The Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA) and the Florida Department of Children and Families' Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) together with their partners are continually developing and providing training to personnel who provide substance use disorder services to support the use of evidence-based practices in Florida. This high-caliber training is delivered at no charge to participants via live, in-person workshops and convenient webinars.
The archived webinar recordings are not eligible for continuing education units. Participation in interactive webinars and live workshops posted in the Community Calendar does qualify for continuing education for certain Florida licensed health care practitioners and Florida certified behavioral health professionals.
Sign up to receive Save the Date notices for upcoming training.
Event Description: Consistent engagement is fundamental to successful treatment outcomes. When people are struggling with a substance use disorder, it can lead to avoidant behaviors that are disruptive to care. Treatment providers need to be willing to literally meet people where they're at to keep their most vulnerable individuals connected to services. The increased presence of case managers and Peer Recovery Support Specialists in treatment programs presents additional opportunities to maintain a connection with individuals. At the same time, incorporating community outreach creates a tool for engaging additional individuals into care or obtaining more accurate feedback following discharge from treatment. This webinar, attendees were invited to consider the ways that community outreach can enhance their program by improving upon intake, retention, and follow-up.
This training is supported by the Florida Department of Children and Families Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health.
Event Description: In recent years, the onset of the opioid epidemic in the United States and the significant rise in opioid overdoses has placed a tremendous burden on emergency rooms (ER) and hospitals. This has necessitated the development of new therapeutic and supportive strategies in the health care industry to prevent overdose deaths and to engage individuals with opioid abuse or dependence in treatment. This webinar includes an overview of the opioid epidemic and the efficacious use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and "warm-handoffs" in ER settings to reduce subsequent overdoses and deaths. A specific model for the initiation of buprenorphine in an ER setting with continuation of MAT in the community will be presented.
This is a recorded webinar produced and provided by SAMHSA and available to watch on YouTube.
Event Description: This webinar reviews the relevant historical perspective as well as the most up-to-date local, state and national data as it pertains to the opioid epidemic. There was a brief review of opioid pharmacology, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5's (DSM-5) relevant substance-related disorders and the most common psychiatric conditions that can be confused with or present with substance use was discussed. In addition, the presenter details the major points required to complete a comprehensive co-occurring evaluation in order to yield the best possible diagnoses and treatment plan.
Event Description: In this webinar, we update the levels and trends of substance abuse from 2017 to 2018 in Florida, overall and by Managing Entity Regions. Data for this analysis were derived from the following sources: the 2006-2018 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, the 2017 Medical Examiners Report, the 2018 Bureau of Economic and Business Research (population estimates), the Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Significant findings of the update include: overall, the rates of substance abuse among adolescents in Florida in the past year remained lower than the national average. The rate of cigarette smoking was low and showed a declining trend, but the rates of use of e-cigarettes and marijuana showed an increasing trend. The rate of underage drinking in Florida, although below the national average, increased slowly with higher rates for females than for males.
National data indicate that among adults, the rates of alcohol use (current and binge drinking) and cigarette smoking in Florida were close to the national average, while adult marijuana use in Florida increased more rapidly than the national average in the past year. Data from recent Medical Examiners Reports indicate that the high levels and increasing rate use of opioids (primarily heroin), fentanyl and analogs and morphine slowed down in the past year. Other important findings were increases in detecting and associated deaths with methamphetamine, cocaine, and benzodiazepines in the past year.
Event Description: The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that over 1.2 million individuals had a diagnosable cocaine or methamphetamine use disorder, with another 540,000 meeting criteria for a stimulant use disorder for prescribed stimulants. Deaths caused by cocaine are climbing at alarming rates in Florida, nearly doubling from 2015 to 2016. This seminar helps participants recognize the impact of stimulant use disorders, as well as increase their capacity to support individuals in their recovery through evidence-supported treatment and health promotion strategies.
Event Description: This webinar introduces attendees to the definitional and operational dimensions of cultural competence and culturally competent prevention programming for racial and ethnic minorities. Participants learned the pillars of successfully defining, creating, implementing, and evaluating culturally competent programming for diverse clients dealing with complex substance use and/or mental health conditions. In addition, participants learn how to sustainably and reflexively engage workforces around cultural competence, establishing the philosophical infrastructure needed to maintain an ongoing atmosphere of equity, equality and understanding for all clients.
Event Description: Motivational Interviewing (MI) gives clinicians an indispensable tool for facilitating client-centered engagement. By using the core skills of MI, counselors can effectively engage in active listening and build therapeutic relationships with individuals living with a substance use disorder. Trusting relationships create the foundation for lasting, positive behavioral changes. At the same time, change is not always linear and requires that providers help individuals navigate their own ambivalence. Counselors often encounter their individuals' ambivalence in the form of discord. This training explores the essential components of MI with particular attention on how to recognize resistance and respond in ways that selectively encourage the reasons that individuals believe they can and should change.
Event Description: Increasing numbers of women in Florida are reporting opioid use at the time of delivery. As a result, the number of infants at risk of or experiencing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is also increasing. Medication-assisted treatment (also called pharmacotherapy) is the recommended standard of care for pregnant women with OUD and is considered the best option for healthy fetal development, despite the risk of NAS. The benefits of pharmacotherapy for OUD during pregnancy outweigh the risks of untreated OUD. Pregnant women with OUD should not be encouraged to withdraw from pharmacotherapy for OUD during their pregnancy or after delivery. Withdrawal of pharmacotherapy for OUD and tapering (incremental reduction over time) during pregnancy have a high failure rate, and expectant women with OUD often return to opioid misuse and its attendant risks.
With a common understanding of the scope of appropriate pharmacotherapy, clinical treatment, and recovery support for their shared clients, professionals in the medical, judicial, child welfare, behavioral health, and other sectors can more effectively work together to understand and contribute to optimizing outcomes for this vulnerable population. Effective strategies for caring for pregnant and parenting women with OUD and their infants are well-established and increasingly adopted. This webinar reviews effective treatment for OUD in pregnant and parenting women to support long-term recovery and a healthy pregnancy. NAS explains and strategies to minimize and manage its presents. Discusses the role of social determinants of health and the intersection of the opioid epidemic with crises in HIV, hepatitis, and mental health.
Event Description: The webinar provides information on the comorbidity of trauma and substance use in adolescents who present for behavioral treatment. Two evidence-based models is presented: Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) for substance use disorders and Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT) for trauma. The focus of this presentation provides a framework for understanding and utilizing both models in working with youth. Both models employ a cognitive-behavioral approach. Skills and procedures from each model can be effectively implemented and woven together, with the overarching goal of reducing substance use and trauma symptomology.
Event Description: This webinar was built on Florida's statewide and local ROSC Transformation efforts. Stakeholders report that they are eager to proceed with developing a ROSC but need assistance with operationalizing the concepts. In other words, what do ROSC principles look like in practice? This two-hour session exposes participants to strength-based approaches and language as well as a variety of Recovery Management activities, tasks and tools to use in their organizations and communities.
It was designed for those who were unable to attend the one-day ROSC Practical Applications Workshop, this webinar: 1) provides an overview of the workshop activities; 2) highlights and emphasizes objectives from the one-day workshop; 3) shares results and recommendations captured by the workshop "Gallery Walk"; 4) provides an opportunity for participant input; and 5) presents resources and ways to become involved with local ROSC transformation efforts.
Presented by: Marci Ronik, M.S.
Event Description: First impressions have the potential to impact the course of treatment for individuals with substance use, mental health, and other complex conditions. This webinar provides a dialogue regarding strategies for engagement through the provision of welcoming, person-centered, trauma-informed, culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate, and recovery-oriented services and supports. Participants are introduced to such concepts and provided with tools to assess their own and their organization's capacity to provide a positive customer service approach. This webinar provides process improvement techniques.
Event Description: Harm Reduction was developed from people who use drugs supporting each other to make healthier choices into a service philosophy. This philosophy goes beyond syringe exchange services and prioritizes an individual's self-assessment in establishing treatment needs, goals, and the strategies they pursue. Harm Reduction Psychotherapy is a client-centered approach that emphasizes the importance of self-identified goals and celebrates incremental progress. Harm Reduction expands upon existing ideas of substance use by incorporating the concepts of Drug, Set, and Setting. This framework promotes assessment and treatment based on a holistic conceptualization of a person who uses drugs by considering the substance they use, biological factors, and their social environment. Based on this framework, Patt Denning and Jeannie Little developed the Multidisciplinary Assessment Profile (MAP) to outline the key dimensions of a person's life to consider when assisting them with behavior change around their substance use. This webinar defines the principles of Harm Reduction and explores its applications, including the use of assessment as a tool to guide the establishment of self-identified goals and how to achieve them.
Event Description: This webinar shares how individuals with opioid use disorders (OUD) often return from institutions and treatment programs to living environments in the community that promote alcohol and other drug use, putting those in early recovery at risk for relapse. Recovery residences are a vital resource for individuals seeking supportive housing environments that promote recovery. While there are currently not enough recovery residences to provide needed post-treatment or re-entry support, this resource is even more scarce for parents with OUD, including those involved in the child welfare system, particularly if they are receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT). While MAT and recovery residences evolved out of separate communities, recent expansions are occurring in recovery residences that welcome various individuals (including parents in recovery receiving MAT).
