Summer Institute on Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Workshops

Diagnosis & Treatment of Persons with Co-occurring Disorders, with a focus on the role of 12 Step recovery programs

Persons with co-occurring mental illness and substance problems are often under diagnosed and under treated for their conditions within the psychiatric and chemical dependency systems of care. It is important for professionals working with this population to know how to diagnose and treat both conditions, and to have an understanding of how both conditions interact and impact not only the patient’s life but also the life of significant others.

Learning Objectives

  • To apply 12 Step conceptualizations of addictive disorders and the recovery process in order to better understand psychiatric illness.
  • To Identify the major DSM-IV-R diagnostic criteria of addictive disorders and major psychiatric syndromes including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, depressive and bipolar disorders.
  • To identify and describe the structure and content of patient stories of illness, various stage models of recovery, and how the construction and sharing of illness narratives, told within an individual or group treatment relationship plays a critical role in healing.

Worcester Worshop Leader: John Finneran, Ph.D., LADC-I

John recently completed his doctoral program at the Union Institute & University in Psychology and Alcoholism Studies. He has more than thirty years in the field and at present coordinates substance abuse services and provides a variety of co-occurring treatment services at the UMASS/Memorial Psychiatric Treatment Center in Worcester MA. He has conducted numerous trainings and has provided supervision to students and health care professionals. He is also a senior faculty member of the Assisi Institute, an organization interested in the applications of Jungian Psychology to psychotherapy, healthcare systems and other settings. He has taught at both the Westfield/Adcare and UMASS/Boston programs. John coordinates substance abuse services and provides a variety of co-occurring treatment services at UMass/Memorial Psychiatric Treatment Center in Worcester MA.

Plymouth Worshop Leader: Kathleen Clark, M.Ed, LADC-I, ACATA

Kathy is a graduate of University of Massachusetts, Boston Med, Counseling Psychology and Bridgewater State College, BS Social Work. She is a licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor I and served as a faculty member of the University of Massachusetts A/CDTSP program for the last 18 years. Previously she was on the faculty of Westfield State College. Ms. Clark has been employed at Steppingstone, Inc. as the Executive Director for the last 26 years. Her work has been in areas of program development, clinical supervision, project management, contracts reporting and financial management. She is currently a member of the American College of Addiction Treatment Administrators (ACATA) and serves on various boards and committees.