The relationship between substance use disorders and schizophrenia has long intrigued mental health researchers and clinicians. When individuals develop psychosis in the context of substance use, what does that tell us in terms of etiopathophysiology and likely prognosis and outcome? How does one differentiate schizophrenia from substance-induced psychotic disorder? What are the treatment and prognostic implications of that distinction? In this presentation, the above questions will be addressed and clinical characteristics that enable differential diagnosis will be outlined. 

This presentation will focus on common errors and best practices when using long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs). Key topics covered include: LAI Kinetics: The importance of understanding the kinetics of different LAI agents and which ones require loading injections or oral coverage. Combination Treatment: Detailed guidance on which oral or injectable agents can be combined. The presentation emphasizes that partial agonists like LAI aripiprazole have high D2 receptor affinity and should not be used in combination with other D2 antagonist LAIs. Specific Recommendations: For LAI aripiprazole, the presentation suggests adding oral xanomeline-trospium (XT) or clozapine. For other agents like LAI risperidone or paliperidone, it advises against combination LAIs and instead suggests either a dose increase of the oral agent or adding XT or clozapine. First-Generation Antipsychotics (FGAs): The presentation highlights that FGAs, such as haloperidol decanoate, still have a role in treatment and provides a simple conversion formula from oral to injectable doses. 

Despite advances in pharmacological and psychosocial interventions, many patients with schizophrenia continue to experience persistent symptoms, functional impairment, and reduced quality of life. This session will review evidence-based management strategies for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, including optimizing antipsychotic therapy, addressing adherence challenges, and evaluating augmentation. Dr. Christoph Correll will draw upon clinical trial data, meta-analyses, and real-world evidence to highlight practical approaches for improving long-term outcomes. 

This session will review novel pharmacological agents and mechanisms of action recently approved or in late-stage development for schizophrenia. Learners will gain insights into efficacy, safety, and tolerability data, as well as practical considerations for incorporating these latest and evidence-based therapies into individualized treatment plans. 

This presentation will include a high-level review of diagnostic criteria in addition to clinical implications for personality disorders and psychosis with a focus on Borderline Personality and Psychosis. Engagement and therapeutic interventions will be explored and discussed through real-time clinical case examples with audience participation.

Understanding the Patient is an interactive one-hour webinar in the SMI Essentials series for state hospital staff. Through real patient stories and case examples, participants will step into the lived experience of serious mental illness—especially for individuals in forensic settings. The session sheds light on the impact of trauma, homelessness, and system barriers on engagement and recovery, helping staff see the person behind the illness. Together, we’ll explore how purpose, connection, and respect can spark motivation and hope, even for justice-involved individuals early in recovery. Participants will leave with practical, trauma-informed strategies to build trust, promote dignity, and inspire healing in everyday care.

This session provides practical communication strategies for defusing tense situations while maintaining safety and dignity for both staff and clients. Participants will also explore how burnout shows up in high-stress environments and identify personal, team-based, and supervisory approaches to prevention. Emphasis will be placed on “setting yourself up for success” by developing realistic daily habits that promote resilience before, during, and after shifts. Through roleplay, reflection, and peer sharing, participants will gain tools to stay calm under pressure and sustain themselves in challenging work.

This webinar will provide a practical framework for the recognition and assessment of drug-induced movement disorders (also known as extrapyramidal symptoms) associated with antipsychotic and other dopamine-modifying therapies.

In this webinar, participants will review the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of common drug-induced movement disorder subtypes—including acute dystonia, akathisia, drug-induced parkinsonism, and tardive dyskinesia. Following this webinar on January 20, 2026 at 12 PT, the speakers will host an interactive workshop to practice what was learned in this webinar. This includes applying assessment tools, detecting and monitoring, case discussions and using validated rating scales.

Over the course of both Part 1 and Part 2, learners will strengthen their ability to identify, document, and communicate drug-induced movement disorder findings to optimize patient care and medication safety.

This session provides a strong foundation in Motivational Interviewing (MI) for clinicians working with individuals in forensic settings. Participants will explore how the MI Spirit of partnership, acceptance, compassion, and evocation guides effective communication even in mandated or high-resistance environments. The session also introduces the Stages of Change model and teaches participants how to assess a patient’s level of readiness, particularly when motivation is inconsistent or obscured by challenging behaviors. A focus will be on using MI to build engagement during brief interactions, such as on busy inpatient units or in fast-paced restorative programming. Through practical demonstrations and structured exercises, clinicians will learn how to reduce defensiveness, enhance rapport, and create openings for meaningful dialogue, even when patients appear shut down, oppositional, or disengaged. 

This is a follow-up to “Seeing Beyond the Shake: Drug-Induced Movement Disorders in Focus” which provides a practical framework for the recognition and assessment of drug-induced movement disorders (also known as extrapyramidal symptoms) associated with antipsychotic and other dopamine-modifying therapies. In this interactive workshop, participants will apply structured assessment tools to enhance detection and monitoring in clinical practice through case-based examples and demonstration of validated rating scales. Learners will strengthen their ability to identify, document, and communicate drug-induced movement disorder findings to optimize patient care and medication safety.

