Conference Program

Pre-Conference
November 3
November 4
November 5
Fundamentals
Download the Education Program »
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November 4, 2022

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Registration
8:00 a.m. – to 5:00 p.m.

Foyer

Exhibition Table Tops
8:30 a.m. – to 5:00 p.m.

Foyer

 Exhibitor tables will be staffed during meals and breaks.

Track 1
Track 2
Track 3

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

William Pascoe Room

CSAM-SMCA Committee meetings

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Adam Ballroom
Presentation of Lifetime Achievement Award

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Adam Ballroom
Keynote
What’s Next with the Opioid Crisis? Emerging from the Fog of the War on People Who Use Drugs
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10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Track 1

Terrace Lounge

Symposium

Safer Supply Prescribing in Canada

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Track 2

Batosche Room

Brief Presentations
Focus on Indigenous Communities
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Addiction Medicine Education
Learn More »
Track 3

William Pascoe Room

Workshop

Delivering Virtual Therapeutic Groups to Support Recovery

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12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch

Mentor Lunch

Trainees can connect with experts in the addiction medicine community to learn about clinical, administrative and research career opportunities.

Register for Optional Events »

1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

Track 1

Terrace Lounge

Symposium
Substance Use Care Innovations During COVID: Lessons Learned from the Provision of Comprehensive Care at COVID Isolation Sites in Eastern and Atlantic Canada
Learn More »
Track 2

Batosche Room

Workshop

Third Wave Psychotherapies: Use of ACT and DBT with Patients Who Use Drugs

Learn More »
Track 3

William Pascoe Room

Brief Presentations

Adolescent Substance Use

Learn More »

2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Break

2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Track 1

Terrace Lounge

Brief Presentations

Listening to and Learning from People With Lived Experience

Learn More »
Track 2

Batosche Room

Workshop

Substance Use and Psychotic Disorders: Diagnosis and Management

Learn More »
Track 3

William Pascoe Room

Symposium
CSAM-SMCA Policy Symposium
Learn More »

3:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Break

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Track 1

Batosche Room

Storytelling
Overcoming Systemic Barriers-the Story of One Remote First Nation Community
My Journey Back: a Harm Reduction Narrative
Hiding in Plain Sight
From Denial to Action: How One Woman’s Persistence Changed a 100-Year-Old Culture
Learn More »
Track 2

William Pascoe Room

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Improving Addiction Outcomes with Recovery Coaching: Connecting Proven Treatments with Evidence-Based Community Recovery

Learn More »
Track 3

Terrace lounge

Workshop

Motivational Interviewing: Introduction to Advanced for the Addiction Medicine Practitioner

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6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

An Evening At Remai Modern

Reconnect with your colleagues and peers at a semi-formal gala event at the spectacular Remai Modern Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Register for Optional Events »
Keynote

What’s Next with the Opioid Crisis? Emerging from the Fog of the War on People Who Use Drugs

Over 27,000 Canadians have died of illicit drug overdose since 2016, yet public debate continues to rage around safe supply, overdose prevention sites, and decriminalization. In this keynote address, law professor Benjamin Perrin will cut through the rhetoric and share why a compassionate, evidence-based approach is the most promising response to Canada’s ongoing opioid crisis.

Benjamin Perrin

Benjamin Perrin

Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC

Benjamin Perrin is a law professor at the University of British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law, specializing in criminal law and criminal justice. He is author of the national bestselling book Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada’s Opioid Crisis. He has served as lead criminal justice advisor and in-house legal counsel to the Prime Minister of Canada and a former law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Symposium

Safer Supply Prescribing in Canada: Research findings on implementation, program models and client outcomes

Safer supply programs have been implemented in several Canadian jurisdictions in an attempt to address the overdose crisis. This symposium will highlight emerging research on safer supply program models, implementation challenges and client outcomes in three Canadian provinces: B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

Health System Utilization Outcomes and Healthcare Costs Among Safer Opioid Supply Program Clients in London, Ontario: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Gillian Kolla, PhD, Banting Postdoctoral Researcher, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria
Tara Gomes, PhD, Scientist, Unity Health Toronto
Daniel McCormack, MSC, Epidemiologist, ICES
Andrea Sereda, MD, Physician, London Intercommunity Health Centre
Tonya Campbell, MPH, Research Program Manager, Unity Health Toronto

A three-year study conducted at a London, Ontario health centre found that people with OUD who were prescribed pharmaceutical opioids were less likely to visit the emergency room and required fewer inpatient hospitalizations. Healthcare costs also declined.

