Curriculum Developers and Trainers

Project MASTER Curriculum Developers for the Advanced Training in Self Neglect

Susan Castano	Susan is the Program Coordinator for the Continuing Education and Professional Development Program at Rutgers University School of Social Work. Susan has more than 35 years varied social work experience with expertise in gerontology, adult protective services, and family treatment. She has developed and delivered workshops and training sessions nationally in the human services field. (See Biopsychosocial Assessment Curriculum)
Patrick Arbore	Patrick is the Program Director and Founder of the Institute on Aging’s Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services in San Francisco. He has trained at numerous national conferences on such APS related issues as “Obstacles to Accepting Help: The Role of Resistance, Shame and Guilt”; “The Difficult, Resistant Older Client”, “Working with the Difficult Older Adult” as well as being a nationally recognized expert on elder suicide, depression and drug addiction. (See Effectively Engage with Reluctant Clients to Develop Service Plans that Work Curriculum)
Lisa Nerenberg	Lisa Nerenberg has been actively involved in the field of elder abuse prevention since 1983. She directed the San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention, which piloted such widely replicated services as elder abuse multi-disciplinary teams, support groups and counseling for victims, and culturally-specifically outreach. Her special area of interest is the role of the criminal and civil justice system in elder abuse prevention. (See Legal, Ethical and Practice Issue in Self Neglect Curriculum)

Project MASTER Trainers for the Advance Training in Self Neglect

Irving Hellman, Ph.D:

Dr. Hellman is a licensed psychologist and geriatric specialist operating from his private practice since 1985. A graduate of Yale University, he is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Medical School. As a geropsychologist, Dr. Hellman works collaboratively with public and private agencies, and health care and legal professionals to assist with consultations and treatment of elders and their caregivers and in training professionals serving elders.

Prior to serving as Elder Care Advisor of his private practice in Sacramento, Irving has held the position of Internal Consultant of Adult Protective Services in Sacramento. He has offered services through a Clinical & Forensic Private Practice, and served as a Psychologist and a Geropsychologist for the Sutter Counseling Center and Jewish Family Service Center in Sacramento.

Irving has completed several publications on various topics of elder care, covering guidance to family members and service providers on continuum of care giving for individuals with dementia to financial capacity evaluations for cases if fiduciary abuse, medical issues in elder abuse, and determining culpability regarding self neglect and other forms of neglect. He has acted as keynote speaker at the APS/MDT Annual Conference on the topic: “Creating Solutions for an Aging America”, and provided numerous trainings and presentations on issues such as Models of Aging – Functional Capacity, Assessing Vulnerability to Elder Abuse, Dealing with Difficult Clients, Assessing/Investigating/Prosecuting Undue Influence, and Advanced Risk Assessment for Substance Abuse, and Mental Health & Successful Aging.

Patrick Arbore, Ed.D:

Dr. Arbore is the Program Director and Founder of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services (CESP), which later merged and remains today as the Institute on Aging. He currently holds the position of Director of CESP concurrently with Director of Education and Professional Training. Patrick received his Masters in Psychology from San Francisco State University and his Ed.D in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco.

Prior to developing CESP, Patrick held the position of part-time lecturer for the college of Notre Dame, now Notre Dame de Namur University. He was a full time lecturer and co-taught Counseling Skills and Graduate Practicum at the University of San Francisco, and was the former Geriatric & Grief Program Director for eight years at the San Francisco Suicide Prevention Center. Patrick has developed countless trainings covering a variety of topics including Elderly Suicide Prevention, Youth Suicide Prevention, Building Volunteer Programs, Grief and Loss, Crisis Intervention Techniques, Elderly Depression and Hopelessness, Burnout and its Consequences and delivered them all throughout the United States.

Patrick’s passions extend beyond trainings and presentations on the many issues of Aging to include research and numerous publications throughout his career. He was the Co-Recipient of the 2002 American Society on Aging’s Gloria Cavanaugh Award for Excellence in Training and Education in Aging, received the 2000 Certificate of Appreciation at the Northern California Training Consortium, as well as the 1998 American Society on Aging’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to aging-related advocacy, teaching or research on the national level and has created visibility for the field and for the ASA, among others.

Candace J Heisler, JD:

Ms Heisler is a trainer, educator, and consultant in the areas ofdomestic violence, elder abuse, stalking, criminal law, and trial advocacy for Heisler & Associates since 1998. She received her Juris Doctorate degree at the University of California, San Francisco and was admitted into practice in the state of California in 1972 and the United States District Court in 1975.

Candace’s prior employment includes Assistant District Attorney for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office where she was the Head of Felony and Misdemeanor Intake Unit: Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Unit. She has also served as an Assistant Court Commissioner for the San Francisco Superior Court.

With her free time, Candace has served on numerous organizations and boards including the California Bar Association, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, American Law Institute, National College of District Attorneys, and the California District Attorneys Association. Her professional activities include San Francisco Board of Supervisors Task Force on Elder Abuse Reporting, San Francisco Family Violence County Council (A Founding Member) and Member of Steering Committee, the San Francisco Interdepartmental Elder Abuse Investigative Team, and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, where she served as Second Vice President, among many others. Candace has provided many training and educational opportunities over her career, with serving as an organizer and speaker for seminars on Elder Abuse covering an "Overview of Elder Abuse"; "Forms of Elder Abuse and Case Development"; and "Domestic Violence in Later Life".

Since 1998, Candace has provided presentations and trainings all across the country including innumerable California Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Presentations, covering topics such as physical, emotional, and financial abuse issues toward elderly as well as solutions for prevention and how to build a case for prosecution. Her publications include an article in the National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse titled, “From the Frontlines: Working with the Criminal Justice System”.

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