Five Minutes to Help

This four-hour course is delivered live, both in-person and virtually via Zoom. The course includes  lecture, interactive activities, and opportunities for skill building through scenario-based role plays. Class size is limited to 30 participants and is facilitated by two or three trained instructors.

After participating in the training, participants will be able to:

•    Describe the stigma and stereotypes associated with substance us

•    Identify several approaches for addiction treatment 

       and harm reduction

•    Explain the stages of behavior change

•    Demonstrate basic motivational interviewing techniques as 

       a communication tool

Here is an overview of the topic areas addressed in this training:

•    Stigma 

        o    Stigma around substance use can prevent individuals from 

               seeking help, accepting resources, or even acknowledging their 

               struggles. Overdose patients may feel judged, blamed, or 

               devalued, which can close off opportunities for meaningful 

               engagement. First responders who recognize and reduce stigma 

              through respectful, nonjudgmental communication can foster 

                trust and create space for recovery conversations.

•    Compassion Fatigue 

        o    The opioid epidemic has placed enormous strain on first 

                responders, many of whom revive the same individuals repeatedly.

                This can take a significant toll on their mental and emotional 

                 well-being. Without intentional self-care, these pressures may 

                  lead to compassion fatigue, reducing both effectiveness in the 

                  field and personal resilience. 

        o    This training acknowledges that challenge and provides strategies 

                 to reduce frustration, build resilience, and approach patients 

                 with empathy even in the most difficult circumstances.

•    Harm Reduction

        o    Harm reduction is a public health approach that meets people 

              “where they are” by focusing on reducing the negative    

              consequences of drug use, rather than insisting on immediate 

              abstinence. In overdose response, this can include providing 

              information about safer use, connecting individuals with naloxone 

              access, or linking them to syringe service programs. By framing 

             care through harm reduction, responders can keep people alive

              long enough to consider and pursue treatment.

•    Stages of Behavior Change  

        o    The Stages of Change model reminds us that recovery, like any 

               change in behavior, is most often a process, not a single decision. 

               After an overdose, a person may be in complete denial of their 

                addiction, considering change in activities, or ready to act. 

        o    First responders who understand this well-recognized framework

                can tailor their communication—planting seeds of motivation for 

                someone not yet ready or offering clear next steps for those who 

               are. Even small conversations can help move a patient toward

               the next stage of readiness.

•    Motivational Interviewing

        o    Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a conversational approach that 

               helps people explore their own reasons for change, rather than 

               being told what to do. In the context of an overdose, MI 

               techniques —such as asking open-ended questions, listening with 

               empathy, and reflecting back what the patient says—can reduce 

               resistance and spark self-motivation. For first responders, even a brief

               use of MI can turn a post-reversal encounter into a moment of 

              hope and possibility.

        o    Recognizing that patients have the right to choose their own 

               direction in life and are the best source of ideas for how to change 

                will help responders avoid trying to solve problems outside of 

               their control. 

•    Skill building and role plays

        o    Scenario-based role plays give first responders a safe space to 

               practice the difficult conversations that can follow an overdose 

               reversal. These exercises allow participants to test communication

               strategies, build confidence, and experience how different 

              approaches might feel to a patient. By practicing in a realistic but 

             supportive setting, responders can refine their skills, reduce 

              hesitation in the field, and be better prepared to turn a brief 

              interaction into a meaningful connection.