Prescribed Stimulant Safe Supply: Surveillance Data from the First Two Years of Implementation in British Columbia

Heather Palis, MSc, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia
Bin Zhao, MSc, Statistician, BCCDC
Brittany Barker, PhD, Scientist, Canadian Institute of Substance Use Research
Bohdan Nosyk, PhD, Associate Professor, St. Paul’s Hospital CANFAR Chair in HIV/AIDS Research | Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU
Bernie Pauly, RN, PhD, Professor, University of Victoria
Karen Urbanoski, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Victoria
Amanda Slaunwhite, PhD, Senior Scientist, BCCDC

Stimulants listed in British Columbia’s 2020 Risk Mitigation Guidance were dispensed to 1161 people over two years, accounting for roughly 3% of people diagnosed with stimulant use disorder in that province. Recipients were mostly men under 49, and most received low doses of methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine (under 60mg). The study concludes that there is significant need for expansion of a diverse range of safe stimulant supply options, prescribed at higher doses.

Promoting Safer Supply and Best Practices in Caring for People Who Use Drugs in the Context of Multiple Crises in Quebec

Marie-Ève Goyer, MD, MSc, CCMF (MT), University of Montreal

Learn about a unique Quebec-based community of practice that brings together physicians, pharmacists, nurses, managers and psychosocial workers to promote dialogue on safer supply. ESCODI — Équipe de soutien clinique et organisationnel en dépendance et itinérance — has also produced clinical guides for prescribers and explanatory videos and tools.

Risk Mitigation Prescribing in BC During Dual Health Emergencies: A Population-Based Study of Outcomes

Karen Urbanoski, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Victoria
Amanda Slaunwhite, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
Thea Van Roode, PhD, Research Associate, University of Victoria
Katherine Hogan, BSc, Research Assistant, University of Victoria
Heather Palis, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia
Bohdan Nosyk, PhD, Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University

A recent study found that opioids and stimulants prescribed in accordance with British Columbia’s 2020 Risk Mitigation Guidance had no statistically significant impact on all-cause mortality or drug-related acute care visits in the six months after implementation. Prescription opioids and stimulants were associated with a significant decline in self-reported depression, with no significant effects on other self-reported outcomes including the use of unregulated substances, anxiety, quality of life, or reliance on criminalized income sources.

This Ever-Increasing Acuity, This Ever-Increasing Need: Safer Opioid Supply Program Stakeholder Accounts of Implementation and Admission Priorities

Adrian Guta, PhD, MSW, RSW, Associate Professor, University of Windsor
Rose A. Schmidt, MPH, PhD(c), PhD Student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
David Kryszajtys, PhD(c), PhD Student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Melissa Perri, MPH, PhD Student, University of Toronto
Katherine Rudzinski, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Windsor
Gillian Kolla, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Victoria

Researchers interviewed 27 front-line addiction medicine professionals about their experience implementing safer opioid supply programs at four Ontario health centres. Interviewees included prescribing physicians and nurse practitioners, nurses, allied professionals and pharmacists. Participants spoke positively about safer supply but recognized the limitations of the model as currently offered in Ontario. Researchers concluded there is a need to expand access to SSPs and to pursue additional clinical and policy options.

Climbing the Staircase: Implementation and Impacts of a Province-Wide Safer Supply Program in British Columbia, Canada

Brittany Barker, PhD, Scientist, Canadian Institute of Substance Use Research
Marion Selfridge, PhD, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Victoria
Alexa Norton, MA, Research Associate, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria
Shawn Wood, Peer Research Associate (LLEAFF), BC Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors
Phoenix Beck McGreevy, Peer Research Associate (LLEAFF)
Celeste Macevicius, BA, Research Assistant, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research
Abby Hutchison, Research Assistant, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research
Bernie Pauly, Scientist, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research

Researchers interviewed 75 people who use drugs (PWUD) to assess the impacts of British Columbia’s decision to approve the prescribing of a safer supply (PSS). They found inequitable implementation of PSS and, where implementation did occur, multiple steps to access including finding a willing prescriber, inadequate dosing and stigma. PWUD who were able to access PSS reported increased health, wellness and stability with reduced overdose risk and reliance on illicit markets.

