Opioids, Stimulants, and Trauma Summit

May 6-8, 2025

The Opioids, Stimulants, and Trauma Summit is an annual event that highlights prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery strategies related to opioids, stimulants, and trauma. All people with an interest in building healthy communities are invited to attend.

Jump to information on: registration | agenda | lodging | continuing education units or credits

Registration

Registration is required for this event. The registration deadline is May 6 at 12 p.m.

In person

Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
$300 per person

Virtual

Zoom through the Whova app
$250 per person

The UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education is supporting the registration process for this event.

If you have questions about the registration process, contact Wisconsin Connect at wi-connect-conferences@uwm.edu. Wisconsin Connect is providing planning and logistics support for this event.

Single day passes for May 6, 7, and 8 are not available. Three-day registration is the only option to attend the conference. All registrants will have access to recordings of sessions on May 6, 7, and 8 they were unable to attend.

No scholarships are available for this event.

Cancellation policy: Cancellation requests for this event were due April 4, 2025. No refunds will be issued once the event has started, regardless of whether the participant joined the event.

Refund policy: Refunds will only be issued to registered participants if this event is canceled for any reason. No exceptions. All registered participants have access to session recordings and materials for three months after this event.

Special meal requests: Requests for special meals were due April 11, 2025.

Videography/photography: Organizers and attending news media may be videotaping or photographing portions of this event. By attending this event, registrants acknowledge these activities and agree to allow their image to be used by the organizers and news media in any way. Registrants may not videotape or broadcast any potion of this event without written permission from organizers.

Event materials: This will be a paperless event. The WHOVA app will be used to share event materials with all in-person and virtual participants. Information on how to access the WHOVA app will be emailed to all registered participants several weeks before the event. This information will be sent to the email registrants provided during the registration process.

Agenda

The full agenda for each day will be released no later than April 17. The information listed below is tentative and subject to change.

The topics covered at this event relate to the work of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, mental health and substance use professionals, social workers, educators, elected officials, and community leaders.

NOTE: The preconference activities scheduled for May 5 have been canceled. People who registered for a preconference activity will receive more information via email from Wisconsin Connect.

May 6: 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Breakfast, lunch, and snacks offered with registration for in-person participants.

8:15 a.m.: Opening remarks
8:45 a.m.: Morning keynote - Christian Conte, Ph.D. ("Finding Peace in Chaos")
10:00 a.m.: Break
10:15 a.m.: Breakout session 1 (five workshop options)
11:15 a.m.: Lunch
12:30 p.m. Afternoon keynote - TO BE ANNOUNCED
1:45 p.m.: Break
2:00 p.m.: Breakout session 2 (five workshop options)
3:00 p.m.: Break
3:15 p.m. Breakout session 3 (five workshop options)
4:15 p.m.: End of day

May 7: 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Breakfast, lunch, and snacks offered with registration for in-person participants.

8:15 a.m.: Opening remarks
8:45 a.m.: Morning keynote - Mark Denning ("Reconnecting to Spirit, Land, and Story: Finding Peace and Healing from Trauma, Addiction, and Mental Health")
10:00 a.m.: Break
10:15 a.m.: Breakout session 1 (five workshop options)
11:15 a.m.: Lunch
12:30 p.m. Afternoon keynote - Brenda Combs, Ed.D. ("From Pain to Purpose: The Power of Resilience, Recovery, and Redemption")
1:45 p.m.: Break
2:00 p.m.: Breakout session 2 (five workshop options)
3:00 p.m.: Break
3:15 p.m. Breakout session 3 (five workshop options)
4:15 p.m.: End of day

May 8: 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast offered with registration for in-person participants.

8:30 a.m.: Closing remarks
8:45 a.m.: Interagency Council on Mental Health listening session

The Interagency Council on Mental Health is a group of representatives from state agencies called together by Governor Evers to identify strategies to address the root causes of mental health issues, gaps in mental health services statewide, and barriers to care. DHS staff will facilitate a discussion about what is working with mental health services, where there are opportunities to do better, and ideas for ways state agencies can work together to improve and support the mental health of Wisconsinites. The Interagency Council on Mental Health is using the term mental health to refer to efforts to prevent and treat mental health and substance use disorders.

9:45 a.m.: Break
10:00 a.m.: Breakout session 7 (four workshop options)
11:00 a.m.: End of day

Breakout session topics for May 6-8

The workshop options for May 6-8 include discussions on:

A data tool that provides community alerts on spikes in suspected drug overdoses.
A new statewide effort to prevent drug impaired driving.
Addressing substance use concerns in the LGBTQ+ and veteran communities.
Crisis services for people who use substances.
Compassionate overdose response strategies.
Embedding harm reduction into substance use treatment.
Helping children impacted by opioids, stimulants, and trauma.
How state government is investing opioid settlement funds.
How to use motivational interviewing with people who have an opioid use disorder.
How to work with older adults who have substance use concerns.
How to work with youth who have substance use concerns.
Naloxone saturation.
Peer recovery coaches.
Recovery housing options in Wisconsin.

Recovery through work.
Self-care strategies for people working in substance use services.
Strategies to build community coalitions and partnerships to prevent and reduce the harms of substance use.
Successful prison and jail substance use disorder treatment programs.
Supports for pregnant and postpartum women with substance use concerns.
The role of community pharmacies in addressing the opioid crisis.
The role of exercise in substance use disorder treatment.
The role of psychomotor stimulants in the drug overdose crisis.
The TRUST model for the treatment of stimulant use disorders.
Treating tobacco use and dependence in health care systems and clinics.
Trends in substance use in Wisconsin.

The presenters include doctors; pharmacists; master's level mental health and substance use prevention professionals, treatment providers, and recovery support professionals; and people with lived experience of mental health and substance use concerns.

Lodging

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Kalahari Resort for $98 per night.

Book a room now

Continuing education units and credits

This event has been designed to meet the educational needs of many professionals.

Continuing education units or credits are available to all people who participate in the live event in person or virtually. No continuing education units or credits are available for watching session recordings when they are available.

It may take up to 30 days after this event to receive verification of continuing education units or credits.

For continuing education hours (CEH):

UW-Milwaukee's Helen Bader School of Social Welfare is approved as a provider of continuing education hours.
Each hour of content is equal to 1 CEH. There are 12 hours of creditable content.
12 CEHs are available for this event if all creditable sessions are attended.

For continuing education units (CEU):

UW-Milwaukee's School of Continuing Education is the provider of continuing education units.
Each hour of content is equal to 0.1 CEU. There are 12 hours of creditable content.
1.2 CEUs are available for this event if all creditable sessions are attended.

The calculation for continuing education units is 10 hours of study in one program is equal to 1.0 CEU.

For continuing medical education (CME):

Continuing medical education hours are expected to be available. The agenda is being reviewed to determine which sessions will count toward continuing medical education hours and how many hours are available for each session.

The UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health is the provider of continuing medical education for physicians.

This event is organized by the Division of Care and Treatment Services and Wisconsin Connect, a service of the Center for Urban Population Health. The Center of Urban Population Health is made up of faculty and staff from the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, UW-Milwaukee, and Advocate Aurora Research Institute.

Send questions about this event to dhsdcts@dhs.wisconsin.gov.