Pacific Southwest MHTTC

TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2024 Join the Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (PS MHTTC) for a special, no-cost, full-day symposium to uplift the origins, approaches, and practices of harm reduction in mental health work. Our region is proud to be a national incubator of this approach: the National Harm Reduction Coalition started in Oakland, CA over 25 years ago. Throughout our region, providers and systems leaders are partnering with people with lived experience to reimagine how we take care of each other (sometimes through systems, sometimes despite systems, and sometimes within systems). While harm reduction has roots in substance abuse, it is also a vital mental health approach. We are holding this symposium to explore how the tenets of harm reduction and healing justice can inform and transform the way we engage in mental health care. We come together to explore these questions: By centering the lived and living experience of people and communities, how might community-driven public health strategies help us care for our clients and patients differently? How might we as service providers listen and learn from communities who are already taking care of each other, saving each other’s lives in ways that might be uncomfortable but necessary? Our symposium captures innovative approaches to harm reduction with presenters from across the region who work within diverse settings and populations. We also honor voices of lived experience by creating rich learning opportunities throughout the day that explore how our mental health policies, programs, and practices can minimize stigma and discrimination and maximize respect, health, and self-direction.   When? Our symposium runs from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. PT on May 7, 2024 (International Harm Reduction Day). 6:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. HT / 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. PT / 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. MT / 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CT / 12:00 - 7:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 - 11:00 a.m. American Samoa / 4:00 - 10:00 a.m. Marshall Islands / 3:00 - 9:00 a.m. Pohnpei, Kosrae / 2:00 - 8:00 a.m. Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Chuuk, Yap / 1:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Palau [Find your local time zone here] We apologize to our Pacific Island audience for the timing of this event; we make every effort to make our content accessible across time zones when possible. The event recording will be available on our webpage within two weeks of the symposium to allow for asynchronous learning.   How? Agenda subject to change. Our day begins with a grounding keynote, a workshop, and two panels – one spotlighting regional harm reduction practices and the other centering the voices of lived experience. A closing presentation will bring these strands together and offer a call to action. Opening / Framing: 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. PT Session 1 (workshop): 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PT Session 2 (panel - lived experience): 12:15 - 1:45 p.m. PT Session 3 (regional spotlights): 2:00 - 3:15 p.m. PT Closing /Integration: 3:30 - 4:00 p.m. PT   Participants will pursue a variety of learning objectives, including the following: Opening Keynote Compliance Versus Care: Exploring the Root Questions of Harm Reduction   Session 1 Workshop Non-Suicidal Self-Harm & Injury Reduction Understand the etiology and psychological functions of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors (NSSIB). Effectively assess and identify appropriate NSSIB interventions that promote resolution and recovery in the least restrictive settings.   Session 2 Lived Experience Panel Honoring the Voices of Lived Experience & Allyship Learn about harm reduction in practice through three voices of lived experience and allyship. Identify policies and practices that support a healing-centered approach to harm reduction for individuals who have experienced harm. Gain concrete strategies and guidance for family, friends, and other allies who wish to support the healing and recovery of loved ones.   Session 3 Regional Spotlights Shining Light on Ways to Approach Harm Reduction in Practice Glean tangible policy and practice applications of the intersections of harm reduction and mental health that are creative, innovative, and responsive Identify peer solutions and ideas from organizations and agencies based in our SAMHSA Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and U.S. Pacific Islands of American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau)   Notes: This grant-funded event is offered at no cost for all participants. We will be using one Zoom link for the entire day; you may come for the whole day portions, or come in and out as needed!   Audience This Symposium is for public and mental health practitioners, social workers, psychologists, therapists, school mental health personnel, school counselors, educators, school administrators, youth and young adult professionals, and anyone interested in enhancing their knowledge, skills,and practice with harm reduction.   