MANDEL SCHOOL
NEWS AND EVENTS

May 15-18, 2012; Boston, MA; $180 - $445 | Join the Center for Evidence-Based Practices on May 18 at the "28th Annual Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Conference 2012." Scott Gerhard of our Center teams up with Jon Ramos of the Ohio ACT Center to present "Implementing ACT with IDDT: Lessons Learned." They will present results from the initiative in Franklin County, Ohio, that implemented both ACT and IDDT simultaneously. They'll review the history of the initiative, as well as facilitators and barriers to implementation, lessons learned, and current outcomes data, which include significant reductions in service costs.

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May 21-23, 2012; Dayton, OH; $88-250; CEUs | Steve Shober and Marilyn Kohn from the Center for Evidence-Based Practices will present two workshops at the "4th Annual Wellness Management and Recovery Conference." Shober will present "Employment Basics," which will provide an overview of principles and strategies that support people who are pursuing or sustaining competitive employment. Kohn will present "Consumer-Operated Services: Partners in Employment." This year's conference will feature many learning and peer-networking opportunities, including many interactive 90-minute workshops.

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August 22-24, 2012; Columbus, OH | Join the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at the annual "Addiction Studies Institute," hosted by Talbot Hall of The Ohio State University Medical Center. Christina M. Delos Reyes, MD, from our Center will present "Pharmacology Update: Treating Mental Illness & Substance Use Disorders" and Scott Gerhard, MA, LSW, from our Center will present "Why Won't My Clients Do What I Tell Them to Do?" Sign up for their workshops. The Institute draws over 850 professionals together each year from Ohio and other states.

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The North Dakota Department of Human Services has been calling upon Ohio's expertise in the implementation of evidence-based practices for people with co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders since 2006. Today, outcomes from the department's data analyses show that the use of Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment has been significantly reducing crisis services, psychiatric hospitalizations, incarcerations, and more. ... This story features Ric Kruszynski, MSSA ('93), LISW, LICDC, director of substance abuse and mental illness consulting and training initiatives at the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices. Kruszynski is a 1993 graduate of the Mandel School.

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Our evidence-based practice (EBP) conference is back by popular demand and will take place on Oct 22 and 23, 2012 at the Cleveland Airport Marriott in Cleveland, Ohio, so save these dates! The event will feature keynote addresses and numerous workshops exploring introductory, intermediate, and advanced topics about implementing and integrating EBPs, emerging best practices, and other healthcare and behavioral-healthcare innovations that improve outcomes for people with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. | Ohio providers: $200/$125| Non-Ohio providers: $300/ $225.

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Join alumnus Jeremy S. Evenden, MSSA ('03), LISW-S, consultant and trainer from the Center for Evidence-Based Practices, at his Motivational Interviewing (MI) training events in Boardman, Ohio, from January to May 2012. Register online today. Evenden is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). Participants learn MI's client-centered approaches for responding to desire for change and resistance to change among individuals with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Ideal for IDDT, ACT, other best practices. $60/event. CEUs & supervisory credit.

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Join consultant and trainer Scott Gerhard, MA, LSW, of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at his Motivational Interviewing (MI) training events in Columbus, Ohio, from January to April 2012. Register online today. Participants engage in skill-building exercises to learn MI's client-centered approaches for responding to desire for change and resistance to change among individuals with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Ideal for IDDT, ACT, other best practices. $60 each event. Get CEUs & supervisory credit.

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One of our most popular events returns on February 28 and 29, 2012 in Cleveland for innovators in Ohio and across the nation who are implementing an Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team with aspirations of high fidelity to this evidence-based practice for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. This event provides practical resources, tools, and methods for successful implementation. Teaching methods emphasize interaction among participants. | $125 Ohio providers; $275 non-Ohio providers | CEUs.

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Program managers, team leaders, and other professionals from healthcare and behavioral healthcare organizations in central Ohio are invited to attend the next regional meeting for integrated treatment (December 7, 2011). Those who attend this peer-networking event discuss challenges and solutions for implementing evidence-based practices and other service strategies for people with mental illness and substance use disorders (e.g., IDDT, ACT, DDCAT, DDCMHT, TRAC, MI).

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If you or others you know are interested in earning a master's degree in social work and pursuing a career in clinical leadership for evidence-based practices that improve outcomes for vulnerable populations, contact the Leadership Fellows Program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Qualified candidates with a bachelor's degree in any discipline will be considered. Full scholarships available.

