Strengthening the Therapeutic Relationship

Pittsburgh, PA | Friday, April 22, 2016 at 11am – 1pm (ET)
Strengthening the Therapeutic Relationship
 
Individual interactions are the heart — and soul — of addiction treatment, one of the factors most closely associated with positive long-term outcomes. Yet every patient presents unique circumstances, and often initial hesitation, to treatment. And clinicians must be ever mindful of ethical concerns and boundaries, especially as social media, texting, and other technologies offer opportunities to engage patients in new ways.
 
Join Addiction Professional as we examine practical strategies to strengthen the therapeutic relationship to “break through” to reluctant clients, individualize their treatment based on presenting needs, motivate them to make meaningful change, and prepare them for continuous follow-up and a fulfilling life in recovery.
 
Upon attending this presentation, attendees will be able to:
 
  • Identify successful strategies for engaging reluctant patients.
  • Uncover presenting issues that call for tailored treatment approaches to facilitate meaningful change.
  • Devise a strategy for aftercare follow-up to diminish the potential for relapse.        
One hour of continuing education credit will be available.  
Thought Leadership Partner
Panel Series Partner
Sponsors
Promotional Partner

Panelists

William Harris
Clinical Program Supervisor, Mount Regis Center
 
William Harris, CSAC, serves as the clinical program supervisor at Mount Regis Center where he oversees the day-to-day clinical program operations, facilitates large and small groups, provides individual and group counseling as needed and serves as the liaison between patients and utilization review.  
Bill has over 20 years of experience as a substance abuse counselor and program manager for a variety of treatment modalities including inpatient, residential, intensive outpatient therapy, psychiatric centers and extended care programming.  Bill is certified as an advanced relapse prevention and Acudetox specialist and received his formal education in chemical dependency counseling from the Community College of Baltimore County.
 
KAREN A. PLAVAN, PH.D.
Director of The Oasis Recovery Center
 
Karen A. Plavan serves as the Director of The Oasis Recovery Center where she counsels individuals and as an interventionist, helps families with their loved ones recover from addiction.   Dr. Plavan is also the Chair of The Coalition for Leadership Education and Advocacy for Recovery (CLEAR), one of the oldest alcohol/drug coalitions in the US. 
 
Dr. Plavan is also the Co-Chair of the annual Pittsburgh Pastoral Care Conference now in its 16th year.   Dr. Plavan taught addiction courses in the Counselor Education, Graduate Program in Addiction Studies at Penn State University and taught  “Addiction and Grace” at The Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.  She also has taught in many developing countries including Belize and Egypt.
 
Dr. Plavan coordinated the Demand Treatment Leadership Team in Pittsburgh and organized one of the first Emergency Room screening projects in the US through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Boston University.  She designed a prevention project called “Everything Counts” for the National Media Outreach Center at QED Communications focusing on addictive organizations and communities. She also served as President of the Allegheny County Alcohol and Drug Planning Council for six years and volunteers for several non-profit organizations.
 
Dr. Plavan received her M.Ed. & Ph.D. in Counselor Education from The University of Pittsburgh.  She worked at WPIC and assisted with the opening of the ADAPT program -- a dual-diagnosis program for adolescents.  She was the first Director of the Women’s Center and Shelter in the North Hill’s, now called Crisis Center North.  She also worked as the Director of the International Center at Point Park College and as an ESL counselor at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.   Dr. Plavan coordinated the United Religions Initiative (URI) launched in Pittsburgh in 2000.  Over the years, she has served on various non-profit boards volunteering her time in the community.
Melissa A. Townes, NCIP, CTR
Regional Service Coordinator
White Deer Run Treatment Network
 
Melissa Townes serves as Regional Service Coordinator for White Deer Run Treatment Network and services Allegheny County.  Townes’ day to day responsibilities include coordinating care for those suffering from Chemical Dependency, Developing, Maintaining and Expanding referent community within Allegheny County, and to provide customer service to clients and potential/current referrals sources.  Townes also provides professional trainings on multiple substance abuse topics.
 
Townes has over fifteen years’ experience in Behavioral Health field in various settings and has worked in many areas of the Chemical Dependency field including,  Substance Abuse Treatment Coordination, Mobile Evaluations, Developing and implementing  mobile assessment model for Physicians, Attorneys’ Offices and Hospitals.   Townes has also worked in Case Management field serving the Co-occurring HIV positive patient population, Education and Intervention, and Communicable Disease Training.  Townes is a certified Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS Trainer, and is licensed to provide HIV testing and counseling in the state of Pennsylvania, she sat on the Pennsylvania HIV Prevention Board from 2006-2009 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 
 
Townes attended Marist College majoring in Business Administration and is currently a student of Capella University and looking forward to obtaining her Degree in Healthcare Management.  

Location:
LeMont Restaurant
1114 Grandview Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15211

*There is a $25 registration fee, but all attendees will receive a $25 American Express gift card at the conclusion of the event.
Registration is required to attend; seating is limited.