focusses on stigma and discrimination in relation to marginalised and vulnerable groups.

Integrating MI with CBT
2022-04-28 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Effectively blend motivational interviewing and CBT to achieve better client outcomes
Boost your effectiveness with clients by seamlessly integrating these two key approaches in alcohol and other drug treatment. Through this interactive one-day workshop, you learn where these two core approaches overlap and where they are unique and how to move seamlessly between them.
Learning outcomes:

Understand motivation and why people change, and the impacts on treatment outcomes
Describe how motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy can work in unison
Seamlessly integrate cognitive behavioural therapy with motivational interviewing
Apply motivational interviewing to improve outcomes from cognitive behavioural therapy

Who should attend:
This is a core skills workshop suitable for experienced and advanced practitioners and assumes basic knowledge of MI and CBT. We recommend you do our essential skills MI and CBT workshops before attending this workshop.
Facilitator: Paula Ross

Very demanding. Extremely rewarding’: Exploring the co-occurrence of burnout and engagement in alcohol and other drug workers
2022-04-27 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Exploring a new perspective on AOD worker wellbeing that reflects the complexity of AOD worker – simultaneous experience of burnout & engagement. Includes reflections on implications for workplace wellbeing strategies and responses.
Dr Natalie Skinner – Senior Research Fellow, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI), College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University

Comorbid Mental Health and Drug & Alcohol: Addressing the "cracks" in the system.
2022-04-20 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
This presentation will discuss projects designed to bring services together to address the “cracks” in the system for people with co-occurring mental health and drug and alcohol conditions. The aims of the projects were to improve the identification of, and treatment or assistance (where appropriate) for people with co-occurring serious mental health and drug and alcohol conditions. This included a focus on increasing collaboration between clinical teams to ensure better co-ordination of care for this population. South Eastern Sydney Local Health District received funding for the projects from the Mindgardens Neuroscience Network.
Professor Lintzeris is the Director of Drug and Alcohol Services, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District; Conjoint Professor, Discipline Addiction Medicine, Central Clinical School, University of Sydney; and President elect, Chapter of Addiction Medicine, Royal Australian College of Physicians.
Dr Sandra Sunjic is Project Manager of the Drug and Alcohol Service, Surry Hills, NSW Health.

Association of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies NT (AADANT) Drug and Alcohol Conference 2022
2022-04-05 - 2022-04-06 | Darwin Convention Centre, 10 Stokes Hill Rd, Darwin City, NT, 0800, Australia
The Association of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies NT (AADANT) will hold their annual drug and alcohol conference in Darwin NT. The target audience of the conference is the NT alcohol and other drug sector. The theme is Fundamentally strong.
The conference aims to:

explore the underlying causes of drug and alcohol dependence
provide skills and tips to improve practice
provide time for delegates to reflect on their journey through the NT alcohol and other drugs sector
shape delegates understanding of how to grow their practice and careers.

The keynote speaker is Professor Dan Lubman AM, Executive Clinical Director, Turning Point and Professor of Addiction Studies and Services, Monash University.
Cost:

full member early bird rate (valid to Wednesday 29 December) $420.00
non-member early bird rate (valid to Wednesday 29 December) $520.00
non-member two days $600.00
non-member one day $400.00
full member two days $500.00
full member one day $300.00
student (unemployed, studying full time) $200.00.

All prices are GST inclusive.

Alcohol advertising patterns and harm-reduction messaging
2022-03-31 14:00 - 15:00 | Online
About this event

This presentation will focus on the strategies used by alcohol marketers to promote their products, impending trends in alcohol distribution, effective approaches for messaging about alcohol-related harms, and public support for a range of alcohol control policies.
About the speaker
Professor Simone Pettigrew is Program Director, Health Promotion and Behavior Change at The George Institute for Global Health. Simone’s research focus is in the areas of behavioural psychology and health promotion. Her work investigates methods of encouraging individuals to make behavioural changes to improve their health and generating the evidence needed by policy makers to make environments conducive to healthy decisions. She has been researching the factors associated with alcohol consumption for almost 25 years, with a particular focus on the socio-cultural factors influencing individuals’ decisions to drink. To date she has published more than 70 peer-reviewed articles on social norms relating to alcohol, alcohol marketing, and alcohol policy recommendations. Other areas of interest include smoking, vaping, nutrition, and physical activity.

