Relationships Matter!

Learn what professionals need to know about the role of relationships in the lives of women with mental health and substance use issues.

Relationships Matter! is a webinar series on women's behavioral health that explores the role of relationships in the lives of women experiencing mental health and substance use issues. Relationships Matter! showcases the role that relationships play and offers concrete strategies to help women and girls understand, develop, mend, and maintain healthy relationships. The material presented aims to improve behavioral health services by preparing the workforce to better understand the pitfalls, promise, and power of relationships in women and girls’ mental health and substance use services.

SAMHSA created the Relationships Matter! series to:

Help practitioners who serve women with behavioral health problems understand and address the impacts that relationships have on women's treatment and recovery
Present relationship-specific interventions and approaches that work with women
Offer practical hands-on tools that a wide variety of practitioners may use to support women’s recovery

Earn 1.5 Continuing Education Hours (CEHs) while updating your knowledge about women’s behavioral health. National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) and National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) CEHs are available through the for Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network(link is external) Coordinating Office.

Download the webinar series flyer – 2017 (PDF | 757 KB).

Webinar Topics

Being Real: The Power of Authentic Therapeutic Relationships in Women’s Services

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST

No intervention is effective without having the foundational pieces of good clinical care in place. How do you build authentic rapport that generates the trust needed to facilitate healing?

This webinar kicks off the Relationships Matter! series with a look at the therapeutic relationships that help women engage in services and recovery. Learn why relationships matter, how to build trust and rapport, what strategies help define and create therapeutic alliance, and more.

Presenters:

Stephanie Covington, Ph.D., LCSW
Cathy Cave
Shannon B. Taitt, M.P.A. (co-moderator)
Deb Werner, M.A. (co-moderator)

Find more details about Being Real: The Power of Authentic Therapeutic Relationships in Women’s Services and register online(link is external).

#RelationshipGoals: Significant Others in Women’s Recovery

Thursday, March 9, 2017, 2:00–3:30 p.m. EST

Women’s substance use and mental health issues do not exist in isolation; women’s relationships and partners may facilitate or derail the recovery process. This webinar will explore the impact of behavioral health conditions on significant relationships; interventions that support positive outcomes for women, their partners, and their families; and considerations in service planning. Topics will include women’s intimate relationships and substance use, the role of relationships in women’s access to and engagement in behavioral health services, couple and family therapies for women’s substance use and co-occurring disorders, relationship dynamics and recovery, and special considerations in LGBTQ relationships.

Presenters:

Jeremiah Schumm, Ph.D.
Gail Wyatt, Ph.D.
Amy Mericle, Ph.D.
Deb Werner, M.A. (moderator)

Find more details about #RelationshipGoals: Significant Others in Women’s Recovery and to register online(link is external)

Finding Her Tribe: Women’s Relationships with Peers and Community

Tuesday, April 11, 2017, 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST

Recovery does not occur in isolation; as women heal, they connect or reconnect with others and community agencies. This helps establish a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging. Although good clinical staff are important, equally as powerful are peers who support, motivate, and model the power of recovery. Integrating peers creates footprints on the path to a life that can seem uncertain.

This webinar looks at the importance of inclusion and community relationship to women’s health and well-being. Topics include social inclusion, sense of community belonging and meaningful purpose, peer supports, mutual help and recovery communities, and others.

Presenters:

Lonnetta Albright
Tara Moseley
Deb Werner, M.A. (moderator)

Find more details about Finding Her Tribe: Women’s Relationships with Peers and Community and to register online(link is external).

Motherhood: What It Means for Women’s Recovery

Tuesday, May 9, 2017, 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST

For many women, caretaking—especially caretaking in motherhood—is their most defining and most meaningful role. Substance use and mental health problems may challenge a woman’s ability to effectively parent. Child welfare is often the entry point into behavioral health care. Many effective interventions and supports are available to support women, their children, and their families.

This webinar will discuss those interventions and supports, along with the importance of support for women who choose not to parent. Learn more about using motherhood as a pivot point to access help in substance use and mental health, incorporating family-centered approaches for women with behavioral health disorders and their children, meeting the needs of complex families, and more.

Presenters: