2023 Northwest Regional Conference Schedule

8:00AM - 9:00AM CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

9:00AM - 9:30AM OPENING SESSION - 0.5 CES 

• Welcome & Land Blessing , presented by Gary Ferguson, ND, and Bob "Grandpa" Richards

9:30AM - 10:30AM PLENARY SESSION - 1 CE

• The Healing Forest & Changing Consciousness , presented by Don Coyhis
  Don Coyhis will introduce the concept of Wellbriety as balance and connection to natural laws that create healing within Native communities. A combination of immense losses and traumatic events that have perpetrated an entire culture need healing, as Natives across the nation are encouraged to seek to reinstate cultural ways, language and sacred traditions. The legacy of historical trauma and ongoing issues of substance use result in a focus on anger, guilt, shame, and fear. People are living in the fog of these elements. Our ways of thinking and being are built around the reactions to the environment created by these negative spiritual characteristics. We must look at new ways of thinking and responding based upon a Spirit of Hope to bring healing to families and communities.  Healing will take place through application of cultural and spiritual knowledge.
  

10:30AM - 11:00AM BREAK

11:00AM - 12:30PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 1.5 CES

• Honoring Spirituality , presented by Bob "Grandpa" Richards
  This workshop will take a deep dive into defining spirituality. It will discuss spirituality vs. religion; freedom of religion vs. freedom of spirituality, and if these are really freedoms. The workshop will continue to discuss sacred place vs. sacred space and how to open a means of communication and head heart connection. The presenter will cover the seven sacred ways of living, including humility, wisdom, prayer, respect, care/compassion, honest/truth/trust, and generosity. Participants will conduct a self-evaluation of humility and discuss the wisdom learned from past and future experiences, the value of wisdom, and prayer and respect. 
  
  
• Clinical Suicide Prevention , presented by Megan Bailey, LCSW, LMFT, LAC
  This presentation briefly reviews the data around the high suicide rate in Native American populations, which is the leading cause of preventable death in American Indian/Alaska Native youth and second leading cause of preventable death for young adults of the same population.  For providers, knowing how to clinically intervene is essential.  This presentation will go over how to assess, triage, chart, and safety plan for these at risk clients.   
  
  
• EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques for Cultural Humility, Part 1 , presented by Michael DeMolina, PhD, LPCS, CDCS, MAC
  SAMHSA TIP 61 emphasizes the importance of cultural considerations in providing effective behavioral health & addiction treatment. However, it does not offer a specific path for uncovering conscious or unconscious cultural biases on a personal level. In this session, we will explore the principles of cultural humility and discuss how they can be applied to addiction treatment. We will also examine unconscious biases and the different subtypes, through the lens of Etuaptmumk, a Mi'kmaw word meaning “Two-Eyed Seeing.” Participants will gain a deeper understanding of cultural humility and how to cultivate cultural humility in their clinical practice.

12:30PM - 1:30PM LUNCH

1:30PM - 3:00PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 1.5 CES

• Culturally Responsive Clinical Supervision , presented by Lynsey Parrish, MSW, LICSW 
  This session will focus on cultivating meaningful ways to provide culturally responsive supervision and the different ways can work to understand and be a part of communities in which we support healing. 
  
  
• Reaching Behavioral Health Clients Who Smoke With Effective Interventions , presented by Angela Petersen, MA, PhD
  This session prepares you to use components of brief interventions to help prepare behavioral health clients to quit. Trainees will receive background information on behavioral health smoking risks, common myths about smoking in behavioral health populations, learn basic information to use NRT/Pharmacotherapy, and discuss organizational culture factors impacting implementation. 
  
  
• EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques for Cultural Humility, Part 2 , Michael DeMolina, PhD, LPCS, CDCS, MAC
  Emotional freedom techniques (EFT) itself is derived from ancient Chinese healing modalities and Daoist practice. Daoism is widely considered the original Indigenous tradition of China. EFT can be a powerful tool for uncovering unconscious biases and assisting in the healing of underlying traumas that may give rise to bias. In this session, we will provide an explanation of the mechanisms and background of EFT. We will also provide a demonstration of EFT in action. Participants will:  learn how to utilize EFT in their clinical practice to uncover unconscious biases; gain valuable insights into how EFT can be used to address unconscious biases; and promote cultural humility, ultimately leading to more effective and equitable treatment outcomes for all. 

