Claudia Black, Ph. D. is the clinical architect and actively involved in the Claudia Black Young Adult Center at The Meadows. She works with the executive director and clinical director and their team assessing and enhancing the quality of the program. She is frequently on site speaking with clients and family members. She serves as a Senior Fellow and has been a clinical consultant at The Meadows Treatment Center in Arizona since 1998.

Claudia Black’s seminal work with children impacted by substance abuse in the late 1970s created the foundation for the adult child movement. Today Claudia is a renowned author and trainer internationally recognized for her pioneering and contemporary work with family systems and addictive disorders. She sits on the Advisory Board for the National Association of Children of Addiction, and the Advisory Committee for Camp Mariposa®, The Eluna Foundation’s national addiction prevention and mentoring program.

Claudia’ pioneering contributions are many:

• She would be the first to name and coin the dysfunctional family rules, “Don’t Talk, Don’t Trust, Don’t Feel.”

• She described the phenomena of delayed stress, emotional trauma, the child’s denial process,

the phenomena of “looking good" kids as they relate to growing up with addiction, and hence the meaning and phraseology of  “Adult Child of Alcoholics”.

• She utilized art therapy in the context of group work with young children that offered a model for children’s programs for the past three plus decades. 

• She broke the barrier and openly discussed physical and sexual abuse in the context of addictive families.

Her work, her passion has been ageless and offers a foundation for those impacted by addiction to recover, and gives our professional field a library of both depth and breadth.

Karen Perlmutter, LISW-CP has worked as a therapist in clinic, hospital, and private practice settings for 15 years. She specializes in the treatment of substance abuse and mental illness, with a particular interest in supporting the entire family system through the complex journey of addiction. She has developed an evidence-based course for families coping with a loved one’s addiction.  Karen also aims to share education, support and hope with the community through a variety of speaking forums which have included universities, treatment programs, support groups, National Public Radio, professional training events, and an upcoming Tedx Charleston talk.

Information on this Workshop Coming Soon

WORKSHOP

Friday, February 19     9:00 am–4:45 pm

Saturday, Feb.  20       8:45 am–1:00 pm

10 CEUs