Sandra A. Brown, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego and Chief of Psychology Service at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System.  She is also Associate Director of the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center at Children’s Hospital of San Diego.  Dr. Brown is internationally recognized for her developmentally focused alcohol and drug intervention research. She is the past President of Division 50 (Addictions) of the American Psychological Association, is on the executive board of numerous scientific organizations and has over 250 publications. She is involved in addiction prevention and intervention at the regional, state and national level. Dr. Brown’s research yielded some of the pioneering information on the relapse process for youth as well as long term outcomes for clinical samples of youth who have experienced alcohol and drug problems. Her current NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH funded research investigates neurocognitive impact of early alcohol and drug exposure, processes whereby youth escalate or diminish their substance use with and without treatment, and the role of psychiatric comorbidity in the treatment of alcohol and drug problems, genetic factors including addiction development, and novel strategies to diminish substance problems among youth.

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Jana Cook, MD, PhD has joined CCARTA in 2006 as assistant project scientist. She provides training on addiction treatment issues to a variety of professional, focusing on the workforce of substance abuse counselors and criminal justice professionals working in custody and community-based treatment programs in the state of California.

She serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Forensic Addictions Corrections Treatment (FACT) Board of Directors.

Jana has graduated from the Medical School at the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. She is trained in adult general psychiatry, with a postgraduate specialization in substance abuse treatment and in forensic psychiatry. Jana worked closely with the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic as certified expert witness in the field of medicine, branch of psychiatry. Her PhD work was focused on the treatment of heroin addiction. Before coming to the US this year, Jana worked as assistant professor of psychiatry at the University Hospital of Bratislava. She worked at the psychiatric emergency unit and supervised a department for addiction disorders and psycho-reactive states.  Jana represents the Slovak Psychiatric Association within the World Council of Young Psychiatrists and is an active member of the World Association of Young Psychiatrists and Trainees. She has been elected as a member of the Committee for Protection of Public Order of City Council of the Capital of SR Bratislava and has been active in the community promoting mental health. She has experience in working with the Council of Europe and the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction as a consultant.

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Bonnie Dumanis, Esq. is the first woman to serve as the District Attorney for San Diego County.  She was sworn in on January 6, 2003.  During her first year, Dumanis inherited a $14-million budget deficit, which she immediately dealt with by implementing a fiscal strategy that would rival even the most successful private business plan.  Dumanis also initiated a major reorganization of an office structure that had not seen change for more than three decades.  She has chosen to surround herself with an experienced, knowledgeable and diverse management team.  Her second-in-command, Assistant District Attorney Jesse Rodriguez, is the highest ranking Hispanic to serve in the office.  She leads an office of more than 290 attorneys, 150-plus investigators and more than 600 support staff.  Dumanis is committed to promotions based on merit and performance and has implemented an effective employee training and recognition program.

The District Attorney’s office is responsible for prosecuting all felonies in the county of San Diego and all misdemeanor crimes in the unincorporated areas of the county.  In 2004, the Office of the District Attorney filed on nearly 18-thousand felony defendants.  Currently the San Diego District Attorney’s office has a 94 percent conviction rate -- one of the highest in the state.

Dumanis began her career in the San Diego DA’s office as a junior clerk typist.  She studied law at night and received her Juris Doctorate degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 1976.  Dumanis served as a prosecutor for 12 years under former District Attorney Ed Miller.  During this time she tried more than 50 felony jury trials and also led the multi-agency Metropolitan Homicide Task Force, which investigated and prosecuted several defendants for dozens of murders of young women in San Diego during the early 80’s.

In 1994, Dumanis was elected to the Municipal Court.  She served in this capacity for the next four years using her strength in organizational leadership to create one of the first Drug Courts in San Diego, which has since been recognized as a national model.  In 1998, Dumanis was elected to the San Diego Superior Court.  During her tenure on the bench, Dumanis again was the driving force behind another innovative program called Domestic Violence Court.  This project has been a proven to reduce recidivism among perpetrators. Her ideas about stressing accountability and treatment for the batterers have received statewide recognition.  Throughout her career, Dumanis has been recognized as a team builder and organizational strategist.