Faculty   Keynote Speakers Compliance Versus Care: Exploring the Root Questions of Harm Reduction   Jen Leland, MFT (she/her/fluid) Jen Leland is a white, queer, licensed marriage and family therapist who spent her adolescence in psychiatric, substance abuse, and group residential care programs using abstinence and high control, coercive approaches. These experiences of harm spurred her 25 year commitment to working in public systems and youth programs, organizing around harm reduction and healing justice principles to create more stories of healing and fewer stories of institutional trauma and harm. She currently works at the RYSE Center in Richmond, CA as Clinical Director, working with young people to build the health justice spaces and practices they deserve.   Maurice Byrd, LMFT (he/him) Maurice Byrd is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working as a harm reductionist for the past 20 years. He is a clinical supervisor, and has collaborated in the development and implementation of community mental health programs for people experiencing chronic mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and experiencing homelessness. During his career, he has worked with adolescents and adults. He has provided mental health services in middle schools, high schools, in private practice settings, in the San Francisco County Jail system, in San Quentin prison, in homeless drop-in centers, at needle exchanges, and on the sidewalk with people experiencing homelessness. He trains, teaches, supervises, and provides consultation to both clinical and non-clinical staff at several non-profit agencies nationally, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and is often invited to speak as a voice for harm reduction therapy. Maurice specializes in teaching the fundamentals of practicing Harm Reduction Psychotherapy. He also enjoys teaching about facilitating groups and led a Harm Reduction Marijuana Group for system exposed young adults that he facilitated for 8 years. Maurice has been trained in MDMA for PTSD with MAPS and Ketamine assisted therapy. He also provides individual and group KAT therapy in his private practice. He has taught in the MFT program at Holy Names University in Oakland, CA focusing on Substance Use interventions and Community Mental Health. He is a published author, cowriting the chapter Dealing with Drug Use After Prison: Harm Reduction Therapy in the book Decarcerating America.     Session 1 Workshop Speaker Non-Suicidal Self-Harm & Injury Reduction   Priscilla Ward, LCSW (she/her) Priscilla is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has dedicated the past 19 years of her life to the helping profession by supporting youth, young adults, and families across a variety of settings. Priscilla earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services from California State University, Fullerton and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Southern California. Priscilla’s work has included leading and managing mental health teams across the Orange County Department of Education in alternative education settings, including correctional facilities. She has trained law enforcement personnel, educators, interns, church staff, performing artists facilitating arts programs and community members on topics ranging from trauma informed care, mental health treatment, crisis intervention, suicide assessment and safety, school based mental health, substance abuse treatment, and managing the impact of vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress.     Session 2 Panel Speakers Honoring the Voices of Lived Experience & Allyship   Dylan Thomas (he/him) Dylan is a 27 year old professional and advocate for mental health. He’s spent 6 years speaking about his lived experience as well as his experience through the systems of care, from adolescence to adulthood. During this time Dylan has facilitated various groups, attended trainings, and made valuable connections. He now works full time while finding ways to make a positive impact.         Gabriela Zapata-Alma, LCSW, CADC (they/them) Gabriela is the Associate Director of the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health, as well as faculty at the University of Chicago, where they direct the Advanced Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor Training Program within University of Chicago's Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Gabriela brings over 15 years of experience supporting people impacted by structural and interpersonal violence through innovative and evidence-based clinical, housing, resource advocacy, peer-led, harm reduction, and HIV-integrated care programs. As a person with lived experience of violence and trauma, they center survivor-driven solutions, nonpathologizing approaches, and intergenerational healing. Currently, Gabriela authors best practices, leads national capacity-building efforts, and provides trauma-informed policy consultation to advance health equity and social justice.         