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Assessment of Co-Occurring Disorders

Sunday, March 22nd, 2026   10:00 AM EDT -1:00 PM EDT
Glenn Maloney, MSW LICSW LADC C-DBT
$59.99

In our work, we often encounter people with mental health disorders that also struggle with symptoms of substance use disorders. The two together can be overwhelming to treat and difficult to diagnose.  This class looks at diagnosing co-occurring disorders in particular, approaching this from several perspectives in order to create a multi-dimensional understanding of co-occurring disorders.

It does this by reviewing the DSM-V-TR and cross-referencing it with the work of E. Morton Jellinek as well as the insight we all have into substance use disorders based on understanding these conditions as a family disease; while many clinicians, particularly new ones, can feel lost when it comes to understanding and treating substance use, it is likely that we all know people who struggle with this class of disorders.

About the Presenter

Glenn Maloney, he/they, is a psychotherapist, writer, and educator who lives in Duluth, Minnesota.  He received his undergraduate degree from  the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2002, with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Political Science. He earned a Masters of Social Work degree from the College of Saint Scholastica in 2016 and has been employed as a psychotherapist since.  He has worked in community mental health, college mental health, and at a co-occurring treatment center, Genesis Recovery Services, where he is currently employed part-time.  The rest of his time is spent in his own private practice, Most Excellent Psychotherapy, and in teaching, lecturing, and other academic pursuits.

In the past several years, Glenn has spent more and more time studying and presenting on the the uses of humor in the psychotherapy profession. This has included the publishing of his book “Finding the Humor in Psychotherapy: A Primer on the Clinical Art of Joking with Your Clients,” as well as speaking to and training literally thousands of mental health and human services professionals on the careful and meaningful use of humor as intervention in their work. Other professional highlights of this journey have included a trip to speak at UCLA in early May and being honored with the “Exemplary Leadership” award from the Minnesota Social Services Association District 3. He also speaks and teaches regularly about assessing and treating co-occurring disorders of mental illness and substance use. Glenn has also released a small book collecting some of his published poems, “Twelve Poems.”

Other than his vocational pursuits, Glenn loves traveling with his daughter and his partner.  Glenn also enjoys running and hiking, getting tattoos, camping, woodworking, and listening to hip hop, punk rock, and associated genres.  Glenn and his family live in a small home with a terrier and a beagle that generally don’t carry their own weight.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Define understandings of Substance Use Disorders and models of describing them.
  2. Describe and Consider the interplay between substance use and mental illness.
  3. Summarize personal experiences with substance use.

Agenda:

I. Types of Assessments (15 Minutes)

     A. Diagnostic Assessments for Mental Illness

     B. Comprehensive Assessments for Substance Use

          1. Rule 25's

          2. Other Assessments and assessment tools

II. Glenn's Two-Phase Assessment Model (20 Minutes)

     A. The Assessment Interview

          1. Ivey's approach to questioning

          2. Journalism and the 5 W's

     B. Assessment Writing Tips, Tricks, and Techniques (45 Minutes)

          1. Glenn's Ideas

          2. Writing for your supervisor

     C. Stages of Change and Assessing Them

III. Understanding Substance use and the interplay between SUD and MI (1 Hour)

     A. The DSM-V-TR

     B. Jellinek

     C. SUD as a family disease- guided discussion/breakout groups

     D. Kevin McCauley's Work

IV. Some intervention basics (20 Minutes)

     A. The Thanksgiving Metaphor

     B. Risk, Identifying Risk, Prioritizing Treatment

V. Multi-cultural approaches to Substance Use (20 Minutes)

     A. Dr. Carl Hart

     B. Portugal and other approaches to legalization

This workshop offers 3 Live Interactive Continuing Education Credits

This presentation is open to:
  • Social Workers
  • Professional Counselors
  • Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Licensed Mental Health Practitioners
  • Medical Doctors and Other Health Professionals
  • Other professionals interacting with populations engaged in mental health based services
Course Level: introductory
Level of Clinician: beginner
  • New practitioners who wish to gain enhanced insight surrounding the topic
  • Experienced practitioners who seek to increase and expand fundamental knowledge surrounding the subject matter
  • Advanced practitioners seeking to review concepts and reinforce practice skills and/or access additional consultation
  • Managers seeking to broaden micro and/or macro perspectives

Participants will receive their certificate electronically upon completion of the webinar and course evaluation form.

Disability Access - If you require ADA accommodations, please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification. Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often, and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling. The grievance policy for trainings provided by NEFESH INTERNATIONAL is available here Satisfactory Completion Participants must have paid the tuition fee, logged in and out each day, attended the entire workshop, and completed an evaluation to receive a certificate (If this is a pre-recorded program, a post-test with a passing grade of 80% to receive a certificate.) Failure to log in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates are available after satisfactory course completion by clicking here.
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
  • CE You! is an approved sponsor of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners for continuing education credits for licensed social workers in Maryland.
    CE You! maintains responsibility for this program.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0122.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0129.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0325.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0275.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0129.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0325.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0774.
Refund Policy:
Full Refund until 48 hours before scheduled date.
48 hours before: full refund less $5.00 processing fee. After event no refund will be given.
*exclusions apply for reasonable need and cause.