About this Event
Description: This training builds a foundational understanding of how substance use disorders develop and how trauma and stigma influence engagement and outcomes. Participants will explore how substance use progresses along a continuum and alters brain systems related to reward, motivation, learning, stress regulation, and decision-making. Current research explains tolerance, withdrawal, craving, and compulsive use, emphasizing addiction as a chronic, relapsing condition rather than a moral failing. The training examines the relationship between trauma and substance use disorder, reviewing how trauma impacts the nervous system, increases vulnerability, and complicates recovery through heightened stress sensitivity, avoidance, and impaired self-regulation. Common trauma responses are reviewed within a trauma-informed framework emphasizing safety and predictability. Participants will also explore how stigmatizing language influences provider attitudes and client outcomes, and will identify person-first, recovery-oriented language that supports effective care.
Objectives: By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how substance use disorders progress over time, including neurobiological changes related to reward, motivation, stress, tolerance, and withdrawal.
2. Explain how repeated substance use alters brain structure and function, contributing to compulsive behavior and relapse vulnerability.
3. Identify the relationship between trauma exposure and substance use disorder, including how trauma impacts stress response, craving, and engagement in care.
4. Identify trauma-informed strategies that promote safety, predictability, and engagement when working with individuals with substance use disorders.
5.Identify examples of stigmatizing language and corresponding person-first, recovery-oriented alternatives used in substance use disorder care.
About the Presenter: Darla Belflower is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 30 years of experience in substance use disorder and behavioral health. She is the founder of Belflower Training and Consultation and author of The Trauma-Informed Workbook for Addiction and I Am Not Anonymous. Darla has presented at conferences nationwide, serves in leadership roles on state and local recovery councils, and is a person in recovery.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
1519 Merchant St, 1519 Merchant Street, Emporia, United States
USD 55.20
