Growing Our Work as We Grow Ourselves: Taking a Deeper Dive Into Client Intimacy and Family Relationships

Human sexuality, intimacy, and romance are among the most profoundly meaningful and driving forces in all our lives. And yet, when clients come into addiction and mental health treatment, how often do our clinical assessments, questions, and even the framing of clinical disorders avoid asking about the sex itself? Why is it that mental health and addiction professionals seem less comfortable exploring similar issues related to their adult sexuality and intimate relationships? How we can improve overall clinical care and clinical outcomes by clearly and openly assessing for sexual issues at the...Read more start of any treatment, especially if we wish to reduce recidivism among drug addicts and other emotionally challenged populations. Since Codependent No More became a self-help book sensation nearly 40 years ago, we’ve seen a torrent of book titles, articles, workshops, and even whole therapy centers centered around codependence work as a therapy concept. Codependency is what we know. But codependency has never been formalized as a diagnosis in the DMS or the ICD. In fact, there has never been a formal, criteria-based addiction or mental health diagnosis for the “issue” that we call codependency. So, what does this mean to our work today? This thought-provoking talk by treatment specialist, author, and speaker Dr. Robert Weiss LCSW asks attendees to question old assumptions and consider new ideas. Less...

Learning Objectives

• Utilize two new intervention skills for the loved ones of individuals with substance use disorders.
• Use a basic assessment for sexual addiction including three useful questions to add to current assessments.
• Differentiate healthy sexuality from pathological sexuality.
• Discuss the controversy associated with the term "codependency" in substance use treatment.

Target Audience

Learning Levels

• All levels

Saturday, November 20, 2021

11:00 AM EST - 02:15 PM EST