Pacific Southwest ATTC

The Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network (ATTC) is comprised of 14 Regional Centers and a National Office serving the 50United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Islands of Guam, American Samoa, Palau, the Marshal Islands, Micronesia, and the Mariana Islands.  Established in 1993 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the ATTC Network is a nationwide, multidisciplinary resource for professionals in the addictions treatment and recovery field.

Serving Arizona and California since 2004, the Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (Pacific Southwest ATTC), jointly operated by the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy (CABHP) at Arizona State University (ASU) and the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has continued its tradition of partnering with key state and local stakeholders to address the training and technical assistance needs of the substance abuse treatment and recovery community.  The overall aim of the Pacific Southwest ATTC’s innovative training and technical assistance program is to increase the size and skill of the workforce providing treatment for substance abuse treatment and recovery in Arizona and California.

The overarching themes that guide our training and technical assistance services throughout our region include: translating research findings into user-friendly and clinically applicable materials; utilizing innovative skills development methods; increasing awareness and expertise in cultural competence; and promoting and developing education and training programs within existing academic institutions.  These overarching themes are infused into all activities as the Pacific Southwest ATTC seeks to accomplish the following goals: 

1. Develop new strategies to build a better, more competent workforce to improve lives and support recovery.
2. Enhance the knowledge and skills of the addictions, mental health, and primary care workforces and promote the adoption of evidence-based/promising practices in specialty substance use disorders treatment and integrated settings, including mental health and primary care.
3. Promote partnerships to improve the quality of and access to the substance use disorders treatment system.
4. Develop and implement technology transfer strategies and training curricula to meet the changing needs of the region’s workforce.

5. Build a recovery oriented system of care in California and Arizona.

Critical topics for workforce development include: health care reform; integration of behavioral health and primary care services; motivational interviewing; effective clinical supervision; contingency management; medication-assisted treatment;  screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT); recovery support services; trauma-informed care; gender-specific services; substance use treatment in child welfare and criminal justice systems; outreach and engagement; co-occurring disorders;  promoting cultural diversity and cultural competency; and many more.  The Pacific Southwest ATTC has sponsored over 400 training events serving a total of 18,000 individuals since September of 2007, and distributes more than 25,000 pieces of SAMHSA, NIDA and other FREE resources to behavioral health professionals each year.  In addition to training events, academic programming and skill development programs, the Pacific Southwest ATTC provide a wide range of consulting and technical assistance services. For additional information on upcoming events please contact vicki.staples@asu.edu or call 602-496-1482.