Event Description: Medication Assisted Treatment is a critical component of the Opioid Epidemic. This presentation addresses through research and real- world experiences how to engage and retain clients through the use of methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. Finally, it addresses ways to reduce administrative discharge.
Event Description: This addresses the Impact of Synthetic Drugs is a session designed to provide an overview of the history of synthetic drugs and their resurgence in the United States. Participants look at the issues through the lens of prevention, and looks at how to apply the strategic prevention framework at the local, community level to identify drug trends and engage key community sectors to identify strategies to reduce and prevent the impact of synthetic drugs and other substances.
Presented by: Jamie Mulligan, Psy.D.
Event Description: This webinar reviews the transition from the traditional model of care to a family-focused approach, why this transition is necessary, and steps you can take to shift to a more collaborative relationship with families as they learn to guide their own care.
Event Description: Over 80% of inmates in the county and state system have substance use disorder; yet, evidence-based treatment is not provided. This webinar will focus on the missed opportunity of treating addiction within a correctional facility.
Event Description: Individuals who have experienced ongoing, interpersonal trauma are at an increased risk of developing substance use disorders. The experience of chronic exposure to trauma disrupts emotional self-regulation capacities, skews patterns of attachment, and impairs individuals' ability to discern safety from danger. With a lack of adequate caregiving, individuals may use substances to manage traumatic symptoms and situations. Experiencing repeated traumatic events and engaging in substance use to cope can compound the neuropsychological effects of each. Complex trauma is a risk factor for substance use disorders; at the same time, an unhealthy relationship with drugs or alcohol increases the likelihood of re-traumatization and often exacerbates the impact of traumatic events. This webinar will explore the cyclical relationship between complex trauma and substance use disorders, including administrative considerations and clinical implications.
Event Description: This training introduced attendees to the fundamental aspects of motivational interviewing and coach them on clinical skills. In addition to some didactic material, this training will focus on experiential learning that provides time for direct practice of the core skills and application of the motivational interviewing spirit.
Event Description: The fields of Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery are traditionally separated by distinct philosophies, funding mechanisms, and physical spaces. Efforts to build outcomes-driven, Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care in our communities are emboldened by the emergence and integration of Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS), and by lessons drawn from recovery research. Join PRSS systems specialist Dean LeMire of the National Recovery Institute for an interactive webinar investigating the roles of clients, their peers, and recovery management strategies in improving treatment and recovery outcomes.
Event Description: The Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association tells us that more than 251,000 children in Florida are raised by grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, other extended family and close family friends who step forward to care for them when parents are unable. Although data is limited, research shows parental substance use is the most common reason these grandfamilies come together to raise children who would otherwise go into foster care. With the rise in heroin and other opioid use, more relatives are raising children because the parents have died, are incarcerated, are using drugs, are in treatment or are otherwise unable to take care of their children. This webinar will explore the opioid epidemic's impact on kinship care in Florida, discuss their unique challenges, and identify important supports and local resources.
Presented by: Jaime Houston-Mulligan, Psy.D.
Event Description: Tobacco use amongst teens has been on the decline while the use of vaporizers and e-cigarettes has increased rapidly in recent years with prevalence of e-cigarette use higher than prevalence of any tobacco product, including traditional cigarettes. The popularity of e-cigarettes and vaping is of concern because of the misconception that these products are "safe", and the lack of information of the long-term effects of vaping on teen health and development. In this webinar we will review vaping and current data on use and misuse, ways in which adolescents use and abuse these products and the impact of use on their health. We will also cover current prevention efforts and emerging tools to help prevent vaping.
Event Description: LGBTQ+ individuals experience increased rates of interpersonal violence, adverse health outcomes, rates of substance use disorders, and mental health difficulties, including increased rates of suicide. At the same time, LGBTQ individuals experience significant barriers in accessing affirming and responsive behavioral health and recovery support services. This workshop will help participants to realize the impact of trauma for LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as identify organizational and clinical practices to prevent retraumatization within systems of care.
Event Description: We live in a society where millions of Americans are dependent on drugs or alcohol and only a small percentage receive treatment at a facility. In fact, the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 21.5 Americans age 12 and older had a substance use disorder in the previous year; however, sadly only 2.5 million received the specialized treatment they needed.
Stigma affects all of us – and nearly everyone has felt stigmatized or has stigmatized others at some point in their lives. In a study done by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the general public was more likely to have negative attitudes towards those dealing with drug addiction than those who were dealing with mental illness. Additionally, researchers found that people don't generally support insurance, housing, and employment policies that benefited people who were dependent on drugs (JHU, 2014).
This webinar will include the power of changing language, understanding the science of substance use disorder and recovery, and simple action steps to help make a difference on an individual or community level.
Presented by: Julie Radlauer-Doerfler, M.S.
Event Description: The Florida Department of Children and Families has made a commitment to the transformation of the behavioral health system with initiatives such as Recovery Oriented Systems of Care, Children's System of Care and High-Fidelity Wrapround. These statewide initiatives capitalize on the existing resources in our system and provides support, structure and an evidence base behind enhancing practices. This training will provide an overview of the transformation from typical case management services to the implementation of High Fidelity Wraparound statewide. Participants will learn about the Wraparound process and how they can enhance their current case management practices to align with the statewide Wrapround movement.
Event Description: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and neglect. They are a significant risk factor for substance use disorders and can impact prevention efforts. ACEs may also include household challenges such as witnessing domestic violence or growing up with family members who have substance use disorders. This presentation will look at preventing ACEs and engaging in early identification of people who have experienced them which could have a significant impact on a range of critical health problems. We will look at the history and overview of ACEs and will explore how this framework can inform our work in substance abuse prevention.
Event Description: This webinar will provide an overview of the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) model. This is an evidence-based model used with adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders and/or co-occurring substance use/mental health disorders. A-CRA has been widely researched and disseminated across many sites in the United States and abroad since the mid-1990s. Several key research studies will be highlighted. Additionally, participants will learn about the objective of A-CRA, the guiding principles of A-CRA, and review several A-CRA procedures. The A-CRA training and certification process will be reviewed and highlighted.
Event Description: This webinar will describe the common profiles of adolescents presenting for treatment, review the impact of substance use on adolescent development and discuss evidence-based treatments and guidelines for adolescents with substance use disorders. A case example will be used to demonstrate different approaches to treatment. The research evidence behind effective and cost-effective treatment for adolescents with substance use disorders will also be reviewed. This webinar is intended to help both experienced and novice practitioners develop knowledge and skills to work more effectively with adolescents with substance use disorders.
Event Description: This webinar will provide a brief statewide and regional update of the data and trends most recently addressed in the 2018 Annual Report, Patterns and Trends of Substance Use Within and Across the Regions of Florida. This update includes new information from sources such as the Monitoring the Future 2017 Overview and the 2017 Interim Report from Florida's Medical Examiners Commission. Major findings include: historic declines in alcohol use, binge drinking and cigarette smoking among Florida's youth; the serious and growing harm caused by opioids, especially heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, and increased mortality associated with cocaine, methamphetamine and alprazolam.
Event Description: Clearly, attitudes toward marijuana use have shifted from those of decades past, and prevalence of use in the U.S. has increased over time. In 2016, it was estimated that 128 million Americans had tried cannabis, of which 24 million were current (i.e., past month) users, making cannabis the most commonly used drug among for those age 12 and older (Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2017). These data underline the importance of reexamining the current approach and adopting new, more effective means of discussing cannabis use with youth and adults. In this webinar, presenters will provide highly relevant new information to better engage youth and adults regarding cannabis use and targeted motivational intervention strategies with proven tools to motivate change.
Workshop - Implementing Effective Prevention Strategies in the Face of a Changing Environment.
Event Description: The landscape related to substance use is changing. States are legalizing marijuana, and the opioid epidemic is Florida's most urgent public health issue despite enhanced efforts to address the crisis. With communities working to reduce overdose death and increase pathways to treatment, where does primary prevention fit? This session will provide an overview of how and why primary prevention should be the foundation of any substance abuse effort. We will look at emerging trends and the role that community coalitions play in addressing community level risk factors that lead to youth substance use. Participants will be engaged in a dialogue related to the importance of mobilizing the community using SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and will have the opportunity to identify how they can apply concepts from this session in their work.
Event Description: The purpose of this webinar is to learn the basics for increasing community recovery capital within a Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC).
Event Description: The FDA approved intramuscular Extended-Release Naltrexone (XR-NTX) for the prevention of relapse in opioid use disorder (OUD) following detoxification. XR-NTX is different from previous Medications in Addiction Treatment (MAT) in terms of abstinence & blockade, duration of action, psychological effects, and impact on behavior. We will review XR-NTX's pharmacology, clinical indication, formulation, patient selection issues, patient initiation protocols, counseling approaches, contraindications, adverse effects, and considerations regarding treatment completion.
