Chattooga County Extension is part of the Rural Health and Safety Grant which covers 6 counties in Georgia. Through this grant the extension office is offering a FREE SBIRT Training Course. It is great for anyone who has an interest in serving citizens of GA.  The details are below.

Online SBIRT Training Course:

The UGA Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Training Program is an online, self-paced program that trains health and social service professionals to provide screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) services for patients who may have hazardous and harmful drinking and/or drug using patterns.

SBIRT training is focused on teaching current and future healthcare and social service practitioners to identify patients who are at-risk alcohol or drug users through the use of standardized screening tools. For patients screening positive, practitioners will learn to conduct brief interventions using a technique known as motivational interviewing and the brief negotiated interview. Individuals completing SBIRT will also learn how to refer patients to other resources for substance use disorder treatment, when applicable.

Who Should Participate?

SBIRT is appropriate for health and social service professionals (but not limited to these)

  • Medical Professionals
  • Pharmacist
  • Mental Health Counselors
  • School Counselors
  • Criminal Justice Professionals
  • Faith Based Community members

After completing the registration form that is linked through the QR code on the attached flyer, you will receive an invitation to complete a pre-training questionnaire via Qualtrics. You will select Chattooga County or fill in a neighboring county in the other selection (if applicable). When you complete the pre-training questionnaire, you will receive a link to the online training course.

The cost for this training is covered through a grant program which UGA Extension is part of.

The instructor for this program is Dr. Amanda Abraham from UGA School of Public and International Affairs, where she specializes in addiction health services.  Her curriculum vita is linked here: https://spia.uga.edu/faculty-member/amanda-abraham/

UGA Extension has a Preventing Opioid Misuse site which is continually being updated with resources for Georgia residents. 

 If you have questions, contact Chattooga County Extension Agent Rebecca Thomas.