Brief Presentations

Focus on Indigenous Communities

Opioid Agonist Therapy: An Indigenous-Led, Community-Based Approach in Red Sucker Lake First Nation, Manitoba

Eve Neral, Research and Evaluation Coordinator | Four Arrows Regional Health Authority
Erin Knight, MD, CCFP(AM), ISAM (Certification)

Red Sucker Lake is a remote Indigenous community in northern Manitoba. During the pandemic, a small number of community members were started on opioid agonist therapy (OAT) using long-acting injectable buprenorphine. When travel restrictions prevented them from visiting Winnipeg for care, there was an urgent need to establish a sustainable care plan for providing OAT directly in the community. The Four Arrows Regional Health Authority responded with a unique and groundbreaking program that provides in-community care that allows patients to remain connected to their support networks and rehabilitate back into their roles as healthy community members, all while receiving life-saving treatment.

A Scoping Review of School-Based Indigenous Substance Use Prevention in Preteens

Olubunmi Okunola, BSN, University of Saskatchewan
Jordan Sherstobitoff, Research Assistant, University of Saskatchewan
Goeffrey Maina, RN PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan

This scoping review explored the current literature examining school-based substance use prevention programmes for Indigenous children aged seven to 13. It concludes that culturally relevant preventative programmes that integrate indigenous knowledge and ways of being have the potential to increase programme efficacy and sustainability. Moreover, Indigenous communities are best suited to facilitate culturally tailored substance use prevention while integrating evidence-based practices.

First Nations Virtual Substance Use and Psychiatry Service: Expanding Access to Culturally Safe Substance Use Medicine for BC

Edward Rooke, Physician, FNHA
Rebecca Howse, MD, CCFP, Physician

Learn about a virtual program designed to improve access to substance use consultations for Indigenous people in British Columbia. Created by the First Nations Health Authority, the service provides culturally safe, humble and trauma-informed substance use consultations to any B.C. resident associated with an Indigenous community. In addition to traditional tools in substance use medicine, the service can provide risk mitigation psychoactive medicine to help keep clients safe and reduce exposure to the toxic supply of illicit opioids, stimulants and benzodiazepines.

Brief Presentations

Addiction Medicine Education

The Saskatchewan Roadshow

Nicole Bootsman, BSc(Hons), BSP, Pharmacist Manager, Prescription Review Program & Opioid Agonist Therapy Program, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan
Morris Markentin, MD, CCFP, FCFP, Clinical Manager, Opioid Agonist Therapy Program, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan

In 2018, there were 81 approved OAT physician providers in Saskatchewan and today, there are 155. Learn how the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan pivoted from in-person to virtual OAT training during the pandemic, which reduced costs by nearly 50% and significantly increased the number of physicians approved to prescribe OAT in the province.

Perinatal Substance Use Education: Co-Creating the SafeCare Apprenticeship Program

Kate McBride, RN, MSN, Leader, Clinical Education and Special Projects, Provincial Perinatal Substance Use Project

Pregnant and newly parenting individuals who use substances face many barriers to equitable, trauma-informed, culturally safe care. Stigma around substance use during pregnancy, combined with fear of disclosure due to child welfare and legal repercussions, compound the situation. This presentation will describe the development and launch of a program designed to provide education and training for perinatal care practitioners working with individuals who use substances. The SafeCare Level I online course was launched in March 2021, and has since had over 800 registrants. SafeCare Level II is in development.