Janis Whitlock, Ph.D., MPH (she/her) Janis Whitlock is a developmental psychologist, researcher and consultant. She is emerita research faculty at Cornell University and the founder and director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery. She retired in 2022 so she could dedicate her time to actively supporting youth serving organizations in direct and effective application of knowledge. Her four-decade career includes direct service, program development and evaluation in the area of women's and youth sexual health, followed by 25 years of direct research in areas related to youth mental health and wellbeing. She focuses on using strength-based approaches, including resilience and connectedness to understand and support social and emotional health and has conducted research in the areas of connectedness and belonging, non-suicidal self-injury, suicide prevention, and the relationship between technology use and youth wellbeing. She is the author of over 70 papers and co-author of the book, Healing self-injury: A compassionate guide for parents and other loved ones and co-editor of the upcoming volume, Oxford handbook on non-suicidal self-injury. She is also the founder and director of the Self-Injury and Recovery Resources website which houses resources for individuals with self-injury experience, youth serving professionals, and caregivers, among others. Dr. Whitlock is dedicated to helping youth, families and larger communities thrive.       Session 3 Regional Spotlights Shining Light on Ways to Approach Harm Reduction in Practice   Erin Hughes, MSW, PPSC (she/her) Erin Hughes is a school based social worker who has spent her career working with adolescents in San Francisco. For the past 17 years, she has been the Wellness Coordinator at June Jordan School for Equity, a small social justice high school in the Excelsior neighborhood. Her work primarily focuses on supporting the well-being of students and families through mental health services, case management, crisis prevention and intervention, and health education. Erin uses a trauma informed, strength based approach in her work with students that centers harm reduction and empowerment. She believes that harm reduction is a powerful approach to use with adolescents because it is rooted in justice and human rights, meets clients where they are at, honors their voice and choice, and aligns with their developmental needs.       Lilinoe Kauahikaua, MSW (she/her/'o ia) Lilinoe Kauahikaua is from Piʻihonua, Hilo on Moku o Keawe (Hawaiʻi Island) but has lived and grown in many other spaces throughout her journey, including Oʻahu, California, and Arizona. Lilinoe serves as program coordinator with Papa Ola Lōkahi, for all substance use and mental health projects, as well as the AANHPI ʻOhana Center of Excellence for behavioral health project manager. Her work focuses on cultural approaches in healing. Lilinoe was appointed by Governor Ige to the Hawai’i Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse and Controlled Substances and serves on the boards of ʻEkolu Mea Nui, Going Home Hawai’i, Kinohi Mana Nui, and the cultural committee co-chair for The Going Home Hawaiʻi Consortium, organizations serving the Native Hawaiian community impacted by incarceration and substance use. Lilinoe also serves on committees for the Institute of Violence and Trauma (IVAT), and Hawaiʻi SUPD (Substance Use Professional Development) initiative.         Stacey Cope (they/them) Stacey Cope is a queer parent, a plant nerd, a dancer, a sensory and pleasure seeking troll. Stacey is one of the original members of Sonoran Prevention Works, in Tempe, Arizona and is so excited to explore their new role. They see harm reduction as the foundation for all liberatory paths forward; an orientation toward love and building a future we want our children to live in. They center harm reduction in their internal, interpersonal, communal and professional relationships. Harm reduction has saved Stacey’s life, more times than they can count. Stacey sees harm reduction as an invitation to more feeling, more dignity, and more choice. You can catch them resting, exploring libraries, talking to plants and birds and leaning into play with their magical kid.     FAQs Will Continuing Education Credits be available? Up to four Continuing Education Hours (CEH) will be available through verified participation in the session(s) as listed below. 1.5 CEH for Session 1 1.25 CEH for Session 2 1.25 CEH for Session 3 Will the symposium be recorded? This event will be recorded and published on the Pacific Southwest MHTTC website within two weeks of the event.   Priming Materials Harm Reduction Framework | SAMHSA National Harm Reduction Technical Assistance Center Principles of Healing-Centered Harm Reduction | by Reframe Health and Justice (2018) Our Right to Heal: Liberatory Harm Reduction - YES! Magazine Solutions Journalism Medical And Behavioral Health Settings - Harm Reduction Approaches Trans-Inclusive and Trans-Centered Harm Reduction Services | NASTAD; Harm Reduction Services Putting Indigenous Harm Reduction to Work: Developing and Evaluating “Not Just Naloxone” What is Harm Reduction? Harm Reduction is Justice | Yale Law & Policy Review Harm Reduction - National Council for Mental Wellbeing OVERVIEW of Harm Reduction and Eating Disorders The Ethical Defensibility of Harm Reduction and Eating Disorders MHRS - Burnout and Self-Care Working in the HR Field Integrating Harm Reduction Strategies into Services and Supports for Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness Between harm reduction, loss and wellness: on the occupational hazards of work The Why, What, and How: Addressing the Social Determinants of Mental Health in the Pacific Southwest Region Witkiewitz, K., Walthers, J., & Marlatt, G. A. (2013). Harm reduction in mental health practice. In V. L. Vandiver (Ed.), Best practices in community mental health: A pocket guide (pp. 65–82). Lyceum Books.

