Featuring: Ruben Baler, PhD

From the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIAD), Dr. Baler joined the Science Policy Branch in NIDA’s Office of Science Policy and Communications in October 2004 as a Health Science Administrator. He has gathered critical insight from diverse disciplines, which he combines to advance NIDA’s scientific mission as it intersects with cellular and molecular biology, genetics, immunology, bioinformatics, neuroscience, and neuroethics. Dr. Baler’s many contributions to other dissemination efforts include scientific writing, teaching, public speaking to lay audiences, and fielding interview requests. He received his PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from the University of Miami.

Course Description

Why do some people adapt and recover in the face of stress and adversity while others become more vulnerable to harmful behaviors—including substance misuse? This course examines resilience through the lens of modern neuroscience and evolution. As our environments change faster than our biology can adapt, the human brain—remarkably powerful yet built with evolutionary constraints—can become mismatched to today’s stressors and temptations. Understanding that mismatch is essential for explaining both the strengths that support resilience and the vulnerabilities that increase risk.

Participants will explore the brain’s foundational architecture and the evolutionary pressures that shaped it, then connect that biology to real-world behavior. The course explains how addictive drugs alter brain circuitry—especially reward and motivation systems—changing learning, decision-making, and self-control. Building from that foundation, we examine why exposure does not affect everyone the same way, emphasizing the multifactorial nature of risk and protection across development and contexts.

The course concludes by translating neuroscience into action: how evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery strategies are designed to reduce risk, strengthen protective factors, and support sustained wellness. Participants will leave with a clearer framework for understanding substance use disorders as brain-based conditions influenced by biology and environment—and for using that understanding to strengthen resilience at individual and community levels.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Explain how brain structure, function, and evolution shape resilience and vulnerability
   • Describe core brain systems involved in motivation, stress response, learning, and self-regulation and how evolutionary constraints influence behavior in modern environments.
   • Outcome: Accurately identify major brain functions relevant to resilience and explain at least two examples of “evolutionary mismatch” that affect decision-making or risk behavior.
2. Describe how addictive drugs alter brain circuitry, with emphasis on dopamine signaling
   • Explain the role of the dopaminergic synapse in reward learning and how drug exposure produces neurophysiological changes that can drive compulsive use.
   • Outcome: Summarize, in clear terms, at least three drug-related changes in brain function (e.g., altered reward sensitivity, impaired inhibition, heightened cue reactivity) and link each to behavioral consequences.
3. Distinguish acute effects from longer-term neuroadaptations relevant to substance use disorders
   • Differentiate short-term intoxication/withdrawal effects from enduring changes in circuitry that contribute to craving, relapse risk, and impaired control.
   • Outcome: Correctly categorize examples as “acute” vs. “neuroadaptive/longer-term” and explain implications for prevention or treatment.
4. Analyze interindividual differences in risk using a multifactorial framework
   • Integrate biological, developmental, psychological, and environmental factors to explain why not everyone exposed to an addictive substance develops a substance use disorder.
   • Practice: Apply a structured “risk–protection” worksheet to a brief case scenario.
   • Outcome: Identify at least three risk factors and three protective factors in a case and articulate how their interaction influences risk trajectory.
5. Apply neuroscientific concepts to resilience-building prevention strategies
   • Translate understanding of brain development, reward learning, stress, and social context into prevention approaches that reduce vulnerability and strengthen protective factors.
   • Practice: Draft a prevention strategy outline that targets a specific risk pathway (e.g., stress reactivity, impulsivity, social influence).
   • Outcome: Produce a prevention plan with at least two evidence-informed components and a stated mechanism of action (“how it works” in brain/behavior terms).
6. Explain harm reduction, treatment, and recovery as a continuum of evidence-based interventions (“cascade of care”)
   • Describe the rationale and goals of harm reduction, treatment modalities, and recovery supports as integrated options to reduce morbidity and support functioning.
   • Outcome: Correctly place common interventions along the cascade of care and state the intended outcome(s) for each (e.g., reduced overdose risk, improved retention, sustained recovery).
7. Communicate brain-based concepts of resilience in clear, non-stigmatizing language
   • Use accurate, lay-friendly explanations to describe substance use disorders and resilience without moral judgment, supporting empathy and effective engagement.
   • Outcome: Produce a brief explanation (spoken or written) that avoids stigma, correctly conveys brain–environment interaction, and includes at least one actionable resilience-building takeaway.

Featuring:

Ruben Baler PhD from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIAD). Dr. Baler joined the Science Policy Branch in NIDA’s Office of Science Policy and Communications in October 2004 as a Health Science Administrator. He has gathered critical insight from diverse disciplines, which he combines to advance NIDA’s

Description:

Sleep isn’t just “down time.” It’s an active biological process that recalibrates the brain and body every day—and it is increasingly undercut by modern life. This course offers a clear, science-based tour of what sleep is, why we need it, and how daily choices can either protect or sabotage this essential foundation of health.