Workshop

Delivering Virtual Therapeutic Groups to Support Recovery

Michelle Sanderson, BA, Community Support Counselor/Addiction Specialist, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Daniel Botham, OT (Reg.) Ont., Mental Health Worker, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Jennifer Brasch, MD, FRCPC, FCPA, Psychiatrist, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Christine Squires, CSC – AS, Community Support Worker, Addiction Specialist, St. Joesph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Meghan Blad, Community Support Counsellor, Addictions Specialist, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Victoria Kay, BA, Concurrent Disorders Intern, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

In order to continue supporting patients during the pandemic, The Concurrent Disorders Outpatient Service at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton pivoted from in person drop-in groups to on-line drop-in therapeutic groups. In this workshop, presenters will describe the development of the drop-in group program and how groups are integrated into their care plans for patients. They’ll share the content of evidence-based drop-in therapeutic groups, and do a brief role play of one of their motivational enhancement sessions. Finally, they will explore the benefits and drawbacks to virtual drop-in groups and involve participants in exploring advantages and barriers to using evidence-based virtual therapeutic groups in their own programs and clinics.

Symposium

Substance Use Care Innovations During COVID: Lessons Learned from the Provision of Comprehensive Care at COVID Isolation Sites in Eastern and Atlantic Canada

Gillian Kolla, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Victoria
Kate Hayman, MD, MPH, FRCPC, Emergency Physician, University Health Network, University of Toronto

This symposium will explore learnings from harm reduction and clinical substance use services that were developed by multidisciplinary teams in Halifax, Hamilton and Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the models differed in structure and setting, all of them served people experiencing homelessness, staying in shelters or living in encampments and included embedded, comprehensive substance use services grounded in a harm reduction philosophy of care.

Evaluation of an Emergency Safe Supply Drugs and Managed Alcohol Program in COVID-19 Isolation Hotel Shelters for people Experiencing Homelessness in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Thomas Brothers, MD CISAM, Resident physician, Dalhousie University
Malcolm Leaman, MMASc, Graduate student, North End Community Health Centre
Matthew Bonn, Program Manager, Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs (CAPUD)
Dan Lewer, PhD, Research fellow, University College London
Amy Gillis, MD, Physician, Dalhousie University
Michael Gniewek, MD, Physician, North End Community Health Centre
Leisha Hawker, MD, Physician, North End Community Health Centre
Heather Hayman, NP, Nurse Practitioner, North End Community Health Centre
David Martell, MD, Physician, Direction 180
Helen Rivers-Bowerman, RN, Registered Nurse, North End Community Health Centre
Leah Genge, MD, Physician, North End Community Health Centre

During a COVID-19 outbreak in the congregate shelter system in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a healthcare team facilitated isolation in hotel shelters by providing medications and alcohol to residents who use these substances. During 1,059 person-days, there were zero overdoses and few documented concerns regarding intoxication and medication diversion. The study concludes that COVID-19 isolation hotel residents participating in an emergency safe supply and managed alcohol program experienced high rates of successful completion of 14 days isolation and low rates of adverse events.

Provision of Comprehensive Substance Use Services at the Toronto COVID-19 Isolation and Recovery Site: Evaluation Findings and Learnings for the Shelter and Healthcare System

Gillian Kolla, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Victoria
Fiqir Worku, BSc, Policy Analyst, Health Canada
Cathy Long, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, St. Michael’s Hospital
Raphaela Fagundes, Harm Reduction Coordinator, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre
Eileen Hannan, Harm Reduction Worker, The Neighbourhood Group
Kris Norris, MPH, Research Coordinator, Unity Health Toronto
Michelle Firestone, PhD, Research Scientist, Unity Health Toronto
Gab Laurence, Manager of Harm Reduction Services, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre
Kate Hayman, MD, MPH, FRCPC, Emergency Physician | University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Toronto led to the need to establish spaces for isolation for people experiencing homelessness who were either exposed to, showing symptoms of, or diagnosed with COVID-19. In response, community agencies and the City of Toronto collaborated to begin offering COVID-19 isolation and recovery sites (CIRS). The extent of the integration of the services offered and their delivery within a residential setting was effective in facilitating COVID-19 related isolation for clients. This integrated model for service delivery also helped to prevent overdose-related deaths and provides a model for the provision of comprehensive services for people who use drugs in both shelter and hospital-based environments.

