Learn and Earn Over Lunch Series

Thanks for being part of our community!

The Learn and Earn over Lunch series is an opportunity to earn free NBCC approved continuing education credits from outstanding trainers, while you eat lunch! Join us online (via Zoom) from noon to 1:00pm Pacific Time every month on the second Wednesday.

In addition, feel free to take a look at our other training offerings as well as employment opportunities at PDBTI!

Working With Interpreters in a Therapeutic Setting: How to Ensure Effective Communication with Clients That Speak Languages Other Than English

Immigrants in our communities are experiencing intense fear and trauma in the current political climate. Therapists have a responsibility to provide equitable care, regardless of language needs. This training will help therapists and admin staff learn when and how to request an interpreter for clients or clients’ family members who speak languages other than English in the home. We will go over legal responsibility for language access, cultural sensitivity and trust-building, and strategies for effective communication when working with interpreters.

Learning Objectives

By the conclusion of this event, participants will be able to:

1. Understand your legal obligations to provide meaningful language access 
2. Learn when and how to request an interpreter
3. Best practices for working with interpreters for optimal communication with clients

Instructor | Toby is bilingual in Spanish and English and has 15 years of experience working directly with monolingual Spanish speaking families and other immigrant communities. She was trained as an interpreter in her home state of Virginia and then went on to receive her master’s in social work from Portland State University. She spent the next eight years working as a bilingual Wraparound Care Coordinator and Coach for Multnomah and Washington Counties. From this experience, she became an expert at bringing teams together to come up with creative solutions to make sure children and families’ needs are met in a culturally and linguistically responsive way. In 2023, she became Washington County’s first Language Access Coordinator, working to increase compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ensure meaningful implementation of the County’s language access policy and procedures. In 2024 she began working at Oregon Health Authority to improve systems for requesting health care interpretation services. She now has a private practice in Portland as a child & family therapist. She is a founding member of Oregon’s Language Access Collaborative and continues to provide language access consultation and training.

A Primer on Understanding, Assessing, and Intervening During Acute Suicidal Crises

Suicide risk assessment and management are necessary components of clinical practice, given the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and elevated risk for suicide across nearly every psychiatric condition. Although a multitude of screening and assessment tools exist to identify the presence of suicidal ideation and quantify suicide risk more broadly, less attention has been paid to the emergence of rapid-onset acute suicidal crises. This workshop will provide a foundation for understanding, assessment, and intervention during acute suicidal crises. Specific topics will include: (1) an overview of background research focused on the phenomenology of acute suicidal crises and their precipitating factors, (2) real-world examples and approaches to the assessment of acute suicide risk, and (3) intervention strategies that can and should be incorporated to mitigate the risk of suicide during acute crisis states.

Learning Objectives

By the conclusion of this event, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the core features of an acute suicidal crisis. 
2. Select assessment tools that can be used to identify acute suicidal crises.
3. Identify empirically supported interventions that can be used to mitigate suicide risk during a suicidal crisis.

Instructor | Dr. Megan Rogers is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Texas State University. She completed her BA in Psychology at North Carolina State University, her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Florida State University, and her predoctoral clinical internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Rogers’s research primarily focuses on short-term transdiagnostic risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, with an emphasis on improving our understanding and assessment of acute suicidal crises. She is also interested in improving suicide risk assessment and management through leveraging indirect assessments and digital real-time interventions. To this end, she has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and led/contributed to numerous externally funded projects. In recognition of her early-career research contributions, Dr. Rogers was honored with the Association for Psychological Science’s Rising Star Award and the American Association of Suicidology’s Edwin S. Shneidman Award. In addition to her position as an Assistant Professor, Dr. Rogers serves as a co-chair of the Suicide Research Symposium.

Loneliness is a Behavior: How to Target Loneliness with Your Clients

Loneliness is a frequent problem raised in sessions for clients of all ages. It can plague people who spend a lot of time alone as well as those who are more surrounded by friends and family. It is often a “critical link” in a person’s pathway to high-risk behaviors, such as suicidal ideation or NSSI. But how do you help your clients who struggle with this when making more social connections is not enough?  

This lunch and learn training will discuss how to conceptualize loneliness with clients in ways that allow them to change their relationship with being alone. We will discuss how to incorporate DBT skills into your work to target loneliness that go beyond problem-solving. We will also discuss more difficult to treat loneliness that is often expressed as “existential loneliness” that clients report they have felt their whole lives.  

Learning Objectives  
By the conclusion of this event, participants will be able to:

1. Identify and behaviorally conceptualize the experience of loneliness
2. Identify at least 3 functions for the experience of loneliness 
3. Identify and utilize five interventions to help clients better manage their loneliness

Instructor | Dr. Stefanie Sugar is a clinical psychologist with a background in child-school psychology. She is the Executive Director and Founder of Behavioral Psych Studio, a group therapy practice that specializes in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other evidence-based practices. She has expertise in DBT for adults, children, teens, couples and families. She is trained in DBT-C, DBT-A, DBT-PE, and DBT for high-conflict couples and families. Additionally, Dr. Sugar has expertise in ERP for OCD and anxiety disorders as well as CPT for PTSD. She is also trained in several treatments for parents of children who are struggling with anxiety, behavioral issues, and/or mood disorders. Specifically, she is trained in Parent Management Training (PMT) as well as Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE). 

FREE CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT

Participants who attend an event in this series will earn one free continuing education credit, NBCC approved.

Portland DBT Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6326. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Portland DBT Institute is solely is responsible for all aspects of the programs.