We begin with an accessible introduction to circadian biology -the internal timing system that helps coordinate alertness, hormones, temperature, mood, and performance across the 24-hour day. From there, we explore the neurobiology of sleep: what sleep actually is at the level of brain circuits, neurotransmitters, and sleep stages, and how these systems interact to produce a healthy sleep cycle.

Next, we tackle the “why” question. Why do we sleep, and what happens during sleep? We’ll examine how sleep supports learning and memory, emotional regulation, metabolic balance, immune function, and brain maintenance—highlighting the ways sleep helps the brain process information, reset stress systems, and restore physiological stability.

A key focus of the course is individual variability. You’ll learn what chronotypes are—why some people naturally feel sharper in the morning while others peak later—and how chronotypes shift across development, especially during adolescence and into adulthood. Understanding these biological rhythms can help explain everyday struggles with sleep schedules, productivity, and “social jet lag.”

Finally, we connect biology to real life. We examine lifestyle factors that commonly erode sleep quality, from irregular schedules and light exposure (especially at night) to caffeine, alcohol, stress, screens, and inactivity. The course closes with the public health perspective: the health costs of poor sleep hygiene, including effects on mood and mental health, the bidirectional relationships between substance use (and other psychiatric) disorders and sleep, attention and decision-making, cardiometabolic risk, immune resilience, and overall well-being.

By the end, participants will leave with a practical, evidence-informed understanding of sleep as a core driver of health—and a framework for making small, realistic changes that can produce meaningful improvements in how we feel, function, and thrive.

Course Objectives: 

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain core principles of circadian biology
• Summarize why sleep is necessary and what occurs during sleep
• Define chronotypes and analyze developmental changes
• Identify lifestyle factors that threaten sleep quality and quantify personal risk
• Evaluate the health costs of poor sleep hygiene
• Develop and implement an evidence-informed sleep improvement plan
• Use simple metrics to monitor sleep and interpret change over time

Featuring:

Lindsey Sears LCSW-C is a Child Protective Services Program Administrator at the Washington County Department of Social Services. Lindsey has worked in child welfare for 8 years. 

Rachel Mazloum LCSW-C is the Family Team Decision Meeting Facilitator at the Washington County Department of Social Services. Rachel has worked in child welfare for 11 years.

Description:

NOTE: First Response to Maltreatment is a 2-part session. Attendees MUST register for and attend both Part I and Part II to receive credit. This is a 3 CE hour course.

The workshop teaches participants how to listen to children who have experienced maltreatment and gather the correct information in a way that puts the child’s needs FIRST. This workshop is offered in partnership with the ZERO Abuse Project. 

Course Objectives: 

The FIRST response process teaches three critical components: 

1. How to recognize signs and symptoms of abuse and maltreatment. 

2. How to listen and respond to a child’s needs during their initial disclosure of alleged maltreatment. 

3. How to effectively and accurately report any form of maltreatment to authorities.

Featuring: Travis Poole, Assistant Attorney General

Description: COMING SOON

Course Objectives: COMING SOON

Featuring:

Ruben Baler PhD from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIAD). Dr. Baler joined the Science Policy Branch in NIDA’s Office of Science Policy and Communications in October 2004 as a Health Science Administrator. He has gathered critical insight from diverse disciplines, which he combines to advance NIDA’s

Description:

Adolescence is not just a life stage—it’s a major brain-building project. Drawing on the foundational concepts from The Neurobiology of Resilience, this peer-led, interactive course gives middle and high school students something traditional education rarely provides: a clear, empowering explanation of how their brain is developing right now, why that matters for everyday choices, and how to protect that development.

The experience is anchored around four essential messages. Students learn that humans operate with two tightly connected but functionally distinct systems: an emotional/limbic brain that rapidly detects rewards, threats, and social signals, and a cognitive/frontocortical brain that supports planning, impulse control, and long-term decision-making. They explore how these systems mature on different timelines—and how this “developmental mismatch” can shape risk-taking, stress responses, emotional intensity, and sensitivity to peer influence.

From there, the course explains what is happening under the hood: the neurobiological processes that drive maturation, including changes in connectivity, efficiency, learning systems, and self-regulation. Finally, students examine how risk and protective factors—often subtle and easy to underestimate—can either disrupt or strengthen brain development. Throughout, short activities and guided exercises help students build metacognitive skills: the ability to notice their own thinking and emotions, anticipate consequences, and choose strategies that support healthy growth.

The goal is not to lecture students about what not to do. It is to equip them with a science-based framework for understanding their developing brain, recognizing influences that can hijack it, and practicing choices that strengthen executive function, emotional regulation, social cognition, and decision-making—skills that shape their trajectory well beyond adolescence.

(If time permits then presenter will describe the preliminary results of this intervention after 5 years of implementation with a core group of adolescents and young adults in Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Course Objectives: 

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the two major operating systems of the adolescent brain
• Explain how different maturation rates influence decisions and behavior
• Identify key neurobiological processes involved in brain maturation
• Recognize how risk and protective factors shape brain development
• Apply a metacognitive “pause-and-plan” strategy to real-life situations
• Strengthen executive function skills through targeted exercises
• Build emotional regulation and social cognition using brain-based language
• Develop a personalized “brain-support plan” that increases protective factors

Featuring:

Lindsey Sears LCSW-C is a Child Protective Services Program Administrator at the Washington County Department of Social Services. Lindsey has worked in child welfare for 8 years. 