3:00PM - 3:30PM BREAK

3:30PM - 5:00PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 1.5 CES

• Engaging Native Populations in Service Delivery , presented by Kevin Simmons, MS, PhD Candidate
  Engaging Native and Indigenous populations in service delivery and treatment models provides individual therapists, treatment professionals, and others the opportunity to build better relationships with people being served. This workshop steps away from conventional models of engagement and details a specific approach to engage Native and Indigenous people and communities in service delivery. The model is grounded in research and literature and utilizes culturally based approaches to serving Native and Indigenous populations. 
  
  
• EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques for Cultural Humility, Part 3 , presented by Michael DeMolina, PhD, LPCS, CDCS, MAC
  In the third and final part of the session, participants will engage in experiential exercises as both “counselor” and “client” to practice utilizing EFT to assist others in healing past wounds that may have led to cultural bias. The exercises are specifically intended to uncover unconscious cultural biases of participants towards cultural differences, and through EFT tapping, decrease internal activation one may experience. We hope to increase understanding and humility towards cultural differences. Please attend with an open mind, an open heart and with an attitude of self-reflection and lifelong learning!
  
  
• Decolonizing Recovery Services , presented by Angela Michaud, DC, CSCS
  This session will provide an overview of the implementation of peer support and cultural practices in recovery services to prevent the continued use of drugs and alcohol. 
  
  
• MALIE KA ’UHANE: A Cultural Approach to Chronic Pain and Stress Management , presented by Winslow Engel, MD, Kekupu Nourrie, LMHC, Makani Tabura, and Nicole S. Wright, PsyD
  This presentation will introduce Native Hawaiian traditional views on practices, concepts and methods that may be utilized in the treatment and prevention of pain and stress management. Participants will learn how traditional and contemporary practices, cultural and western methods can be incorporated together in treating patients. Participants will learn a Native Hawaiian approach to treating, preventing and identifying types of Kaumaha, stress or anxieties one may suffer from. This presentation will also introduce a Native Hawaiian perspective on physical, mental and emotional pain and the traditional practices that may be utilized to treat such ailments.  The presenters will share a handful of techniques, methods and practices that can be used in treating patients, such as lomilomi (Hawaiian massage/alignment of the mind, body and spirit), la‘aulapa‘au (herbal medicine), hi’uwai (utilizing water and ocean for healing) and Ha Ola, traditional breathing practices. Audience will explore the intersection of Hawaiian spirituality and physical Hawaiian practices that are an integral part of stress and pain management. 
  

8:00AM - 9:00AM CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

9:00AM - 10:30AM PLENARY SESSION - 1.5 CES

• Integrative and Traditional Medicine Approaches in Addiction Treatment , presented by Gary Ferguson, ND
  There are many tools that we can employ to address the root causes of addiction, along with making our therapies more effective and sustainable. In this presentation we will discuss treating addictions holistically by incorporating integrative and traditional medicine approaches. 

10:30AM - 11:00AM BREAK

11:00AM - 12:30PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 1.5 CES

• Screening and Assessment as a Sacred Trust: Navigating the Spaces In Between , presented by Danica Love Brown, MSW, PhD
  Western medical models conduct screening and assessment as a task that is mandated by federal and local policy for funding purposes and diagnosis of a cluster of symptoms. This can create resistance with Indigenous people, creates stigma, and in many people’s experiences, be experienced as dehumanizing. These Western models of screening and assessment pathologize those who are suffering from a colonial history of violence. From an Indigenous worldview, when treating people who are surviving colonial violence, we understand "screening and assessment" to be a sacred trust. We are asking people about their deepest wounds, hurts, and pain. As providers, we need to take a step back and acknowledge that this is a truly honorable place to be and to address this role with humility and care. We are asking people to be vulnerable and transparent about their deepest wounds, which is a sacred trust and role. 
  
