Age Group: All

ACECHO- AOD Collaborative ECHO

The AOD Collaborative ECHO (ACECHO) partnership involves VAADA, Turning Point, and Goulburn Valley Health. This dedicated ECHO for Victorian AOD state-funded services aims to enhance the capabilities of AOD workers in addressing substance use issues among their clients. The primary objective of these sessions is to foster a community of AOD workers with varying levels of expertise, united by the shared goal of improving the well-being, and achieving positive outcomes, for individuals with problematic substance use.

Conducted under the guidance of Turning Point, each session commences with a presentation delivered by a Turning Point expert or a related professional, focusing on a specific topic. This is followed by an in-depth case consultation, during which attendees have the opportunity to ask questions or offer recommendations based on a case study presented by one of the participants.

ACECHO Timetable

 

4th December, 2024

When less is more: Deprescribing in the AOD context
Presenter – Dr Dan Pham

Dr Daniel Pham is an addiction psychiatrist at Turning Point, currently working across its Statewide Services in Richmond and Turning Point Eastern Treatment Services in Box Hill. He undertook his general psychiatry training at St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne before going on to complete advanced training in addiction psychiatry at Turning Point. His area of interest includes the treatment of persons with co-occurring addictive and mental disorders including pharmacological, psychological and social intervention modalities.

 

Launch zoom meeting

 

Submit a Case Presentation to ACECHO

Case presentations by participating healthcare providers are the cornerstone of the ECHO model. Presentations are always followed by an open Q & A discussion of the case and recommendations by the hub team. To submit a case study, click Go to Form.

Go to Form

 

Take Note! Case Notes Essentials for the AOD Sector

Date: Thursday, 14th August 2025, 9:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

This training will provide you with:

  • An understanding of the benefits and importance of effective case note writing, record-keeping and information sharing for yourself as AOD workers, for your clients and your workplace
  • An overview of evidence-based practice and principles for clinically-relevant and compliant case notes
  • An understanding of the legal context and important concepts (e.g., consent, disclosure, confidentiality, privacy, access, ownership, record-keeping and reporting)
  • Consideration of ethical and operational barriers to case note writing; and practical tips and resources for efficiently writing effective case notes
  • Skill development through key examples, resources and activities

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

Dates:

Day one: Thursday, 16 October 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Thursday, 23 October 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Download both days to your calendar.  Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

Dates:

Day one: Thursday, 16 October 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Thursday, 23 October 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Download both days to your calendar.  Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

Dates:

Day one: Tuesday, 17 June 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Tuesday, 24 June 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Download both days to your calendar.  Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

Dates:

Day one: Tuesday, 17 June 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Tuesday, 24 June 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Download both days to your calendar.  Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

Dates:

Day one: Wednesday, 2 April 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Wednesday, 9 April 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Download both days to your calendar.  Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

Dates:

Day one: Wednesday, 2 April 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Wednesday, 9 April 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Download both days to your calendar.  Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Take Note! Case Notes Essentials for the AOD Sector

Date: Thursday, 27th February 2025, 9:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

This training will provide you with:

  • An understanding of the benefits and importance of effective case note writing, record-keeping and information sharing for yourself as AOD workers, for your clients and your workplace
  • An overview of evidence-based practice and principles for clinically-relevant and compliant case notes
  • An understanding of the legal context and important concepts (e.g., consent, disclosure, confidentiality, privacy, access, ownership, record-keeping and reporting)
  • Consideration of ethical and operational barriers to case note writing; and practical tips and resources for efficiently writing effective case notes
  • Skill development through key examples, resources and activities

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

Essential Skills in Eating Disorders for AOD Workers

*This is a paid training*

Date: Thursday, September 19 9:00AM – 5:00PM

Location: Catholic Leadership Centre: 576 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne (Find out about our Travel Contribution Scheme)

Cost: $85

Click here to register and make payment

Description

As an AOD worker, you’re likely to encounter clients with co-occurring issues, including eating disorders. Understanding the basics can greatly enhance the care you provide within the scope of your role. This workshop will equip you with essential skills to recognize and respond to these complex needs within your existing AOD practice. Learn how to integrate care strategies that address both substance use and eating disorders, improving outcomes for your clients.

 

Learning Objectives:

  • Key Features for Early Identification understanding clinical features, prevalence and impact, risk factors and warning signs of eating disorders.
  • Response to an Eating Disorder explores engaging with a person experiencing an eating disorder, screening and screening tools, assessment, and making a provisional eating disorder diagnosis.
  • Shared Care covers referring to appropriate services in the stepped system of care for eating disorders, understanding and working in the multidisciplinary care team, and engaging families and supports.
  • Treatment provides an understanding of mental health treatment, medical care, nutrition support and stepping up care and/or referral pathways
  • Link between AOD and EDs helps us to understand the links between eating disorders and substance use and how you might work with someone experiencing both.

 

Pre-requisite

Students are required to complete the An Introduction to Understanding Eating Disorders e-learning prior to attending the workshop.

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

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