Deadly Liver Mob: Engaging Aboriginal people in viral hepatitis, HIV and sexual health services
2022-03-30 13:00 - 14:30 | Online
Join in to hear all about the Deadly Liver Mob program which is an incentivised, peer-led program that offers education and screening for hepatitis C, hepatitis B and STIs for Aboriginal people. You will hear from the Aboriginal workers who worked with communities, the program designers, partners and sponsors. You will hear about the evaluation of DLM and get a sneak peak of the online toolkit designed for people who want to run their own DLM program.
This event is rescheduled from August 2021.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Conference
2022-03-28 08:00 - 2022-03-30 17:00 | Sea World Conference Centre, Seaworld Dr, Gold Coast, QLD, 4217, Australia
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Conference is designed to provide practical skills, relevant information, personal insight, and strategies for professionals committed to the mental health and wellbeing of young people.
The conference theme is Listen, learn and co-design: Establishing partnerships with children, young people and families. This theme focuses on incorporating all stakeholders in the delivery of prevention, early intervention, treatment, and the recovery journey.
Conference keynote speakers include:

Justin Mohamed, Commissioner, Vic Commission for Aboriginal Children and Young People
Natalie Lewis, Commissioner, Queensland Family and Child Commission
April Lawrie, Commissioner, SA Commission for Aboriginal Child and Young People
Bernie Shakeshaft, Founder, BackTrack
Associate Professor, Michelle Banfield, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University.

This conference will include in-person and virtual presentations, workshops and poster presentations.
Important dates:

Presentation applications close: Friday 1 October 2021
Successful presenters notified: Thursday 21 October 2021
Presenter acceptances due: Thursday 4 November 2021
Program available: Tuesday 9 November 2021
Early bird registrations close: Friday 11 February 2022.

This conference is hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association (ANZMHA)

The impact of opioid agonist treatment on injecting-related diseases
2022-03-24 14:00 - 15:00 | Online
About this event

The seminar will give an overview of a study that investigates the impact of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) on hospitalisations for injecting-related diseases using large administrative health data. The sample includes people who have been prescribed OAT in New South Wales from 2001 to 2017. We compared the incidence rates of hospitalisations for injecting-related diseases (i.e., skin and soft tissue infections, sepsis, endocarditis, etc.) during OAT to time out of OAT, to see whether there was a reduction in risk of hospitalisation.
About the speaker
Samantha Colledge-Frisby has been working at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre since 2016 and commenced her PhD in 2018, which she submitted for review in February of this year. She was awarded a UNSW Scientia Scholarship and NHMRC PhD scholarship in 2018. Samantha has since started her postdoctoral research fellowship at NDARC. Her thesis investigated the epidemiology of mental and physical health harms that affect people who inject drugs, with a focus on injecting-related diseases. She has been involved in a range of other projects that largely focus on illicit drug use, mental health, and infectious diseases.

Trauma informed care
2022-03-24 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Respond sensitively and effectively to people who have experienced trauma
A large proportion of people in alcohol and other drug treatment have experienced trauma as a child or adult. In this interactive online workshop, learn how to deliver alcohol and other drug treatment in a trauma informed way to improve outcomes. You will also learn about strategies to make sure your whole service is trauma informed, so it effectively supports your individual client work.
Learning outcomes:

Understand trauma and its impacts
Identify signs and symptoms of trauma
Apply strategies for raising the issue and trauma screening
Apply strategies to maintain boundaries and support your well-being

Who should attend:
This is a core skills workshop suitable for new practitioners, and as a refresher for experienced and advanced practitioners. This workshop is suitable for workers in low threshold and clinical settings.
Facilitator: Dr Richard Cash

Living the work: Exploring lived experience in the AOD workforce
2022-03-23 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
There is increasing recognition of the value of the AOD peer workforce. However, less is known about AOD workers who have lived and living experience of AOD use, but do not work in designated peer roles. This presentation provides an overview of the demographic and professional profile of AOD workers with lived and living experience, and how wellbeing can be supported and promoted among this group from an organisational perspective.
Victoria Kostadinov is a Senior Research Officer at NCETA. She holds a Masters degree in Organisational Psychology, and her research interests include the social determinants of alcohol and drug use, and particularly the role of the workplace.
Dr Natalie Skinner is a Senior Research Fellow at NCETA. Her areas of expertise are in organisational and social psychology. Her specialist area is workforce development, addressing a wide range of areas including wellbeing in the workplace, organisational culture, workplace training and job quality. She has also has a particular interest in connecting research and practice with a focus on promoting evidence-based policies and practices in industries, workplaces and work teams. Natalie holds a PhD in Psychology.

