Hi, I am Jeffrey Roskelley and I'm a therapist, trainer and clinical supervisor at SOUND Life Recovery. And I want to take a moment to introduce a training that I'm really excited about: Integrated Recovery Principles for Co-Occurring Disorders. So this is a course that's based on the live trainings that I've been offering here in Washington State, and it's focused on treating co-occurring substance use and psychotic disorders using an integrated evidence-based approach.

I've been in this field for nearly 20 years now doing clinical work, consultation, and training across a variety of settings. And for the past 11 years, I've also worked at the University of Washington SPIRIT Center that stands for supporting Psychosis Innovation through Research, Implementation and Training. There I've trained thousands of clinicians in CBT for psychosis and integrated dual diagnosis treatment. After years of doing this work, I wanted to make these trainings more broadly available to a wider audience, because I've seen how powerful an integrated approach can really be, not only for clients, but for the clinicians that I've trained who end up gaining a real confidence in working with these complex co-occurring disorders.

So, this course is about treating addiction and psychosis, and these are two deeply human experiences that that often go hand in hand, and if you're in mental health, you're going to encounter co-occurring disorders. It's really not a matter of if, but when, and in some roles, even how often.

Now, here's what we know: People with substance use disorders are about twice as likely to develop a psychotic disorder, and roughly half of those with a psychotic disorder are going to experience substance use challenges at some point in their life. Now, despite how common this is, most clinicians aren't trained to treat both together. Mental health and substance use treatment are still often divided, and that leaves the clients being left, stuck in the gap. So we're gonna see more relapses, we're gonna see more hospitalization, we're gonna see lower engagement in treatment, and we're gonna see the clinicians themselves feeling overwhelmed, but with an integrated approach, we change that. We treat both conditions at once and that improves outcomes. That builds trust, and it leaves the clinicians with tools that they can use to really help, and that's why I believe that this course is so badly needed.

Now, as far as I know, this is one of the only trainings out there that's really focused specifically on treating substance use and psychosis together, and it's probably the most comprehensive. So you're going to walk away with practical tools, with clinical strategies and the kind of insights that are gonna make a real difference in people's lives. So whether you're completely new to the field or whether you're a seasoned clinician, this course is going to have something for you. It's about treating the whole person. It's about equipping you to do this work with confidence and with clarity.

From all of us at SOUND Life Learning, we'd love to invite you to join us to close this gap together in care and to help create lasting meaningful change for the people that we serve.