Health Professionals
Events
Thelma McMillen Frontiers in Addiction Lecture Series
Reclaiming Dignity: Ethical Interventions and Family Systems Healing in Modern Substance Use Disorder Treatment
April 21, 2026 | 9 - 10:30am
Event Registration
Modern behavioral health, adolescent treatment, and family intervention systems are increasingly challenged by ethical drift, fragmented care, and practices that unintentionally undermine dignity and relational trust. This presentation explores how dignity-centered, trauma-responsive, and family-systems-informed interventions provide a corrective framework for ethical practice in complex, high-stakes cases. Drawing from clinical experience, systems theory, and contemporary trauma research, the talk examines how coercive, compliance-driven, and siloed models often exacerbate harm rather than promote healing. Emphasis is placed on ethical decision-making, relational accountability, and the role of families as part of the healing system rather than the problem. Participants will gain practical frameworks for aligning intervention strategies with trauma-responsive ethics, developmental appropriateness, and sustainable outcomes for individuals and families.
Presenter Bio:
Heather R. Hayes, M.Ed, LPC, CIP
Founder and CEO of Heather R. Hayes & Associates, Inc.
Heather Hayes is the founder and CEO of Heather R. Hayes & Associates, Inc. She is a Master's level Licensed Counselor in the State of Georgia, Board Registered Interventionist (CIP) and Certified ARISE Interventionist. Hayes earned her bachelor's from Emory University and her Master of Education from Antioch University in Counseling Psychology. A veteran of the behavioral health field, Heather has over 35 years of experience treating clients with complex mental health issues and the full spectrum of addictive disorders. She has also worked with clients of all ages and specializes in the treatment of adolescents/young adults, trauma, behavioral issues and eating disorders.
Known as one of the country's most prominent authorities on these topics, Hayes is a coveted speaker on the national and international stage, is widely-recognized for her comprehensive and trauma-informed approach to intervention, and has been published in numerous journals, books, and other industry publications. Hayes also serves as an on-air expert and consultant for CNN and Dr. Oz and has been featured on A&E, ABC, CBS, BBC, FOX, MTV and NBC. In addition, Hayes is a featured interventionist on the 2018 and 2019 seasons of A&E's high-profile show Intervention.
Outside of work, Heather uses her expertise to give back to her community by volunteering as the psychological profiler with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department Hostage Negotiation and SWAT Team.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify how dignity-centered and trauma-responsive principles apply to ethical decision-making in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, intervention, and family-systems work.
- Differentiate between compliance-based, coercive substance use interventions and relational, systems-informed approaches that promote long-term recovery, safety, and accountability.
- Apply family-systems and trauma-informed frameworks to complex substance use cases involving adolescents, emerging adults, and co-occurring mental health conditions.
- Analyze ethical tensions in mandated or court-involved substance use treatment, including issues of autonomy, beneficence, harm reduction, and family participation.
EARN 1.5 CE Credit Hours
Learning Levels
Ketamine and the Next Wave of Psychedelic Medicine: Clinical Perspectives and Research Insights
May 19, 2026 | 9 - 10:30am
Event Registration
This presentation will provide a comprehensive, evidence-based review of ketamine treatment in psychiatry, emphasizing its role as a biological intervention for mood disorders. We will examine ketamine’s FDA-approved indications, mechanisms of action at the receptor and neuroplasticity levels, clinical efficacy data, safety considerations, and practical approaches to individualized treatment planning. The discussion will also address ketamine’s emerging role as an augmentation tool for psychotherapy, clearly differentiating the strength of evidence supporting its use as a biological medication from the comparatively more limited but evolving data for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
In the final portion of the lecture, participants will review the current literature on psychedelic treatments more broadly, including recent clinical trials and methodological considerations shaping the field. The presentation will conclude with an overview of the regulatory pathway toward FDA approval for psychedelic compounds, outlining key milestones, challenges, and likely next steps in clinical integration. Attendees will leave with a balanced, clinically grounded understanding of where ketamine treatment stands today and what developments may shape psychiatric practice in the years ahead.
Presenter Bio:
Mark Hrymoc, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder
Dr. Hrymoc has extensive expertise in the psychopharmacology of addiction and other mental health disorders. He is double Board-certified in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry and was previously board-certified in Addiction Medicine. Dr. Hrymoc was Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA, where he supervised training psychiatrists at their Addiction Psychiatry Clinic. He completed his subspecialist training in Addiction Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and currently serves as a consulting physician to several prestigious drug and alcohol treatment centers in the area. Dr. Hrymoc co-authored a chapter in Principles of Addiction Medicine, the main textbook of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and has been published in several academic journals. With his wife, Ellie, also a psychiatrist, he founded the Ketamine Therapy Center as a promising solution for treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mood disorders.
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate the evidence-base for ketamine as a biological treatment and as an augmentation tool for psychotherapy.
- Explain the neuroplastic and receptor-level mechanisms of ketamine, along with its clinical benefits, risks, and side-effect profile, in order to integrate ketamine treatment into clinical practice.
- Describe the current evidence base for psychedelic treatments in psychiatry as the progress toward FDA approval, including key clinical trial phases, safety considerations, and anticipated challenges shaping future clinical integration.
EARN 1.5 CE Credit Hours
Learning Levels
To be added to our mailing list, please contact jamie.gelbart@tmmc.com. Participants will receive an email link to register for each presentation.
2026 Lecture Schedule
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