Besides her dedication to the criminal justice system, Dumanis has never wavered in her support of community and civic organizations.  She is a past president of the Lawyers Club of San Diego, served on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Bar Association and taught ethics at the University Of San Diego School Of Law.  Dumanis has also been recognized by the YWCA Tribute To Women Award, the California Women in Government Law And Justice Award and the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary Women of Dedication Award.

Dumanis has never forgotten her first job in DA’s office and keeps a plaque in her office that reads, “The clerk helping in your division today may be your boss tomorrow.”

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Elisabeth (Harney) Sanders-Park has a passion and proven talent for taking career development to people at all levels, especially those with significant barriers. For more than a decade, she has influenced the field of career development as a career professional, the President of WorkNet Solutions, a highly-sought trainer, and co-author of Top 10 Career Book of the Year "No One Is Unemployable," the WorkNet Model of Career Development for People with Barriers, and the WorkNet curriculum. In her work she has trained more than 10,000 service providers and impacted nearly a million lives across the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. She is a regular PDI speaker at the International Career Development Conference and a columnist for the Career Planning & Adult Development Network newsletter. She is a Certified Workforce Development Professional, and Certified Job & Career Transition Coach, and holds degrees in International Studies, English and Spanish from Azusa Pacific University in California.

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Melinda Hohman, Ph.D., M.S.W.,is a Professor at the School of Social Work, San Diego State University, San Diego, since 1995.

Dr. Hohman teaches courses in substance abuse treatment, research, and social work practice. Dr. Hohman's research interests include substance abuse assessment and treatment services and the overlap of substance abuse treatment and Child Welfare services. She has been a trainer in Motivational Interviewing (MI) since 1999, training community social workers, Child Welfare workers, probation and parole officers, other correctional staff, and addiction counselors across Southern California. Currently Dr. Hohman is the evaluator on two Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services expansion grants for women receiving drug treatment in a residential setting.

Recently she was appointed to be the Project Director of the Cal-METRO Project which involves training in Motivational Interviewing for over 2,000 of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/Division of Juvenile Justice Employees and is administered by UCSD/CCARTA.

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Norman Jackson, M.S., is a Senior Learning Skills Counselor with UCSD CCARTA. Prior to working at UCSD, he worked for the Information & Education Section in the California Department of Health Services Immunization Branch as an Educational Specialist II. He was awarded an academic fellowship from the Andrus Foundation and completed a Masters of Science degree from San Diego State University in the College of Health and Human Services. He has over fourteen years of health promotion and education work experience in the non-profit and government sectors. He is committed to working to decrease the health disparities in populations of color, historically disadvantaged populations, and the aged.

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Igor Koutsenok, M.D., M.S., is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSD School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Criminality & Addiction Research, Training & Application (CCARTA). He graduated as a medical doctor in 1982 at the University in Kiev, School of Medicine (Ukraine). In 1990 he completed his psychiatry residency training and received degree as psychiatrist from the Medical University in Sofia (Bulgaria). In 1994-1996 he worked at the University of London, Department of Addictive Behavior and Psychological Medicine at St. Georges Hospital Medical School, where he received a Masters Degree in Addictive Behavior. During that time Dr. Koutsenok was involved in the development of substance abuse treatment programs for Her Majesty Prison Services in the UK. Before joining CCARTA, he worked in Bulgaria as Head of Department at the National Center for Addictions and Deputy Director of the Institute of Psychology. During the last 20 years, he served as an expert for many international organizations such as the Council of Europe, European Union, and the United Nations.

In 1997, Dr. Koutsenok was recruited by the UCSD Department of Psychiatry. His responsibilities include curriculum development and training on substance abuse and addiction treatment issues for a large variety of professionals involved in dealing with substance abusing offenders. Dr. Koutsenok led the design and implementation of the Workforce Development Training series for substance abuse counselors and criminal justice professionals working in custody and community-based treatment programs in California. He is the UCSD FACT (Forensic Addiction Treatment Certification) Board of Education Director and Director of the Offender Substance Abuse Treatment Institute. Dr. Koutsenok is one of the trainers for the National Drug Court Institute, providing training and education for judges and members of the judicial system nationwide. Recently, Dr. Igor Koutsenok and Dr. David Deitch designed an innovative approach to reduce recidivism in parolees, which in 2006 was presented to and authorized by the California legislature as Senate Bill 618 – Offender Re-Entry Program.