Rachel Mazloum LCSW-C is the Family Team Decision Meeting Facilitator at the Washington County Department of Social Services. Rachel has worked in child welfare for 11 years.

Description:

NOTE: First Response to Maltreatment is a 2-part session. Attendees MUST register for and attend both Part I and Part II to receive credit. This is a 3 CE hour course.

The workshop teaches participants how to listen to children who have experienced maltreatment and gather the correct information in a way that puts the child’s needs FIRST. This workshop is offered in partnership with the ZERO Abuse Project. 

Course Objectives: 

The FIRST response process teaches three critical components: 

1. How to recognize signs and symptoms of abuse and maltreatment. 

2. How to listen and respond to a child’s needs during their initial disclosure of alleged maltreatment. 

3. How to effectively and accurately report any form of maltreatment to authorities.

Featuring: J. Emmet Burke, PhD, JD Clinical Psychologist, Brook Lane.

Dr. Burke holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Description: COMING SOON

Course Objectives: COMING SOON

Featuring: Travis Walter, LCSW-C

Travis is a clinical social work who specializes in crisis intervention.  He is currently the Director of Crisis Services for the Mental Health Association of Frederick County.  He has been involved in the creation and/or implementation of several crisis programs within the Western Maryland area to include Mobile, Residential, and Walk-in Crisis Services.  He has also served Crisis Intervention Team Mental Health Coordinator for Frederick County where he provided training to first responders on various topics of mental health and suicide awareness.  He has a strong passion for helping community members limit and navigate crises in which the individual is able to achieve their highest level of mental and emotional wellness. 

Description: 

An introduction of the concept of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) to combat the negative outcomes of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Provides a review of ACEs and trauma, includes education on the importance of resilience and promoting PCEs, followed by a guided discussion on how to implement PCEs in your current role. Targeted to mental health professionals, first responders, educators, and community businesses/organizations.

Objectives:

At the close of this session participants will be able to

• Define trauma
• Identify Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
• Identify Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)
• Describe their role in promoting at least one Positive Childhood Experience

Featuring: Margaret Kocak, PsyD,

 a licensed clinical psychologist providing psychological testing and therapy in the Thrive North Village and Cumberland Brook Lane outpatient offices. Dr. Kocak has experience diagnosing and treating a variety of conditions across the lifespan, including autism, ADHD, PTSD, and mood and anxiety disorders. Dr. Kocak received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Psychology from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. She went on to earn her Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology at Immaculata University in Malvern, PA. Dr. Kocak joined the Brook Lane medical staff in 2025.

Description: COMING SOON

Objectives: COMING SOON

Featuring: Stephanie & Karleen, Maria Reed, Bereavement Program Manager, Melanie Green, ENOUGH Bereavement Specialist, and Monica Ugorci – School-based Bereavement Specialist.

Stephanie Nalley  is a Grief Specialist with over a decade of experience supporting children, teens, and families as they navigate loss and trauma. Stephanie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a focus on Crisis Counseling from Liberty University and is a Certified Mental Health Coach (CMHC). She is currently completing her Master’s degree in School Counseling. Her professional experience includes work in schools, hospice settings, and nonprofit grief support programs.

Karleena Calimer, LMSW is a Licensed Social Worker in Maryland and Pennsylvania with over 10 years of experience in healthcare and mental health settings. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work from Shippensburg University and is currently working toward her Licensed Certified Social Worker–Clinical (LCSW-C).

Melanie Green bio- 

Melanie Green serves as the bereavement specialist through the ENOUGH program, providing grief support to families in the South End of Hagerstown. She has been a part of the bereavement team at Hospice of Washington County for 6 years. She also has a background in substance use treatment & earned her MSW at The University of Southern Mississippi in 2015.

Monica Ugorji has worked in a variety of roles within the mental health field, including providing crisis support and counseling to at-risk children, adolescents, and families. She recently transitioned into a position with Hospice of Washington County as a School Bereavement Specialist. In this role, Monica supports the bereavement team by providing one-on-one support to children, adolescents, and adults, as well as participating in grief support groups. While in this position, Monica is also completing her clinical hours toward becoming an independent clinician.

Maria Reed, Bereavement Program Manager

Maria Reed has served with the Hospice of Washington County bereavement team since 2018, and currently is the Bereavement Program Manager. Maria was previously a certified school counselor in Pennsylvania, and worked in various mental health and educational settings including tenure as a high school counselor in Chambersburg, PA. Maria earned her Masters of Education in School Counseling from Shippensburg University in 2009, and Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Educational Studies from Juniata College in 2006. Maria is presently pursuing her goals to be a licensed (graduate) professional counselor in Maryland.

Description: COMING SOON

Objectives: COMING SOON