Pop-Up Integrated Safer Use Space and Safer Supply Program in an Emergency Shelter During a COVID-19 Outbreak: A Case Study

Claire Bodkin, MD, CCFP, Family Physician, Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team (HAMSMaRT)
Tim O’Shea, MD, FRCPC, MPH, Infectious Diseases Physician, Infectious Diseases Physician
Suzanne Turner, MD, MBS, CCFP, Family Physician, McMaster University
Marcie McIlveen, Program Manager, HAMSMaRT

In February 2021, a COVID-19 outbreak was declared in a 92-bed emergency adult men’s shelter for people deprived of housing in Hamilton, Ontario. This shelter had an abstinence-based approach to substance use. Building on pre-existing relationships, community and hospital-based addictions medicine providers and a local harm reduction group collaborated to rapidly establish a shelter-based opioid agonist treatment and safer supply program, and a volunteer-run safer drug use space that also distributed harm reduction supplies. The program operated for 26 days, and saw 129 unique visits or approximately 5 visits per day. The program ended as the outbreak waned and the shelter returned to an abstinence-based approach.

In the 4 weeks preceding the program, the rate of non-fatal overdoses was 0.93 per 100 nights of shelter bed occupancy. During the 26 days of program operation, there were no overdoses in the safer use space and the rate of non-fatal overdoses in the shelter was 0.17 per 100 nights of shelter bed occupancy. A service user died of a fatal overdose at the shelter the week after the program closed.

Workshop

Third Wave Psychotherapies: Use of ACT and DBT with Patients Who Use Drugs

Wiplove Lamba, Psychiatrist, University of Toronto
Vincent Lam, Medical Director, Coderix

Evidence increasingly suggests that “third wave” psychotherapies traditionally used to treat mental illness can also help people who use drugs. In this workshop, two practitioners/educators will briefly review the evidence for using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) in working with people who use drugs. Attendees will take part in experiential exercises where they can learn and practice the skills introduced during the workshop.

Brief Presentations

Adolescent Substance use

Identifying How to Best Engage Young-Adult Cannabis Consumers With Information About Safe Cannabis Consumption Practices

Daniel Bear, PhD, Professor, Humber College
Ashley Hosker-Field, PhD, Professor, Humber College

Learn about a mixed-methods research project designed to support the development of an evidence-based approach to public education on cannabis use. Researchers surveyed 1,600 cannabis consumers aged 18-30 and conducted 14 focus groups, then leveraged their findings to develop a public education campaign called Weed Out Misinformation.

Exploring Family-Based Immigrant Youth Substance Use Prevention Programs: A Scoping Review

Yiyan Li, PhD, Postdoc Researcher, Canadian Critical Care Trials Group
Geoffrey Maina, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Saskatchewan
Yiting Fang, Student, University of Saskatchewan
Ghazal Mousavian, Student, University of Saskatchewan
Mamata Pandey, PhD, Research Scientist, Saskatchewan Health Authority
Jonathan Amoyaw, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University

A scoping review of existing literature found that family-based interventions for substance use prevention can effectively prevent substance use among immigrant youth if they consider norms, values and beliefs from parents’ culture of origins, or emphasize parents’ engagement.

Step-by-Step: A Youth-Informed Guide to Opioid Agonist Treatment

Christina Katan, MPH, Knowledge Broker, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction
Dr. Kirsten Marchand, PhD, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Foundry, Providence Health Care
Dr. Skye Pamela Barbic, PhD, Reg. O.T.(BC), Director of Research, Foundry, Providence Health Care
Matthew Piercy, Youth Peer Support Coordinator, Foundry, Vancouver BC

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction worked with Foundry Central Office in British Columbia to develop a unique video series called Step by Step: A Youth-Informed Guide to OAT. The content for the guide was informed by five rounds of qualitative data collected with youth, service providers and subject matter experts. The evidence-informed series was completed in 2022, centering youth voices to educate and empower young people who may benefit from accessing this potentially life-saving intervention.

Substance Use and Adolescent Brains

Rand Teed, B.A., B.Ed., ICPS, CCAC, Director | Drug Class

In this session, participants will learn how both substance use and screen time dysregulate the reward system and activate the stress response system, creating a negative affect spiral. Attendees will also learn about the importance of educating patients and parents on what is happening to the brain, along with practices and programs — such as exercise and mindfulness — that can help reduce the negative affect.

Brief Presentations

Listening to and Learning from People With Lived Experience

The Alex Street Team: Bringing Lived and Living Experience to the Forefront of Addictions Outreach Work

Sebastian Benavides, BA, BSW, RSW, Team Lead, Mental Health and Addictions Outreach, The Alex Community Health Centre
James Quigley, RSW, Mental Health and Addictions Outreach Worker, The Alex Community Health Centre
David Fraser, Peer Support Worker, The Alex Community Health Centre

The Alex Street Team is an addictions focused outreach program that seeks to reduce barriers and streamline access to recovery services in Calgary. The team uses a model of service delivery that places lived experience of addiction and recovery at the front of client engagement and relationship building. This outreach team includes experienced social workers who work in tandem with Peer Support Workers who bring lived experiences of homelessness, addiction, mental health, and recovery. Together, these roles complement each other in the field, where Peer Support staff work to break down stigma and engage authentically with street-connected individuals who struggle to access mainstream recovery services.

Forming a Cohesive Therapeutic Community: The TWC Peer-Based Model

Tyler Craig, BA, Grant Coordinator, Together We Can Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education Society

Together We Can Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education Society (TWC) is the largest substance abuse treatment centre in British Columbia. In this presentation, participants will learn how a peer-based, mutually supportive recovery community within a treatment centre allows for robust, empathy-based care for clients. Participants will also learn how transitional housing can support effective treatment outcomes when paired with continuing care that is delivered by both professionals and peers.

The Importance of Lived Experience in Addiction Medicine: Engaging the Lived Experience Advisory Group in Opioid-Related Research in Ontario

Dana Shearer, MA, Knowledge Translation Broker, Ontario Drug Policy Research Network
Charlotte Munro, Person with Lived Experience, Ontario Drug Policy Research Network

Engaging people with lived experience throughout the research process is a feasible and effective way to ensure that addiction medicine research is relevant, impactful, and has clear implications for policy, the public, and future research. In this session, participants will learn about the development and impact of the Ontario Opioid Drug Observatory (OODO) Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG). Established in 2017, the LEAG supports the Observatory by ensuring the relevance of opioid-related research from the perspective of people with lived experience, providing interpretation and contextualization of research findings, and advising on dissemination strategies. Presenters will discuss the impact of these contributions and explore lessons learned.

Lived Experience on a Clinical Team: Process, Engagement, Wins, Pitfalls

Jean-Paul Michael, Harm Reduction Educator, Unity Health Toronto
Wiplove Lamba, Psychiatrist, University of Toronto

Historically, people with lived experience were rarely included as part of a clinical team. At an urban medical centre, the inclusion of peer support workers with lived experience has resulted in improved engagement with challenging patients. The presentation will include clinical examples a discussion of concurrent challenges, and strategies to integrated people with lived experience into clinical teams.

Measuring Risk, Resilience, Motivation, and Harm Reduction: A Peer Recovery and Community Outreach Project

Joyce Ann McGinn, OTR/L, GCFP, COO, Compris, Inc.
Calvin McGinn, PhD, LMFT, RN, Principal Researcher, Compris, Inc.

Compris is an online substance addiction assessment tool that provides addiction diagnostics and risk stratification consistent with a chronic illness treatment paradigm. Using 13,000 machine learning algorithms, it collects risk and resilience factors, DSM-5 and HSI illness diagnostics, motivation, denial, and self-reported readiness and translates them into a prevention, treatment, and long-term addiction management guide.

In this presentation, the founders of the company that developed Compris will introduce the tool, explore related research, and discuss partnerships with organizations that work with people who use drugs and people who are experiencing homelessness.

Workshop

Substance Use and Psychotic Disorders: Diagnosis and Management

David Crockford, MD, FRCPC, DABPN, CCSAM, FCPA, DFAPA, Clinical Professor, University of Calgary

Psychosis and substance use disorders (SUD) frequently co-occur in clinical practice. In this session, attendees will learn how to evaluate patients, develop skills in performing brief interventions, and choose best treatments tailored for patients with psychosis and substance use disorders. Attendees will also learn how to distinguish primary psychoses from substance-induced psychoses.