  This workshop will introduce participants to the theory and practice of using theater in therapeutic ways to facilitate self-expression, support self-esteem, cultivate supportive communities, and challenge stereotypes among incarcerated and re-entry populations.     During our time together, we will explore the theoretical underpinnings of Drama Therapy, provide concrete examples of Drama Therapy applications with incarcerated and re-entry populations, and engage in several simple and transformative Drama Therapy exercises. Two individuals who have been formerly incarcerated will also share their experiences participating in therapeutic theater programs, both in prison and after returning home.     • • • •   INTENDED AUDIENCE This training is intended to serve clinical practitioners, including marriage and family therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, licensed clinical social workers, drug recovery counselors, psychiatric nurses, as well as those in training or internship programs for their respective licenses.   • • • •   LEARNING OUTCOMES Participants will be able to: Explain why Drama Therapy is an effective intervention for incarcerated and re-entry populations. Articulate two ways in which theater and/or Drama Therapy can support  incarcerated and re-entry populations. Identify one similarity and one difference between “Drama Therapy” and “Theater as Therapy.” Learn and practice two Drama Therapy exercises that can be used in working with incarcerated and re-entry populations and articulate one benefit of each.   • • • •   **1.5 continuing education hours (CEH's) are available through full participation in this workshop.   • • • •   ABOUT THE FACULTY & PANEL SPEAKERS    Suraya Keating, MFT, RDT (she/hers) Suraya Keating, MFT (#43996), REAT, RDT is a bilingual (Spanish-English) Registered Expressive Arts Therapist, Registered Drama Therapist and master trainer in Expressive Arts and Drama Therapy.  Suraya has worked as Shakespeare for Social Justice Director for Marin Shakespeare Company since 2005, and helped expand Marin Shakespeare’s prison programs from a single prison (San Quentin) to 14 California prisons. She also co-founded Marin Shakespeare’s Returned Citizens’ Theater Troupe, a theater program for artists returning home from incarceration. She has worked as an adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, John F Kennedy University and Santa Rosa Junior College, and supervised an Expressive Arts Therapy Program at Contra Costa Health Services, where she provided training and supervision to MFT associates in the use of therapeutic arts practices with multiple populations. Suraya loves facilitating Expressive Arts and Drama Therapy processes with individuals and groups in schools, prisons, hospitals, juvenile halls and in private practice, and has heavily focused her work on populations who are marginalized and oppressed. An avid practitioner of Playback Theater as well as a life-story performance coach, Suraya believes in the healing power of sharing and listening to each others’ life stories. She also has extensive experience in somatic practices including 5 Rhythms Dance, Open Floor Dance and Yoga. www.suraya.org   Photo credit: Peter Merts Photography Tony Cyprien  Tony hails from Watts in southern California but spent most of his adolescence and all of his adulthood incarcerated. He was paroled from prison in 2011 and since then found opportunity for expression of his life experience through improv and storytelling. His stories have been performed at the Castro Theater, Herbst Theater, at a podcast festival in Anaheim, and two broadcasts on Moth Radio. He found support from Marin Shakespeare’s Returned Citizens Group and Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project, has acted in “Train Stories” at the Marsh Theater in Berkeley and the Afro Solo Arts Festival in San Francisco, which culminated in a nomination for Best Performer in a Play from Broadway World San Francisco Bay Area Aware. He has enjoyed creating and performing both long and short solo performance pieces at small theaters and stages throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.   Photo credit: Peter Merts Photography Preston “Zoe” Gardner My name is Preston Gardner. Many people call me Zoe. I was born in Richmond, California, where I went to many schools. I always wanted to be an artist. My life is grand of as of now, though growing up was kind of hard. I was incarcerated at 21 years old. I’ve changed a lot in my life from when I was 21. I'm looking forward to living my life the best way I know how through God, who gives me strength.

WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. PT Session 4 of 4 in the "Rooting Young Adult Mental Health Services in Culturally Sustaining Values & Practices" Series (view series main page for full details)    Honoring and Supporting Peer Support in Healing-Centered Approaches May 22, 2024: Session 4   This session’s essential question is: How might organizations truly value, uplift, and support the wisdom and skill of those with lived experience? Join us as we explore peer support in healing-centered engagement. The learning objectives include: How YYA serving organizations can implement peer support providers, and uplift lived experience professionals Learn about the power and benefits of peer support in a young person's life Ways to implement peer support in young people's treatment plan as a way to promote employment opportunities and belonging How to create youth leadership programming and youth voice initiatives   Main Series Program Goals Counter the impacts of vicarious trauma and burn out by creating a safe and responsive learning community for the YYA workforce to be heard and seen in their efforts to support the holistic needs of their clientele. Build an understanding of healing centered engagement and approaches to youth development and case management that strengthens service provision for transition-aged youth. Expand our organizational and individual capacity to support young adult holistic wellness, critical consciousness development, and collective healing.     Audience All community-based organizations, institutions, and mental health professionals, including peer support specialists, therapists, psychologists, counselors, and others who support the mental health and wellness of transition-aged youth.     Meet the Co-Facilitators & Faculty   Oriana Ides, MA, APCC, PPS (she/hers) Oriana Ides is a School Mental Health Training Specialist at CARS (the Center for Applied Research Solutions) and approaches healing the wounds of trauma and oppression as core elements of social justice. She has worked with young people across the life course from elementary school to college, and has served as teacher-leader, school counselor, classroom educator and program director. She is committed to generating equity within school structures and policies by focusing on evidence-based mental health techniques and institutional design.   Falilah “Aisha” Bilal (she/her) Falilah “Aisha” Bilal has worked joyously for over 30 years creating innovative, relevant evidence-based strategies to transform, empower and develop individuals, systems, organizations and contemporary thought. Ms. Bilal’s work is centered in healing practices, empowering youth and families, and self-discovery.  Ms. Bilal specializes in the field of youth development, healing informed organizational development, and strategic fundraising consultation. Currently Ms. Bilal serves as the Chief of Staff for the Black Organizing Project as well as directs her own consulting company where she provides trainings, curriculum development, healing experiences, coaching, and executive leadership to local and national agencies, companies and programs. Previously, Ms. Bilal served as a Senior Trainer with the National Black Women’s Justice Institute and a Radical Healer with Flourish Agenda.  She served as the Executive Director for M.I.S.S.S.E.Y. raising over 2 million dollars in funds to support sexually exploited children and young adults.   She has worked for numerous Bay Area agencies including World Trust, Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, Oakland Bay Area CARES Mentoring Movement, GirlSource, Office of Family, Children and Youth, City of Oakland, and the Young Women’s Freedom Center. Ms. Bilal holds a M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a B.A. in Theater Arts and Child Psychology from San Francisco State University.