Event Description: Although the opioid epidemic is killing a broad swath of Americans, there are important subgroups who are at even greater risk. Their vulnerability and specific needs deserve particular attention. Medication in addiction treatment selection and delivery must be considered in light of these epidemiologic, biological and other clinical parameters. Focused attention to outreach, wrap-around services and collaborative care can save lives and build recovery and health for these patients, their communities, and society as a whole.
This education experience was offered as a live workshop.
Event Description: This webinar will focus on evidence-supported strategies to engage and support families in recovery, including methods to improve communication and problem solving within the family, family psychoeducation, and family intervention models with special emphasis on Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) Therapy.
Event Description: For many, recovery is a lifelong process, and yet we know that recovery is possible. Rooted in SAMHSA's guiding principles of recovery, with emphasis on relationship-based, trauma-informed, person-centered and strengths-based approaches; this workshop will offer hands-on learning to implementing evidence supported practices in substance use counseling with key skills for assessing opioid overdose risk and providing overdose prevention counseling.
Event Description: This webinar will include an overview of trauma basics and its pervasiveness in all age groups and in special populations. The webinar will describe developmental milestones and how those are associated with gender differences in responses to trauma. Also, the webinar will include information about how the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study reflects gender differences. The webinar will be appropriate for new as well as experienced clinicians, and it will teach participants that healing and recovery from trauma are possible.
Event Description: Although research supports the efficacy of Contingency Management (CM) as an evidence-based practice for treatment of substance use disorders, it is not widely used. This webinar will review the theory of CM and its origins in operant conditioning, its evidence base of 40 random controlled trials, and current understandings of best practices for effective use of CM – including what is not fully known. We will also examine the logistical, financial, ethical and training obstacles that have impeded adoption of CM and the ways in which new technologies may solve these challenges to facilitate widespread adoption of CM into routine clinical care.
Event Description: Oral naltrexone (NTX-PO) is a potent blocker at brain opioid receptors, so it was a natural consideration as a medication in addiction treatment (MAT) for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). For most OUD patients, however, studies have not found NTX-PO to be any better than placebo or non-medication treatment – due to poor adherence by patients. Nevertheless, it is still used for patients whose pill-taking can be regularly monitored, for detoxification and induction onto extended-release naltrexone, and for patients who have completed MAT but encounter new stressors for which they may want temporary protection from relapse.
Event Description: Through brief lecture, demonstration, and case consultation this training will focus on experiential learning to support workers' skills and competence in utilizing clinical interventions. The trainer will guide, facilitate, oversee, and process experiential learning activities to ensure accurate practice, appropriate feedback, and incorporation of new skills into every day work.
Event Description: Women receiving treatment for substance use disorders need a comprehensive approach to treatment that addresses their physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects of life. This webinar will provide research findings regarding the biopsychosocial issues that women with substance use disorders often face. It also will provide clinical tips to help women heal and thrive. It will include information about how trauma can shape parenting practices and how providers can help nurture maternal-child interactions to be more positive. The webinar will conclude with describing ways to help women live in whole health wellness in a lifespan and recovery-oriented approach.
Event Description: Dr. Gastfriend is Senior Research Scientist at the Treatment Research Institute (TRI). This training is relevant to a variety of health and human service professionals and paraprofessionals, such as health care professionals (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, emergency medical personnel, etc.), law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, behavioral health technicians, recovery support personnel, and community members at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose.
Event Description: Clinical supervision is "the cornerstone of quality improvement and assurance" in the addiction field, providing, "a bridge between the classroom and clinic" (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration 2009). Clinical supervisors are gatekeepers for their profession. Their ability to mentor, educate, and encourage their supervisees is an important determinant of the quality of treatment given to individuals with substance use disorders. Guidance from skilled supervisors helps clinicians achieve more competence, confidence, and knowledge. This webinar will describe how to be an effective clinical supervisor in the substance abuse treatment field. It will include information about: Clinical supervision's role in substance abuse treatment; ethical and legal considerations of clinical supervision, and supervision issues involved in implementing Recovery Oriented Systems of Care practices. The information will be useful for new as well as experienced clinical supervisors.
Presented By: Lee A. Crandall, Ph.D.
Event Description: This webinar will review the most current trends from 2016 and 2017 in tracking substance abuse with Florida's 7 Managing Entity Regions and across the State. It builds on reports previously produced by Epidemiologist James N. Hall to describe the use and impact of drugs in Florida. It includes the: 2017 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey data published in November 2016; 2016 Medical Examiners Report published November 2017 and the Bureau of Economic and Business Research 2017 county population estimates published December 2017. It also includes information from the: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System; Florida Youth Tobacco Survey and National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Major findings include: A continuing improvement in indicators of youth use of alcohol and cigarettes; serious and growing harm caused by opioids, especially heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, and increased mortality associated with cocaine, methamphetamine, and alprazolam.
Event Description: Traumatic events are powerful and influential moments in people's lives. While individual responses to trauma can vary, they share a common function of allowing for survival and adaptation. Learned behaviors can either serve as a means of protection against retraumatization or lead to further isolation and victimization. By incorporating trauma-informed care into the delivery of services to adolescents, providers are better equipped to provide early intervention, avoid retraumatization, and foster post-traumatic growth. This webinar will focus on implementing a strengths-based approach to understanding traumatic events and their effects. Attendees will learn about skills, supports, and clinical interventions for providing trauma-informed services to adolescent populations.
Event Description: Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) principles challenge behavioral health professionals to move beyond narrow, problem-driven models of service delivery to more fully embrace strengths-based, recovery-focused care. This transformation includes the design, delivery, and evaluation of behavioral health services. Words used to describe individuals' lives and recovery also are part of ROSC. Often behavioral health field language is contrary to clinicians' strengths-based, recovery-focused intent. There is a tendency to focus on deficits, aberrations, and symptoms—what is "wrong" with people. Emphasizing the negative has led to hopelessness and despair among people in recovery and the behavioral health professionals who serve them. By contrast, recovery-oriented practitioners strive to communicate in respectful, balanced ways celebrating strengths while not minimizing barriers interfering with a person's life, goals, and aspirations. This webinar will review guidelines that should be considered regarding recovery-based language in written documents and verbal interactions. This webinar will include experiential exercises and examples of "transformed" language excerpts and terms. Participants also will learn about references and resources.
Event Description: This workshop is relevant to a variety of health and human service professionals and paraprofessionals, such as health care professionals (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, emergency medical peronnel, etc.), law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, behavioral health technicians, recovery support personnel, and community members at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose.
Event Description: A person-centered approach supports individuals in driving their own recovery and encourages a holistic method of collaborative planning. It goes beyond the management of diagnosis. It allows clinicians to more fully appreciate the importance of an individual's cultural preferences, natural supports, and recovery-based life goals. This webinar will provide an overview of the core principles and practices of strengths-based, person-centered recovery planning (PCRP), and how it differs from traditional approaches to care. The webinar will focus on a didactic presentation of the PCRP model with an emphasis on the "nuts-and-bolts" of quality implementation from both a process and a documentation perspective. Participants will receive guidance in co-creating recovery plans that respect strengths-based, person-centered principles while also satisfying expectations associated with clinical, accreditation, and fiscal regulations. Hypothetical, case-based examples of strengths-based PCRPs will be shared with the group as a way of illustrating key elements of quality recovery plans. Participants will also be given access to resources to support further learning and skill development in Person-Centered Recovery Planning.
Event Description: This webinar will provide information about excessive alcohol use in Florida and will focus on environmental strategies to reduce underage drinking and adult binge drinking. It will include information about: environmental factors that encourage excessive alcohol use; best practices in terms of environmental strategies to address excessive alcohol use; and the research supporting those best practices. The webinar will include case study examples demonstrating how the research findings can be used. The webinar will contain information that would be useful for newcomers to prevention as well as highly experienced persons working in the prevention field.
Event Description: Increased prescription drug and heroin use and addiction have led to an opioid epidemic in the United States. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is an evidence-based practice that can be an important tool in helping people recover from substance use disorders. This webinar will review best practices for utilizing Vivitrol®, a non-narcotic, non-addictive MAT in jails and with individuals transitioning into the community after incarceration.
Event Description: In this skill-building webinar participants will be introduced to strategies to effectively work with clients with co-occurring disorders to address their needs on their road to recovery. Mental health issues and substance use disorders co-occur in about 45% of Americans seeking substance use disorder treatment (SAMHSA). Co-occurring disorders can be difficult to diagnose due to the complexity of symptoms. In many cases, people receive treatment for one while the other remains untreated. This may occur because both mental and substance use disorders can have biological, psychological, and social components. Other reasons may be inadequate provider training or screening, an overlap of symptoms, or that other health issues take priority. In any case, the consequences of undiagnosed, untreated or undertreated co-occurring disorders can lead to a higher likelihood of experiencing homelessness, incarceration, medical illnesses, suicide or even early death. A partial list of topics included in this webinar is: the new person-centered approach to co-occurring disorders treatment; evidence-based approaches to co-occurring disorders treatment; and 10 strategies for helping clients with co-occurring disorders avoid slipping through the cracks.