Lifelong consequences of prenatal drug exposure
2022-03-22 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Prenatal drug exposure is one of the fastest growing public health problems in the world. A great deal of attention is focused on treating the infant’s withdrawal after birth and reducing duration of hospitalisation but emerging evidence shows that later problems, such as increased risk of death, disability and intra-generational disadvantage. The focus on identifying, providing support and intervening in preventing this issues is now one of the most pressing research, clinical and policy areas.
Professor Ju-Lee Oei is a neonatologist at the Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick, NSW and Conjoint Professor of Paediatrics at the University of New South Wales.

Effects of extended-release buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence
2022-03-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Online
This seminar will report on the findings of the CoLAB qualitative study which aimed to examine the multiple social, material and temporal effects of extended-release buprenorphine depot (BUP-XR) treatment in clients’ lives, among a group of participants receiving BUP-XR in Australia, and consider the situated potentials of these new opioid agonist treatment technologies. In particular, we will consider how the shift from daily to monthly dosing altered how opioid agonist treatment was experienced, reconfigured participants’ relationship to treatment, and affected the temporal patterns of participants’ lives. Informed by sociological approaches which attend to the multiple effects of novel health intervention technologies as they are put to use and made to work in sites of implementation practice, this seminar will consider how the promise of new treatment technologies entangles with their social and material environments and clients’ lives. As BUP-XR treatment gains traction internationally, a key consideration for services will be how choice, social connection, and care can be maintained, and how clients can be supported to adjust to what is felt to be a new normal.
About the speaker
Kari Lancaster is Scientia Associate Professor at the Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW, and Honorary Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She leads a program of qualitative research focused on the development of critical approaches to the study of evidence-making practices, implementation science and intervention translations in health, including examining experiences and effects of treatment and testing technologies, especially in relation to drugs, hepatitis C, HIV and Covid-19. Kari is Joint Editor-in-Chief of Science, Technology & Human Values (from 2022) and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Working with families in alcohol and other drug settings
2022-03-17 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Gain advanced clinical practice skills in working with families
Work more effectively with families and carers of people who use alcohol and other drugs, whether the person using drugs is in treatment or not. This workshop focuses on the impact of alcohol and other drugs on families and models of responding using principles of Jim Orford’s stress-strain-information-coping-support model. You will find out how to blend strategies from family therapy, motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy into effective treatment when working with families with alcohol and other drug problems.
Learning outcomes:

Understand how to engage families using a range of effective response options
Learn how to support families using a comprehensive model that can apply to any family dynamic
Apply new strategies to help improve family cohesiveness and cooperation
Learn ways to respond to complexities in working with families, such as confidentiality and consent

Who should attend:
This is a specialist skills workshop suitable for new, experienced and advanced practitioners.
Facilitator: Paula Ross

2022 Frontline Mental Health Conference
2022-03-14 08:00 - 2022-03-15 17:00 | Sea World Conference Centre, Seaworld Dr, Gold Coast, QLD, 4217, Australia
The theme of the 2022 Frontline Mental Health Conference is Working together – Exploring an integrated health wellbeing approach. The conference will provide delegates the opportunity to share their approach to greater frontline mental health care, including:

current mental health care practices in your organisation
research findings from enquiries, reports, and agency surveys
frontline leadership lived-experience learnings
gaps and challenges in frontline mental health care.

This conference is presented by the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association (ANZMH).
To register follow this link.