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Since 2004, Mandel School alumnus Patrick Boyle of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices has been transferring knowledge about evidence-based practices from the center's work in Ohio and other states to the Netherlands. He's also been teaching an annual study-abroad course that takes health and human-service professionals and university students to the Netherlands to study with policymakers and service providers there.

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Take an educational holiday overseas to the Netherlands in March 2012 by signing up for Patrick Boyle's course, "Integrated Mental Health & Substance Use Services." Boyle has been an adjunct instructor at the School for more than 20 years and is director of implementation services at the School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices. He is also a graduate of the AODA and mental-health specializations. Boyle's travel-abroad course is one of serveral for Case Western Reserve University students, which are also open to working professionals in health and human services. Other classes travel to Guatemala and Poland.

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Take a look at and listen to this interview from the 2008 archives of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices for a little inspiration to sign up for the travel-abroad courses to the Netherlands during spring break. ... Albert Dijkhuizen, MD, and Johan Weterings, PhD, of the city of Eindhoven are veterans of an old system of care that provided separate, non-integrated services for mental illness and addiction. Listen to their stories of transformation, which have occurred as a result of Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment. Tracks #4 & 5 feature consumer success stories. Track #7 features Weterings speaking in Dutch, offering a message of hope to his colleagues back home.

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The Center for Evidence-Based Practices has launched a new website, and we need your help with the transition by creating (or re-creating) your own membership account, which is free. The new "my account" feature helps you manage your event registration, resource downloads, and more. We have also moved the websites of our Ohio Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE) initiatives and Tobacco Recovery model to this new website, so remember to update any references to those links.

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The fourth annual "Respect, Success, Value, Purpose (RSVP) Mental Health Recovery Conference" will take place at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, on September 28, 2011. The goal of this year's event is to promote greater understanding of recovery from mental illness and how our communities can be supportive. It will feature two keynote speakers and 11 breakout sessions. Sponsored by the Mental Health & Recovery Boards of Ashalnd County, Richland County, and Wayne & Holmes Counties. CEUs available.

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Patrick Boyle, MSSA, LISW-S, LICDC, of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices is presenting at this year's Roads to Recovery Conference, titled "Behavioral Health: A System Under Construction," which takes place on September 12, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio, and is sponsored by the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County. He will moderate a panel presentation about evidence-based practices. Christina M. Delos Reyes, MD, of the Cetner will also present. Sign-up for their workshops. CEUs available.

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Christina M. Delos Reyes, MD, medical consultant at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices, will present "The Opiate Epidemic in Ohio: What Psychiatrists and Other Healthcare Professionals Can Do" on Friday, August 19, 2011 from 7:45 to 9 am on the campus of Case Western Reserve University as part of Grand Rounds, sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. The event is open to the public. Pre-registration is not required. CMEs are available. Other CEUs may be available.

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Join the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at the Addiction Studies Institute in Columbus, Ohio, on August 17, 18 and 19, 2011, hosted by Talbot Hall of The Ohio State University Medical Center. Deborah Myers, MEd, PCC-S, and Scott Gerhard, MA, LSW, of the Center are presenting. Sign-up for their workshops: "Motivational Interviewing in Addictions" and "Tobacco Dependence: The Forgotten Substance-Related Disorder." Look for our display table.

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Patrick Boyle, MSSA ('89), and Debra Hrouda, MSSA ('94), of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices -- and its Ohio SAMI CCOE initiative -- are presenting three posters at the "First Biennial Global Implementation Conference" (GIC) in Washington, DC, on August 15, 16, and 17, 2011. The event brings together scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and community leaders for an unprecedented focus on evidence-based practices and how they can be implemented effectively to improve outcomes for people and organizations. Boyle and Hrouda will also be participating in ongoing learning clusters with colleagues from the conference over the coming year.

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Debra Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW-S, of the Mandel School's Center for EBPs--and its Ohio SAMI CCOE initiative--has been invited to present results of a CEBP study of Ohio behavioral-healthcare claims data during a free webinar hosted by the the National Research Institute (NRI), Inc. on August 2, 2011. The study showed that Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) helped save Ohio $1.4 million in service costs for a group of 160 people diagnosed with a severe mental illness and a co-occurring substance use disorder. Register online today.

