Link to Livestream: 
http://healthcare.partners.org/streaming/Live/PHS/2020_BehavioralHealthSymposium.html

Description

Feelings of isolation and despair are expected as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten our health, employment, education, and relationships. Disasters and times of fear and uncertainty have been linked to increases in the rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use, among other problems, and the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to follow the same path. Knowing how to cope with these ramifications of a pandemic is imperative for our physical and mental health.

During this presentation, Dr. Hilary Connery will discuss unhealthy drinking and increased SUD risk factors as a result of COVID, considering the “3 S’s in STRESS” mnemonic (CHANGES in sleep, substance use, and suicidal thoughts/planning) for assessment of the need for a brief intervention (medical and/or behavioral) or specialty referral. Dr. Mark Schechter will follow up with a discussion about suicide in the context of the global pandemic, focusing on patients’ subjective experience and the role of loneliness, aloneness and entrapment in driving suicidal behavior. He will discuss how to identify these emotional experiences and talk about them with patients. Dr. Schechter will discuss things that we can do to mitigate the risk of suicide in our patients and in our community

Agenda

1. Review unhealthy drinking and other patterns of problematic substance use (SUD) in the context of the pandemic
2. Review brief interventions for SUD, along with three S in stress
3. Suicidality and strategies for successful empathic listening
4. Brief review of programmatic resources available to support patients
5. Q&A Session

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this session participants will be able to:

1. Identify unhealthy drinking and other patterns of problematic substance use in the context of the pandemic.
2. Implement the “3 S’s in STRESS” mnemonic in practice.
3. Describe three emotional experiences that contribute to suicidality.
4. Identify two strategies that work and two strategies that do not work for successful empathic listening.

Target Audience 

This activity is intended for Primary Care Teams managing behavioral health (care managers/behavioral health support specialists, social workers, PCPs, psychiatric consultants).

Accreditation

Partners HealthCare System is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Partners HealthCare System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nursing

Course Director

Trina E. Chang, MD, MPH
Associate Medical Director for Behavioral Health Integration,
Quality and Patient Experience,
Mass General Brigham

Speakers

Hilary Connery MD, PhD
Clinical Director, Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital;
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Mark Schechter MD
Chair, Department of Psychiatry, North Shore Medical Center;
Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School;
Adjunct Instructor in Psychiatry, Tufts Medical School