Event Description: People who inject drugs are at greater risk of contracting or transmitting HIV and viral hepatitis. The intersection of the opioid and infectious disease epidemics is not a coincidence. Stigma and discrimination against people with mental health or substance use disorders or HIV can deter individuals from seeking health care services, reducing the opportunity for better health through the use of the latest methods for treatment and prevention. This webinar will present information/trends about the inter-relationship between opioid misuse and infectious disease and what measures can be taken to effectively address this public health emergency. Evidence-based behavioral interventions and innovative approaches to infectious disease prevention for persons who inject drugs will be discussed.
Event Description: One in five individuals experiencing homelessness in January 2016 was also living with a serious mental health or chronic substance abuse disorder (2016 AHAR: Part1-Point-In-Time Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S.). Individuals living with mental health and/or substance use disorders can be particularly vulnerable to becoming homeless as these health conditions can create difficulties in accessing and maintaining stable housing. Coping with the trauma of homelessness can further exacerbate substance use/abuse and mental health conditions. Traditionally, homeless and housing programs have required sobriety and/or mental health treatment as a prerequisite to receiving housing and services. Similarly, behavioral health providers often consider treatment for behavioral health issues as the first order of business for those experiencing homelessness. However, a large body of evidence-based research demonstrates that these practices may create barriers to, and lack of involvement with, systems of care, causing the most vulnerable people to fall through the cracks. When providers focus on stabilizing an individual's most basic needs first, such as permanent affordable housing, the likelihood of recovery is significantly improved. Substance abuse and mental health recovery are much more attainable when individuals have stable housing. This webinar, designed for novice as well as advanced practitioners, will provide best practices for addressing homelessness for individuals involved in the behavioral health system and present steps for how behavioral health providers can assist with housing needs. Participants will receive tools to increase skills for effectively working with individuals pre-housing and post-housing.
Event Description: The FDA approved Buprenorphine (BUP) in addiction treatment as safe and effective for opioid use disorder (OUD). BUP has unique chemistry, brain effects, side effects, and impact on behavior. We will review BUP's pharmacology, clinical indication, formulations, federal law requirements, patient selection issues, practice guidelines, counseling recommendations, contraindications, adverse effects, abuse risks and considerations regarding treatment completion.
Event Description: Historically, women with substance use disorders have received treatment that was developed to meet the needs of men with substance use disorders. However, research during recent decades has indicated that women with substance use disorders benefit from receiving holistic, women-centered approaches that meet their psychosocial needs (Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration, 2009). This particularly is important for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders, a subgroup that – due to their specialized stresses and responsibilities – can be difficult to attract to treatment and to retain in treatment. Using examples from cases, this webinar will describe how to use the initial intake and assessment of such pregnant and parenting women to maximize their chances of successfully completing treatment.
Event Description: This webinar is intended for substance use treatment providers, primary care clinicians, social workers, senior center staff and others who have regular contact with older adults. The purpose of this webinar is to better understand the life transitions that occur with aging that may cause older adults to be at risk for problems with substance use and present information about relevant trends and tools for successfully recognizing, screening, and treating substance use in older adults. Participants will also explore their own possible biases towards screening and treating older adults who may be misusing or abusing substances.
Event Description: The purpose of this webinar is to learn about the Evidenced-Based Practice Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT is a highly efficacious treatment developed by Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, for multi-diagnostic, severely disordered individuals with pervasive emotion dysregulation. While originally developed for difficult-to-treat patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), research has demonstrated that DBT is also effective for patients with a variety of complex problems, including substance use disorders where emotion dyscontrol are often at the core of the individual's problems and/or interfere with long-term maintenance of therapeutic progress (Chapman, 2006), DBT has been adapted for use in a variety of settings, including prisons, inpatient hospitals, schools, and juvenile justice facilities.
Event Description: The opioid epidemic has taken a dramatic shift in its impact upon every socioeconomic level of our society. Beginning with prescription opioids to fentanyl and its analogs, we are now facing unfathomable challenges. Knowing not only whom but also what we are treating has become of paramount importance. Without drug testing, treatment will be a partially blind effort that can result in further morbidity and mortality for individuals with substance use disorders. This webinar will review the basic pharmacology of the most common drugs of abuse as well as their interaction with each other. We will then discuss the various forms of drug testing available while also analyzing the benefits and potential pitfalls of each type of testing. In addition, how to best understand and utilize drug testing results as potential therapeutic interventions will be clearly delineated. Most importantly, the potentially lifesaving benefits of drug testing, within the scope of substance abuse treatment, will be analyzed and discussed.
Presented by: Kimberly McGrath, Psy.D.
Event Description: This workshop addressed Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC). This issue has been in the forefront of child welfare for the past several years. In response, the Florida Legislature has approved legislation and rules to help guide the child welfare system, professionals and providers engaged with and who treat survivors of exploitation. Through this presentation participants will acquire an understanding of the scope of the problem of commercial sexual exploitation and the related importance of awareness of CSEC.
Event Description: Participants reviewed how our understanding of the brain and clinical research elucidate strategies for patient management, specifically for patients receiving medication-assisted treatment. These strategies can improve patient engagement, retention, adherence to counseling and medication, support from families/significant others, completion of therapy, and continuity of care.
Event Description: This webinar will explain why and how to implement the Self-Assessment Planning Tool for Implementing Recovery-Oriented Mental Health Services (SAPT) Version 2.0. The tool was originally developed at the University of South Florida under contract with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). In 2016, the SAPT planning tool was revised to support Florida's Recovery-Oriented System of Care (ROSC) process. A ROSC is a system transformation initiative that the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is leading. This is a values-driven approach to structuring behavioral health systems and a network of clinical and non-clinical services and supports. Under ROSC, recovery is expected and achieved through meaningful partnerships and shared decision making with individuals, communities, and systems. The planning tool is designed to help agencies establish policies and practices resulting in positive, recovery-oriented services outcomes.
Event Description: Participants will learn how to effectively engage print media in publicizing substance abuse prevention efforts. They also will learn how to effectively engage broadcast media professionals in publicizing substance abuse prevention efforts, and how to effectively use social media in substance abuse prevention efforts.
Event Description: In recent years, unintentional overdose surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the United States is experiencing an "epidemic of drug overdose (poisoning) deaths," citing that since 2000, the rate of drug overdose deaths increased 137%, including a 200% increase in those involving opioids. In Florida, drug-related deaths increased by 14% from 2014 to 2015, with deaths from opioids (heroin, fentanyl, methadone, morphine, and oxycodone) determined as causing death in more than 50% of the 4,682 deaths in which drugs were found (Florida Medical Examiners Commission Report, April 2016). Given these numbers, law enforcement, other first responders and human service professionals of all types face the ever-growing reality of having to deal with drug overdoses on any given day. The purpose of this webinar is to examine the use of naloxone, a well-known and long used medication to reverse effects of opiates in the event of overdose. Step-by-step instructions for recognizing and responding to an opioid overdose will be presented. This session will also provide detailed information regarding Florida's 911 Good Samaritan and Naloxone Access laws. Instructions for enrolling in DCF's Overdose Prevention Program will be provided to non-profit organizations interested in receiving free naloxone to distribute to individuals at risk of experiencing an opioid overdose.
Event Description: This webinar will include a review of current literature on adherence and treatment compliance in the treatment of substance use disorder. It will provide the current knowledge base for treatment duration for the three most commonly prescribed medications used in MAT focusing on XR-NTX (Vivitrol). A draft protocol for assessing treatment completion designed for the entire provider team including prescribers, individual and group counselors, coaches, and other team members will be presented.
Event Description: This two-hour best practice webinar addresses outreach efforts for pregnant women with substance use disorders, intravenous drug users and individuals meeting criteria for care coordination. To be effective, programs must successfully recruit, retain, and engage these individuals. Recruitment activities involve enrolling individuals in services and retention activities keep them coming back. This webinar provides information on how agencies can identify issues or problems with recruitment and retention how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of these critical processes in their own operation. The presenter will share lessons learned along with practical advice on how to implement an effective recruitment and retention strategy.
Event Description: This webinar will identify the SAPT block grant-required policies and procedures that specifically apply to pregnant and parenting women. Participants will learn how to create policies and procedures ensuring providers' correct implementation of those requirements. Participants also will learn to efficiently document in clients' files those SAPT block grant-required services.
Event Description: This webinar is a complete overview of the VIVITROL program managed by FADAA. Beginning with the application process and provider registration through requesting payment and submitting required data – all topics needed to participate in the program will be covered. Participants will be provided step-by-step guidance on the VIVITROL program including patient eligibility, program goals, clinical resources, and database issues. The differences in the DCF funded program and the OSCA program will be explained including provider and patient eligibility, reporting, and submitting payment requests. Upcoming additions to the provider portal will be explained. There will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions and during the presentation.
Event Description: This two-hour best practice webinar presents strategies for increasing treatment completion rates and retaining pregnant women with substance use disorders in treatment. Treatment retention is one of the most consistent predictors of positive treatment outcomes so it is critical that pregnant women engage and stay in treatment. This webinar will help participants identify factors that influence retention among women, such as socio-demographics including age, education, race/ethnicity, economics, and partner relationships; criminal justice and child protective services involvement; pregnancy; and co-occurring disorders. Research indicates that women benefit from a supportive, safe, and nurturing treatment environment that promotes a mutually respectful, empathic and compassionate therapeutic relationship. This webinar presents information about the collaborative treatment approach and priority treatment goals for pregnant women with substance use disorders for successful engagement and establishing a sense of trust.
