Clinical Skills for BSAS-Contracted and/or Licensed RRS and CSS Recovery Professionals - AND - Recovery Professional Supervisors

What are "Clinical Skills"?

Providing quality care to people seeking substance use treatment is often multifaceted and complex. For many of us working in the helping profession of SUD treatment, it is a calling. The drive to give back doesn’t always prepare us for treating people at varying stages of change to address substance use and/or people with co-occurring mental health challenges. 

RRS and CSS programs are asked to serve this population by stabilizing clients, supporting clients’ sobriety, helping clients develop relapse prevention skills and navigating difficult-to-resolve case management needs. At every level of training and education, staff may feel ill-equipped to navigate complex clinical challenges that arise. Clinical skills are the nuanced skillset that are honed over time that allow professionals to provide consistent person-centered and trauma-responsive care, assess needs, and respond effectively to a wide range of presentations.  

Training Opportunity:

We are excited to announce a multi-day “Clinical Skills 101” training for BSAS-licensed and/or contracted Recovery Residential (RRS) and Clinical Stabilization (CSS) Programs.  

Over three days recovery professionals and their supervisors will learn the importance of:

• A welcoming, supportive environment as a foundation of treatment.
• Balance thoroughness with need-to-know for documentation and clinical communication.
• Develop effective treatment planning skills.
• The Fundamentals of behavior change.
• Develop an understanding of the art and science of assessing "level of care."
• Improve case management skills through prioritization and outsourcing.
• Intervene on return to use (i.e. "relapse") and difficult behaviors without punishment.
• How to have difficult conversations.
• Infuse aftercare planning skills into all levels of daily care.

Additionally, the program and/or clinical supervisors are invited to attend:

• Training of Trainers/Supervisors (ToT/S) – this is a 3-hour in person session related to training implementation and will be required to agree to non-commercial use of the slides. This will enable: 
  • Use the materials effectively to train staff 
  • Ensure learning objectives are met 
  • Utilize all activities as essential practice for skill development 
• Implementation Community of Practice: A monthly 90 min meeting with other director/supervisor-level trainees who have completed the ToT/S (above). Sessions review material, discuss and work through implementation barriers and successes in bringing Clinical Skills 101 learnings to their staff and programs.

Target Audience:

The training has two types of learners in it, both types must be working in a BSAS-licensed and/or contracted RSS or CSS programs: 

• People who are non-licensed Recovery Professionals who perform assessments, clinical documentation, case management, and treatment, support aftercare planning, but have not received education or training on these topics.
• The people who train and supervise the above defined Recovery Professionals.