Symposium

CSAM-SMCA Policy Symposium

David Martell, BSc, MD, CCFP (AM), FCFP, CSAM (Certificant), ISAM (Certification)

Presented by CSAM-SMCA Policy Committee Chair and President Elect Dr. David Martell, this 90-minute symposium will feature three separate, interactive sessions that highlight key pieces of policy work the committee has completed over the past two years. The first session will be a review of the committee’s revision of Choosing Wisely recommendations. The second will feature collaboration with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada to review substance use guidelines through the reproductive span. The last will be a brief review and guided conversation on addiction treatment in hospital settings, a key partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Storytelling

Overcoming Systemic Barriers: The Story of One Remote First Nation Community

Joanna Lynch, MD, CCFP(AM), FCFP, Family and Addictions Medicine, University of Manitoba
Heather Monias, LPN, Nurse Case Manager, Four Arrows Regional Health Authority,
Kirsty Muller, RN, BN, Nurse Case Manager, OAT Program, Four Arrows Regional Health Authority

This storytelling session will draw upon oral tradition to relay the journey of partnering with community and overcoming systemic obstacles to successfully provide addiction care in a remote First Nation community. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect on how their own practice environment could be leveraged to improve access to services for Indigenous people, and leave with new strategies for overcoming barriers.

My Journey Back: A Harm Reduction Narrative

Jean-Paul Michael, Harm Reduction Educator, St. Michael’s Hospital

Jean-Paul Michael was a spectacularly successful entrepreneur whose career imploded when he started using methamphetamine. Addiction led to homelessness, criminality and serious illness: he was admitted to the ICU eight times and spent 32 months on the Crime Stoppers Most Wanted List. After seven years of daily use, he had an inoperable heart infection and was battling HIV pneumonia. Things were about to turn around, though, thanks to an unconventional intervention from a very unconventional worker.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Darrin Taylor, BA MTC CCAC CIP, National Director of Business Development, EHN Canada

Darrin Taylor started drinking at 14 and by his mid-30s he was leading a double life as a reputable businessman by day and drug-seeking, binge drinking picture of despair each evening. At 38 years of age, he became homeless after his wife asked him to leave. Suicidal, broke and desperate, he finally sought treatment. In this storytelling session, he asks an uncomfortable question: Why didn’t anyone see his problem and intervene?

From Denial to Action: How One Woman's Persistence Changed a 100-Year-Old Culture

Nadine Wentzell, BSc(Pharm), PhC, MAdEd, Workplace Drug, Alcohol and Cannabis Consultant, Workplace Drug, Alcohol and Cannabis Consultant

One of the key areas that remains elusive in the field of addiction medicine is how to engage employers. They’re frequently the missing cog and often on the periphery, if considered at all, in the complicated equation of managing an individual’s substance use. Learn how one woman spearheaded an initiative to implement a fluid and dynamic program to manage substance use in an industry rife with acceptance of drug and alcohol use, making inroads in a culture that has been “stuck” for over 100 years.

Special Presentation

Improving Addiction Outcomes with Recovery Coaching: Connecting Proven Treatments with Evidence-Based Community Recovery

Raymond Baker, MD, FCFP, FASAM, Recovery Medicine Consultant, RB Recovery Consultations Inc.

Recovery Coaching evolved as a specialized adaptation to other forms of coaching over 30 years of theoretical development, clinical experience and research. Recovery Coach roles and competencies are unique and complementary to treatment providers, counsellors or mutual support group peer support workers. Recovery Coaching bridges gaps between those in urgent need of help and professional addiction services, and between the system of care and recovery-supporting community resources to build recovery capital and enhanced rates of long-term remission and recovery.

This session will review definitions and descriptions of recovery coaching, recovery capital and recovery management. It will explore the integration of coaching into a more comprehensive recovery-oriented system of care and current activities to improve standardization and quality assurance in this new designation.

Workshop

Motivational Interviewing: Introduction to Advanced for the Addiction Medicine Practitioner

Wiplove Lamba, Psychiatrist, University of Toronto

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an approach to behaviour change designed to strengthen personal motivation for and commitment to a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person’s own reasons for change, within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. This workshop will provide a brief overview of MI with a specific focus on applications to addiction medicine practice. Presenters will explore theoretical components including the spirit, principles, and foundational processes of MI, and participants will leave with specific tools and techniques that they can apply in clinical care as well as strategies that can help colleagues pick up the skill.