- Welcome, Keynote & Plenary @ 8:30am – 12:00pm - Harrell Center Auditorium
DEANA JOY, BA, Executive Director, CACNC
- Keynote @ 8:45 – 10:15 am
The Art of Holding Fearless Dialogues in a Liminal Season - DR. REV. PERCY JOHNSON, JR., PhD, Counselor at New Horizons Counseling Center in GA
Evaluation
Fearless Dialogues is a system of creating space and a place where diverse human beings, voices, and experiences are brought together to engage one another communally with respect. Created by Emory University Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Gregory Clark Ellison II, it is based on the desire to create a covenant of trust and mutual respect between one another. This ancient and present-day desire is needed in a transitional period between what was and what is not yet. Exploring the tenets that have grounded and guided a nation and diverse people groups and the anxiety that occurs with unknowingness, this session will discuss ways of creating places where diversity can coexist.
PARTICIPANTS: All Attendees
Break @ 10:15 – 10:30 am
- Plenary Session @ 10:30 – 12:00 pm
Resiliency 101: From Victim to Survivor - JULIE BRAND, MS, Counselor/Survivor – CAPER Consulting
Evaluation
Some victims of childhood abuse and trauma perpetuate the cycle of violence. Some victims do self-destruct. Yet others become safe, nurturing, emotionally healthy adults. How can we influence which path they will choose? This plenary session identifies seven key steps that can help victims to overcome trauma and to develop a “survivor’s perspective.” Attendees will learn how to use the “language of resiliency” to identify and to reinforce victims' strengths thereby positively impacting both their self-perceptions and their life scripts. Participants will learn how to foster resiliency in their clients’ lives and also in their own.
PARTICIPANTS: All Attendees
Lunch Break @ 12:00 – 1:30 pm
A Workshops @ 1:30 – 3:00 pm
HEATHER WALESKI, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, SANE-A, Medical Provider Atrium Health
TROY ARMSTRONG, AS, NCDOJ Investigator
Evaluation
This session will provide a case review of the medical care provided to an exploited adolescent from the initial presentation in the Emergency Department, through the CAC process, and focusing on the investigation law enforcement provides from the beginning of the case, until presentation to the District Attorney’s Office. This session will focus on best practice techniques for law enforcement in dealing with this challenging age group.
PARTICIPANTS: All Disciplines
-
A3. Understanding Trauma and the Effects of Traumatic Stress on Children and Families - RAYMOND TURPIN, PhD, Smoky Mountain Psychological Services, PLLC/Pearl Psychological Institute
Harrell Center Auditorium
Evaluation
HANDOUT
In my roughly 30+ years of clinical experience, it has become clear to me that probably 80-90% of all mental illnesses (including addictions) are, at their root, caused by some traumatic loss or traumatic experience that was poorly understood and integrated. As a result, humans will develop various coping mechanisms to help them function in their everyday lives and these coping mechanisms often result in the kind of diagnosis they will likely receive from a clinician (depression, oppositional-defiant disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc.). Nevertheless, the primary etiology of their difficulties and often the hidden “driver” of their symptoms is rooted in previous trauma. In this workshop, we will examine the ways that trauma and traumatic stress can affect the human brain and body and how it can significantly interfere with healthy development in children and adolescents. We will also discuss how to interact with these trauma victims and their families in a way that can help minimize their distress and help the family get the support they will need to successfully navigate the challenges they are facing.
PARTICIPANTS: All Disciplines
Break @ 3:00 – 3:15 pm
B Workshops @ 3:15 – 4:45 pm
- B1. Intraphysic Wounds, Interpersonal Conflict and Their Impact on Violence - DR. REV. PERCY JOHNSON, JR., PhD, Counselor at New Horizons Counseling Center in GA
Harrell Center - 201
Evaluation
Intrapsychic wounds and interpersonal conflict from secondary and anticipatory trauma impact the way human beings see and interact with one another. These understandings contribute to biases and lead to violence against self and others. Exploring these tenets and dynamics, discussion will occur around how human beings place value on self and other human beings.
PARTICIPANTS: All Disciplines
- B2. Journey of the Exploited Adolescent Through the System (Part 2 of 2) - Terrace Auditorium
HEATHER WALESKI, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, SANE-A, Medical Provider Atrium Health
TROY ARMSTRONG, AS, NCDOJ Investigator
Evaluation
HANDOUT
This session will provide a case review of the medical care provided to an exploited adolescent from the initial presentation in the Emergency Department, through the CAC process, and focusing on the investigation law enforcement provides from the beginning of the case, until presentation to the District Attorney’s Office. This session will focus on best practice techniques for law enforcement in dealing with this challenging age group.
PARTICIPANTS: All Disciplines
- B3. MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for Treatment-Resistant PTSD - RAYMOND TURPIN, PhD, Smoky Mountain Psychological Services, PLLC/Pearl Psychological Institute
Harrell Center Auditorium
Evaluation
HANDOUT
Before the prohibition against studying these compounds occurred in the 1970s, psychedelics were being widely studied as adjuncts to psychotherapy in the treatment of depression, alcoholism, phobias, anxiety related to terminal illness, chronic pain and other potential applications. Despite very encouraging results in most studies, the social and cultural backlash against these medicines resulted in all research in the United States being halted by 1976. It would be 20 years before a scientist in the United States would receive permission from the FDA to conduct a scientific study with a psychedelic compound. This workshop will examine the resurgence of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy by focusing on the use of MDMA as an adjunct in the treatment of chronic, severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We will explore the history of MDMA as both a medicine and a recreational drug and discuss the results of the most recent FDA-approved research and why MDMA-assisted psychotherapy may be uniquely effective for the treatment of PTSD. In addition, we will learn about the current Expanded Access program of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD that is taking place in Waynesville and possible future directions for further research, training, and treatment.
PARTICIPANTS: All Disciplines