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Deborah Myers, MEd, PCC-S, of the Mandel School's Center for EBPs--and its Ohio SAMI CCOE initiative--will be presenting four Motivational Interviewing (MI) training events in southwest Ohio in August, September, and October. Earn CEUs; enhance your practice and supervision skills; register online today. Myers is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). She is a consultant and trainer at the Center.

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The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences has achieved another milestone in its long history of excellence in social-work education. Its master's-degree program was recently accredited by a new licensing entity, the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board (OCDPB), which oversees the certification and licensing of chemical-dependency counselors.

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Beginning June 1, the office of the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) and its Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE) initiatives will be located on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. There are two methods for delivering mail to us at our new location.

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Clinical supervisors of behavioral healthcare services are encouraged to join Deborah Myers, MEd, PCC-S, consultant and trainer from the CEBP's Ohio SAMI Coordinating Center of Excellence initiative, on Thursday, May 19 at the "Ohio Workforce Development Academy," sponsored by the Ohio Department of Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS). Myers will present a daylong workshop, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, titled "Clinical Supervision: Strategies to Supervise the Practice of Motivational Interviewing." The event takes place at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.

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Researchers from the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) recently conducted an analysis of claims data for behavioral-health services in the State of Ohio and found that Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT), the evidence-based practice, helped save the state approximately $1.4 million in service costs for a group of 160 people diagnosed with a severe mental illness and a co-occurring substance use disorder. The people in this group were among the highest users of mental-health and addiction services. The savings took place only one year after they started to receive IDDT services. This analysis is compelling, because it shows that IDDT can make an impact upon costs in a short amount of time.

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Take an educational holiday overseas in March or May 2011. Engage in cross-cultural studies of social policies and practices for health and human services. Several three-credit travel-abroad courses for Case Western Reserve University students are open to students at other colleges and universities and to working professionals in health and human services. Each trip is led and taught by instructors from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve. Join Patrick Boyle of the School's Center for EBPs for his course, "Integrated Mental Health & Substance Use Services," and a trip to Amsterdam, The Netherlands (March 4 to 13). Other trips/courses include the following ...

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This season marks the tenth anniversary of the State of Ohio's investment in evidence-based practices for the treatment and recovery of residents with severe mental illness (SMI) or co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. It also marks the tenth anniversary of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University. Both anniversaries were celebrated at the Center's EBP conference, which took place on October 12, 13, and 14 in Columbus. This year's conference was the ninth sponsored by the CEBP and its Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE) initiatives. Over 330 people from Ohio and 17 other states attended.

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"Workshop #F4 | Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities" has recently been added to the lineup of over 60 workshops at the Center for EBPs' Conference 2010, "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next 10 Years," which will take place on October 12, 13 and 14 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. The new workshop takes place on Thursday, October 14 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The presenter is Phil DeVol, author, consultant, and trainer at "aha! Process, Inc." of Highlands, Texas, which has developed a method for helping people from all economic classes discover and share their ideas and models for solving the problem of poverty. Devol was a keynote speaker at our March 2009 Supported Employment Conference (click here). Learn more about this year's workshop and Confernece. Register online.

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Register online today! ... The annual conference of the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices will take place on October 12, 13, and 14 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. The event, titled "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next 10 Years," features over 60 workshops and presentations by Carlo DiClemente, co-creator of "stages of change," Richard H. Dougherty of DMA Health Strategies, the Directors of Ohio's departments of health, mental health, addiction services, and rehabilitation services. ... Learn about integrating primary healthcare with behavioral healthcare and providing evidence-based practices (EBPs) and other emerging and best practices to people with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. CEUs are available.

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Get the new "Readiness Ruler" from the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices to support your use of Motivational Interviewing (MI), the evidence-based treatment. MI is a conversational approach designed to help people discover their own interest in considering and/or making a change in their lives (e.g., diet, exercise, employment, managing symptoms of physical or mental illness, reducing and eliminating the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs). Use the Readiness Ruler—and related MI principles and practices—with the people you serve to help guide conversations about personal change.

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A highlight from our IDDT resources & tools. This eight-page booklet is designed for medical professionals who want to improve their clinical relationships with and, thus, outcomes for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. It is written for psychiatrists, physicians of internal medicine and family practice, nurses, and other physicians who provide treatment to this population (e.g., obstetrics and gynecology, neurology). The booklet is a quick introduction to the principles and practices of IDDT. It includes recommendations for prescribing medications for both disorders. Printed copies and a free PDF are available.

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We've added a new "Recovery Stories" section on the web site of the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices. This evolving collection of stories highlights the positive outcomes of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and other services for people diagnosed with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. The stories are told by consumers, family members, and other supporters of recovery, such as employers and direct-service providers. They discuss openly the challenges and triumphs of recovery, as well as insights gained along the way. We encourage you to share these story widely.

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Are you looking to expand your knowledge and skills and earn some continuing-education credits? The Office of Professional Development and Continuing Education at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (school of social work) at Case Western Reserve University sponsors a vareity of workshops. We've included a sample of a few that they thought might be of interest to you. The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) is an initiative of the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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A free video-conference training event for psychiatrists, primary-care physicians, other physicians, and nurses will take place on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at multiple sites throughout Ohio. Learn how to advance tobacco cessation and recovery in primary-healthcare and behavioral-healthcare settings for people diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. People with severe mental illness are among the heaviest users of tobacco. Learn different treatment approaches to help consumers improve their health and well-being. A special emphasis will be placed upon pharmacological interventions. Social workers, counselors, and addictions counselors are encourage to attend.

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The Center for EBPs is participating in "Investing in Tobacco-Free Youth Advocacy Day 2010" on Wednesday, March 17 at the Riffe Center in Columbus. The event is designed to convince policymakers in Ohio to preserve funding for all tobacco-prevention and cessation initiatives in the state, including TRAC, a tobacco-recovery model designed by the Center for people with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Funding for Ohio's tobacco-control programs is scheduled to end on June 30. Tobacco-prevention advocates are pushing for a tax correction on non-cigarette forms of tobacco as a source of funding for cessation programs.

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Sometimes it takes a personal tragedy to inspire the kind of advocacy that is necessary for significant, widespread change. This is one reason why Shelly Kiser is so passionate about efforts in Ohio to bring tobacco-recovery and cessation services to people with severe mental illness. Her sister-in-law, Allena, who lived with schizophrenia, died of cancer at age 43. She had smoked cigarettes most of her life. Kiser is a member of the advisory committee for the Center for EBPs' "Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum" (TRAC) initiative, a service model for people with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

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The Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices is currently accepting abstracts for workshops from potential presenters for its Conference 2010, "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next 10 Years," which will take place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio on October 12, 13 & 14. Workshops will focus on topics that enhance the delivery of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and emerging best practices for adults diagnosed with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders.

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Representatives from nine community-based organizations and a state psychiatric hospital in Ohio attended a one-day training for “Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum (TRAC)”, a stage-based motivational service model that helps people diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance use disorders reduce and eventually eliminate the use of tobacco products. The event provided practical information and useful strategies for implementing TRAC services and featured Carlo DiClemente and other presenters from the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices.

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The topic of e-cigarettes came up at a recent TRAC Program Leader Training, held in Cleveland on October 1st, so the "Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum (TRAC)" intitiative at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University presents a summary regarding what is known to date about electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), what are commonly called "e-cigarettes."

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Save these dates! The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University will host its next conference October 12, 13, and 14, 2010. The event, titled "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next Ten Years", will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the State of Ohio's success with implementing EBPs for people diagnosed with mental illness. The event will highlight national EBP research and lessons-learned from EBP initiatives in Ohio and other states. The Center for EBPs is a partnership of the Mandel School and the Dept. of Psychiatry.

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Gary Bond, PhD, digs into the researech evidence and explains why Supported Employment (SE) is one of the most sought-after service models for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses. He also foreshadows the coming of two emerging best practices—cognitive rehabilitation and supported education—which will likely augment SE and enhance consumer outcomes.

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Michele Robinson is an employment specialist embedded in an Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team, which serves people diagnosed with co-occurring severe mental and substance use disorders. She shares a story about a woman in her twenties who started her teen years and adult life with the odds stacked against her.

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Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice, helps people diagnosed with severe mental illness or co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders find competitive jobs of their choice in local communities with rapid job-search and placement services. There are seven core principles that make the evidence-based SE model different from traditional vocational programs.

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We recently mailed the first issue of our new printed newsletter, "Evidence Matters." A free PDF is available from our web site. Please distribute it to anyone who is interested in enhancing services for people diagnosed with severe mental illness. We've retired our "SAMI Matters" newsletter. The Fall 2008 issue was the last. Find out why. Get back issues from this web page. Use them to educate staff and stakeholders. . . . The Center for EBPs is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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The primary purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of who gets referred to evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services and what characteristics predict entry into competitive employment for adult consumers diagnosed with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. This report includes some tips for policy and practice. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry is collecting audio recordings of service providers, consumers, and others telling stories of their experiences with evidence-based practices and other services. Share your story.

