QNADA

Trauma inside out: A two-day trauma masterclass
2022-09-12 09:00 - 2022-09-13 16:30 (Australia/Brisbane) | Online
Understand the causes and impacts of trauma and how to effectively respond
Building on our ‘Responding to trauma workshop’, you will deepen your knowledge of trauma and practice advanced strategies to effectively support people with trauma symptoms in alcohol and other drug treatment. Go deeper into understanding and responding to trauma to enhance your knowledge, skills and confidence in working with people who have trauma histories.
Learning outcomes:

Apply a model for responding to trauma to the specific context of alcohol and other drug treatment
Increase your range of sensitive responses to trauma disclosure
Understand how to integrate trauma into screening, assessment and treatment
Develop detailed case conceptualisation and treatment planning for clients with co-occurring alcohol and other drug and trauma

Who should attend:
This is an advanced skills workshop suitable for experienced and advanced practitioners. We recommend you do our Working with trauma workshop before attending this workshop.
Facilitators: Dr Richard Cash

Putting Together the Puzzle – Stigma, Discrimination & Injecting Drug Use
2022-08-26 09:30 - 13:30, 2022-08-10 09:30 - 13:30 | Online
QuIHN’s lived experience facilitators provide a comprehensive deep dive in to stigma & discrimination toward people who inject drugs. Using real life insights and interactive discussions, this workshop aims to improve health outcomes for people who use drugs within health & community settings.
Developed by Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL), Funded by QLD Mental Health Commission, Led by QLD Injectors Health Network (QuIHN).
Free Online Workshops for health & community workers – Via Microsoft Teams – 4 hours duration (including breaks). Facilitated by QuIHN’s lived experience peer workers, in collaboration with QLD Mental Health Commission, QuIVAA & AIVL. For more information please email Niki on np****@***hn.org
Please email Niki on np****@***hn.org to register your interestes for future workshops.

Rethink MI: A two-day motivational interviewing masterclass
2022-08-24 09:00 - 2022-08-25 16:30 | Online
Develop advanced skills in motivational interviewing to supercharge your alcohol and other drug practice
Join one of Australia’s most experienced alcohol and other drug trainers in this two-day motivational interviewing masterclass for practitioners who want to advance their motivational interviewing skills. You will take your motivational interviewing skills to the next level by using self-reflection and practice to understand and apply advanced strategies in assessment, intervention and responding to therapeutic challenges within a motivational framework.
Learning outcomes:

Understand the ins and outs of motivational interviewing
Understand what drives, and how to better respond to, client ambivalence
Apply a comprehensive model of change that integrates client values
Develop advanced motivational listening and questioning skills, high-level skills in eliciting change
Understand and effectively respond to therapeutic relationship difficulties

Who should attend:
This is an advanced skills workshop suitable for experienced and advanced practitioners. We recommend you do our How and why of MI workshop before attending this workshop.
Facilitators: Paula Ross

Emotion regulation skills for alcohol and other drug workers
2022-07-28 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Help your clients to manage strong emotions
We all have strong emotions from time to time. Being able to recognise and self-regulate emotions and tolerate distress is a skill that can be learned. Emotion regulation is also a protective factor against mental health problems like depression and anxiety. In this workshop, you will gain strategies to help your clients better manage their emotions to improve resilience so they can better participate in treatment and cope with life’s stressors.
Learning outcomes:

Understand how lifestyle factors can impact a person’s ability to regulate their emotions
Know how to explain to clients how emotions work and how they interact with thoughts and behaviours
Identify strategies to help your clients identify triggers to strong emotions and respond effectively
Learn key emotion regulation skills and how to integrate them into your practice

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: Paula Ross or Dr Richard Cash or Dr Moira Junge

Putting Together the Puzzle - Stigma, Discrimination & Injecting Drug Use
2022-07-27 09:30 - 13:30 | Online