This is a recording of Workshop 6 of 6 in the "Trauma-Informed, In School Sessions" Workshop Series.  The Heart Work: Equity-Centered Coaching Practices for Trauma-Informed Collegiality and Collective Healing Trauma Informed Principle to Practice: Cultural Humility   As systemic inequities and trauma are often intertwined, addressing their connection becomes crucial in trauma-informed school communities. Centering equity in every student interaction and adult partnership supporting the school system is essential. The capacity for the adults responsible for implementing trauma-informed practices grounded in equity is nurtured through equity-centered coaching.   In this workshop video, Pacific Southwest MHTTC's School Mental Health Specialist Melissa Smith leads an exploration of the principles of equity-centered coaching to cultivate trauma-informed school environments. Coaching conversations, grounded in active listening, cultural humility, and psychological safety, model the equitable interactions that administrators might have with educators and providers so that educators and providers can offer the same experience with their students.   Melissa brings forth opportunities to examine our own identities, assumptions, patterns, and beliefs - thereby creating space for new perspectives. This self-reflection enables us to recognize how inequities and trauma manifest in our schools. As we build self-awareness about our experiences and worldviews, we become better able to perceive concerning dynamics and interrupt cycles of harm.   This workshop recording is an invitation to envision the trauma-informed and healing-centered schools we desire – places where adults possess the tools to nurture their well-being and fully empower students. We will review evidence-based tools, rationale, and resources to foster cultural humility, mitigate systemic barriers, and build trusting partnerships across the school community.

This is a recording of Workshop 5 of 6 in the "Trauma-Informed, In School Sessions" Workshop Series.  "You Can Talk to Me": A Family Guide to Support Students' Mental Health and Well-Being Trauma Informed Principle to Practice: Trustworthiness & Transparency, Collaboration & Mutuality    How might we partner with parents, caregivers and families through trauma informed approaches to support the mental health and well-being of the children and teens in their lives? In 2023, Project Cal-Well (a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education to promote mental health awareness and wellness among California's K-12 students) designed the Family Guide to Supporting Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being for parents and other caregivers (available in English and Spanish), with input from families, educators, mental health professionals, and youth. By sharing tips for families on how to have conversations about social media use, mental health, anti-LGBTQ experiences, bullying and more, this guide provides parents and other caregivers with information and easy-to-use strategies to support their children’s overall well-being and mental health.   How did the guide’s authors partner with students and their families to create this guide? How might we support students and families to dig into its information and leverage this resource to partner with parents and other caretakers? View this workshop recording to explore these questions, and the guide itself, while learning from several of its authors about how the guide’s development process was trauma informed.   Viewers of this workshop video will: (1) learn about the development and content of the guide; (2) have the opportunity to consider how to get the guide and related local resources into the hands of families; and (3) generate ideas for how to use individual sections of the guide to align with a school’s continuum of trauma-informed approaches and social, emotional, and behavioral supports.

This is a recording of Workshop 4 of 6 in the "Trauma-Informed, In School Sessions" Workshop Series.  Counseling with Care: Trauma Informed School Counseling Practices Trauma Informed Principle to Practice: Peer Support, Empowerment   Are you a school counselor, becoming a school counselor, or someone who teams/works with school counselors? Zeyda Garcia, founder of Healing Aguas Wellness Solutions and school counseling professor, joined this series to share how to anchor and apply trauma-informed principles in school counseling practices, programs, and policies. In the workshop video, she discusses a high-level overview of trauma, its impacts on students, and different strategies school mental health providers can implement to support young people in counseling settings.   Utilizing trauma informed school counseling practices, providers can support young people in regulating their own nervous system and support them in accessing their education. Watch this workshop video and join in reflections on our unique school and personal practices, in order to enhance our trauma-informed support of students.   Viewers will walk away with practical tools to use in sessions with students, families, and school-wide. Most importantly, and in Zeyda’s words, this workshop aims to offer school counselors “more creativity, courage and confidence in yourself as a counselor and a commitment to caring for yourself.”