He has authored and co-authored over 30 scientific publications and book chapters, such as “Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook” 4th edition, 2004, and “Treatment of Drug Offenders”, 2005. He has been invited as guest speaker to numerous conferences and professional gatherings nationwide and in more than 15 countries.

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Christopher T. Lowenkamp, Assistant Research Professor, received his doctorate in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati. He is currently an assistant research professor at the University of Cincinnati, Division of Criminal Justice and the director of The Center for Criminal Justice Research. Prior to his appointment at the University, Christopher was an adult probation officer and the emergency jail release coordinator in Akron, Ohio. Over the past several years, he has provided consultation and research services to multiple agencies and jurisdictions in over twenty-five states. Christopher’s research interests in risk and need assessment, the evaluation of correctional interventions, and criminological theory have led to publications in some of the field’s top journals. Recent research projects have included evaluations of community based correctional facilities, halfway house programs, and intensive supervision probation in Ohio.

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Scot Lord, CATC, is a Senior Learning Skills Counselor at UCSD CCARTA. Scot completed the Alcohol and Other Drug Studies program at City College and began working for Mental Health Systems in the East County Drug Court program. After nearly two years, he transferred to a Proposition 36 program where he was the lead counselor for more than a year.

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Douglas B. Marlowe, J.D., Ph.D. is Chief of Science & Policy for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Senior Scientific Consultant for the Treatment Research Institute. He also has his own consulting firm, Marlowe et al., LLC, focused on behavioral science solutions for criminal justice and drug policy. A lawyer and clinical psychologist by background, Dr. Marlowe has received numerous state and federal research grants to study the role of coercion in drug abuse treatment, the effects of drug courts and other diversion programs for drug-abusing offenders, and behavioral treatments for drug abusers and criminal offenders. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and has received proficiency certification in the treatment of substance use disorders from the APA College of Professional Psychology. He has published over 100 professional articles and chapters on the topics of crime and drug abuse and is on the editorial boards of the journals, the Drug Court Review and Criminal Justice & Behavior.

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Lisa M. Najavits, Ph.D., ABPP, is a Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine; Lecturer, Harvard Medical School; clinical psychologist at the National Center for PTSD, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System; and clinical associate, McLean Hospital. She is the author of Seeking Safely: A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse (2002) and A Woman’s Addiction Workbook (2002), and over 100 professional publications. She was recipient of the 1997 Young Professional Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; the 1998 Early Career Contribution Award of the Society for Psychotherapy Research; and the 2004 Emerging Leadership Award of the American Psychotherapy Research; and the 2004 Emerging Leadership Award of the American Psychotherapy Association Committee on Women. She has received a variety of National Institutes of Health grants, including an Independent Scientist Award. She is a practicing therapist and psychotherapy supervisor.

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Roger Peters, Ph.D., serves as Chair and Professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI), University of South Florida, where he has been a faculty member since 1986. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Florida State University, following completion of a pre-doctoral internship at the University of North Carolina, School of Medicine. Dr. Peters has served as Principal Investigator and Director for several grant projects, including the SAMHSA-funded Suncoast Practice and Research Collaborative (SPARC) project. From 1995–2004 Dr. Peters served as the lead consultant to the National GAINS Center for People with Co-occurring Disorders in the Justice System. Dr. Peters has pursued research, consultation, and training initiatives involving substance abuse treatment within the criminal justice system. He has published frequently in major journals, served on federal expert panels, grant and document reviews, national advisory boards and committees, and has served as a consultant to federal and state agencies. Dr. Peters served for four years on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, and for the past seven years has served on the Treatment-Based Drug Court Steering Committee for the Supreme Court of Florida. He recently served as Chair and Co-Editor of the SAMHSA/CSAT Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) #44 on “Substance Abuse Treatment for Adults in the Criminal Justice System”. On March 20, 2007, Dr. Peters provided testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the “Second Chance Act of 2007” legislation.

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Martha Schmitz, Ph.D. offers continuing education workshops and consultation in the treatment of PTSD and substance abuse to clinicians throughout the United States and Canada. She has worked with Lisa M. Najavits, Ph.D., author of Seeking Safety: A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse, since 2000. Dr. Schmitz has held a Staff Psychologist position at the V.A. Pittsburgh Healthcare System and a joint appointment as Assistant Psychologist at McLean Hospital and Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri at Columbia after earning her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of California at Davis. She has collaborated on several research projects in both the United States and France. Her clinical and research interests include posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and resiliency in survivors of trauma. Dr. Schmitz currently resides in Oakland, CA where she maintains a private practice.

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Harry K. Wexler, Ph.D., is a Senior Principal Investigator in the Center for the Integration of Research & Practice at the National Developmental Institutes, Inc. (NDRI). During the last 40 years Dr. Wexler achieved a national reputation in the areas of substance abuse policy, treatment and research. His research has had considerable impact on the field and been influential in efforts to expand prison drug treatment by state and federal policy makers. Dr. Wexler currently serves as PI for the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS), a multi-site cooperative research program testing treatment models for incarcerated offenders with substance use disorders, including treatment in jail or prison and treatment as part of re-entry into the community. Dr. Wexler has also done significant work in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention, gender treatment issues, stigma reduction and co-occurring disorders among offenders, has served as the Co-Chair of the recently released CSAT TIP “Substance Abuse Treatment for Adults in the Criminal Justice System” and has recently served as a member of the Governor's Strike Team to help reform the California correctional system

Plenary Abstracts

Different Organizations/Common Goals - Building Collaboration
— Bonnie Dumanis
Ms. Dumanis will talk about her experience developing collaborations among various silos, including local government, the community and the State. She will also discuss the importance of working towards and overcoming differences to accomplish a common goal.

The Link Between PTSD and Substance Abuse — Lisa Najavits
The goal of this presentation is to describe current state-of-the art knowledge about the treatment of patients with the dual diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and substance abuse, a population that is typically considered “difficult to treat”.  We will cover background on PTSD and substance abuse (including rates, the typical client, models and stages of treatment, clinical dilemmas, and gender issues) and clinical Interventions for PTSD and substance abuse (including demonstration of specific treatment strategies, assessment tools, and community resources).  In-depth description of the Seeking Safety psychotherapy for PTSD and substance abuse will be a major focus. 

Learning Objectives:

1.  To review scientific literature on rates and presentation of PTSD/substance abuse;

2. To increase empathy and understanding of PTSD/substance abuse;

3. To describe specific therapeutic strategies for this dual diagnosis;

4. To provide assessment and treatment resources.

Risk and Needs Assessment and Implications for Treatment Planning — Doug Marlowe
To be effective and cost-efficient, interventions for drug-involved offenders require substantial modifications based upon the risk-and-needs profiles of the offenders.  This presentation will review a typology of risk-and-needs profiles for drug offenders and discuss the types of clinical and supervisory adaptations that are required for various offender subtypes.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Identify the specific risk-and-needs profiles of drug offenders that predict better success in drug courts as opposed to alternative correctional programs.

2. Identify the practice implications and policy implications of doing risk-and-needs assessments and targeting drug offenders to specific programs and services.

The Principles of Effective Interventions Results and Lessons Learned — Chris Lowenkamp
Research over the last 40 years has provided evidence that correctional interventions can work to reduce recidivism.  This presentation reviews the principles of effective intervention and the research that has supported the development of these principles.  Issues relating to providing continued interventions and continuity in treatment to enhance effectiveness are also discussed.

Offender Substance Abuse Treatment in California: Past, Present and Future — Harry Wexler 
The state of California has been a leader in the treatment of substance abuse in prison.  CDCR substance abuse treatment efforts began with the positive evaluation findings from Amity therapeutic community (TC).  The significant recidivism reduction outcomes served as an inspiration that led to the creation of 38 programs in 22 TCs prisons over the last 20 years.  The history of prison substance abuse treatment will be reviewed with a focus on CA.  Some of the main challenges facing CDCR efforts to develop an effective treatment system will be discussed.  A review of recent events will include the Office of Inspector General’s “billion dollar” failure report, passage of AB 900, the Expert Panel’s report and the Rehabilitation Strike Team report.  Current challenges facing the implementation of Strike Team recommendations will be outlined and progress will be reviewed with a special focus on DARS aftercare programming.

The Relationship between Trauma and Addiction and an Overview of Seeking Safety — Sonja Norman
The presentation will focus on the psychiatric and life functioning consequences of exposure to psychological trauma.  Particular emphasis will be placed on the complex relationship between psychological trauma and addiction.  An overview of Seeking Safety, a psychotherapy to treat trauma consequences and addiction in an integrated fashion will be presented.

Workshop Abstracts

Implementing Seeking Safety Therapy for Substance Abuse and PTSD — Martha Schmitz
This workshop will provide an opportunity to address how Seeking Safety is implemented in clinical settings.  Seeking Safety is an empirically-studied, integrated therapy for substance abuse and trauma/PTSD.  The model teaches present-focused coping skills to help clients attain safety in their lives.  It is highly flexible and designed for a wide variety of clients and settings. The workshop addresses frequently asked questions when implementing Seeking Safety; offers the opportunity to conduct a session in small group format; and explores topics such as adaptation of the model, how to combine it with trauma processing treatments, and ways to make it as effective as possible. The workshop will be highly clinically-oriented, interactive, and allow ample time for questions.

Learning Objectives:

1. To learn frequently-asked questions in implementing Seeking Safety

2. To explore challenges that may arise when conducting Seeking Safety

3. To improve one’s ability to solve clinical dilemmas in the treatment of PTSD and substance abuse

4. To understand how a manual-based treatment is implemented

Use of Motivational Interviewing with Clients with Substance Use Disorders/Offenders — Mindy Hohman and Rosalind Corbett
This workshop will review concepts and methods of Motivational Interviewing (M.I.) as they are applied in corrections and treatment settings. Use of role play exercises will allow participants an opportunity to practice M.I. skills.

Helping Addicted Offenders  Get & Keep A Job — Elisabeth Harney
For addicted offenders, employment is not the most pressing issue, yet when the time is right, employment can be vital glue that holds the more important stuff together… helping to sustain recovery, mental health and positive life change, and reducing criminal behavior, substance abuse and domestic violence. But not just any job will do, and not every employer is interested! This session offers proven tips and techniques to increase addicted offenders’ chances of getting and keeping jobs that support their overall success. Developed and delivered by the co-author of “No One Is Unemployable” and The WorkNet Model of Career Development & Job Placement for People with Barriers, it is relevant, practical and interactive.

Treatment of Addicted Offenders -Training in the Correctional Environment — Igor Koutsenok
The purpose of the workshop is to provide participants with knowledge and skills how to conduct multidisciplinary trainings in correctional and criminal justice environments, as well as to improve their effectiveness as trainers and educators.

This workshop will address the following questions:

1. Specifics of multidisciplinary training in correctional environment

2. Cultural differences in training audience

3. Most common beliefs and perceptions in training participants

4. Most effective training techniques, formats, and designs

5. How to deliver training in correctional environment effectively (helpful hints and tricks)

Continuing Recovery Management — Norman Jackson
The focus of this presentation is to briefly review scientific brain discoveries that confirm the biologic etiology of post drug use craving – “triggers” that frequently lead to relapse; and explore a set of cognitive behavioral affective approaches that can help individuals both prepare for and respond to such craving impulses.

Continuum of Care — Scot Lord
This workshop will feature an overview of the entire treatment process from screening through aftercare. Specific information regarding this sequential process and pertinent elements from each step in the process will be discussed. Participants will be presented with vignettes of treatment candidates, and challenged to develop detailed treatment strategies for them. Treatment planning, phase movement, emergent situations, and many other treatment variables will be discussed and practiced in this informative and interactive workshop.