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The Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Spectrum: Essential Skills for Social Work Practice
Credit(s):
1 Social Work
Course Number:
NAT20260528
Duration:
1 hour
Access:
Available for 5 months after event date
Date:
May 28, 2026 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Substance use exists on a spectrum, yet the field has historically relied on rigid categories and crisis-driven responses. This webinar equips social workers with practical, evidence-based skills for working effectively across the full range of substance use—from risky use to severe substance use disorders—using a continuum-based, person-centered framework.
Participants will examine how advances in neuroscience and DSM-5 diagnostic changes support a shift away from abstinence-only or episodic models toward approaches that match intervention intensity to individual need. The session emphasizes how understanding substance use as a spectrum enhances assessment, engagement, and treatment planning across diverse practice settings.
Building on this foundation, the webinar focuses on essential practice skills for supporting behavior change, including motivational interviewing, risk reduction, and prevention strategies. Participants will learn how to help clients explore ambivalence, strengthen readiness for change, and reduce substance-related harm even when abstinence is not an immediate goal. The session highlights practical ways social workers can intervene earlier, more effectively, and with greater confidence in everyday practice.
Learning Objectives:
Describe how current neuroscience and DSM-5 diagnostic changes support a continuum-based, person-centered approach to substance use care rather than abstinence-only or crisis-driven models.
Apply motivational interviewing and risk reduction and prevention principles to support client readiness for change and reduce substance-related risk.
Identify practical assessment and engagement strategies for working with individuals across the substance use spectrum, including those not seeking abstinence or specialty treatment.
FREE for members and non-members. Program provided by NASW with support from the Opioid Response Network (ORN).
Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI088037 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
1 Social Work
Free
Early Registration
Standard
Non-Member
N/A
$0.00
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