2026
Conference Sessions

2026 Conference Schedule

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Registration

Opening Remarks and Introductions

(CEUs Eligibility Approvals are in the Process)

Workshop Series I (3 Workshops)

(CEU details will be available soon. Currently in review and authorization process.)

Treatment Court & Peer Recovery

Description:

Katie Jones is a Treatment Court graduate and has successfully grown the Treatment Court collaboration with the Central Vermont RSO. She is the first Recovery Coach to be embedded on a Regional Advisory Committee for Treatment Court. Katie has used her lived experience to guide participants through the process and advocate for changes that best support the people going through Treatment Court. The program involves Probation and Parole, Washington County Mental Health, and the judges and court staff.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe Treatment Court and how to embed Peer Recovery into the team, leveraging lived experience to support the process.
• Identify how to effectively support Treatment Court participants, creating a bridge from court to the recovery center.
• Work collaboratively with other Treatment Court team members.

Shame as a Barrier to Engagement with Treatment and Recovery

Description:

Shame is a common yet often overlooked experience among people entering recovery from substance use disorders. While addiction treatment frequently focuses on managing withdrawal, cravings, and relapse prevention, the profound impact of shame on treatment engagement and long-term recovery outcomes may go unrecognized. This presentation will explore how shame can act as a barrier to seeking care, participating in treatment, and developing a sustainable recovery identity. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the effects of unaddressed shame and learn practical strategies to foster compassionate, recovery-oriented care that promotes healing and resilience.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the role of shame as a barrier to engagement in early addiction treatment
• Discuss the potential long-term consequences of unaddressed shame
• Identify opportunities for clinicians and treatment programs to reduce shame and promote recovery-oriented care

Changing Workplace Culture: The Organizational Thinking Behind Recovery Friendly Workplaces

Description:

Every workplace has a culture. The question is what that culture teaches people about asking for help, responding to challenges, and supporting one another. This interactive session explores the organizational thinking behind the Recovery Friendly Workplaces model, using real-world workplace examples to examine how leadership, policies, communication, and everyday experiences shape employee experience over time. Participants will be introduced to a systems-level approach for creating workplace cultures that better support recovery and leave with a deeper understanding of why Recovery Friendly Workplaces are designed the way they are.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how Recovery Friendly Workplaces use organizational culture as a strategy for supporting recovery.
• Recognize how leadership, policies, communication, and everyday workplace experiences shape employee experience and workplace culture.
• Analyze a workplace scenario through a systems-thinking lens to identify the organizational factors that influence employee success.

Workshop Series II (3 Workshops)

(CEU details will be available soon. Currently in review and authorization process.)

Learn About Vermont Recovery Coach Certification & the Certemy Platform

Description:

Interested in becoming certified as a Recovery Coach, or need guidance on renewing your credential? Whether you are currently certified, working toward certification, or simply exploring your options, this session will help you better understand Vermont’s credentialing pathways and requirements. Prevention Works!VT will cover Vermont’s credentialing process and introduce the Certemy platform available for credential holders and applicants. The workshop will cover Vermont’s current credentials: Certified Recovery Coach (CRC) and will be available to answer questions about its Associate Prevention Specialist (APS), and Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS).

Learning Objectives:

• Requirements to become a Certified Recovery Coach
• Ways to submit, track and manage credentialing requirements online
• Upload continuing education credits

The Professional Peer: Navigating Professionalism in Peer Recovery Services

Description:

This workshop explores the integral elements of professionalism in Peer Recovery Services. Participants will strengthen their understanding of professional boundaries, effective communication and ethical decision making through discussion of review of case vignettes.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify core principles of professionalism related to ethical decision-making and boundaries as they apply to peer recovery services.
• Describe how the evolving field of recovery services affects the role of a recovery coach and develop strategies for adapting.

Recovering Loudly: Stories of Moms in Recovery

Description:

Stories of Moms in Recovery is a powerful storytelling project highlighting the lived experiences of Vermont moms in recovery from substance use. Join us for a screening of the 17-minute film, and a moderated discussion addressing the film’s key themes: overcoming stigma, healing through community, redefining motherhood, and coping with loss and grief.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn how storytelling can be used as a therapeutic tool to support healing and recovery.

• Participants will explore how listening to stories of lived experience can reduce stigma, build empathy, and highlight the power of community in supporting recovery.

Lunch and Award Winners

Mark Helijas Recovery Pioneer Award

This award goes to an individual who has created an innovative way to provide services and support to people with a substance or alcohol use disorder and their families. Past examples: Recovery Coaching in the Correction System, Jenna’s Promise Recovery Community, Collaboration with EMS

2026 Mark Helijas Recovery Pioneer Award
Kristen Moro, Certified Recovery Coach, Turning Point of Central Vermont

The Rising Phoenix Award (New in 2026)

This award honors a RPV Member Staff* who models a healthy life in recovery by leading with authenticity, resilience, and a deep dedication to uplifting others.

Visit Our Sponsors Hall

Attendees will have the opportunity to enter a raffle for one of four prizes. A raffle entry will be earned by completing a “visit our sponsors” passport.

Workshop Series II (3 Workshops)

(CEU details will be available soon. Currently in review and authorization process.)

Roundtable: Rural Health Transformation Roundtable: Statewide Map

Description:

Join this Roundtable to gain insight into the Rural Health Transformation Program. A diverse group of people brought together to explain and discuss  various components of the program and the scope of work.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the who, what, where, why, when of Rural Health Transportation.

• Gain a better understanding of the certification system in Vermont and why it is important. There have been many zoning and Landlord/tenant law changes in recent years paving the way for growth. The current state of certified beds and the goal of the number of beds by 2030. Voucher funds and training funds available to operators.

• Vermont Foundation of Recovery’s RHT work including opening new homes in 2027 and additional projects benefiting the system overall.

Motivational Interviewing and the Power of Empathy and Compassion

Description:

More details to be available soon.

Person-Centered Documentation for Recovery Support Services

Description:

This workshop will help participants distinguish between peer and clinical documentation and describe the elements of note-taking for peer recovery services. Experiential practice and group engagement using sample documentation will help ensure a practical understanding of peer vs. clinical documentation. This training is a great tune-up so that when Medicaid issues its provider manual, only a few, if any, major changes will be needed in your documentation practices. Best practices/formulas will help provide clear, proper, and fair documentation.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss differences between peer support documentation and clinical documentation by identifying the purpose, scope, and appropriate language for each.
• Demonstrate the ability to write objective, strengths-based documentation that accurately reflects peer support services while remaining within the peer support scope of practice.
• Apply ethical and legal documentation principles, including confidentiality, and accurate recordkeeping, to case vignettes from substance use recovery services.

Closing Remarks & Social Hour