Live Online Event: Mental Health and Behavioral Medicine Interventions in Opioid Sparing Chronic Pain Treatment Series
Event Date
April 6, 2026
Event Time
1:00-2:00 PM, ET
Media Type
Virtual Live Event
Completion Time
60 minutes per session
Specialty
Primary Care, Pain Management, Hospitalist, Geriatric Medicine
Topic(s)
Pain, Mental Health
Additional Dates
April 13, 1:00-2:00 PM, ET
April 20, 1:00-2:00 PM, ET
April 27, 1:00-2:00 PM, ET
Credit Available
- Physicians—maximum of 4.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
- Nurses—4.0 Nursing Contact Hours
- PAs—4.0 AAPA Category 1 CME
Accreditation
The Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the health care team.
Credit Designation
Physicians: The Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education designates this Regularly Scheduled Series for a maximum of 4.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses: The Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education designates this Regularly Scheduled Series for a maximum of 4.0 nursing contact hours.
Physician Assistants: The Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 4.0 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.
Certificate of Participation: A certificate of participation will be provided to other health care professionals for requesting credits in accordance with their professional boards and/or associations.
Disclosure
In accordance with the Standards for Integrity and Independence issued by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education requires resolution of all faculty conflicts of interest to ensure CME activities are free of commercial bias. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
The following faculty members have indicated that they may have a relationship which, in the context of their contribution, could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest.
To ensure mitigation of conflicts of interest, content was reviewed by a non-conflicted reviewer to ensure that it is not commercially biased, is fair-balanced, and is based on scientific evidence and/or clinical reasoning.
Robert Bales, MD
ROMTech—Private Ownership or Partnership
* This relationship was reviewed, and the company’s business lines are unrelated to the content of this activity. ACCME exception criteria applies.
Indivior Inc.—Advisor/Review Panel Participant
All other individuals have indicated no relationship that, in the context of their involvement, could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest.
Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education and The France Foundation staff report no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Program Overview
Pain is more than a symptom, and effectively managing it takes more than a prescription. This four-part series invites clinicians to rethink pain care by integrating behavioral health, mental health, and pharmacologic strategies into a holistic, patient-centered approach. Through real-world cases and actionable tools, you’ll learn how to assess the full biopsychosocial picture, identify substance use or co-occurring conditions, and build comprehensive treatment plans that go beyond opioids. Explore how to initiate, adjust, and taper opioid therapy safely and effectively, while also improving patient communication, understanding naloxone use, and navigating addiction care. Whether you prescribe or support those who do, you’ll walk away with fresh strategies and the confidence to use them. Every session aligns with the FDA Blueprint for opioid education.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:
- Describe the fundamental concepts of pain management, including definitions and mechanisms of pain, with consideration of mental health factors
- Recognize how to assess patients in pain, identify risk factors for substance use disorders, and recognize co-occurring mental health conditions and who could benefit from behavioral health services
- Compare and contrast the range of therapeutic options for managing pain, including nonpharmacologic approaches, pharmacologic (nonopioid and opioid analgesics) therapies, and behavioral health interventions
- Integrate opioid analgesics and behavioral health strategies into a comprehensive pain treatment plan individualized to the needs of the patient, evaluating for functional and psychological improvement
- Assess when referral to a pain specialist or mental health professional is appropriate within a multidisciplinary approach to pain management
- Assess how to safely and effectively manage patients on opioid analgesics in acute and chronic pain settings, including initiating therapy, titrating, and discontinuing use of opioid analgesics, with a focus on discontinuation of opioids incorporating mental health screening and behavioral interventions throughout treatment
- Identify counseling strategies for patients and caregivers about the safe use of opioid analgesics, including proper storage and disposal, while addressing potential mental health impacts and behavioral medicine approaches
- Identify approaches to counsel patients and caregivers about the use of naloxone for opioid overdose, considering the psychological aspects of overdose prevention and response
- Summarize the fundamental elements of addiction medicine (ie, diagnosis, prevention, evaluation, treatment, and recovery of patients with opioid use disorder) and its intersection with mental health and behavioral health
- Recall how to identify and manage patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), incorporating behavioral health approaches and addressing co-occurring mental health disorders
- Identify current information about safe opioid practices and current federal and state regulations, national guidelines, and professional organization and medical specialty guidelines on treatment pain and prescribing opioids
- Describe the use of naloxone and the importance of its availability for use by patients and caregivers in the community and home
Faculty
Amy Zack, MD
Vice-Chief of Education, Eastern Submarket
Physician, Family Medicine, Southpointe Medical Center
Assistant Professor
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Cleveland Clinic
Assistant Professor
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Cleveland, Ohio
Robert Bales, MD
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Cleveland, Ohio
Akhil Anand, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Cleveland, Ohio
Pavan Tankha, DO
Medical Director, Center for Comprehensive Pain Recovery
Neurological Institute
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Additional Planners and Reviewers
Jessica Benovic, CNP
Center for Adult Behavioral Health
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Jessica Toland, PA
Internal Medicine
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio