3 hour: Addiction & the Brain: The Cycle of Addiction, Guilt, and Shame

3 CEs Recorded Spring, 2023

Are you seeing more and more clients and patients struggling with substance use disorders, addictive behaviors, and non-substance use disorders? Do you also feel like you don’t have the training, knowledge, tools, and resources to effectively help them? If that sounds familiar, you are NOT ALONE!

And we have the perfect workshop for you presented by our expert neuroscientist and brain-based therapy guru, Hannah Smith, MA, LMHC, CGP!

This 3-hour workshop on Addiction and the Brain introduces the effects of addiction on our brains and provides insights into how client behavior may point the way to causal effects.

Healthcare and mental health / social work professionals will gain a brain- and evidence-based perspective of addiction. Especially for those who do not regularly treat addiction or know how to even start will have a new foundation on which to build effective treatment of this life or death disease. Addiction is a ravaging disease that affects millions of people all over the world – and it is not limited to substance use disorders. Behavioral and psychological addictions are also responsible for much heartache our clients face daily.

This short class introduces viewers to brain-based effects of addiction in general and provides insights into how client behavior may point the way to causal effects. In particular, there is an emphasis on understanding, attacking, and reducing shame for those in recovery. A clear cycle is presented to help clinicians understand the chain of events that perpetuate addiction and a framework for addressing psychological effects is proposed, explained, and modeled by case study.

Mental health professionals, healthcare professionals, and social workers will gain brain-based perspective from this view and those who do not regularly treat addiction, or who see those with non-substance-use addictions in their practice, will have a new foundation on which to build effective treatment of this important issue. Attendees will also finish armed with clint-friendly ways of explaining the grip of addiction and the road to freedom.

EPDC CE Hours: 3

Presenter: Hannah Smith

Hannah Smith, MA, LMHC, CGP (She/Her), is the founder of Potential Finders Network and is a book author and blog writer, coach/consultant, international board-certified group leader, and nationwide trainer from the Seattle area. She has extensive study and practice in neuroscience- informed clinical treatment and is certified in Interpersonal Neurobiology by the Mindsight Institute. Her experience, both personally and professionally, in the US and abroad, has allowed her to develop multi-modal, culturally competent, cutting-edge & relevant training programs. Hannah guest lectures in academic, clinical, and corporate settings around the US and globally. She has developed an engaging presentation style, making the learning of difficult information both accessible and fun! Her passion is to educate others on practical, whole-person approaches to life with the aim of helping those she works with reach their greatest potential!