Event Description: The Florida Legislature has made substantive changes to Level 2 background screening requirements which include: 1) a clearinghouse for background screening and rescreening and 2) new crimes added to the list of disqualifying offenses. In this webinar, an overview of the current background screening process and how the law is applied, as changes to background screening in 2015. The process to apply for exemption from disqualification and understanding the exemption process will be discussed.
Event Description: This webinar will provide an overview of the Level of Care Utilization System for Psychiatric and Addiction Services (LOCUS 2010) and the Child and Adolescent Level of Care Utilization System (CALOCUS 2010) that were developed by members of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. This webinar will review the underlying philosophy and principles of those instruments. It also will highlight some of their differences. It will describe the level of care continuum, the Dimensions and criteria rating system, and the method to determine a level of care recommendation. In addition, it will discuss key concepts to use completing these instrument(s).
Event Description: The goal of this Webinar is to review the most current trends within Florida's 7 Managing Entity Regions and across the State. Underage drinking and tobacco use continues to decline and reflects significant progress of Florida's prevention strategies. However, adolescent marijuana use has stabilized at high rates and now involves higher potency cannabis products as well as more intense methods of administration. Methamphetamine deaths are increasing as the drug appears to be more available in the Tampa area as well as the northern Panhandle and Orlando areas. Prescription opioid abuse has been the breeding ground for the growing number of heroin users in Florida and across the nation. Increased use of poisonous fentanyl analogues from clandestine labs as a substitute or adulterant for street heroin has escalated opiate deaths. Rising indicators of cocaine abuse is attributed to its use by opiate addicts and doubling of its production in Colombia. Changing patterns of synthetic cathinone stimulants including "Flakka" or "Mollys" and other Novel Psychoactive Substances are in part linked to a ban by China in late 2015.
Event Description: Motivational interviewing focuses on the present, and involves working with a client to access motivation to change a particular behavior that is not consistent with a client's personal value or goal. Motivational interviewing is conducted without judgment, confrontation and is not adversarial. The approach seeks to increase the client's awareness of the potential problems caused, consequences experienced, and risks faced as a result of the behavior in question. Alternatively, or in addition, therapists may help clients envision a better future, and become increasingly motivated to achieve it. The strategy seeks to help clients think differently about their behavior and ultimately to consider what might be gained through change.
Event Description: Health information is private and should be protected. That is why there is a federal law that sets rules for health care providers and health insurance companies about who can look at and receive our health information. This law, called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), gives you rights over your health information, including the right to get a copy of your information, make sure it is correct, and know who has seen it.
Event Description: Interagency community collaboration practices facilitate involvement of between community organizations and agencies. They should include interagency agreements that articulate roles, responsibilities, communications, and other strategies to foster collaboration and enhance positive outcomes. This collaboration can occur on multiple levels, from frontline collaboration among caseworkers, families, mental health providers, teachers, and others, to collaborative relationships between policy-makers and administrators responsible for addressing organizational mandates, financing, and management.
Event Description: Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) improves adolescents' and their families' lives by intervening in four connected areas: the adolescent, the parents, the family, and the community. Just as problems overlap, MDFT uses changes in each of these areas to stimulate changes in all the others. Sessions can be conducted from one to several times per week over the course of three to six months in the home or counseling office. NREPP, a system of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, gave MDFT an evidence-quality rating of 3.8 out of 4 for recovery from substance use, and 3.6 out of 4 for delinquency. The overall rating for readiness for dissemination (e.g., quality of implementation materials and support) was 3.6. MDFT was also one of just five interventions chosen for NREPP's Comparative Effectiveness Research Series, as well as the only adolescent intervention chosen. The Comparative Effectiveness Series promotes the adoption of mental health and substance abuse interventions that have been evaluated positively by NREPP.
Event Description: This webinar is intended to introduce participants to environmental strategies, and the use of community based prevention approaches, to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. The webinar will provide participants with an overview of environmental strategies, with a focus on evaluation processes. Participants will be invited to an interactive discussion on the use of environmental approaches in their community to identify challenges and potential solutions.
Event Description: Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT), an NREPP program, is the premiere cognitive-behavioral program for substance abuse treatment and offender populations. Developed in 1985 by Dr. Kenneth Robinson, and Dr. Gregory Little, nearly 200 published outcome studies have documented that MRT-treated offenders show significantly lower recidivism for periods as long as 20 years after treatment.
Event Description: Peer Mentors are part of a team of individuals who work closely with substance abuse treatment and prevention agencies, mental health agencies, and managing entities to guide them to build capacity to implement continuous quality improvement strategies including implementing evidence-based practice tools with fidelity. In this web meeting, participants will: review the SAPT Block Grant requirements; discuss how to solicit information using motivational interviewing techniques; identify best practices for conducting EBP fidelity site visits; and participate in case studies.
Event Description: More than 50% of Medicaid spending is on approximately 5% of beneficiaries, particularly those with serious physical and behavioral health needs. This webinar will outline national and state level policy and reimbursement models to improve transitions of care to decrease hospital re-admission rates for people with behavioral health disorders. Additionally, participants will learn about evidence-based care transitions and care coordination models and how they may apply these concepts to their organizational practice.
Event Description: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals still face discrimination and prejudice in society. Professionals are called to affirm clients' ability to integrate their sexual orientation and gender identity in healthy ways into their personal recovery, as well as support LGBT-inclusivity in the larger community. This webinar provides information and strategies designed to promote the provision of culturally competent and appropriate addiction treatment to LBGT individuals. It will review knowledge, skills and best practices that have been identified as being effective in providing LGBT affirmative services. It also will be an opportunity for participants to e-discuss case studies.
Event Description: The third edition of the American Society of Addiction Medicine's criteria was released October, 2013: "The ASAM Criteria – Treatment Criteria for Addictive, Substance-Related, and Co-Occurring Conditions." This webinar will review the underlying concepts and the six dimensions and multiple levels of care of The ASAM Criteria. The focus will be on improving clinical and systems application of The ASAM Criteria. The webinar will explain what using The ASAM Criteria really means; and increase understanding in applying the ASAM Criteria multidimensional assessment in individualized treatment. To truly implement the spirit and content of the Criteria, systems changes are needed and will be discussed.
Event Description: An evidence-based practice (EBP) is a practice that has been validated and supported by scientific evidence. The intent is that service delivery is based on new advances in research and science ensuring that the services being provided are the most appropriate for the individual and are the best possible from the perspective of effectiveness. The use of "evidence based" as a standard of practice in health care, behavioral healthcare, social work and corrections programs has gained recognition since the mid-1980s. The goal of this movement is to invest in what works in an effort to demonstrate more positive outcomes and more efficient utilization of limited community resources. This webinar is designed to help agencies and clinicians to choose EBPs that are most suitable for meeting their clients' treatment and prevention needs. The webinar also is designed to assist agencies and clinicians in effectively implementing their EBPs.
Event Description: This webinar will highlight the importance of your agencies first point of contact. As the first point of contact, you will field the client or potential client questions: answering the phone, scheduling appointments, verifying insurance, giving directions; problem solving, etc. This is the "Golden Opportunity" to build rapport with the client or potential client if handled correctly. Your tone, knowledge, and genuine concern for the client, play a vital role when interacting with the client. Additionally, being trained to handle most clients' issues streamlines the process for both the client and the agency. Learn strategies to polish your image, engage customers and increase the success of your agency.
Event Description: This is a critical time in our field. Behavioral health providers are navigating changing reimbursements structures, increased data demands, and new healthcare models that increasingly emphasize things like service and community integration, person-centered approaches, care coordination and improved outcomes. From the provider perspective, many of these changes are occurring in the context of what seem to be shrinking resources making concerns about sustainability paramount for many. While the current healthcare environment seems to present numerous challenges, it also offers amazing opportunities to re-orient your service delivery approach, to become more innovative, resourceful, and effective. Key to addressing the current challenges is expanding our approaches beyond traditional medical models which revolve around biopsychosocial stabilization, to using recovery-oriented, evidence informed practices that help people to sustain their wellness in the context of their communities. Equipped with the right information, resources and skills, treatment providers can position themselves to thrive. This webinar will introduce the concepts of recovery-oriented services to support providers in improving outcomes, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs.
Event Description: This webinar is designed to help clinical staff learn effective counseling, engagement, and management techniques for working with patients who are receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT). As an accepted evidence-based practice, MAT is now the standard of care for individuals with alcohol or opioid substance use disorders. The webinar will include guidance on identifying patients who are ready to commit to recovery, selection of appropriate medication protocol, patient engagement, team coaching and coordination, withdrawal management and induction, dosing, co-occurring disorders management, drug-drug interactions, persistence management, managed care interactions, and termination of medication. There will be focus on counseling patients using extended-release injectable naltrexone (VIVITROL®) enrolled in the FADAA/OSCA VIVITROL program. Participants should be prepared with at least one case involving MAT for discussion and analysis. There will be sufficient time for questions and answers.