  
• Charting for Traditional Practices , presented by Megan Bailey, LCSW, LMFT, LAC
  In today's day and age, getting reimbursed for clinical services is a challenge and requires precise documentation that validates the use of evidence-based practices to treat diagnosable disorders. For practitioners who serve traditional people and provide treatment using culturally appropriate and effective interventions, it can be hard for providers to document the services provided and secure reimbursement for their work. This is because certain traditional practices are not considered evidence-based according to government approved entities nor private insurance companies. This presentation will discuss ways to justify and enhance the utilization of traditional healing practices in a Western medicine world in a way that insurance companies can support reimbursement of services.
  
  
• We All Make Us All Strong: A Statewide Collaborative Tribally Focused Prevention Media Campaign , presented by Gerry Rainingbird, MS
  Recent events around the world have directly impacted and changed the way communities connect and support each other, especially in our Indigenous communities. Across the Pacific Northwest, tribal communities have been facing the impact of distance, loss, and grief, in addition to higher rates of suicide associated with historical trauma and health disparities. The Washington State Department of Health and its partners are addressing mental health as an important part of a collaborative and holistic response, developing a social marketing campaign specifically with and for tribal communities. And one that is strength-based and focused on resiliency, hope and the principle of, “culture is prevention.” We created space for community conversation throughout the project. By weaving community input through every stage of the project, feedback organically shaped the approach from start to finish. The result is a social marketing approach grounded in cultural strengths, where the making of the campaign drove important conversations about mental health and truly reflected the theme, we all make us all strong!
  
  
• Conflict Resolution and the Intersection With Indigenous Peoples, Part 1 , presented by Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, BSW, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP
  Conflict happens in all races and cultures. Understanding the foundational concepts and then applying those to one’s own race or culture is important.  These series of workshops will focus on a multi-component, multi-media tool for use by addiction and other helping professionals to assist adults and youth improve their life traumas and conflict through knowledge, attitudes and skills. Conflict resolution skills are an intensive set of psycho-emotional-social-spiritual and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that, if followed, will result in lifestyle changes. This program allow the participant a "self and other” assessment of conflict style with the goal of behavior changes that can be instilled in the brain. This curriculum was a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) SBIR project. Session one will focus on the instinctual and intellectual centers of the brain, the limbic system, and the frontal cortex. Discussion will include anger and conflict, triggers that promote either peace and calm or conflict, and what the brain can do to readjust it brain pathways.  The presentation will discuss where people learn their patterns in conflict and how the brain automatically reverts to the familiar conflicting styles. 
  

12:30PM - 1:30PM LUNCH

1:30PM - 3:00PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 1.5 CES

• Gambling and Gaming in Native American Communities: Cultural Traditions to Contemporary Trends , presented by Maureen Greeley, BS, and Ricki J. Peone, LMSW, ICGC-II, BACC
  Tribal gaming, as we think of it today, dates back to the 1970s. But traditional tribal games have long been a part of tribal community culture.  There are so many levels of meaning to traditional tribal games – whether played ceremonially, for fun and pleasure, or for education and skills development.  There is much to be understood, and much that is misunderstood, about tribal gaming, tribal sovereignty, cultural considerations and the impacts of colonialization and historical trauma on how tribal gaming is perceived and practiced. Current work in tribal health programs to address gambling disorder – awareness, prevention, treatment, recovery, and responsible gaming initiatives are important to understand when working with people who are impacted negatively by gambling. Evidence-based and culturally based best practices both need to be considered to meet the needs of individuals and communities.  Join us as we provide a broad overview of tribal gaming history, cultural considerations and historical context, and treatment tools for working with tribal communities.
  
