Families affected by substance use often feel isolated, overwhelmed, and unsure how to help. The Invitation to Change approach offers a compassionate, evidence-based framework that combines principles from Community Reinforcement and Family Training, Motivational Interviewing, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. This presentation introduces a practical model that helps loved ones understand the function of substance use, communicate more effectively, and respond in ways that support positive change while protecting their own well-being. Participants will learn strategies that replace shame, confrontation, and helplessness with empathy, structure, and skillful action.
Jarell R.O. Myers, PhD is a clinical psychologist, licensed in both New York and Massachusetts, with training in cognitive-behavioral and dialectical behavioral approaches to treatment. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University and completed an APA-accredited internship at Mt. Sinai St. Luke's Hospital on the child and adolescent track. In addition, Dr. Myers completed a two year postdoctoral fellowship in child and adolescent psychology at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center in White Plains, New York where the focus was on treatment for anxiety. He used that experience at McLean Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he worked with children and adolescents diagnosed with Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders in an intensive outpatient clinic. Dr. Myers has expertise in working with adolescents and young adults with comorbid anxiety and substance use disorders and adopts a harm reduction approach when appropriate.
