Empowering Communities: MidSOUTH’s Training for Change in Child Welfare and Beyond
MidSOUTH is a training and education organization that equips practitioners, providers, and advocates with the essential tools to empower oppressed and vulnerable populations and make community-wide improvement through continuing education in the areas of child welfare, healthy families / family support, prevention, and addictions.
Upcoming Courses and Conferences
Explore our upcoming training opportunities. Select a course title to learn more and register.
| Course Title | Date |
|---|---|
2025 Peer Recovery Conference: Commitment to ExcellenceInstructor: 2025 Peer Recovery Conference: Commitment to Excellence Location: Benton Event Center Description: This conference has a limit of 300 participants, so register as soon as possible. Please ensure you will be available to attend before proceeding with registration. An optional Pre-Conference Ice Cream Mixer will take place from 6:00-9:00pm on August 26th at the Fairfield Inn in Benton, AR. Registration will be available during this time. An All-Recovery meeting will be held on Wednesday and Thursday morning from 7am-8am in the meeting room on the bottom floor of the Fairfield Inn. The Awards Banquet will take place from 6:00-9:00 on August 27th. This will include appetizers, annual Peer Support awards, dinner, and national speaker, Justin Volpe. Come ready to celebrate and dress to impress! Awards Banquet tickets will be available on a first-come-first-served basis upon registration (limit 2 per person). 14 continued education hours will be offered during the 2025 Peer Conference. For more information contact: Amanda.M.Vardaman@dhs.arkansas.gov, Casey.Copeland2@dhs.arkansas.gov, or mjkirchner@midsouth.ualr.edu Scholarship rooms have previously been awarded. Recipients of scholarship rooms must register for the conference to attend and receive their room. | 8/27/25 to 8/28/25 |
Relapse Prevention PlanningInstructor: Relapse Prevention Planning Location: Zoom Webinar | 8/14/25 to 8/14/25 |
Community ToolboxInstructor: Community Tool Box Location: Four Points by Sheraton Little Rock Description: Community Tool Box Training helps individuals take action, teach, and train others in organizing for community development. Participants will learn how to assess community needs and resources, address social determinants of health, engage stakeholders, create action plans, build leadership, improve cultural competency, plan an evaluation, and sustain prevention efforts over time. The Community Tool Box is a public service of the University of Kansas. It is maintained by the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. | 8/4/25 to 8/7/25 |
Implementation, Improvement, Sustanability and Coaching of the ASAM CriteriaInstructor: Implementation, Improvement, Sustanability and Coaching of the ASAM Criteria Location: Zoom Webinar Description: Important: - Full attendance and participation is required in all 5 sessions to receive full credit. Partial credit cannot be issued. - Participants are expected to have a solid foundation and understanding of the ASAM Criteria. - A registration survey will be linked on your registration confirmation. You must fill out the survey prior to the training start date. - All participants receive an in-depth electronic training journal to guide the training experience and as a resource for continuing skill application, as part of the training. This training is an evolution of a Training for Trainers model. The training goes beyond the single strategy and frequently ineffective belief that more trainers and training creates change. Although training and local expertise is an important component of implementation, it is commonly the only piece and is typically ineffective for implementation and sustainability. This training teaches the NIA Tx model for process improvement in conjunction with the ASAM Criteria Implementation Guide as a foundational, straightforward way to implement, improve and sustain fidelity to the ASAM Criteria. Focusing on the NIA Tx Five Principles, the training provides a science-based foundation for evolving a culture of continuous improvement within the organization, not only for The Criteria but for any improvement or implementation project, Trauma Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, CBT, Decreasing "no shows," EHR, Treatment Plan Quality, Documentation, etc. Each session takes place from 1:30pm to 3:30pm on the following dates: - Tuesday, July 29th - Friday, August 8th - Tuesday, August 12th - Tuesday, August 19th - Friday, August 29th | 7/29/25 to 8/29/25 |
Stimulant Use DisorderInstructor: Stimulant Use Disorder Location: Zoom Webinar Description: The increasing usage of synthetic stimulants has led to an escalating trend of mortality associated with stimulant use disorders. This session covers information from the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), evidence-based strategies, and standards of care to improve quality of care for individuals with Stimulant Use Disorder (StUD). The training reviews neurobiology and pharmacology of stimulant use disorders, harmful medical and psychiatric consequences, and evidence-based strategies for working with individuals, including interventions and observations. | 7/23/25 to 7/23/25 |
