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Saturday, October 23, 2010

8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

The Certified Medication Assisted Treatment
Advocate (CMA) Training Course

Walter Ginter, CMA, NAMA Recovery, New York, NY
Nicholas Reuter, MPH, SAMHSA/CSAT, Rockville, MD
Joycelyn Woods, MA , NAMA Recovery, New York, NY
Laura McNicholas, MD, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA
Richard Weisskopf, SOTA, Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Illinois Department of Human Services, Chicago, IL
Kerry Wolf, RN, NAMA Recovery, New York, NY

The leading advocate and recovery organization for medication assisted treatment, the National Alliance for Medication Assisted Treatment (NAMA Recovery), has developed this training, believing that professionals, patients and families of patients can come together to work for a better understanding of methadone and medication assisted treatment. Previous trainings have shown that participants – both professionals and patients – are equally empowered. Therefore we encourage both patients and non-patients to become Certified Medication Assisted Treatment Advocates (CMA). This training is designed for non-clinicians and provides a basic understanding of the physiology of addiction and the use of medications to treat it (i.e. methadone and buprenorphine). Regulations at the federal, state and local levels are explained in simple terms for non-policy makers.

With these goals in mind, the course presentation is constituted as follows:

Medication Assisted Treatment – Basic clinical information about methadone and buprenorphine treatment.

Addiction & Methadone – Current science about addiction in a language understandable to the non-clinician.

Regulations & Accreditation – Current regulations explained by the federal agency that oversees methadone and buprenorphine treatment.

State Opioid Treatment Authority (SOTA) – State regulations explained by the SOTA provide a view of working within state systems.

Hands On Advocacy – Basic tools to work as an advocate and how to manage simple issues that advocates are confronted with including educating patients about their rights, handling grievances, legal issues and working within communities to benefit patients and treatment.

Advocacy and The Media – Responding to negative media in newspapers, television, movies, etc. and writing response letters and letters to the editor.

Systems Advocacy – Using advocacy to change policy and working within state and federal systems to improve the rights of patients.

Certified Medication Assisted Treatment Advocate (CMA) – What is a Certified Medication Assisted Treatment Advocate, ethics of advocacy and the mechanism of certification and how it will professionalize those committed to advocacy.

Participants will come away with the initial tools for basic advocacy to grow and develop into successful advocates. The course involves eight hours of rigorous training and fulfills the training requirement for Certification as a Medication Assisted Treatment Advocate (CMA).

Candidates for certification must register with NAMA Recovery prior to the conference. There is a separate registration fee of $50.00 for the pre-conference event. The fee includes all materials, 2010/2011 membership in NAMA Recovery and the application for CMA. NAMA Recovery cannot guarantee a place to anyone not preregistered.

Lunch is not provided.

Registration information is available at: www.methadone.org/registration

doc. On site registration will be between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. outside of the session room at the hotel.

Sponsored by the National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery (NAMA Recovery).