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A significant cutback in funding for tobacco-cessation programs in the State of Ohio has negatively affected efforts to reduce illnesses and healthcare costs associated with the use of harmful tobacco products. Yet, the Ohio Tobacco & Recovery (TR) Project, developed for people with severe mental illness, continues to make progress toward a service model that will stand the test of time and create positive results for Ohio residents. The Ohio TR Project is a program of the Center for EBPs at Case--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry, Case School of Medicine . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Deb Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW.)

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The Ohio Tobacco and Recovery stages-of-change model is among the nation’s cutting-edge efforts to improve health outcomes among people diagnosed with severe mental illness, because it is designed specifically to address the unique needs of this population. A recent story in Time magazine identified the high incidence of tobacco use and dependence among people with severe mental illness as one of the growing health concerns in the United States. The Ohio Tobacco & Recovery Project is a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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The November/December 2008 cover story of the nationally distributed Social Work Today magazine features the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence (Ohio SAMI CCOE)--a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) at Case Western Reserve University. The Center is a partnership of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. Both are curriculum innovators: both have fellowship programs for the study of co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Ric Kruszynski, MSSA ('93), LISW, LICDC.)

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The Ph.D. Program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences celebrates the second anniversary of its part-time study option for doctoral-level education in social welfare and is inviting applications from professionals with experience in social work and allied disciplines--such as psychology, public health, nonprofit organizations, law, anthropology, and sociology, among others. The doctoral program has both part-time and full-time study options available, along with financial assistance for both.

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As the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School looks toward its Supported Employment conference on March 24 and 25, 2009, we reflect upon the 8th Annual SAMI/IDDT conference that took place this past September in Columbus, Ohio and are reminded how conversations at these annual events continue to inform the implementation of evidence-based practices throughout Ohio and across the nation. Featuring audio interviews with Robert Drake, MD; Carlo DiClemente, PhD; Sandra Stephenson, MSW, director of ODMH; and more.

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Psychiatrist and researcher Robert E. Drake, MD, PhD, knows a few things about the evidence-based Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model—why it’s necessary, how it works, and which treatment components produce the most positive outcomes. He is one of the original creators of IDDT. His research continues to inform the dissemination of IDDT and the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model. . . . Dr. Drake has been a long-time supporter, collaborator, and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School. Join us for our conversation with him.

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Ask Psychologist Carlo DiClemente, PhD, co-creator of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), how you might achieve and maintain a meaningful personal change in your life—diet, exercise, sobriety, mental health recovery—and he’ll tell you what he’s found from almost 30 years of research on the subject. Dr. DiClemente sat down with us to provide a tutorial on the origins and ongoing evolution of TTM. . . . Dr. DiClemente is a supporter, collaborator, and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School.

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Living two seemingly separate lives never seemed quite right to Darnella Allen, BA, LICDC, of Cleveland. There was her life as an ordained minister, where she felt free to use her compassionate, forgiving, and supportive self to help people. And there was her life as an addictions counselor, where she felt skeptical of the motives of people who abused alcohol and other drugs. She spent some 20 years living with this conflict. Then she was hired as a case manager at Mental Health Services, Inc. (MHS) in Cleveland, which uses IDDT to help homeless persons with severe mental illness. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case provides technical assistance to MHS.

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There is hope for people who are most at-risk of psychiatric hospitalization, homelessness, and institutional recidivism. It is called Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). If you listen close enough to Jonas Thom, MA, PCC, you will get the impression that ACT is more than an evidence-based practice that produces improved outcomes; it is a way of being present gently and consistently in the lives of others. Thom is Director of the Ohio Coordinating Center for ACT. He is a collaborator and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry. Join us for our conversation with him.

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Before getting a formal introduction to the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model, Dianne Asher, LSCSW, CADC-I, often felt frustrated and powerless in her work as a case manager and team leader. In the 1990s, she became one of the first practitioners in the State of Kansas to be introduced to IDDT and was recruited by The University of Kansas to lead IDDT implementation throughout the sunflower state. . . . Asher is a collaborator and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry. Join us for our conversation with her.

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This past July, over 200 participants gathered at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) in Rootstown to attend a conference entitled “Moving in the BeST Direction: An Incubator to Improve Schizophrenia Treatment in Northeastern Ohio.” Representatives from the Center for Evidence-based Practices at Case Western Reserve University attended.

