Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Specialist Dan Dubovsky, MSW, LSW, will give two free training sessions Mar. 10 in Waimea.

Dubovsky will present “Treating Individuals with an FASD and Co-occurring Mental Health Disorders” from 9 a.m. to noon at Keck Observatory Auditorium. This training is geared toward mental health practitioners, though all are welcome. Register by contacting Martha White @ [email protected].

The afternoon session, “FASD: The Basics,” will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tutu’s House. No registration is required for the afternoon session.

Both of these events are being sponsored by the Hawaii Island Psychologists Association.

Dubovsky works out of the FASD Center for Excellence at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Washington, D.C. He has more than 30 years of experience in his field.

In a study by The Children’s Research Triangle, clinics and outreach workers screened 2,000 pregnant women on the Big Island and found that over 50 percent of women screened were using alcohol, marijuana or tobacco. This research points to the urgent need to both prevent FASD’s through screening and brief intervention, and to address the needs of those individuals and their families who have been impacted by FASD.