Non-opioid prescription misuse – new kids on the block
2022-03-10 14:00 - 15:00 | Online
While much is known about the prevalence and associated harms of prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse, knowledge is still emerging about other prescription drug misuse. More recently the spotlight has been on second generation antipsychotics such as quetiapine, prescription stimulants and pregabalin. This presentation will examine what is currently know about the prevalence, population characteristics and potential reasons why these other drugs may be being misused and what might be done to address this.
About the speaker
Dr Jonathan Brett is a clinical toxicologist and addiction specialist working for St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, clinical director of the Psychiatry and Non-Prescription Drug and Alcohol Unit and a clinical toxicologist with the NSW Poison’s Information Centre. He has fellowships with the Royal Australian College of Physicians in clinical pharmacology, toxicology and addiction medicine. He is a conjoint Associate Professor with St. Vincent’s Clinical School, UNSW and a Senior NHMRC Research Fellow with the Medicines Policy Unit of Centre for Big Data Research in Health, UNSW. He is an editor for the Internal Medicine Journal and a member of the Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. He completed his PhD in pharmacoepidemiology in 2018 with a focus on the use of big data measure the quality use of psychotropics in mental health and has a research interest in psychopharmacology. He currently holds over $1 Million in research funds, including an NHMRC Investigator Grant (CPI – opioid safety in pregnancy), two NHMRC project grants (AI), a NSW Health Translational Research Grant (CI) and three St. Vincent’s Hospital Network Grants (CI).

The how and why of MI
2022-03-10 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Understand what really makes motivational interviewing tick
Gain core motivational interviewing skills and a deep understanding of the spirit and philosophy of motivational interviewing in this interactive online workshop so you can adapt it to any client or situation. Motivational interviewing is an essential skill for alcohol and other drug workers that has a powerful impact on change. We use demonstrations, clinical anecdotes and practice so you walk away with real skills you can apply immediately.
Learning outcomes:

Find out what really motivates people to change so you know exactly what to target in treatment
Understand motivational interviewing theory and processes so you have a solid framework to work from
Build and strengthen your core motivational interviewing skills and strategies so you know how to adapt them to any situation

Who should attend:
This is a core skills workshop suitable for new practitioners and as a refresher for experienced and advanced practitioners. This workshop is suitable for workers in low threshold and clinical settings.
Facilitator: Paula Ross

How can the illicit drug control field inform the tobacco endgame?
2022-02-24 14:00 - 15:00 | Online
The regulation of tobacco and substances that have traditionally been Illicit (e.g., cannabis) are heading in opposite directions with tobacco policies heading toward sales bans, while many jurisdictions have moved to legalise cannabis. This convergence in control approaches offers opportunities for policy researchers to learn from the illicit drug policy field in reforming the regulation of tobacco. This includes issues related to the illicit tobacco market and also new models of supply that are more restrictive than the current options for tobacco products.
About the speaker
Associate Professor Coral Gartner is the Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (Tobacco Endgame CRE). Since completing her PhD in 2006, her research has focused on tobacco control policy and smoking cessation interventions. She is the Regional Editor for Australasia for the BMJ journal, Tobacco Control, and is currently the President Elect of the Oceania Chapter of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT-O). Her multidisciplinary research program aims to develop the evidence base for tobacco endgame strategies and to identify the most promising policies that could end the cigarette epidemic in Australia, and beyond. Her research program includes consideration of how these policies could be implemented, while mitigating potential unintended impacts and increasing equity. Her research methods include cohort studies, clinical trials, policy analyses, simulation modelling and mixed methods research.

Understanding CBT for alcohol and other drugs workers
2022-02-24 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Learn how to apply key CBT skills in alcohol and other drug settings
This workshop offers a practical introduction to core practice skills in alcohol and other drug treatment. You will improve your understanding of CBT theory and practice and learn a comprehensive CBT framework that will deepen your understanding and enable you to tailor strategies and treatment for different client presentations.
Learning outcomes:

Gain key foundational knowledge and core clinical skills in behavioural and cognitive therapies
Understand CBT assessment, formulation and treatment planning
Apply knowledge and practice of key alcohol and other drug-specific CBT interventions

Who should attend:
This is a core skills workshop suitable for new practitioners and as a refresher for experienced and advanced practitioners
Facilitator: Paula Ross

Association of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies NT (AADANT) Professional Development Forum 2022
2022-02-22 08:30 - 16:30 | Travelodge Resort, 64 Cavenagh Street, Darwin City, Northern Territory, 0800, Australia
The Association of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies NT (AADANT) Professional Development Forum 2022 will host social worker and trauma specialist Lauren Buckley who will present Substance Use and Trauma: A Neurobiological Approach.
In this workshop participants will learn:

how the brain and nervous system work and how trauma creates stress in the body
why clients use certain substances and why they keep relapsing
how to identify fight, flight and freeze patterns in the nervous systems of clients
how to better read the body language of clients during intake, assessment and interventions.

