VIRTUAL-Thursday, March 20, 2025, 9:00am-12:00pm-Harm Reduction: Principles and Practices with Suzy Langevin, LICSW, LADC I

VIRTUAL-Thursday, March 20, 2025, 9:00am-12:00pm-$109 including CEUs

Harm Reduction: Principles and Practices

Suzy Langevin, LICSW, LADC I

Harm reduction is a set of principles and practices aimed to reduce the impacts of substance use on those who are actively using. Practically, it also gives clinicians a set of strategies to use to connect, engage and support individuals who are not currently interested in stopping their use, which can often lead to frustration and disconnection in treatment where abstinence is the expectation. By broadening our “lens” as to what we can do to support people who are using to include this range of interventions, we can create new opportunities for safety, hope and even change in the work that we do.

Following this training the participants will understand:

• The theory and guiding principles for using a harm reduction framework.
• Specific strategies for harm reduction for specific substances & general substance misuse.
• The importance of policy advocacy to broaden the interventions available to make the use of harm reduction possible.

YOUR TRAINER:

Suzy Langevin, LICSW, LADC I, Director of Training and Professional Development at Open Sky Community Services, is committed to making the best evidence-based tools and supports available to both Open Sky employees and the broader provider community through the Bridge Training Institute. Ms. Langevin has presented regionally and nationally on implementing evidence-based treatment modalities, including the Stephanie Moulton Symposium, NAADAC National Webinar Series, and the Massachusetts Psychiatric Rehabilitation Collaborative Annual Conference. She has extensive training and fidelity coding experience in Motivational Interviewing and is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT).

She had provided training and consultation in a variety of evidence-based treatment modalities to mental health providers, school systems, community groups and state agencies, where feedback has included, “Suzy is very knowledgeable and provides practical insight on how to apply the skill learned in real life situations. Her training approach is upbeat, engaging, and informative.”

In her more than decade long tenure at Open Sky, she served as Director of Dual Diagnosis Services, where she developed a model for services for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders within the agency’s community mental health programming. She also previously worked to implement and supervise the provision of Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) services across adult and adolescent treatment settings and the development and opening of The Bridge Counseling Center, Open Sky’s outpatient division. In 2014, Ms. Langevin was awarded the ABH Excellence in Outcomes Award as a member of the CR for PTSD group. She was selected to the Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Worcester Class of 2021.

In addition to her work at Open Sky, Ms. Langevin has experience in a diverse range of settings, including emergency mental health, juvenile justice, residential treatment, and hospital inpatient care.