Wake Forest School of Medicine Logo

Compassionate Accountability: A Pragmatic and Balanced Approach for Working with Substance Use Disorders (SUD)

Event Start/Stop Date and Time

April 29, 2026 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Check-in Date and Time

April 29, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

Location

Live Webinar
Quiet Location with Reliable Internet Connectivity

Target Audience

This workshop will be beneficial to behavioral health and human service practitioners, including psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, substance use and addictions professionals, clinicians and all others interested in this topic.

Event Description

This workshop will provide an in-depth view of compassionate accountability – a technique and intervention that demonstrates compassion for how the individual developed the SUD (hearing their story) and accountability for their behavior (holding them accountable for their behavioral choices). Faculty Geri Miller, Ph.D., ABPP, LP (NC), LCAS (NC), CCS (NC), MAC (NCCAP) is a Human Relations Trainer/Consultant. She taught in higher education from 1990 until she retired as Professor in 2022. Dr. Miller has worked in the mental health counseling field since 1976 and the SUD counseling field since 1979. In both fields she has been a counselor, educator, trainer, and researcher. She worked as a volunteer psychologist at the Watauga County Health Department for 25 years through December 2020. Since 2001, she has a history of working as a volunteer with the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services. Dr. Miller has published and presented research on counseling. She currently has a book in press with Wiley, Inc [Group Exercises for Substance Use Disorders (2nd ed.)] and in 2024 published a book with Cognella, Inc [A Practical Guide to Facilitating Substance Use Disorder Recovery]. She has also published these books: "Academic Violence and Bullying of Faculty" (2024) (Cognella, Inc) and 8 books with Wiley Press ["Incorporating Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy" (2003), "Fundamentals of Crisis Counseling" (2011), "Group Exercises for Addiction Counseling" (2012), and "Learning the Language of Addiction Counseling (5th Edition)" (2021)]. She is a member of the American Counseling Association's divisions of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) and the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC). Dr. Miller has served on the North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board.

Objectives

  1. Discuss compassionate accountability as a pragmatic and balanced approach for working with SUD clients/patients.
  2. Identify evidence-based therapies (EBT) such as Motivational Interviewing (MI) to assist them in their professional work.
  3. Apply this information through experiential activities (e.g., case study; Q & A).

Session Credits

Credit will be awarded based on participant selection at time of registration. Before selecting credits, participants are encouraged to review our Credit Glossary (opens in new tab) for general information. Please note that not all credit types are available for every program.

Presenter(s)

Session Details

Compassionate Accountability: A Pragmatic and Balanced Approach for Working with Substance Use Disorders (SUD)

April 29, 2026 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Check-in: April 29, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

This workshop will provide an in-depth view of compassionate accountability – a technique and intervention that demonstrates compassion for how the individual developed the SUD (hearing their story) and accountability for their behavior (holding them accountable for their behavioral choices). Faculty Geri Miller, Ph.D., ABPP, LP (NC), LCAS (NC), CCS (NC), MAC (NCCAP) is a Human Relations Trainer/Consultant. She taught in higher education from 1990 until she retired as Professor in 2022. Dr. Miller has worked in the mental health counseling field since 1976 and the SUD counseling field since 1979. In both fields she has been a counselor, educator, trainer, and researcher. She worked as a volunteer psychologist at the Watauga County Health Department for 25 years through December 2020. Since 2001, she has a history of working as a volunteer with the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services. Dr. Miller has published and presented research on counseling. She currently has a book in press with Wiley, Inc [Group Exercises for Substance Use Disorders (2nd ed.)] and in 2024 published a book with Cognella, Inc [A Practical Guide to Facilitating Substance Use Disorder Recovery]. She has also published these books: "Academic Violence and Bullying of Faculty" (2024) (Cognella, Inc) and 8 books with Wiley Press ["Incorporating Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy" (2003), "Fundamentals of Crisis Counseling" (2011), "Group Exercises for Addiction Counseling" (2012), and "Learning the Language of Addiction Counseling (5th Edition)" (2021)]. She is a member of the American Counseling Association's divisions of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) and the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC). Dr. Miller has served on the North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board.

Available Credits:

  • 2 NCASPPB SS Hours

    The North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board has approved this workshop for 2.0 Substance Abuse Specific hours, Approval #26-184-SS.

  • 2 Contact (category A) CE for NC Psychologists Hours

    Northwest AHEC is recognized by the North Carolina Psychology Board as an approved provider of (Category A) Continuing Education for North Carolina Licensed Psychologists. This program will provide 2.0 contact hours of (Category A) continuing education for North Carolina psychologists. No partial credit will be given.

  • 2 Contact Hours from Northwest AHEC

    2.0 Contact hours from Northwest AHEC

  • 2 NBCC Hours

    2.0 NBCC Contact Hours. Northwest AHEC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5465. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Northwest AHEC is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.

    NBCC  2 Hours Logo

Session Fees:

  • $45.00

Contact Person

Michelle Adams

Email: Michelle.B.Adams@advocatehealth.org

Program Information and Policies

For complete program policies and registration information, please visit our CPD Program page (opens in new tab).