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Involuntary Commitment to Treatment: A Life-Saving Tool For Clinicians

Virtual
1.5 CE Hour
General
Free

Presented By

Brought to You By

Recorded On

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Location

  • On Demand
    Sessions will be available On-Demand
Description

Substance abuse disorders re-wire the brain so that many times no amount of familial, employment, financial or other pressure can interfere with the individual’s demand for more substances. More than 900,000 Americans have died since the 1990s from substance abuse. Certainly, the number of drug overdose deaths and alcohol-related deaths during the pandemic only reinforces the need for action by all reasonable means necessary.

We simply cannot wait any longer for people to “hit bottom” before they get help. Involuntary commitment to treatment through the courts provides an effective tool to deliver individuals with substance use disorders to treatment to start the process of re-wiring the brain for recovery. Many individuals must be mandated by the courts to treatment for a long enough period so their brains can cool down and begin to develop the internal motivation necessary for long-term recovery. There is significant research that confirms that involuntary commitment to treatment is at least as effective, if not more so than voluntary treatment. We will explore these studies and the rationale therein and, as a result, professionals will be more comfortable with the science and the wisdom of using involuntary commitment laws.

Simply put, clinicians and interventionists must become more comfortable with the ways that the legal system can help assist the professional get their clients into treatment, whether or not the client initially wants it, for a long enough time for the brain to “cool down” and to begin to develop the internal motivation for recovery. The Florida involuntary commitment model known as the Marchman Act will serve as a guide for the exploration of this process. Attendees will gain an understanding of how laws requiring treatment attendance through court orders begin to approximate certain features behind the successes of programs such as Impaired Physicians and the FAA/Commercial Airline Pilots programs.

Target Audience
  • Counselors
  • Addiction Counselors
  • Social Workers
  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Psychologists
Educational Goal

Participants will gain increased competency in the efficacy of court ordered substance abuse treatment.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. Explain 3 ways the legal system can assist a clinician or interventionist in getting their clients into treatment
  2. List 3 ways principles of treatment can be assisted using the legal system
  3. Describe 1 example of a law requiring treatment attendance through court orders
  4. Describe the results of 2 studies related to involuntary commitment to treatment
  5. Create a plan to speak with community leaders about establishing laws related to court-ordered treatment
Introductory
General
Counselors

This live webinar has been approved for 2 General clock hours by the Louisiana Counseling Association as authorized by the Louisiana Professional Counselor Licensing Board of Examiners.

Course meets the qualifications for hours of continuing education credit for LPCCs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LPCCs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0220.

Addiction Counselors

This course has been approved by TPN.health, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #198061, TPN.health is responsible for all aspects of the programming. Counselor Skill Group: Legal, Ethical and Professional Development.

Social Workers

TPN.health, #1766, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 03/31/2022 – 03/31/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 1.5 continuing education credits. ASWB ACE credit is not available in NY and NJ.

Course meets the qualifications for hours of continuing education credit for LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LCSWs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0654.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists

Course meets the qualifications for hours of continuing education credit for LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0097.

Psychologists

TPN.health is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

CE Policy
TPN.health and this educator have no conflicts of interest and have not received any commercial support for this program or its contents.
Joe Considine

Joe Considine has practiced law in Florida since 1983, focusing on using the courts to require substance use treatment through Florida’s Marchman Act. Joe has handled hundreds of Marchman Act cases throughout Florida. Helping families, the courts, and the public understand how substance use disorder rewires the brain and using the law to help people is Joe’s passion.

Joe has presented to state conferences of mental health professionals, the Florida judiciary, treatment centers, and civic organizations about the efficacy of involuntary commitment to treatment using the courts. Mr. Considine works exclusively with families whose loved ones have substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders. He has authored many articles on the Marchman Act which can be found on his website: joeconsidinelaw.com.

Joe has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Fern House in West Palm Beach, a residential facility for indigent men with substance use disorders, for more than 25 years. Joe also participates with the Max Planck Institute For Neuroscience in Jupiter, Florida as a member of the Brain Trust.

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