Neurobiology of Addiction/Substance Use DisorderInstructor: Neurobiology of Addiction/Substance Use Disorder Location: Zoom Webinar Description: The advances achieved in neurobiological research over the past several decades have transformed our understanding of addiction as a chronic disease of the brain and elucidated many of the key disruptions in neural pathways and neurotransmitter signaling that underlie the etiology, mechanisms, and clinical characteristics of addictive disorders. Facilitators will guide participants through the foundational neurobiological findings and concepts that have driven the new standards of care for the disease model of substance use disorder treatment and given shape to the changing recovery landscape, review the most recent research linking genetic mutations and epigenetic changes involved in the disease of the substance use disorder and the implications for future treatment and prevention strategies. The learner will gain an understanding of the relationship between the neurobiological and neurochemical disruptions that occur in substance use disorder and contextualize this knowledge as it pertains to characteristic behaviors common to substance use disorders, the subsequent clinical implications, and treatment strategies. Also, participants will gain a broaden understanding of substance use disorder as a chronic disease of the brain and increase awareness of the evidenced-based treatment guidelines and recommendations supporting the use of both medication and behavioral treatments in an individualized and patient-centered model of treatment. Objectives: - Identify how specific risk and protective factors contribute to the development and prevention of substance use disorders. - Summarize the primary neurobiological disruptions occurring in the three identified stages of the disease cycle of substance use disorders. - Discuss the neurobiological impact and adverse effects of specific addictive substances (drug classes). - Recognize common reinforcing properties of addictive substances, their impact in relationship to emotional responses, compulsivity, and executive functioning and their clinical implications in the treatment of substance use disorders. | 7/11/25 to 7/11/25 |
Trauma Informed Care - Substance Use and Co-occurring DisordersInstructor: Trauma-informed Care - Substance Use and Co-occurring Disorders Location: Zoom Webinar Description: Trauma Informed Care Approaches for Working with Individuals Experiencing Substance Use and Co-occurring Disorders introduces the relationship between traumatic experiences and development of substance use disorders. Learners will develop understanding and skills to use effective interventions with clients experiencing both conditions. Key topics include an overview of trauma across the lifespan, socioecological conceptualizations of early childhood trauma leading to later life judicial and medical impairments, and skills and strategies to intervene with clients who have co-occurring trauma and substance use disorders. The training also explores how organizations can implement different domains of trauma-informed care with little disruption to organizational policy. Objectives: Incorporate the SAMHSA six core values of trauma work. Discuss the connection between substance use and trauma. Identify examples of big T and little t stressors. Describe the major findings from the ACEs study relating childhood experience to substance use and mental health impairment. Demonstrate a technique for engaging clients from a trauma-informed approach. Describe the process and impact of trauma on cognition, emotional and physiological functioning. Identify a domain of trauma-informed care and how, organizationally, activating this domain enhances trauma care. | 7/10/25 to 7/10/25 |
Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) TrainingInstructor: Mindefulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (More) Training Location: UALR - Reynolds Business Building 450 Description: MORE is an evidence-based, transdiagnostic therapy that unites complementary aspects of mindfulness training, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and principles from positive psychology into an integrative treatment approach for addiction, stress, and chronic pain. MORE’s therapeutic effects have been demonstrated in 15 clinical trials, and the MORE research program has been supported by more than $90 million in federal research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. MORE was developed by translating fundamental discoveries from cognitive and affective neuroscience into therapeutic strategies that reduce addictive behavior, emotional distress, and chronic pain, while simultaneously increasing healthy pleasure, meaning in life, and self-transcendence. MORE has been shown to be nearly three times as effective as standard therapy for treating addiction and chronic pain. Also, adding MORE to standard addictions care led to a 42% greater reduction in relapse back to drug use and a 59% greater reduction in treatment dropout than standard addictions care without MORE. | 7/7/25 to 7/8/25 |
Print Your MidSOUTH Training Certificates
Access and print your training transcripts for all MidSOUTH programs by following these steps:
- Click the button below to visit the Training login page.
- Log in to the online registration system using your credentials.
- From the “My Account” menu, click History to view your completed trainings.
- Click on Certificates to view your completed trainings (you can sort by Course Code, Course Title, or End Date by clicking on the individual headings).
- Click on Get My Certificate next to the course you need and a .pdf will automatically generate in a new window that you can then download or print for your records.
*To request a training transcript for all of the courses you have completed, or for a specific date range, please email registration@midsouth.ualr.edu with the transcript criteria needed and one will be provided to you.