Chesapeake Life Center’s Emily Schindler lecture focuses on substance abuse

Chesapeake Life Center invites the community to the 12th annual Emily Schindler Memorial Lecture, “Navigating the Substance Abuse Continuum: Replacing Stigma through Understanding,” with presentations by D. Andrew Tompkins, M.D., M.H.S. and Susan Coale, LCSW-C. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at The Meeting House, 5885 Robert Oliver Place, in Columbia, Maryland

Participants will come away with increased understanding of the substance abuse landscape in our region as well as knowledge about ways to support grieving families. This highly acclaimed and clinically relevant workshop provides an opportunity for mental health professionals to improve on their therapeutic practice while earning up to three continuing education units.

Tompkins, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will be sharing his research on opioid use disorders and their treatment. Tompkins’ work has been published in many medical journals and periodicals and he is a frequent presenter concerning his primary area of research, which is to better understand how to treat pain in people with a history of substance abuse disorders.

Participants also will hear from Coale, Manager of Bereavement Counseling with Chesapeake Life Center. She will explore a variety of issues facing families suffering from substance abuse loss, such as feelings of guilt, questions of intentionality and the impact of potential years of struggle with addiction and mental health.

A discussion panel with members of Anne Arundel County’s overdose prevention initiative, Not My Child, will round out the half-day professional training.

The Emily Schindler Memorial Lecture was created in 2005 through a gift to the Schindler family from the Saint Agnes Cancer Center. Emily Schindler was an 18-year-old freshman at Frostburg State University and a member of the SPY swim team in Severna Park, Maryland, when she was tragically killed in a car accident in 2004.

The cost is $40. Parking is free. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and a light breakfast will be provided. Those who qualify can earn three Category I CEUs. Pre-registration is required and can be completed at http://www.hospicechesapeake.org/events-calendar/event/299-12th-annual-emily-schindler-memorial-lecture. Click the “Join” button. For details, call 888-501-7077.

About the presenters:

D. Andrew Tompkins, M.D., M.H.S., earned his medical degree in 2004 from New York Medical College before beginning his residency in Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is now Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has many studies published concerning his primary area of research, which is to better understand the experience, measurement and treatment of pain in people who have or have a history of substance abuse disorders. A member of the American Psychiatric Association since 2001, he has been a Fellow with the organization since 2015 and currently serves as Deputy Representative to the APA Assembly for the Caucus of Gay Lesbian and Bisexual Psychiatrists.

Susan Coale, LCSW-C, is the Manager of Bereavement Services for Chesapeake Life Center at Hospice of the Chesapeake with 30 years of experience. She provides individual and group counseling for grieving adults, children and families. She also provides clinical supervision for graduate students from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Loyola University. She is co-author of “Supporting Children

After a Suicide Loss: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers.”