Tag: The SASSI Institute

Clinical Q&A and Live SASSI Training Webinar 

We are pleased that people have been joining us for our free one-hour online Clinical Q&A sessions hosted by our Clinical Director, Kristin Kimmell, LCSW, LCAC.  

We enjoy hearing how you are using the SASSI in your clinical practice and agencies as well as answering your questions and speaking to you all.  We have scheduled additional sessions that we hope you can join in on. You can reserve your spot and view available dates and times by clicking here. If you have profiles you would like to share with the group for discussion, please send them (de-identified) via email any time prior to the session to scarlett@sassi.com. Your contributions would be of great value. Also, a reminder that we have a live webinar on Administration & Scoring of the paper & pencil version of the SASSI on April 18th and Clinical Interpretation on April 25th. You can register by clicking here.   

Note that the Q&A sessions do not provide CEUs and are not a substitute for SASSI Training. SASSI training provides 3.5 NAADAC CEs per session. 

We hope to see you there! 

Career Opportunity: Clinical Sales Specialist

The SASSI Institute is seeking a Clinical Sales Specialist to support our growing infrastructure.  A successful candidate must have prior sales experience, with training as a Sales Representative preferred. Experience working in addictions treatment is preferred but not required. Knowledge of and experience working with substance use disordered individuals and especially treatment providers is a definite plus. The ideal candidate has high confidence and excellent communication skills. The candidate must know how to both pitch a product, leverage company messaging, and deal with people one-on-one.

For a full description of the position, requirements and how to apply, click here: Clinical Sales Specialist

Engaging Caregivers & Family Members into an Adolescent’s Intervention & Treatment

Learn to strengthen social support for clients and families in order to learn skills that can be used with the entire family. Adolescent-Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) skills are simple, behavioral, and easy for families to repeat during family sessions and outside of treatment. The positive, supportive approach of A-CRA allows participants to focus on the positive aspects of the family and build upon family strengths to improve relationships.

On Thursday March 16th, The SASSI Institute will be sponsoring a workshop on the A-CRA approach with families. The workshop will be hosted by Courtney Hupp, MSW, LCSW, CADC, who is an EBT Clinical Coordinator at Chestnut Health Systems in Illinois. She had an active role in the Assertive Continuing Care (ACC) study, funded by NIAAA, in which she administered the ACC and Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) protocols to residential clients’ post-discharge, as well as supervised other therapists on the study. Courtney has clinical experience with a variety of populations and settings including domestic violence intervention, crisis intervention, corrections, substance use disordered adults and adolescents, adults with developmental disabilities, persons with HIV and AIDS, and adults with severe and persistent mental illness. For the past 18 years, Courtney has trained and certified therapists across the U.S. and Canada in CRA and A-CRA. She has conducted over 80 trainings and has helped to certify over 1,000 therapists and supervisors in the CRA and A-CRA models.

The A-CRA intervention has been implemented in outpatient, intensive outpatient, schools, prevention services, and residential treatment settings. This research-tested intervention has been used in over 500 organizations across the United States and Canada. Courtney will introduce the A-CRA model, a summary of the research base, and details about how to use A-CRA during family sessions.

To learn more about this workshop and/or to register, please visit: Adolescent – Community Reinforcement Approach – FAMILY SESSIONS

SASSI customers and university students please email scarlett@sassi.com and mention this blog for a special offer code.

REMINDER: More Live Clinical Q&A Sessions Coming Up

Please join us for our free Clinical Q&A sessions online. The sessions are hosted by our Clinical Director, Kristin Kimmell, LCSW, LCAC, and last approximately one-hour. We invite you to ask questions or share experiences regarding unusual or difficult profiles you may have come across. However, all questions are welcome. We would be delighted if you have profiles you would like to share with the group for discussion. Please send them (de-identified) via email any time prior to the session to scarlett@sassi.com. Your contributions would be of great value.

The next upcoming dates are Tuesday, February 21st and Tuesday, March 21st from 1-2 pm ET. Click here to register today.

Note that these Q&A sessions do not provide CEUs and are not a substitute for SASSI Training.

See you there!

SASSI’s Latest Publication Focuses on Long Term Recovery

On January 19th of this year our latest manuscript was published in Social Behavior Research and Practice.  Examining Sustained Recovery from Substance Use Disorder — A Delicate Process discusses the various aspects and definitional terms involved in achieving sustained abstinence (Long-term recovery).  This article was submitted as the first in a series of manuscripts examining the recovery process; both from the perspective of the recovering individual, but also including persons within that individual’s personal and professional circles. Our goal is to achieve a holistic understanding of recovery as experienced and understood by recovering individuals, but in addition, to achieve a better understanding of what that recovery experience looks like from the perspective of those with direct access to the individual’s recovery sphere. We are actively seeking collaborations with substance use programs, outpatient clinics, halfway houses, and other venues where individuals undergoing their personal recovery experience may be residing or whose service they may be utilizing. We firmly believe in the adage that there can be “Nothing about us without us,” (Jürgens R., 2008). Please help us accomplish what promises to be an exciting and fruitful undertaking as we seek to quell the ongoing ravages of addiction in its many forms.