Event Description: In this workshop participants will learn skills which will enable them to more effectively engage persons seeking recovery in addictions counseling. Special emphasis will be placed upon effective outreach services for pregnant and parenting women, IV drug users, persons living with HIV and adolescents. A partial list of topics includes; engaging persons seeking recovery during outreach efforts within the first ten minutes of contact; facilitating engagement by viewing the entire community as the treatment center; stage based intervention strategies; strength based approaches to outreach and engagement; instillation of hope; overcoming resistance during outreach efforts.


Pertinent questions answered by the most influential names in the industry.
Pertinent questions by the biggest names in the biz.
It started with Hillary Duff and Miley Cyrus selling albums and concert tickets but struggling to get airplay at top 40 radio.
According to the report, which was released Friday, 92% of all respondents reported listening to radio at least once a week.
The proposed purchase of Arbitron by Nielsen Holdings today took a step closer to realization as the radio ratings company's shareholders voted to approve the acquisition at its company's special meeting of stockholders.
Radio's problem is that it doesn't look very good. It sounds fine but, compared to newer online audio services that give users a visually rich experience, AM/FM radio needs to up its game. The good news is that several potential solutions to radio's lack of visuals were presented at the Digital Strategies Exchange for Radio 2013, a day-long session today at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas.


Photonics Buyers' Guide / Cytek Biosciences Inc.
A flow cytometry solution provider that provides compact, affordable instruments with high multiplexing capability and a wide range of services to support scientists and clinicians.
INDUSTRIES SERVED BY CYTEK BIOSCIENCES INC.
When you click "Send Request", we will send the contact details you supply to Cytek Biosciences Inc. so they may respond to your inquiry directly.


In the last few weeks I've finally decided to look more closely at Angular 2 and I'm glad I waited this long as so much has changed since I previously look at this stuff even just a few months ago. I've been dabbling with Typescript for a while, but this has really been the first time I dived in more deeply and I have to say I definitely like working with it. But figuring out how module loading works has been one of the hardest parts of the Angular2/Typescript journey for me thus far.
Jatin Shridar introduces PouchDB, an in-browser NoSQL, document database. Learn how to store your app data locally and later sync it with a server-side DB.
mgechev/angular2-performance-checklist: Cheatsheet for developing ⚡lightning⚡ fast Angular 2 applications.
This document contains a list of practices which will help us boost the performance of our Angular 2 applications. "Angular 2 Performance Checklist" covers different topics – from server-side pre-rendering and bundling of our applications, to runtime performance and optimization of the change detection performed by the framework.
Source: mgechev/angular2-performance-checklist: Cheatsheet for developing ⚡lightning⚡ fast Angular 2 applications.
Ben Nadel uses custom error handling in Angular 2 as a means to explore RC 6 and the use of NgModule as the new underlying application architecture.
Web applications send important HTTP requests to the server, so we need to test them. This tutorial will show you how to test HTTP requests in Angular 2.
We can improve overall data quality by validating user input for accuracy and completeness.
In this cookbook we show how to validate user input in the UI and display useful validation messages using first the template-driven forms and then the reactive forms approach.


Now enhance the flavor of homemade simple mango chutney by following this recipe. With the addition of a few ingredients like ginger, coriander leaves and chili its taste becomes far better. .
Take a 6 quart pot and dissolve sugar in vinegar while stirring continuously.
Now add the other ingredients and let it simmer for 45-60 min or until it has obtained a thick or syrupy consistency.
After it has cooled down, pour it up in jars for preserving.


In recent times natural medicine has been widely used, thanks to that with very little money it can cure many diseases and the risk of side effects. Every day the body collects larger amounts of toxins.
All of these organs liver, kidneys, intestines fight for purification of toxins and filtering of harmful substances entering the body.
The two main ingredients that will help you to detoxify the entire body daily and protect yourself against diseases, infections, inflammations, and other dangerous conditions are olive oil and lemon.
This mixture stimulates the immune system and makes it resistant to external and internal seizures.
Separately, these ingredients have powerful properties. For the health of the body protective mechanisms work with full force.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE A MIXTURE OF OLIVE OIL AND LEMON?
This mixture preparation is mild. With a ratio of 1: 1 mix the olive oil and fresh lemon juice. It abounds with minerals and vitamins.
This mixture helps to lubricate the digestive mucosa and also activates the bladder function. This mixture abound with antioxidants that help us get rid of toxins and help in any case to properly digest food.
Because olive oil abounds in fatty acids, it helps control and improve blood circulation and also removes bad cholesterol, which helps in blood flow, and is also anti-inflammatory and provides many vitamins.
This mixture helps the liver to expel these toxins when we feel swollen, heavy and tired.
Because of anti-inflammatory properties, every morning take a teaspoon of this mixture to fight these annoying pains.
You should make a mixture of 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tbsp to strengthen weak, fragile or fragmented nails. You should soak your nails in lemon juice for about 10 minutes before falling asleep, and you can also sleep in fine cotton gloves to allow a mixture of lemon and olive oil to penetrate the nails overnight.
In case you want healthy, strong and shiny hair and to control dandruff, olive oil and lemon can help make it, and while antiseptic and astringent lemon qualities can help treat skin diseases.
You should mix and drink 1 tbsp. olive oil with freshly squeezed lemon juice to maintain a healthy body, shiny hair and smooth skin.
We recommend you to start using this mixture and take advantage of the health benefits it offers.


Can Your Building in Corona, CA Withstand an Earthquake?
If you're building a structure in the Corona, CA area, you'll need a lateral load calculation to make sure it can withstand whatever nature dishes out. Count on the structural engineers at Alpha Omega Engineers to perform accurate structural calculations. We'll measure your structure, evaluate the landscape and do a lateral load calculation.
Call now to schedule services. After we take the correct measurements, you can rest easy knowing that your structure will stay standing in a shake.
What does a lateral load calculation measure?
Before you break ground on a new construction project, you need to perform various calculations on the property. Leave these calculations to the highly trained team at Alpha Omega Engineers.
Are you ready to take the next step toward the construction of your new home or office? Call now to speak with an experienced structural engineer in Corona, CA.


Ghost hunter Verity Long is overdue for a little R&R (rest and romance) with her boyfriend, Ellis, and a vintage train trip through the Tennessee mountains seems like just the ticket. The Sugarland Express carries history and nostalgia in every compartment, and Verity is determined to enjoy it - without ghostly interference. But the ghosts have other plans… On a dark, desolate night nearly a century ago, the train was stranded in the mountains, and a young woman was found stabbed to death in her locked compartment.


Don't start, but then continue to look back. It shows your heart isn't in it and you're of no use to the Kingdom of God.
If I start the work, but continue to look back as if my whole heart was not in it, then Jesus says I'm of no use to the Kingdom of God.
Jesus reminds us in this passage that true discipleship requires instant action. Waiting is not really a good option. I don't believe that Jesus teaching people to forsake responsibilities to family, but rather he often gave commands to people in light of their real motives. Perhaps these men wanted to delay following Christ and were using family as an excuse. Following Jesus has a cost, and each of us must be ready to serve, even when it requires sacrifice.
Jesus is looking for my dedication, and not a halfhearted commitment. I can't pick and choose among Jesus' ideas and only follow him selectively. I have to accept the cross along with the crown. I must count the cost and be willing to abandon everything else that has given me security, and do so without looking back. With my focus on Jesus, I shouldn't allow anything to distract me from fully following him.


text:
"Yesterday's shattered / tomorrow's don't matter..."
Hiccupy. Chipry. Helium-powered. Chipmunk.
All those descriptors have been applied to the singing voice of Altered Images' Clare Grogan, and for the most part, they're pretty accurate. While Altered Images scored quite a few hits in the U.K. with their particular brand of Martin Rushnet-sheened new wave pop, it took Dale Bozzio and Cyndi Lauper a few years later to make such vocal histrionics suitable for American chart success.
MTV showed some Altered Images love by putting early hits like "Happy Birthday" and "I Could Be Happy" into light rotation, but outside of "Happy" peaking at #45 on Billboard's Club Play Chart, America wasn't biting. So, Clare and their label, Portrait, decided to bite instead.
Altered Images' third album, "Bite", was a stab at "maturity," complete with a total image overhaul, ditching the campy pop-art dayglo and "fun" presentation for a sophisticated, glossy Altered Image. Just check out that cover. This is the same chick who two years earlier was running from a guy in a lion costume across a Warhol landscape in her video.
Tossed to the dumpster along with their old Image was longtime producer Martin Rushnet, this time around was replaced by two winning veterans, none other than Tony Visconti and Mike Chapman, who split the album nearly in half. The resulting album was a respectable attempt at grown-up disco at a time when the word "disco" was pop poison. Put Clare's somewhat limited chirps and squeals over it and you had an appealing, but utlimately destined to fail record.
Visconti seemed to embrace the new wave bent of the band a little more, and it shows in the tracks he produced, most notably "Now That You're Here," which tones down Clare a bit and creates a nice, orchestral dance groove.
