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I'm Sober, Now What?

Friday, May 8th, 2026   10:00 AM EDT -12:00 PM EDT
Allan J. Katz LPC
$39.99 Cost For Member: $29.99

I'm Sober, Now What? addresses the clinical challenges individuals face after achieving initial sobriety and highlights the therapeutic work necessary to support long-term recovery. This presentation examines four core distractions that commonly undermine sustained sobriety and introduces strategies for helping clients cultivate emotional sobriety, meaning, and purpose in daily living. Participants will explore how values, integrity, and purpose (the V.I.P. model) can guide post-acute recovery and promote character development. The session further integrates concepts of healthy intimacy and sexuality, emphasizing their role in stabilizing recovery and reducing relapse risk. Through didactic instruction and experiential exercises, clinicians will learn practical, evidence-informed interventions to help clients strengthen emotional regulation, deepen connection, and build a fulfilling life beyond addiction.

About the Presenter

The Healthy Intimacy Coach, Allan J. Katz is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor & Certified Sex Addiction Therapist specializing in Out-of-Control Sexual Behavior, focusing on enhancing intimacy, building trust and improving communication in relationships. 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Identify and analyze four specific behavioral and cognitive distractions that interfere with sustained sobriety, and evaluate their clinical impact on long-term recovery.
  2. Apply the V.I.P. framework (Values, Integrity, Purpose) to clinical case examples to illustrate how meaning-making supports post-acute recovery and client motivation.
  3. Participants will be able to summarize the elements of healthy intimacy and sexuality and its role in maintaining sobriety

Agenda:

Agenda (120 Minutes Total)

1. Goals of Addiction Recovery – 10 minutes

  • Understanding long-term recovery outcomes

  • Introducing the four major distractions that interfere with sobriety

  • Clarifying values-based recovery foundations

2. Emotional Sobriety – 10 minutes

  • Emotional freedom vs. behavioral sobriety

  • Addressing shame, guilt, and unresolved trauma

  • Mindfulness-based emotional regulation strategies

3. What’s Missing in the Twelve Steps – 10 minutes

  • Step Six: Readiness to remove character defects

  • Step Seven: Humility and transformation

  • Identifying character traits and healthy replacements

4. Spirituality and Meaning – 5 minutes

  • Purpose and integrity as spiritual practice

  • Samson Raphael Hirsch: Selfishness and character

  • Dr. Abraham Twerski's approach to spiritual growth

5. Barriers to Emotional Sobriety & Clinical Antidotes – 45 minutes

Distractions and solutions:

  • Technology → Mindfulness and attentional control

  • Work → Reframing identity: human being vs. human doing

  • Play → Healthy leisure as protection

  • Emotions → Managing impulsive emotional experiences

  • People → Reducing reactivity; cultivating safety and trust

  • Belief and decisiveness in recovery

  • Clinical approaches for integrating these components

6. Experiential Exercise – 15 minutes

  • Guided activity illustrating distraction vs. values-based living

  • Processing insights and therapeutic application

7. Sexuality and Intimacy in Recovery – 15 minutes

  • Unhealthy vs. healthy sexuality

  • The eight stages of intimacy

  • Integrating intimacy skills to sustain sobriety

8. V.I.P. Framework – 10 minutes

  • Values

  • Integrity

  • Purpose

  • Applying V.I.P. to create a meaningful life post-sobriety

This workshop offers 2 Live Interactive Continuing Education Credits

This presentation is open to:
  • Social Workers
  • Professional Counselors
  • Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Licensed Mental Health Practitioners
  • Medical Doctors and Other Health Professionals
  • Other professionals interacting with populations engaged in mental health based services
Course Level: introductory
Level of Clinician: beginner
  • New practitioners who wish to gain enhanced insight surrounding the topic
  • Experienced practitioners who seek to increase and expand fundamental knowledge surrounding the subject matter
  • Advanced practitioners seeking to review concepts and reinforce practice skills and/or access additional consultation
  • Managers seeking to broaden micro and/or macro perspectives

Participants will receive their certificate electronically upon completion of the webinar and course evaluation form.

Disability Access - If you require ADA accommodations, please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification. Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often, and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling. The grievance policy for trainings provided by NEFESH INTERNATIONAL is available here Satisfactory Completion Participants must have paid the tuition fee, logged in and out each day, attended the entire workshop, and completed an evaluation to receive a certificate (If this is a pre-recorded program, a post-test with a passing grade of 80% to receive a certificate.) Failure to log in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates are available after satisfactory course completion by clicking here.
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
  • NEFESH International, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0116.
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0046
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Mental Health Counselor #MHC-0082
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0048.
  • CE You! is an approved sponsor of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners for continuing education credits for licensed social workers in Maryland.
    CE You! maintains responsibility for this program.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0122.
Refund Policy:
Full Refund until 48 hours before scheduled date.
48 hours before: full refund less $5.00 processing fee. After event no refund will be given.
*exclusions apply for reasonable need and cause.