Addressing Addiction in a Disconnected World: Practical Tools & Techniques
Addiction remains one of the most pervasive and challenging public health crises of our time. As providers, we face the ongoing challenge of finding effective, evidence-based strategies to help individuals break free from the grips of addictive and impulsive behaviours. The isolative nature of addiction often leaves individuals yearning for connection, understanding, and a path to recovery—but too often, their attempts are met with frustration and failure.
This on-demand workshop is designed to empower mental health professionals and healthcare providers with practical tools, innovative approaches, and clinical insights to effectively address addiction. With a focus on improving treatment outcomes and sustaining meaningful client connections, this training equips participants to navigate the complexities of addiction recovery and achieve lasting impact in their practice.
This training will provide participants clinical knowledge and tools to:
- Explore the roots of addiction and gain insights into why it remains a growing epidemic.
- Master tools and techniques to engage even the most challenging clients, including those deeply entrenched in addictive or impulsive behaviors
- Analyze and apply methods to guide clients through the stages of change in both individual and group settings.
- Discover resources and strategies that support clients throughout their recovery journey.
- Learn effective approaches for addressing relapse and fostering long-term resilience.
- Develop crisis management skills tailored to addiction scenarios.
- Cultivate methods to promote self-compassion and self-motivation, helping clients rebuild their sense of agency and hope.
Target Audience:
This workshop is ideal for mental health clinicians and therapists, social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, counselors, school personnel, and healthcare workers who work with individuals battling addiction. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced professional, this training will deepen your understanding of addiction and equip you with actionable strategies to create lasting change in your clients’ lives.
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Pay once for lifetime access.
Course Duration: 6 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Lifetime Access: Your access to the course does not expire, so you can revisit key concepts anytime you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
Individuals struggling with complex trauma and addiction - and the practitioners trying to help them - can find that traditional approaches sometimes fall short when addressing the deep, intertwined wounds that drive both conditions. Megan Salar has built her career around this challenging intersection, becoming an internationally recognised expert who combines evidence-based EMDR therapy with raw authenticity to create breakthrough healing experiences for both clients and the clinicians who serve them.
As an EMDR Trainer, Practitioner and published author of EMDR for Dummies (2023) and The EMDR Workbook for Trauma and PTSD (2023), and The EMDR Flip Chart (2023), Salar brings unique expertise that bridges clinical excellence with lived experience. Her previous ownership of an award-winning intensive outpatient treatment center (Best in Practice, 2019) demonstrates her ability to create effective treatment programs, while her current role as Owner/Founder of The Mental Survivalist reflects her commitment to revolutionising how we approach trauma and addiction recovery. Her training of thousands of clinicians across the United States and internationally positions her as a leading voice in trauma-informed care.
Salar's expertise spans EMDR therapy, trauma treatment, addiction counseling, PTSD treatment, anxiety disorders, clinical supervision, and what she calls "authentic healing." Her approach recognises that lasting recovery requires more than technique - it demands courage to face one's authentic self and work through the "messiness" of trauma and addiction simultaneously. She specialises in treatment-resistant cases, dual diagnosis presentations, and training clinicians who want to move beyond more surface-level interventions to create genuine transformation.
What sets her training apart is authentic vulnerability combined with clinical expertise. Salar doesn't just teach EMDR protocols - she shows practitioners how to create the authentic therapeutic relationships necessary for deep healing while managing their own emotional responses to intense trauma work. Her integration of personal recovery experience with advanced clinical training gives her unique insight into what actually creates lasting change.
For your practice, expect to gain specific EMDR techniques for addiction and trauma, tools for managing blocked processing and treatment resistance, and frameworks for building genuine therapeutic relationships with challenging clients. Her approach particularly benefits clinicians working with dual diagnosis cases, those wanting EMDR training outside traditional EMDRIA structures, or practitioners seeking to integrate authenticity and clinical excellence.
Quick Win: Salar's "authentic check-in" technique helps practitioners quickly assess their own emotional state before sessions - helping to prevent burnout while creating the genuine presence that facilitates deeper client healing and therapeutic breakthroughs.
Qualifications
- MSW, Clinical Social Work, Northwest Nazarene University 2011
- Advanced Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ACADC) 2018-2022
- Certified Clinical Trauma Professional - Level II (CCTP-II) 2017-2023
- Certified EMDR Practitioner 2018
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker 2011-2023
- Registered Clinical Supervisor 2018-2023
Authored Books
- EMDR for Dummies: The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma (2024)
- The EMDR Workbook for Trauma and PTSD: Skills to Manage Triggers, Move Beyond Traumatic Memories, and Take Back Your Life (2023)
- The EMDR Workbook for Addiction (forthcoming 2026)
- The EMDR Flip Chart (2023)
Professional Experience & Leadership
- Owner & Founder, The Mental Survivalist, 2023–present
- Owner, Recoverhe Counseling & Consulting, 2016-2023
- Certified EMDR Trainer, Independent Practice, current
- Clinical Trainer & Consultant, International
Clinical Experience
- Owner and Clinical Director, Addiction and Trauma Recovery Services, 2015–2020
- Various clinical positions in addiction prevention, intervention, treatment, and continuing care services
- Clinical supervision and training of other clinicians
Clinical Specialties
- EMDR therapy for complex trauma and addiction
- Integration of trauma and addiction treatment
- Treatment-resistant trauma presentations
- Clinical supervision and consultation
- Authentic therapeutic relationship building
- PTSD treatment and anxiety disorders
- Evidence-based trauma treatment modalities
Ready to develop authentic therapeutic relationships that create breakthrough results with complex trauma and addiction cases? Discover how Megan Salar's evidence-based yet deeply personal methods can help you integrate clinical excellence with the genuine presence that facilitates lasting healing.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 4
- Topics 0
- Duration 6 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English