This skill-building session focuses on applying core MI strategies to effectively navigate ambivalence and challenging behaviors in forensic settings. Participants will learn how to use values-based conversations to uncover what matters most to patients, particularly when external pressures (such as court involvement or hospitalization) dominate the treatment environment. The session also provides in-depth training on OARS (Open Questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summaries) with an emphasis on maintaining safety, clarity, and therapeutic alignment in secure or structured settings. Additionally, participants will learn to use the Elicit–Provide–Elicit approach to offer psychoeducation in a way that respects autonomy and minimizes resistance. Through interactive role plays and guided practice, clinicians will strengthen their confidence in using MI techniques to promote engagement, reduce oppositional responses, and support progress toward treatment and competency-related goals. 

Throughout this webinar, we will focus on applying best practices in crisis de-escalation. By the end, you will understand how your presence and actions impact a crisis situation; be able to identify the unique wants and needs of the individual experiencing the crisis; and learn how to use the environment strategically to reduce potential risks and promote safety. 

This session helps clinicians refine their Motivational Interviewing skills for situations involving ambivalence, avoidance, and challenging interpersonal dynamics. Participants will learn how to elicit, amplify, and strengthen change talk using the DARN framework (Desire, Ability, Reasons, Need), and how to help clients develop personally meaningful reasons for change even when participation is mandated. The session will also cover practical, non-confrontational methods for rolling with resistance including responding to defensiveness, disengagement, and oppositional statements while preserving rapport and therapeutic momentum. Through integrated practice scenarios that mirror real-world forensic interactions, participants will learn to apply advanced MI techniques to enhance motivation, reduce behavioral escalation, and support patients’ movement toward treatment participation and competency-related goals. 

This training is designed to equip healthcare and support staff with practical, evidence-based skills to safely and effectively de-escalate patient behavior following a crisis event. Emphasis is placed on restoring safety, rebuilding therapeutic rapport, and preventing re-escalation while supporting patient dignity and emotional regulation. 

Participants will learn to recognize post-crisis emotional and behavioral cues, apply trauma-informed communication strategies, and implement structured de-escalation techniques tailored to individual patient needs. The training also addresses staff self-regulation, reflective practice, and team communication to reduce burnout and improve overall care outcomes. 

Through interactive discussion, case scenarios, and skill-based practice, participants will strengthen their confidence in managing post-crisis interactions, supporting patient recovery, and contributing to a safer, more therapeutic care environment. 

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This webinar provides a practical overview of co-regulation and orientation as vital tools for emotional and nervous system regulation, particularly in therapeutic or supportive relationships. Co-regulation is the process where one person provides a calm, regulated presence to help another person’s nervous system return to a feeling of balance, often using attunement like a gentle tone or secure presence. Orientation involves drawing attention to the present, external world using the senses to ground the individual and interrupt states of overwhelm, stress, or flashback, thereby shifting their focus away from internal distress toward objective safety and reality. Mastering both co-regulation and orientation helps build emotional resilience and strengthens the capacity for eventual self-regulation.

Increasing attention has been paid to healthcare provider wellness in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. One phenomenon that is increasingly described is compassion fatigue, a combination of burnout and prolonged exposure to traumatic events over the course of providing care. Compassion fatigue manifests as individually distressing symptoms of depression or anxiety which can be associated with decreased quality of care at the individual level and contribute to high turnover in healthcare positions, particularly those in forensic facilities. Participants will learn about the concepts behind compassion fatigue and how individual and organizational factors can contribute. They will learn about validated assessment measures estimating levels of burnout and compassion fatigue that can be self-administered or given to large groups. We will review available evidence on ways to improve wellness, satisfaction, and reduce compassion fatigue such as mindfulness.

This webinar will explore how safety and psychotherapy are complementary rather than opposing goals. Dr. Sarah Kopelovich will review the clinical and empirical reasons for including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as part of standard care in forensic hospitals, highlighting how CBT principles and techniques can be applied flexibly by professionals across disciplines—including psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and psychiatric technicians.

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This webinar will bring these concepts to life. Participants will see how CBT can be effectively delivered by every member of the treatment team to promote safety, recovery, and successful discharges. The session will also demonstrate how CBT techniques can be adapted for patients with challenges such as cognitive impairments, traumatic brain injury (TBI), trauma histories, and difficulties with emotion regulation—issues that are common among patients in the state hospital system.

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This crucial webinar addresses the inherent tension between the regulated requirements of a demanding job and the need for personal authenticity and well-being. Participants will explore practical strategies for defining and managing the professional persona—the highly ethical, objective, and boundary-adherent version of self required by the workplace—without sacrificing the vital components of their personal identity, such as core values, passions, and self-care needs. The session aims to provide tools for achieving sustainable authenticity at work, preventing burnout, and integrating the self to foster resilience and long-term professional satisfaction.

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With increasing numbers of forensic cases that include mental health components, it is important to understand the cultures and contexts where mental health symptoms present. It is also imperative to understand the cultural contexts of patients within correctional systems for the practicing clinician. In this talk, Dr. Adi will present the basics of cultural psychiatry, explanatory models of illness, and the cultural formulation interview. Dr. Adi will then walk the attendees through some deidentified legal cases, as well as correctional cases, that illustrate these concepts, and present tips and tricks on how to effectively screen for cultural elements affecting mental health symptoms.