The workshop is designed for clinicians, counsellors, and alcohol and other drug (AOD) staff working therapeutically with clients.
The afternoon sessions are designed for local organisations to understand new and existing programs provided by other services.
Time: 8.30am – 4.30pm (ACST).
Cost: AADANT Members: $70.00. Non-members: $85.00 (prices are GST inclusive).

Working with Children who have Experienced Domestic and Family Violence - Two-Part Series
2022-02-21 09:30 - 12:30 | Online
This workshop is a practical, trauma-informed professional development opportunity aiming to develop skills and confidence to support children who have experienced domestic and family violence.
This workshop draws on a range of trauma-informed expressive therapies and strength-based practice to promote the safety and wellbeing of children affected by family and domestic violence. It also outlines a range of approaches and tools for assessing risk and harm to children.
This event is being held on Zoom. Connection details will be emailed to registered participants prior to the event.
Cost: $99.00 – $198.00
Time: 9:30am – 12:30pm (AEST)
Please note: This is a two-part series held over two days – Monday 14 February and Monday 21 February 2022. Participants should attend both sessions.
This workshop is suitable for practitioners working in the domestic and family violence, sexual assault and women’s health and wellbeing sector in Queensland Qld.
The workshop will be facilitated by Tania Falstead, counsellor, supervisor and program lead with 20 years’ experience in the social welfare sector.
The workshop is presented by WorkUp Qld.

Is vaping nicotine safer than smoking?
2022-02-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Online
Vaping nicotine is a safer alternative for adult smokers who are unable to quit. Smokers who switch to vaping are exposed to far fewer toxins in much lower doses and have significant health improvements. The long-term effects of vaping are unknown but vaping has been estimated to be at least 95% less harmful than smoking.
About the speaker
Colin Mendelsohn was a Sydney GP for 27 years with a special interest in smoking cessation and now works exclusively in tobacco treatment, helping smokers to quit.
He is a member of the expert advisory group that develops the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners national smoking cessation guidelines. He is the Founding Chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association, a health promotion charity established to raise awareness of tobacco harm reduction options.
Colin was a Conjoint Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales. For many years he was actively involved with Professor Robyn Richmond in researching, developing and teaching Smokescreen for the 1990s, a program developed at the University of New South Wales for use by general practitioners to help smokers quit.
He is a past Vice President of the Australian Association of Smoking Cessation Professionals, Australia’s peak body for experts in the field of smoking cessation.
He is actively engaged in research, writing and teaching about smoking cessation, tobacco harm reduction and tobacco control.
Colin is currently an investigator on an NHMRC-funded clinical trial on vaping at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
He is also the author of a recently published book, Stop Smoking Start Vaping. The Healthy Truth about Vaping.
Colin has no financial or commercial relationship with any electronic cigarette or tobacco company.

The brain workshop
2022-02-17 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Understand the inner workings of the brain on drugs and how to work effectively with cognitive impairment
Alcohol and other drugs can affect the brain in both consistent and idiosyncratic ways. In this workshop, learn about the parts of the brain that can be affected by drug use and the impact on functioning. You will gain a thorough understanding of how the brain works, the functional impact of drugs, and the effect on treatment.
Up to 70% of people in alcohol and other drug treatment have significant temporary or long term cognitive impairment related to drug use, lifestyle, or other factors. You will learn how to improve client engagement and adapt treatment strategies to improve outcomes for people with cognitive impairments.
Learning outcomes:

Understand how alcohol and other drugs affect the brain in the short and long term
Gain skills in assessment of functional impairment and daily functioning
Adapt treatment to make an impact with people who have cognitive impairments

Who should attend:
This is a specialist skills workshop suitable for new, experienced and advanced practitioners. This workshop is suitable for workers in low threshold and clinical settings.
Facilitator: Dr Richard Cash