  
• Trauma Avoidance: Four Common Misunderstandings in Trauma Treatment Land , presented by Steve Sawyer, LCSW, CSAC
  This presentation addresses and challenges several common misconceptions of successful trauma treatment. We examine key attributes to trauma work, such as powerlessness, safety, dissociation, window of tolerance, grounding/body oriented exercises, and trauma discharge. Many trauma focused therapists have experienced a hypersensitivity to trauma's emotional material that compromises progress and staying power in treatment. This presentation utilizes the opinions of experts, science, and case examples to offer a thorough look at commonly misunderstood essential steps to trauma treatment success. 
  
  
• Leadership Preparation for Indigenous Peoples , presented by Jerry Jenkins, MEd, LADAC, MAC 
  It is not uncommon for clinical and administrative staff to aspire to leadership positions – program director, chief of operations, chief of compliance, HR director, Executive Director/CEO or similar roles and responsibilities. College courses and majors along with workshops, seminars, webinars, books and other educational tools are used to help prepare for the ever-changing area of managing and leading people. Is human resources and the managing of people the high-risk venture in behavioral healthcare? Many assume it is clinical work or emergency preparedness. This workshop will focus on HR using examples of the breadth of issues that may arise at any time. Emphasis will be on the need to be attuned to legal precedents and the regulatory environment throughout employment processes. Particular attention will be paid to cultural considerations for Indigenous people.
  
  
• Conflict Resolution and the Intersection With Indigenous Peoples, Part 2 , presented by Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, BSW, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP
  Session two will focus on understanding relationships and the stages that relationships tend to transverse through or not.  Discussion of what is healthy and what tends not to be healthy and how to move to a healthier way of living will be shared.  Discussion on the four types of agreements that cause people to understand and respect each other will also be discussed. 
  

3:00PM - 3:30PM BREAK

3:30PM - 5:00PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 1.5 CES

• Training and Supervising Native American Recovery Coaches: A Weaving Together of Tribal Culture, Spirituality, and Tradition With the Peer Recovery Model , presented by Dee Le Beau-Hein, MS
  This presentation will introduce participants to the peer recovery model and teach how cultural considerations can enhance recovery support when working with an Indigenous population. The presenter will share the journey to creating a culturally sensitive adaptation to the peer recovery model.  The presenter will then discuss how peer recovery coach supervisors can implement the improved model and develop peer coaches into recovery champions within their tribal communities.
  
  
• Conflict Resolution and the Intersection With Indigenous Peoples, Part 3 , presented by Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, BSW, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP
  In the third and final part of the session, participants will gain an understanding of their style of communication in conflict- learning what primary reactionary and secondary reactionary styles are and how they harm you and others. The presentation will also discuss how to apply these concepts and skills in the environment in which one work, and lives.  Participants will have an opportunity to see the trauma in one’s own life and understand what causes inner conflict that manifests in conflict with others.  
  
  
• KE ALA O KEKOA: A Cultural Journey of Rediscovery and Self-Reliance for SUD Treatment , presented by Winslow Engel, MD, Kekupu Nourrie, LMHC, Makani Tabura, and Nicole S. Wright, PsyD
  An attitude based on colonial imperialism beliefs permeates much of the US social welfare programming, including substance use disorder treatment options. In this model of recovery, the only cultures that matter are the prevailing practices of American and Christian culture.
  In this presentation, you will be introduced to a Native Hawaiian approach to SUD treatment and recovery. Through this presentation you will learn the concepts, practices, and methods used in treating and possibly preventing SUD. You will learn the importance of utilizing a patient’s native culture and ethnicity along with utilizing certain western methods and concepts in addiction therapy. You will also learn how the Ke Ala O Kekoa curriculum can also be used in cross-cultural approaches.

9:00AM - 5:00PM EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING DAY - 6 CES 

• Land Blessing by Native Tribes of the Area, facilitated by Don Coyhis and Bob "Grandpa" Richards
• Hoop Ceremony, facilitated by Don Coyhis
• Alaska Blanket Ceremony, facilitated by representatives from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
• Deconstructing the Org Chart, facilitated by Don Coyhis
• Sense of Place, facilitated by Makani Tabura and Kekupu Nourrie, LMHC
• And more!