The Medication Matrix: Understanding Psychopharmacology in a Polysubstance World

Speakers: Tanagra M. Melgarejo, MSW, and Joe Pereira, LICSW, CAS

Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2026 (12-2pm EST)

Earn 2 FREE CEUs! 

This workshop provides social workers with an overview of understanding psychopharmacology as it relates to clients who engage in polysubstance use. Participants will explore how different drugs interact with each other along with the clinical implications for assessment, monitoring, and possible collaboration with treatment providers. The session emphasizes recognizing risk factors, supporting client safety, and integrating drug knowledge into holistic, client-centered care. Through practical discussion, attendees will strengthen their ability to navigate complex presentations to provide care that emphasizes safety and improves a person's well-being. In partnership with RIZE Massachusetts. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe at least two ways the basic mechanisms of different categories of drugs interact with each other in polysubstance use

• Identify risk factors, and safety considerations related to psychopharmacology in clients who use multiple substances.

• Be able to implement client-centered communication strategies to support safe, informed, and effective care for individuals navigating their use of different substances.

Webinar Access & Attendance Policy: This webinar will be hosted in a Zoom Meeting room. Attendees will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link and access details one day prior to the webinar. Please review our Virtual Programs and Conferences Participant Expectations to ensure a respectful and engaging learning environment. While most NASW webinars are recorded, recordings are not shared after the event. They are only available for purchase through the NASW Social Work Online CE Institute, even if you registered for the live webinar. To receive CE credit, participants must attend the webinar on the scheduled date and for the full duration. Partial credit is not available.

Social Work Continuing Education Credit: CE credit is provided by the NASW-RI Chapter; CEUs have been approved for Massachusetts and Rhode Island attendees. If you are not licensed in Massachusetts and/or Rhode Island, please check with your state social work licensing board if they accept NASW-RI Chapter approved CEUs.

Speaker Bios:

Tanagra M. Melgarejo, MSW was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is the proud daughter of Mexican and Cuban immigrants. She has over 20 years of experience in the fields of organizational and  program development, evaluation, technical assistance, community organizing, and direct service  with underserved/over-surveilled/stigmatized folks, particularly within Latinx communities. She  currently works as the National Learning and Engagement Strategist for the National Harm Reduction Coalition. Her commitment and passion for harm reduction started out in Holyoke, Massachusetts in the 1990’s while she worked as Popular Education Director for a local HIV prevention program. Before  moving to Oakland, she was working in Puerto Rico with women who are survivors of gender based violence, focusing her work and activism around economic/human rights of women. She holds an MSW from the University of Puerto Rico and was a lecturer for social work students at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus and the University of Turabo. Finally, Tanagra identifies as an intersectional feminist who believes in decolonization as the way towards liberation. 

Joe Pereira, LICSW, CAS is a licensed clinical social worker and addictions specialist who has been practicing for over 30 years.  Joe was a co-founder of Outlook Associates of New England, a practice started to assist persons with anger control problems. He is currently in private practice in Arlington, MA offering individual and group therapy as well as training and consultation with a focus on anger management to adults and adolescents. Joe has given numerous trainings locally as well as nationally and internationally on the treatment of anger management problems as well as workplace conflict, chemical addictions and stress management.  He was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal on the topic of working with people with anger control issues and has made an appearance on the Boston local news show “Chronicle” discussing”the topic of road rage. He also was involved with the Massachusetts Medical Society on developing a program for disruptive physicians. Joe has been a lecturer at the Boston University Graduate School of Social Work since 2013.

This webinar is part of a Free Program Series:

Part 1: Harm Reduction Crossroads: Navigating Gender Identity and Substance Use | Wednesday, May 20, 2026 (12-1:30pm EST) | 1.5 CEUs:  Register here

Part 2: Conversations That Change: Motivational Interviewing in a Harm Reduction World | Wednesday, May 27, 2026 (12-1:30pm EST) | 1.5 CEUs:  Register here

8:00am Welcome Remarks

8:00am - 9:30am Keynote Workshop: Liberty, Justice & The Aging or Disabled Adult, with Wynn Gerhard Esquire and Dr. Heather Connors (1.5 CEUs)

9:30 - 10:00am Call for Papers Presentation

10:00 - 10:45am Policy Updates Workshop with Frank Baskin (1 CEUs)

10:45 - 11am Screen Break

11:00 - 12:00pm Morning Workshops (1 CEU per workshop)

• MassHealth: Recent And Planned Changes, with speaker Kate Symmonds. The so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (also known as OB3, or HR1), signed last July, enacted the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. At the same time, MassHealth is facing significant budgetary constraints, brought on by a rapid rise in healthcare spending and a decrease in federal revenue. In response to these challenges, MassHealth is making significant changes that will negatively impact many MassHealth members. This workshop will review these changes and how social workers can help their clients navigate them.

• Optimal Nutrition for Older Adults, with speaker Leigh Hartwell MS, RDN, LDN. Join registered dietitian, Leigh Hartwell, from AgeSpan for a discussion on optimal nutrition for older adults. We will outline the importance of nutrition related to Nutrition & Aging, Specific Dietary Needs, Hydration, Skin Integrity, and Food Safety.

• Empowering the Disability Vote: A Guide for Social Workers, with speaker Brianna Zimmerman. Americans widely think of voting as a hallmark of good citizenship. Despite being equally interested in voting, people with disabilities are less likely to vote and more likely to encounter barriers to voting than their nondisabled peers. This interactive workshop will equip participants with an overview of the rights of voters with disabilities; strategies for empowering disabled clients to exercise the right to vote; and tools to overcome potential challenges. (All are welcome to join, whether you are a seasoned professional or new to getting out the vote!)

12:00 - 1:00pm Lunch break

1:00 - 2:00pm Afternoon Workshops (1 CEU per workshop)

• What to Know About Medicare in 2026, with Alice Bers, Director, Massachusetts Medicare Advocacy Project, Community Legal Aid. This presentation will provide a practical overview of Medicare in 2026, including recent policy and coverage developments that affect older adults and people with disabilities. It will cover program eligibility and benefits, and will provide information relevant to those who help Medicare beneficiaries understand their coverage, navigate their options, and appeal denials when necessary, whether in inpatient or community settings.

• Scaling the Elephant: Strategies to Protect Older Adults from Losing SNAP Nutrition Benefits due to Harmful Federal Cuts, with Patricia Baker, Senior Economic Justice  Advocate, Mass Law Reform Institute. This workshop will include an overview of the harmful cuts to SNAP included in the July 2025 Big Ugly Bill (H.R.1) including restrictions impacting legal immigrants, expanded work rules and increased verification barriers. Participants will learn strategies to help older adults and persons with disabilities protect access to SNAP and minimize the harmful H.R. 1 provisions. The workshop will also include information on pending federal and state legislation to protect and defend SNAP. 

• Social Workers as Narrative Leaders: Addressing Ableism in Literature and Pop Culture, with Dr. Kate Benson, EdD. How do novels, comic books, films, and media portray disability, and how do these portrayals influence the assumptions clients and professionals bring into social work spaces? This workshop examines common ableist tropes in literature and popular culture and explores how social workers can critically engage and reshape disability narratives in practice. Participants will leave with practical strategies for identifying bias, facilitating informed discussions, and advancing disability-affirming approaches in their work.

2:00pm Conference Ends

REGISTRATIONS RATES: 

• Member: $65
• Retired Member/Student Member: $45
• Non-member: $115

Full event information available here: https://www.naswma.org/page/OlderAdultsConf2026