Breaking the ice: Tailoring treatment for people who use methamphetamine
2022-07-14 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Adapt your existing skills to work effectively with people who use methamphetamine.
Understand how methamphetamine affects the brain and how to adapt existing treatments and strategies for people who use methamphetamine. You’ll learn the changes to approach that are needed and how to address common co-occurring conditions among people who use methamphetamine.
Learning outcomes:

Understand the unique effects of methamphetamine and how they impact treatment
Identify and apply effective responses to improve outcomes for people who use methamphetamine
Find out how to safely respond to complex behaviours, including heightened threat sensitivity, anxiety and psychosis

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: Paula Ross

2022 NAIDOC Week
2022-07-03 08:00 - 2022-07-10 17:00 | NT
The 2022 theme for NAIDOC Week is Get up! Stand up! Show up! The theme calls for systemic change; to support and secure institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative reforms and to keep rallying around for mob, for Elders and for communities. It also celebrates those who have driven and led change in communities over generations.
The NAIDOC Local Grants Program provides funding to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous organisations to contribute to the costs of local and regional NAIDOC activities across Australia that align with the theme of Get up! Stand up! Show up!
Events will be held around Australia during the week to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and will culminate in the 2022 National NAIDOC Awards Ceremony.

Navigating complexity in alcohol and other drug settings
2022-06-22 09:00 - 2022-06-23 16:30 | Online
Gain a deep understanding of how to respond to co-occurring mental health problems in alcohol and other drug treatment
Comorbidity is the norm rather than the exception. In this two day interactive online workshop you will deepen your understanding of co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug issues and build knowledge, confidence and skill in responding effectively. Learn how to adapt and expand your existing alcohol and other drug treatment skills to assist your clients to manage mental health symptoms. Find out what you need to know about the types of co-occurring conditions you are likely to encounter and how to effectively incorporate best practice responses into your treatment.
Learning outcomes:

Recognise and understand the common mental health conditions in alcohol and other drug treatment
Undertake a thorough assessment and develop an integrated case formulation to guide your practice
Apply a range of alcohol and other drug treatment skills to working with clients with co-occurring mental health conditions
Learn how to respond therapeutically and effectively within the bounds of the alcohol and other drug treatment setting

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

Help! I've been subpoenaed
2022-06-16 09:00 - 16:30 | Online
Do you know what to say and do if you are subpoenaed to appear in court?
Are your case notes court-ready
Nearly 50% of alcohol and other drug workers have had their case notes subpoenaed. Are yours court-ready? Write great case notes and feel confident giving evidence in court with this fun and practical case note and court preparation training. Join our clinical expert Paula Ross and our legal eagle Jarryd Bartle for this practical one-day workshop specially designed to assist practitioners to get court ready. Gain confidence and reduce anxiety about appearing in court.
Learning outcomes:

Describe the different types of courts and how they operate
Know how to respond to a subpoena
Feel confident to appear in court and develop and apply court presentation skills
Identify the essential components of your case notes, so they are both clinically relevant and legally sound

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

Aboriginal Mental Health Assessment and Suicide Prevention in Aboriginal Communities
2022-06-14 08:00 - 2022-06-16 17:00 | NT
This three-day workshop aims to improve the cultural competencies of participants undertaking a mental health assessment of Aboriginal patients and also provide information on suicide prevention and postvention strategies in Aboriginal communities.
Participants taking part in this workshop will:

complete the Aboriginal Mental Health Cultural Competency Profile
achieve accreditation in

the Westerman Aboriginal Symptom Checklist – youth and adults
the Acculturation Scale for Aboriginal Australians
the Acculturative Stress Scale for Aboriginal Australians.

Sex Work, AOD and Mental Health: Working with sex workers
2022-06-08 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Many sex workers report barriers to accessing services for AOD and/or mental health. Learn how to better interact with this unique demographic. Respect Inc provides sexual health information, advocacy and support to sex workers across QLD.
Hazy Inseptember is Career Development Officer at Respect inc. and also works as a counsellor in a clinical setting for an LGBTIQ+ organisation in Brisbane.

Superskills for supervisors
2022-06-06 09:00 - 16:30 | 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.
