2017 Annual Conference

Scott Gerhard MA LSW

Scott Gerhard is a consultant and trainer at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University and its Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence (Ohio SAMI CCOE) initiative. He provides technical assistance (program consultation, clinical consultation, and training) to service systems and organizations in Ohio, Colorado, and other states that are implementing evidence-based practices, emerging best practices, and other strategies that improve quality of life and other outcomes for people diagnosed with severe mental illness and substance use disorders. The practices and strategies include the following:

• Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
• Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT)
• Motivational Interviewing (MI)
• Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment (DDCAT)
• Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment (DDCMHT)
• Tobacco Recovery Across the Continuum (TRAC)

Before joining the Center for Evidence-Based Practices, Mr. Gerhard was the community support program coordinator at New Horizons, a community-based behavioral healthcare organization, in Lancaster, Ohio. There, he provided leadership for the implementation of IDDT and also directed community support and residential programs for over 14 years. Mr. Gerhard has made numerous presentations about IDDT at national and state conferences. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Master of Arts in education from The Ohio State University.

Laura Faith, PhD Candidate
University of Missouri

Laura Faith is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of Missouri Kansas City. She has been collaborating with Truman Medical Center, a CETCLEVELAND® site, since she entered the program in the Fall of 2014. Laura hopes to focus her dissertation on this local CET group. Laura enjoys working with individuals with serious mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, in both the research and clinical realm. She began working with this population 7 years ago in a college internship at a psychiatric rehabilitation program. After she earns her PhD, Laura hopes to work in a setting where she can be involved in both clinical and research work and help individuals with serious mental illness.