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This award recognizes a service team that embodies passion, dedication, and creativity when providing services to people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. It recognizes those who consistently go above and beyond the expectations of the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model and, in doing so, raise the standard for exceptional care.

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Renee Molzon went into social work to help emotionally-disturbed children, never anticipating that her professional journey would land her beside homeless adults dealing with severe mental illness. . . .(Molzon is a community partner of the Mandel School.)

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The career of Deana Leber-George has been an odyssey of reinvention. . . . She is now the Dual Diagnosis Program Supervisor at NEIGHBORING and has been a guiding member of the service team since 2002. She has learned a few lessons along the way about the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs). . . . (Leber-George is a community partner of the Mandel School.)

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Times are especially good for NEIGHBORING's Chief Operating Officer Ken Gill, MSSA ('82), LISW-S, LICDC, and his Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team. They are being recognized for raising the standard of exceptional care with the third annual Lynn Goff Spirit of Integrated Treatment Award. . . . Things, however, weren’t always running this smoothly.

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A few years back, the City of Painesville had a problem: what to do about the homeless population hanging out in its picturesque town square. For NEIGHBORING, a mental-health and substance-abuse service agency headquartered in the City of Mentor, this was another chance to step up and help out. . . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Ken Gill, MSSA (’82), LISW-S, LICDC, and other community partners.)

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The IDDT Affiliation Code Initiative gives agency providers, county boards, and State of Ohio stakeholders the capacity to collect data and to examine indicators and outcomes systematically. . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Deb Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW, and community partner David C. Ross, MA, LPCC, of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Ashland County.)

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The advisory committee meeting of the Ohio Tobacco and Recovery Project was held at Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare in Columbus this past spring. Mental health organizations around Ohio are getting ready to implement components of the new Tobacco and Recovery model.

(Featuring Mandel School graduate Patrick E. Boyle.)

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The Shawnee Mental Health Center not only serves three of the poorest, most rural regions in Ohio--Lawrence, Scioto, and Adams counties--with mental health and tobacco recovery services, but it also lies in the heart of tobacco country, making the notion of kicking the habit seem less doable than flicking a cigarette butt across the Ohio River.

(Featuring community partner Flash Phipps of Portsmouth, Ohio.)

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Ric Kruszynski, MSSA ('93), LISW, LICDC, provides consultation to mental-health and substance-abuse service agencies about the effectiveness of real-time clinical supervision in the community.

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Community partners at the Northeast IDDT Regional Stakeholders meeting shared challenges to and emerging solutions for implementing and sustaining family psychoeducational programs. (Featuring Jeremy Evenden, MSSA ('03), LISW.)

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Three staff members of the Ohio SAMI CCOE participated in a three-day international Motivational Interviewing Network Training (MINT). The CCOE is participating in this initiative to add to the pool of advanced MI consultants and trainers in Ohio. The training was conducted by William R. Miller, Ph.D. and Theresa Moyers, Ph.D. (Featuring Patrick E. Boyle, MSSA ('89), LISW, LICDC, and Christina M. Delos Reyes, MD, of the Department of Psychiatry.)

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The Tobacco Cessation Kick-Off Event introduced community-based and hospital-based behavioral healthcare organizations to a new service model being designed and disseminated by the Center for Evidence-Based Practices.

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Efforts to Stop Smoking Target Mental Health Agencies

Behavioral health staffs that need to take a smoke break might have some relief from their tobacco habits as they start tobacco cessation programs along with their mental health and substance abuse clients.

The Center for Evidence Based Practices, a joint program of Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Science and the psychiatry department at the School of Medicine, have received a grant to design and implement tobacco cessation programs that target clients and staffs at behavioral health agencies.

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The Dual Disorders Fellowship Program gives employed mental health and substance abuse professionals the opportunity to enhance their education, credentials, and experience by earning a Master of Social Science Administration (MSSA) degree while staying in their current jobs and attending classes one weekend per month. The Program is also structured to provide financial support to students by forging a partnership among the employed student, his or her employer (service organization), the local community mental health and/or substance abuse services board, and the Mandel School. Each partner pays a portion of the tuition.

- Full news release
- Dual Disorders Fellows Program brochure

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People with severe mental illness and their families in communities throughout Ohio, several other states, and two countries are experiencing an improved quality of life, in part, because of the work being done by the staff of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs).

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