Centering Community Voices: Collaborative Prevention Strategies with Faith-Based Communities
June 26 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Collaborative Prevention Strategies with Faith-Based Communities is part of ABHPC’s Centering Community Voices series. Connection with faith and spirituality are powerful protective factors against substance use and misuse. Faith often provides individuals with a sense of community, belongingness, and purpose. However, there are unique needs within faith communities around substance use prevention including barriers such as attitudes towards seeking help. This session will demonstrate how prevention specialists can leverage faith-based places and communities as opportunities for collaboration and program implementation.
The recommended skill level for Centering Community Voices: Collaborative Prevention Strategies with Faith-Based Communities is for intermediate prevention professionals.
Continuing Education Units: Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for this ABHPC training are offered by the Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS) at no cost to you. Information about how to request no-cost CEUs will be provided during the training.
About the Presenters
Dr. Sarif Alrai (he/him) is a UK-trained Educational Psychologist (EP) with a career nearly a decade. He currently practices in the UK as an (EP) and in the state of AZ as a School Psychologist. Combining expertise in Western and Islamic psychology, Dr. Alrai fosters a deep understanding of the human experience, particularly for those within faith communities. He has extensive experience developing and delivering training across a wide range of mental health topics, including anxiety, depression, and trauma – especially through the lens of faith. His training repertoire also encompasses intervention development, therapeutic practices, learning difficulties, and speech and language needs. A devoted mentor, Dr. Alrai has also supervised trainee psychologists and Master’s level students in Special and Inclusive Education, fostering self-reflection and continuous learning through their experiences.
Dr. Alrai’s dedication to supporting children and young adults began in 2015 within the UK school system. He collaborated with Local Authorities, building relationships with educators to identify and address both academic and mental health needs of students. His focus on evidence-based interventions and therapeutic relationships led him to further refine his skills through Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Recognizing the importance of cultural competency and seeking new modalities to offer his clients, Dr. Alrai pursued training in Islamic Psychology. This unique perspective allows him to integrate the metaphysical aspects of Islamic knowledge into his practice, fostering a deeper connection with clients, both Muslim and of other faith backgrounds.
Being a passionate advocate for empowering others, Dr. Alrai established a process for co-constructing reports with service users, ensuring their voices are amplified throughout the assessment process. This commitment extends to his work with organizations, where he has designed comprehensive systems for peer-supervision, debriefing, and therapeutic support. His approach prioritizes understanding the specific needs of each organization, auditing existing systems, and identifying resource constraints. This collaborative planning ensures training programs are effective and sustainable, with opportunities for feedback and continuous improvement.
Driven by a desire to support the vulnerable, Dr. Alrai currently focuses on developing programs for young adults within the Muslim community. Utilizing established channels in mosques, community spaces, and natural environments, he empowers them with a holistic understanding of essential lifestyle factors rooted in Islamic principles. Dr. Sarif Alrai’s expertise bridges cultural divides, offering a unique perspective in mental health support. His dedication to empowerment and holistic well-being places him in good stead to continue to support those in need.
Rabbi Kerry Chaplin (she/her) is a spiritual counselor, ritualist, and teacher specializing in addiction and recovery, queerness, parenting, and people on the margins.
Most recently, Rabbi Kerry was a spiritual counselor at Beit T’Shuvah, where she helped addicts and their families choose life. Before joining Beit T’Shuvah in 2018, Rabbi Kerry was a Rabbinic Fellow with Lab/Shul, a community within the Jewish Emergent Network. At Lab/Shul, she co-created justice- and peace-centered rituals and drew on her community organizing background to empower people to lead and grow the community. Rabbi Kerry has also served college students and other university constituents at Vassar College and Hillel at UCLA, and has been a community organizer for decades.
She was ordained in 2015 by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University, and received a B.A. in Religious Studies and an M.A. in Non-Profit Management from Washington University in St. Louis.
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