Mike Chapman, though, obviously missed his most successful muse, Debbie Harry and Blondie, so each of his tracks seeks to recreate that sound. "Don't Talk To Me About Love" is the song from this album that had the most impact, hitting the Top Ten in the U.K., probably because it was a carefully constructed tribute to "Heart of Glass," a song Chapman played no small part in creating. On this side of the pond, MTV played it a bit, then it sadly disappeared, along with the band soon after. A year later, Cyndi Lauper released "She's So Unusual" and when I first heard "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," my first thought was "Clare?!?"
Clare Grogan went on to be an actress and has even toured the U.K. lately in a few 80s revival packages. The entire Altered Images catalog has been remastered with bonus tracks and comes highly recommended, although I prefer the single mix of "Don't Talk to Me About Love" which is included on a couple "Best of" comps, but left off "Bite."
"Bite" failed to chart.
"Don't Talk to Me About Love" failed to chart.
Labels: Altered Images

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Bet, when you think about the cryptocurrencies, the only thing you imagine is a bitcoin. But apart from bitcoins, there are more than 1,300 different cryptocurrencies.
Not all cryptocurrencies are created equal. Some feature amazing underlying blockchain technology behind its creation. Some were created 'just because', or as a joke. Some are absolutely useless or were a part of an elaborate pyramid scheme.
Of course, there's no point in showing them all, but Nexter reviews top 5 cryptos and their main features.
Note: The ranking was taken from CoinMarketCap. All figures are accurate as of Nov. 2017.
Probably you all have heard about bitcoins. Today, it is the most famous cryptocurrency and an ancestor of the whole branch. Bitcoins were invented by a group of IT / banking specialists named "Satoshi Nakamoto" in 2009. Today its price raised up to $9 420.64 per coin making it the costliest virtual currency in the market. Bitcoin is known for being the first, easiest to get, limited up to 21 million coins and for widest acceptance.
Bitcoin has two forks in August 2017 when Bitcoin Cash was created and in November 2017 when Bitcoin Gold was released.
Ethereum (or Ether) was released in mid-2015 as an alternative to Bitcoin. Till now, it's the main bitcoin corrival. The key difference between them is that bitcoin has the hard limit of 21 million coins will ever exist, while the amount of Ether is not limited.
As of September 2016 and as a result of an attack to The DAO, Ethereum was split into 2: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
Released in 2012 it has a strong focus on banking market. Ripples code was written from the ground base. The main function of Ripple is to increase the speed of transactions between banking operations. Ripple also allows you to save on transactions.
Ripple technology is already used by top banks such as Bank of America, HSBC, and the Western Union "experiments" with Ripple protocols.
Dash (short for 'digital cash') is another cryptocurrency that came out as a result of a bitcoin code modification. In 2014 Dash system was originally called XCoin, then changed to DarkCoin and in March 2015 it received its current name. Dash is well-known for a strong focus on both privacy (using anonymization technology) and speed (of transaction).
Litecoin was released in October 2011 by former Google employee Charles Lee as an alternative to Bitcoin. Overall, Litecoin is similar (and familiar) – it can be mined, used as currency and transacted for goods and services.


Video games are absolutely and completely an expression of this era, being new (as in unseen before), coincident with rising technologies, popular, and expressive of our current preoccupations and visual tastes. In a mere 50 years the games that have been trashed will be deemed part of history.
People, with some distance and the passage of time, will also see more easily that they were things of beauty and depth, artefacts created lovingly by the hands of many – and then 'alive' and developing through the usage of many because unlike film or novels part of this cultural activity, video gaming, is the active and direct participation of audience. It is not a passive form. Without players, there is no game – you can see where this is going! It is to be hoped that code and assets will be at least preserved in a place of safety for the future. But most likely, like that BBC footage it will not be, plus the technology will change making frozen, stored games unplayable.
So before putting on the chancellor face (Nigel Lawson did a good one) and considering VG, CoH and SWG to be good riddance to bad profit, I suggest beancounters play one of their 'how rich I'd be if…' games and imagine, now that the deed is done, how much money they have said goodbye to, 50, 100 , 200 years from now, when what little code and assets they bother to preserve is no longer accessible to them due to the platforms having gone dodo. Not accessible to them. But still accessible to those that salvaged what they could.
The game they thought they killed will still lurk in the corners and bywaters of the internet, alive. (It's quite cool).
Today the Vanguard Saga of Heroes servers go down for the last time, I'm quite sad about that. I had to wait to play Vanguard, because for a long time it wouldn't run on my computer, but belatedly SOE put some work in, and then I could play it. I liked Vanguard a lot, I played it, and I'd continue playing it if it was still there.
I didn't want to log in and maunder about feeling gloomy during the last few months. Today though, I logged in once on a random alt, and it was in time for one of their purple sunsets which seems just right, so last screenshot.
so it isn't all in the face. It's the body, and the armour, the warhog – and the roughness of the graphics. I know this lady is going to be handy to have around in a battle and won't be obsessing about her mascara running. And there's that feeling of uniqueness – there are enough factors to her appearance that there's unlikely to be too many of her running about. Together it all makes it really easy to pretend to be her character.
I do find the image below bland in comparison. It has a sort of Teflon effect on my imagination. If looking cute under all possible circumstances even when gurning was relevant to the gameplay or story, I might feel different? Well actually, I'm not sure if that's it. I'm not repelled or anything, just indifferent. Strange. Is it the cell shading? Maybe because I associate that with two dimensions and flat things that you can only look at but not interact with? Perhaps it's the lack of detail in the clothes? This is kind of bugging me now. I have no doubt I will get used to this style and it's not a gamebreaker for me, but I'd love to know what triggers this disconnect.
I'm still digesting the EQ Next reveal. There's a lot to it. For me, two surprises and and one "hmm" and a general happiness. Surprises first!
Voxels come top of the list. I know they are using them already in Planetside 2, but using voxels to create a world and using voxels in the gameplay are two different beasties entirely and I was amazed and excited by this part of the reveal. I thought http://procworld.blogspot.co.uk/ was on my blogroll but it wasn't (is now). It's a blog I've been following for a year or two because I'm already fascinated by voxels and the journey described in that blog is a great read in itself (bedtime favourite of mine).
So, yes on voxels I'm agog for details from SOE, and agog to get my hands on them too.
…And springing fully formed from 'voxels in gameplay' (like Venus' armpit hair), the other surprise is a second game. That completely blindsided me. Ooooooh. and Aaaah. So we have Landmark to look forward to this winter in which we can play with the voxeltools ourselves and make our own things for EQNext. Which in the half empty glass is cheap assets for SOE, and in the half full glass might be amazingly good fun, whoknowspossibly leading to fame and fortune. Woah.
General happiness from me about all this! All the ideas aren't 100% all new and original, they just aren't. And I think 100% new and original is a silly thing to be insisting on parrotlike anyway. Mainly interest comes from how things are iterated and built on, now and again something new does spring from the void, but mostly new things come from looking again at old stuff. Giving players voxeltools as part of the game is pretty new and original anyway.
Other things in there we've seen something like – for example the large scale dynamic events look like quite a lot like the events we already see in other games, maybe on a larger, slower scale. Multi-classing has been tackled in various ways by various games at various times, destroying the environment happens in world-building games etc – well it just depends how these things are done whether they come across as fresh and bold, or as a minor variation that in hindsight seems obvious, or as a dead end, or as not much new. On my reckoning Everquest Next as revealed yesterday is different enough to make quite a splash. Yay!
And Landmark will make an extremely interesting pre-splash – I look forward to it.
Occasionally someone does something very innovative and it goes preety much unexplored. I think this might be the case here, and easy not to notice when it's not one of the fresh, new, sparkly games but an old one.
I held off writing this until I had played a few months with Guild Wars 1 on it's automation mode. Automation mode. Hmmm. Well it means that the game systems and events are now automated, not supported by a team of dedicated humans any more. Guild Wars 1 runs quietly on it's own somewhere, presumably attended to only if anything goes horribly wrong. Does it work? Yes. So far, perfectly. Is it still fun – yep. Am I happy. Ohhh yes.
After the the destruction of SWG, and CoH, both done with an unexamined hurr hurr "£business>playerbase" hurr attitude (cringe) this is an absolute sparkly wonder. Don't kill the old game, just… automate it – leave it for the fans to enjoy, build up some goodwill too (thus generating sales for new game).
And I'm very relieved they did this! I love this game. I want it to still be around. It is what it is, mind – pared down to essentials: on rails pve, a bit confining to be on a path – no buildings you can go into, you can't climb the mountains etc. But it is incredibly beautiful, it runs like a dream, you can have a lot of fun with builds and the music is lovely. I have never tried the pvp yet (I'm still slowly playing through the campaigns), but others in my family have and I'm told its pretty decent pvp at that.