Jürgens R. (2008) “Nothing about us without us” – Greater, meaningful involvement of people who use illegal drugs: A public health, ethical, and human rights imperative.

SASSI Online Tips and Tricks: Volume 4 – Unassigning (deleting) or Redelivering an Incomplete Questionnaire

In this edition of SASSI Online Tips and Tricks we look at answering one of our commonly asked Tech Support questions; how to unassign (delete) or redeliver an incomplete questionnaire.

Read more

A Year-End Message From Our CEO

As this tumultuous year comes to an end, I would like to recognize all of us that have lost loved ones, friends or colleagues. In honor of their suffering and loss, we offer our condolences, our understanding, our compassion and our love. To those that have suffered, strained, and fought endlessly, yet maintained their sobriety we offer our deepest congratulations. But to those who may have succumbed to the demons of addiction and slipped or relapsed, yet survived, we also offer our most heartfelt congratulations! One day at a time you have survived, you have demonstrated your power and resolve. And last but of course not least, for those of us among us that have moved on to a new life, those that we have lost to disease, overdose and any combination of complications, may you be now joined by the higher power of your choosing, and with the love from those that preceded you, as well as those that will miss you here.

In the meantime, our Board of Directors, senior management staff and myself, want to reassure you that despite the multiple supply chain issues, inflationary pressures and uncertain economic environment, we will continue to keep our doors open and provide the critical assistance so many of you seek to help those less fortunate. There no words sufficient to thank you for the work you do, the struggles you engage in to help those less fortunate than ourselves. For that and so many more reasons, we at The SASSI Institute share our thanks!

We will continue doing our best to allow you, our licensees and collaborators to continue to do your jobs, offer the many services you offer and continue to assist those that need us the most, those still suffering through substance use, co-morbidities and in some cases along with COVID and other health issues, tri-morbidities. I am extremely proud of our staff and the non-stop work they have continued to perform. Our Training Department continues to provide state of the art Training services and Interpretative guidelines to assist you in your endeavors. In addition, via The Professional Development Workshops series, our nationally recognized experts continue to provide certified trainings related to substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders and the incorporation of our SASSI tools in assessment packages for specialized populations. Our customer service, clinical and IT teams as always, remain at your disposal and are providing non-stop services to facilitate your administration and interpretation of our many tools. Our research department continues to churn out contemporary, pertinent literature that will assuredly help you in your quests to further assist your patients. And I’d like to remind you that we have ensured that these publications be made available to you free of charge as part of an arrangement via the Creative Commons. So please access these, do so often and feel free to share with your colleagues and friends.

In the meantime, be kind to yourselves and let’s make it our mission to take care of each other, and please accept The SASSI Institute’s best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year and holiday season!

Join us for LIVE Clinical Q&A Sessions

You’re invited to join us for our free Clinical Q&A sessions online. The Q&A sessions are hosted by our Clinical Director, Kristin Kimmell, LCSW, LCAC, and lasts approximately one-hour every month. You’re welcome to ask questions or share experiences regarding unusual or difficult profiles you may have come across. But any and all questions are welcome. If you have profiles you would like to share with the group for discussion, please send those (de-identified) via email any time before the session to scarlett@sassi.com.

Read more

SASSI Training

As we prepare to move into 2023, we are excited that our certified SASSI trainers throughout the U.S. and Canada have begun doing live in-person trainings again and with more frequency. We invite you to check out our training page to view a list of currently scheduled workshops at https://sassi.com/sassi-training/.  These lists are updated frequently and also contain contact information for your local trainer/s. If nothing is scheduled in your area, we encourage you to reach out directly to the trainer so they know there is interest in their area. We also continue to offer online training webinars both live and on-demand if in-person is not a viable option for you.

Reminder: Our clinical team is available M-F to answer questions about the administration, scoring, and interpretation of our instruments at 800.726.0526 option 2. This is a free service, and we encourage you to call often.

Happy holidays to all.

Registration Open for more FREE LIVE Clinical Q&A Sessions

Please join us for one of our new Clinical Q&A sessions online. The Q&A is hosted by our Clinical Director, Kristin Kimmell, LCSW, LCAC, and lasts one-hour. We invite you to ask questions or share experiences regarding unusual or difficult profiles you may have come across, but all questions are welcome. You can also join just to listen to the group discussion.

Join us for one or both sessions. There are two dates currently scheduled: Tuesday, November 15th and Tuesday, December 13th from 1-2 pm ET. Click here to register today. Due to time constraints, each session will be limited to the first 25 registrants. As new dates are added we will post them to our blog page or you can check the registration page via the link within this blog.

Note that these Q&A sessions do not provide CEUs and are not a substitute for SASSI Training.

See you there!