Our years of work providing CHOICES training during CDC’s dissemination efforts culminated in a Training of Trainers event hosted at Denver Public Health.  The training was an innovative model in which we trained 17 Trainers experienced with CHOICES to deliver further CHOICES training themselves during the first 2 days, then observed and coached the new trainers cadre as they delivery a CHOICES clinical training to 30 counselors.  This kind of hands-on experience is unbeatable, and for those of us who’ve been there from the beginning, this level of dissemination is very satisfying.  CDC will soon add all of the CHOICES trainers to their NCBDDD Choices dissemination website.

My friends and colleagues at the Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training (CHEST) in NYC hosted me for a 4 day training in Leading Groups and Best Practices for MI Groups.  The trainees were 5 amazing trans women who will be serving as Peer Health Navigators to help stigmatized women overcome oppression and bias while coping with stressors.  The intervention features 2 individual MI sessions as a run-in to a series of 4 group sessions, with a final MI individual session to wrap things up.  The training was a new model that builds on what Chris Wagner and I have been doing and included more hands-on practice with group leadership skills, followed by practice of MI-specific group skills.  It went exceptionally well due to the trainees’ generous participation, and to their excellent preparation from their local trainers.   I learned so much and am thrilled that they found it useful.  The intervention has a great structure but also has room to personalize it to the needs of the women.  The Peer Health Navigators have ample professional and life experiences that will suit them well as they guide other women.   I was very lucky to be a part of this “family” for nearly a week, and I plan to stay involved with this innovative and worthwhile project.

We’ve just been notified by our publisher that a Korean group is busy translating our book.  It should be out in Korean some time next year! 

I’m excited to announce that UpToDate, a popular resource for clinicians to use at the point of care to give their patients evidence-based treatment, has published my article, Motivational Interviewing in Substance Use Disorders.  It provides 4 extended conversational vignettes to explain each of the 4 processes of MI.  Thanks to Dr. Bill Miller for recommending me to the editors at UpToDate to write this article!

Please visit our new website on Motivational Interviewing in Groups.

Our wonderful friends and colleagues Judith Carpenter and Jeff Breckon have been busy making logistical arrangements for Chris Wagner and I to come and present a 2 day workshop on MI in Groups, along with Joel Porter.  Here are the details!

Click the link below to download your powerpoint.

Improving MI Skills in Community Corrections VCCJA Conference Nov 2012 Williamsburg

We are thrilled to be planning a 2 day highly interactive MI Groups workshop in the Netherlands for June.  Rik Bes, our intrepid colleague, is organizing the event and has already posted a description.  Check it out! 

Denver Health will be hosting a novel event, the very first training of CHOICES trainers, on Feb. 25-27, followed by a 2 day CHOICES training, on Feb 28-March 1, 2013.   Linda Sobell, Mary Velasquez and I will be the trainers for the TOT.  Participants in the TOT will be handpicked from among  FASD and CHOICES intervention experts.  They will then become CHOICES trainers who can help us extend the reach of this important program across the nation!   Stay tuned for more details coming soon.

http://www.salon.com/2012/11/16/drinking_while_pregnant_can_lower_babys_iq/?source=newsletter

It’s the middle of Autumn and many of us are already booking events for January, February, even into June!  If your agency works on a fiscal year budget, it’s not too early to arrange your training now, so that it can be completed before the end of the fiscal year.  Email me today to discuss training options!