On the money side GW1 is a perfect example of how to sell things – a good product at a fair price (look ma, no hoogledy boogledy). There's not much more to selling things by the way. Make sure people know you exist is in the mix for selling things too, and a way to deliver (distribution). Few more bits 'n bobs. But nothing like all the jazz hands and contortions we're seeing this year by marketing teams. Actually, about that: I do sometimes wonder if studios mistake the process of making money for A Game – A Game in which they attempt to outwit their playerbase. That would explain some of the complicated, untransparent, frankly weird things they do to part us from our money. Conflating profit with stealth based pvp against the customers. Could be, could be.
But then I'm irritated with "monetization of players (see last post)" just now, so might be imagining things. Back to Guild Wars 1. I do not play this lots and lots. I amble in, usually when tired, play a section of a campaign or try out a build and feel soothed and pleased, and have enjoyed myself thoroughly by the time I log out. I'm sure I'll try the pvp sometime. Will there be anyone to play with? Well, now that you mention it – yes. There are not loads and hordes of people, but I do see people around. Plus I can always bribe a handy teenager (pizza!) to show me the ropes, eh.
It's Wintersday around now, and so far all the automated festivals have been fine. You know, I do also get a strange sense of Arenanet lurking/watching – not sure, might be that active imagination of mine. But I am certain it's not (at this point anyway) anything approaching abandonware. More like… a very innovative experiment.
If it works it has some quite interesting implications. It means there's no need for the unceremonious axing of old games we sometimes see when a studio wants to promote a new game. It means it's perfectly possible that our children and even grandchildren have a better chance of playing the things we are playing now. And they do quite like exploring the past. Legend of Grimrock was a surprise success here, and led to tryouts of Might and Magic (alas didn't run). Text based games are played quite compulsively too, and GoG is regularly trawled for likely entertainment. I think Arenanet's automation mode is a big step forward, and it would be lovely to see more things like it. I have never seen the commercial sense in alienating a loyal existing customer base.
It's kind of hard to comment because see I had this big lunch, and last weekend I didn't have a proper weekend, so I … um… did try to log in, but Wurm wouldn't load. And then I fell asleep. And then I woke up and managed to log in if I disabled GLSL shaders, but the server went down almost immediately. So I can't really comment but!
As an aside this thread has (well, I think so) quite fun pictures, but I think those are bugs. The website has had an update and looks much cleaner now – at least I can comment on that!
hopefully this will turn out not to be too dire. It's good in a way that more people are beginning to notice the Wurk/real-life balance is off. Chores ingame can't take this much time without becoming a problem.
I hope the GLSL issue can be resolved because without water reflections, Wurm just doesn't seem right 😦 I quite envy some of the buggy textures though – the carpet one on walls is awfully nice!
I'm going to pack some clothings now, but I'll see if I can log in again in a while.
(quick update) more bizarre pics!
One thing I really do appreciate about Wurm is that you're never a voice in the night. Post your technical issue and someone responds and tries to sort it out.
So are we all ready for Wurm 1.1??
Eh? Eh? Well in my case I'm out of my house and into rented accommodation while the builders do their thang in 5 days time so I'm home getting the last of my barang packed up, getting stressy and will use Wurm shamelessly to calm me down via looong action timers, waits while things crash, a bugwatch, all the usual things that go with a version launch. If anything interesting happens I'll post – and of course as a bonus you'll have a blogside view of my pre-move nerves, you lucky things!
Firstly let me say that if I was further along re-learning how to code, I'd try to help out with the BGE. At the moment I think my only possible usefulness would be as a guinea pig. Trying to change the direction of some big organisation is just not time and energy efficient given my current skillset. I hope it all turns out well, but just in case….
Remember that long time I spent researching before I even began PlanetGardenShed? Well most of it was looking at what joins to what. Blender's big advantage remains the accessible source. I figured even if the Game Engine stayed stalled (as it was even then), I can look at the source generated by my Blender prototype and learn from it to build and extend my own solutions.
Commercial solutions to game creation with a free starter kit don't appeal to me because I know I'll be paying for them at some point, and I'm not planning big earnings to justify that. I'm doing this for fun. If it goes anywhere, fine, but it's not an aim, goal or worry. I don't care – basically. Earnings is cake on top of the cake!
People working with the Game Engine already find their own way when they hit some barrier (and there are many) to their workflow, so this is just one solution of many – it's the direction I intend to take. Apparently assets created in Blender do belong to me to dispose of as I wish so I will. I will convert them to XML and use them from a python script, parts of which can then be optimised for speed to any extend required (via C/C++ or whatever else it takes). I've a long way to go before I can try it and see where the problems are, but that was the plan and is why I'm already learning python and will at some point start learning whatever variant of C I need to know in earnest (at the moment just messing about). It's why there aren't loads of GardenShed pics on the blog, just one or two. I'm mostly learning things, not creating things – plan to be doing that for ohhh, a year? two? who knows. I enjoy.
I'd be interested to know what other people are planning, if any happen to stop by here. I'll still be hoping things work out for the Game Engine too and if I spot a way to help, I will. Blender remains a remarkable and wonderful thing which has enriched my life and enabled me to do things I never would have thought possible a year or two ago.
In the new Blender Roadmap http://code.blender.org/index.php/2013/06/blender-roadmap-2-7-2-8-and-beyond/, it is admitted that not much time or effort has been spent on the Game Engine. Well, as with governments spying on ordinary people, many people suspected that it was happening but it's still sad to see it confirmed. Starving the Game Engine of development and resources hasn't killed it though, just annoyed its users a lot.
"Instead of calling it the "GE" we would just put Blender in "Interaction mode".
If starving it of resources doesn't work, I suppose you can always try trivialising it and then absorbing it.
Again, I for sure and many others, thought this was probably how the Game Engine part of Blender is regarded – a neat little toy for artists, a frill, a grudgingly maintained prototyping tool for game makers – but I'm afraid seeing it written down makes me realise all over again that I think they are chasing the wrong doggie.
The Indie scene is very lively indeed just now (as I predicted at begining of year) and showing no sign of slowing down. It is a bona fide growth industry now with a huge mainstream outlet (apps and handhelds, tablets, consoles) plus there is Steam and its variants, browser use is growing too. Tradional formats for Indie games are still going strong too like the pc. Small developers are now not so niche.And there is a LOT going on.
Indie is, in short, getting very big, very influential and creating a lot of money. It is painful to watch Blender deliberately missing this particular boat. This is a field it could easily have dominated if the effort had been put in. Not bothering with the Game Engine was a bad choice. I am glad for the inroads into film, but film just isn't growing as fast and big as development for handhelds and apps – and consoles. The Ouya should be along soon too.
Not dealing with the licencing issue didn't kill the Game Engine either. Enthusiasts will go to the lengths required to sidestep this limitation, though in all honesty it should have been addressed ages ago.
Plans to subsume the Game Engine into Blender and redefine it as "interactive mode" has caused some debate as is evident in the comments on the link I gave and on various forums. Something of a hornet's nest. Apparently this surprises some people. Well I think it's good to get the issue out into the open at last. It's about time the people at the top had a look at user demand, user experience and saw how their plans and outlook are regarded by Game Engine Users. I don't see any need for vituperation, but honestly…. "interactive mode???". It remains to be seen whether this will kill the Game Engine at last.
I hope not. I can offer some insight into why it hasn't died yet, despite all efforts not to support or sustain it. It hasn't died because there is a void, a market gap the size of the San Andreas fault, for just such a thing. Here is a magnificent, accesible graphics editor and creation suite, there is a vast crowd of independent game makers, and in the middle are some engines. Blender Game Engine sits in amongst this group like a little island. The others grow bigger and prosper whilst the one that fits best with the graphics stays small and ineffectual under a weight of apathy and quite possibly dislike.
The other engines, (I know, I've looked), are buggy/expensive/cumbersome/unsupported/untutorialised/undocumented/don't integrate with other applications – sometimes all of the above. But most important, they aren't in pole position to take advantage of Blender's massive graphic power. What is happening is that game makers who like the BGE use it as far as possible then seek out their own solutions for all the things it does not address (and there are many). This means that the BGE never gets to be in the final credits, never gets to be the big name. It also means there are as many solutions as there are people looking for them. I also will be following this route. Another uncapitalised advantage being that the Engine's source is accessible. That is such a plus for an Indie. At the moment, it's a mess, but all this hasn't killed the engine either, just fringified those who still use it despite the limitations and incredible annoyances of doing so.
It's needed. That's why it survives.
In my view, the Blender Game engine, with it's old code needs a complete rewrite which would be a perfect time to sort out a serviceable licence. It should be integrated more closely with the graphics as planned, it should become feature rich, supported, sustained like the rest of Blender which already operates beautifully as a modular system. What has happened is that one of the modules hasn't been worked on and has fallen out of step. This can be fixed. But the will clearly isn't there.
If the Blender Foundation does manage to kill off the engine, something will spring up to fill it's place simply because something is needed in the position it currently occupies.
Film is all very well, but it doesn't have the kind of big future that games do. It's amazing how well Blender otherwise covers the 3d field. It is easily used for visualisation, teaching, a million other things. But on games the Blender Foundation is dropping the ball badly.
As in any gold rush. the people making most money (and publicity) from Indie gaming are not so much the developers, but any company that integrates with their efforts. Publishers, platform makers, tool makers, publicists, lawyers etc. But apparently… not Blender.