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Module 1: The Neurobiology & Physiology of Safety vs. Danger

Course
Virtual
1.5 CE Hour
Clinical
  • -
    Live Webinar

Location

  • Live Webinar
    Access virtually on TPN.health
Description

Setting the foundation for the course, this module establishes the neurological and physiological response to traumas that manifest as compulsive self-soothing habits (addictions).  We will discuss the differences between harm-reduction and abstinence-only approaches, and participants will learn how to identify sound principles for effective clinical engagement.

Target Audience
  • Counselors
  • Substance Use Disorder Professionals
  • Social Workers
  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists
Educational Goal

The educational goal of this workshop is to increase knowledge about the relationship between trauma and addictions.

Learning Objectives

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

  • Identify 2 chief differences between harm-reduction and abstinence-only approaches to substance use disorder.

  • Explain 2 ways trauma impacts neurological development.

  • Describe the influence of early attachment on the Social Engagement System.

  • List 3 practical examples of how to create safety for clients.

  • Give one example of how to practice each of the following: autoregulation, co-regulation, attunement, vocal prosody, proximity.

References
  • Holmes, J. (2014). John Bowlby and Attachment Theory (Makers of Modern Psychotherapy), 2nd Edition. Routledge.

  • The Gottman Institute. (2024). Still-Face Study: https://www.gottman.com/blog/research-still-face-experiment/

  • Kurtz, R. (1990). Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method - The Integrated Use of Mindfulness, Nonviolence, and the Body. Liferhythm.

  • Kurtz, R. and Martin, D. (2019). The Practice of Loving Presence: A Mindful Guide to Open-Hearted Relating. Stone’s Throw Publications.

  • Maté, G. (2018). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close encounters with addiction. Toronto Vintage Canada.

  • Maté', G. and Maté, D. (2022). The Myth of Normal. Penguin Books.

  • Porges, S. W. (2023). Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us. W.W. Norton & Co.

  • Porges S. W. (2021). Cardiac vagal tone: a neurophysiological mechanism that evolved in mammals to dampen threat reactions and promote sociality. World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 20(2), 296–298. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20871

  • Porges S. W. (2022). Polyvagal Theory: A Science of Safety. Frontiers in integrative neuroscience, 16, 871227. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2022.871227

  • Siegel, D. J. (1999). The developing mind: Toward a neurobiology of interpersonal experience. The Guilford Press.

Clinical
Counselors

TPN.health has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7267. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. TPN.health is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

 

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.

Substance Use Disorder Professionals

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.

 

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.

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.
  • Waiting Room Opens
  • Workshop Begins
  • Workshop Ends
Note: Time designated for waiting room, breaks cannot be counted toward CE credit.
Greg Liotta, LMSW

Greg Liotta, LMSW, has 30+ years of post-masters experience as an addictions counselor, Intergroup Dialogue facilitator (cultural sensitivity), men’s work leader, and somatic experiential retreat leader. His foundation is built on a deep commitment to his personal, emotional, and spiritual development as a platform for offering high-quality service. Greg’s clinical approach is heavily influenced by Gabor Mate’, Dr. Bessel von der Kolk, Ron Kurtz, Janina Fisher, Peter Levine, and other luminaries in the field of healing trauma. He is also certified in HRV technology, HeartMath (the connection between the brain, nervous system, and the human heart), and Polyvagal clinical applications. Greg is certified to administer Dr. Porges’ Safe & Sound Protocol and holds a Certificate in Jan Winhall’s Felt-Sense Polyvagal Approach to Treating Addiction. He is a Certified Experiential Facilitator with a grounding in somatic healing modalities, incorporating sensorimotor psychotherapy, Hakomi approaches, psychodrama, bio-energetics, and IFS. Along with his favorite person in the whole world, Jon Snow (Boxer-mix), he designs and facilitates quality trauma-sensitive experiential retreats for those suffering from addictions and complex trauma.

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