Speakers

Claudia Black, PhD
 
Dr. Black is the recipient of numerous national awards including the 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Washington School of Social Work, the 2010 Conway Hunter Award for excellence in the field of addictions, the 2012 Robert Rehmar Addiction Professional Award, the 2014 Father Joseph C. Martin Professional Excellence Award and the NAADAC 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Black has been a keynote speaker on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. Her workshops have been presented to an extraordinarily wide array of audiences including military academies, prison systems, medical schools, and extensive mental health and addiction programs. Claudia has extensive multi-cultural experiences working with agencies and audiences in Japan, Brazil, Australia, Scotland, Iceland, Germany, England and Canada. Many of her books and videos have been translated and published abroad. Claudia is the author of It Will Never Happen To Me, Changing Course, My Dad Loves Me, My Dad Has A Disease, Repeat After Me, Relapse Toolkit, A Hole in the Sidewalk, Depression Strategies, Straight Talk, Family Strategies, Anger Strategies, Deceived: Facing Sexual Betrayal, Lies and Secrets, The Truth Begins With You, Intimate Treason and her most recent book Unspoken Legacy. She has produced several audio CDs and over twenty DVDs. All of Claudia’s materials are available through Central Recovery Press on her website www.claudiablack.com.
John Briere, PhD
 
John Briere, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, and Director of the Psychological Trauma Program at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. He is also Center Director of the USC Adolescent Trauma Training Center of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.  A past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, he is recipient of the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association. He is author or co-author of over 100 articles and chapters, 10 books, and eight trauma-related psychological tests. He teaches on trauma, therapy, and mindfulness practices internationally. For more information visit his website at johnbriere.com
Pamela H. Harmell, PhD
 
Dr. Harmell is a national lecturer specializing in legal and ethical issues in clinical practice. A professor at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, she has written extensively in professional publications on ethical practice. Dr. Harmell is a former chair of the California Psychological Association State Ethics Committee, and is the current co-chair of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association Ethics Committee. She served on the Board of Directors of the California Psychological Association, and she is a past-president of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association. 
Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM

Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM is a Board-Certified Family Practitioner. He is the Chief Medical Officer of Las Vegas Recovery Center (LVRC). Dr. Pohl was a major force in developing LVRC’s Chronic Pain Recovery Program. He is certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine, (ABAM), and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). He is the former chairman of ASAM’s AIDS Committee, a member of the planning committee for ASAM’s Annual “Common Threads, Pain and Addiction” Course and co-chair of ASAM’s Pain and Addiction Workgroup. Dr. Pohl is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He was elected by his peers for inclusion in Best Doctors in America® from 2009 to present.
Please check back for more expert speakers in the coming weeks.