We are so glad to be back together again virtually this September, after long year of helping families, gradually returning to in-person activities, and building stronger court teams. We will start the day with introductions to the resources, people, and learning goals that bring us together today. If you haven’t registered yet, please register here, so we can send you materials and keep our conference going next year!
Download the full pdf Agenda here
If you are wondering about the music playing in the background and during breaks, Meghan has put together a list of songs on Spotify. This is music about sobriety, recovery, and finding your identity, click on this link and a new page will open with the list and a Spotify player!
Land Acknowledgement and Welcome
Land Acknowledgement by Meghan Fitzgerald
here is a guide for Creating Land Acknowledgments that have meaning
This statement was made by Washington Governor Jay Inslee regarding Boarding Schools in May of 2022, with limited information about the native boarding schools the were run in Washington State.
You can learn more about boarding schools in the Pacific Northwest on this site developed by the Puyallup Tribe and in this collection developed by the University of Washington University Libraries.
Introduction by Dawn Marie Rubio, J.D. , State Court Administrator, Washington State
Team Introductions and FTC updates by Julie Lowery with Gia Valentine, Meghan Fitzgerald, PhD, Mikala Meize-Bowers, PhD, and Adrian Johnson
You can find other information on what our team has been up to by checking the Accomplishments section of our FTC Homepage or by reading our Quarterly Newsletters.
Meeting Details by Meghan Fitzgerald
A Poll: Stigma and Us
Insight and Empathy – What can we learn from each other and ourselves?
9: 00 am – 9:45 am
Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards clearly show a positive relationship between outcomes in dependency cases and a collaborative, empathetic, and well-trained team. In this discussion-based hour, we will explore the stigma we have faced in our work and personal lives, and discuss how we can use our shared understanding of that stigma to increase the acceptance and belonging in our family treatment courts.
Defining Stigma
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, stigma is defined as
a strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about something, especially when this is unfair
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/stigma
Reflection and Gaining Insight
You will be writing on the following two prompts. You will not be asked to share these to the group, so be honest.
- Consider a time when you experienced stigma.
- Who was involved? How old were you? How did it feel? Was it overt or internal (self-stigmatization)?
- How did that experience change your behavior?
- Did it change how you interacted with people?
- Did you change the way you moved through the world?
- Did your relationships change?
Poll 2: Stigma and Choices
The City of Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada developed a series of interviews about substance use disorder and the people who it impacts some of those videos are imbedded below, and you can learn more about Hamilton’s #seetheperson strategy on their website.
Discussion Topics
Participants were placed into break out rooms with a few others and spoke to other folks about these prompts:
- Does stigma about race make a person’s experience in family treatment court different?
- What strategies could we use in our FTCs to combat stigma that is related to both race and substance use disorder?
- Can you think of any stigmatic ideas about the professional roles of the members of a family treatment court team?
We will end by watching a portion of a video that was filmed in Skid Row, by an organization called Soft White Underbelly. You can see more of their videos here: https://www.youtube.com/c/SoftWhiteUnderbelly
Consider listening to some tunes while you wait for us to get started
Substance Use Disorder Treatment Panel
Panelists: Mishka Terplan, MD, MPH, Cassie Anderson, Manisha Jackson, and Linda Spearman (Speaker Biographies are available here)
Facilitated by Meghan Fitzgerald
As FTC court teams, our understanding of substance use, misuse, and abuse and how this is treated varies based on our life experience, educational background, and professional time spent in this field. To increase our understanding of current methods, treatment philosophy, on-the ground barriers and hopes for the future of substance use disorder treatment; we have brought a team of experts to discuss questions submitted by FTC team members. This panel consists of four experts in Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) and their impact on individuals and families, who each bring a spirit of empathy, knowledge, and dedication to this field, and have graciously accepted and invitation to share their expertise with us.
Life Choices: A Simple Self-Care Approach
Presentation by Jeff Yellow Owl, LICSW
With the topic of self-care most people know ‘WHAT’ lifestyle changes need to happen, i.e. “I want to feel better about my weight”, “I want to manage my time better”, “I don’t want to use anymore”. For many people in these situations, it is the ‘HOW’ to make those changes, that is the barrier. The many failed attempts can make someone fearful of trying again; sometimes becoming pessimistic (learned helplessness) which is ‘a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future.
Life Choices is a simple holistic approach to move someone closer to what they desire; it helps shine a light and bring hope toward realistic possibilities with action.
Download the slides and resources from this presentation
As a PDF | Trauma Workers Self Assessment | Life Choices Medicine Wheel Handout
Reflection and Gratitude
Meghan Fitzgerald, PhD will present a tool to use with in your teams for cross training. This presentation template aims to give insight on the roles, challenges, and strengths each team member brings to a therapeutic court. Reducing the stigma we have about other fields may help your team to be more effective, will certainly create greater understanding of the work other team members do, and will help you gain a step towards greater fidelity to Best Practice One. In addition, considering the impact the stigma has on how others treat you, may help you to recognize opportunities for helping others to feel that they belong.
Your team will be given a little time to discuss strategies for moving forward some prompts you may consider:
- Each choose one slide to discuss (if team is small)
- Make a plan for cross training -decide who goes first and when!
- Discuss stigma and if you’d like to create any goals about how to implement what you’ve learned.
Kelly Warner-King, J.D., will finish our time together with a few minutes in closing and gratitude.
Go to this site to download the materials: Therapeutic Courts Cross-Training Template – Family and Youth Justice Programs (wacita.org)
Evaluation
The continuing education requirements for each field require that you complete an evaluation in order to obtain those credits. Due to this requirement, our feedback form cannot be anonymous (unless we make you do two evals – no one wants that!). However, if you do not feel comfortable, please skip any opinion-based or feedback based questions on this evaluation. We value your thoughts and make changes as a result of your comments; thank you for your input!
This link will send you to the evaluation page. It should take about 6 minutes to complete. You can also use the QR code to the right.
Certificate of Attendence
Please contact the administrative assistant on our team, Gia Valentine, to request one. She will also be able to assist you with any questions you have about CLE, CJE, and Social Worker or Counseling CEUs.
Resources
SAMHSA has an excellent flyer with guidance for How to Combat Stigma Against People Who Use Substances
This publication The Stigma of Addiction: An Essential Guide provides an excellent, peer-reviewed overview on Stigma and Substance Use Disorders.
Check out the rest of the resources we have available by heading to our
