Substance Use in Crisis

Self-Paced, Online
Fee: $0 (Members); $70 (Nonmembers)
Continuing Education Hours: 4.5
Note: These training modules are also in the Crisis Intervention Orientation course. Do not register if you have completed that course. Check out our live Substance Use in Crisis Intervention instead!

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Course Description

This self-paced, online course equips participants with practical skills for supporting individuals experiencing substance related crises. You’ll learn how to screen and assess for substance use disorders, apply strengths based, person centered approaches, and respond effectively during critical moments of care. Through the course, you will build a strong understanding of diagnostic criteria and appropriate placement across the continuum of care using American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria. The training emphasizes matching treatment options and referrals to an individual’s stage of change, preferences, and immediate needs. You’ll also explore effective strategies for warm hand offs, care coordination, and follow up, particularly following detoxification or other treatment episodes. Participants will gain foundational knowledge of harm reduction principles, client rights, and confidentiality laws related to substance use services. The course also addresses recognizing risk and resiliency factors, including co occurring mental health concerns, and delivering services that are respectful, accessible, and responsive to individual backgrounds and lived experiences. By the end of the course, learners will be able to assess for immediate voluntary or involuntary placement or referral to external service providers using ASAM criteria.

Please note: The content in this training is also in our online, self-paced Crisis Intervention Orientation course.  Please do not register for this training if you have already completed that course. Instead, consider attending our live Substance Use in Crisis Intervention training, which is offered at least once per year. Navigate to that training by going to our Advanced Crisis Core page.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify substances and substance use during a crisis episode based on client history, presentation, symptoms, and/or collateral information
• Gain knowledge of physiological effects and symptoms that may be related to substance use and be able to make an initial recommendation for care, including screening for special populations (pregnant individuals and persons who inject drugs)
• Become familiar with types of substance use disorders and gain ability to obtain substance use information in a trauma-informed manner
• Assess for immediate voluntary or involuntary placement or referral to external service provider using American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria
• Start motivational interviewing to align with stage of change
• Establish workflow for warm handoffs in transitions of care
• Identify the most common co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in a crisis situation, including what to treat, how to engage, and when to get medical intervention
• Understand the principles and recognize the benefits of harm reduction, learning techniques and practical strategies for both substance use and mental health
• Gain knowledge of client’s rights and confidentiality regarding substance use and ethical best practices
• Identify ways to deliver services to all individuals experiencing mental health or substance use crises

Dr. Stephanie Steinman, Ph.D., CSAC

Dr. Stephanie Steinman, Ph.D., CSAC, is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Psychiatry. She has been working for UW Health since 2006. She is the director of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) group program for UW Health. Dr. Steinman has facilitated DBT groups since 2004 working in residential and outpatient settings with both adolescents and adults presenting with a variety of concerns.

Dr. Steinman earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology and completed her internship at UW Madison. She has received the National Addictions Outstanding Clinician of the year. She lectures around the country about borderline personality disorder and treatment. Dr. Steinman is involved in direct patient care in both group and individual therapy and training of residents and psychology interns. Her specialties are Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Substance Use Disorder, Adolescents, women’s mental health and Mindfulness-based therapies.