Inspired Collaboration

Building Equitable Leadership within the Mountain Plains Behavioral Health Workforce
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Understanding Executive Dysfunction in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD

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Call for Proposals

Due 3/22
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Structural Competencies as a Novel Approach to Culturally Responsive Psychotherapy

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Mindful Mondays

March 25-May 20
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Burnout Recovery

Applying Holistic Leadership to Support the Mountain Plains Behavioral Health Workforce
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Changing the Conversation Around Mental Health

Insights on College Mental Health in 2024
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Rural Resilience

Bridging Mental Health Support for Men in the Heartland
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How to Conduct Better Observations

A Practical Guide for Education Professionals
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Accelerating the reach of youth mental health innovations through implementation science

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Veteran Lethal Means Safety for Suicide Prevention

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Adverse Childhood Experiences

What Does the Evidence Say and What Can We Do?
Learn More

Implementing MTSS to Expand Mental Health Services to Students

Learn More

What Are We Up To?

Stay up-to-date on new products, resources, and upcoming events by subscribing to our newsletter!
Subscribe Here

Inspired Collaboration

Building Equitable Leadership within the Mountain Plains Behavioral Health Workforce
Learn More

Understanding Executive Dysfunction in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD

Learn More

Call for Proposals

Due 3/22
Learn More

Structural Competencies as a Novel Approach to Culturally Responsive Psychotherapy

Learn More

Mindful Mondays

March 25-May 20
Learn More

Burnout Recovery

Applying Holistic Leadership to Support the Mountain Plains Behavioral Health Workforce
Learn More

Changing the Conversation Around Mental Health

Insights on College Mental Health in 2024
Learn More

Rural Resilience

Bridging Mental Health Support for Men in the Heartland
Learn More

How to Conduct Better Observations

A Practical Guide for Education Professionals
Learn More

Accelerating the reach of youth mental health innovations through implementation science

Learn More

Veteran Lethal Means Safety for Suicide Prevention

Learn More

Adverse Childhood Experiences

What Does the Evidence Say and What Can We Do?
Learn More

Implementing MTSS to Expand Mental Health Services to Students

Learn More

What Are We Up To?

Stay up-to-date on new products, resources, and upcoming events by subscribing to our newsletter!
Subscribe Here

Mountain Plains MHTTC

University of North Dakota
231 Centennial Drive, Stop 7189, Education Building Room 317
Grand Forks,
ND
58202
HHS Region 8
CO, MT, ND, SD, WY, UT
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The primary focus of the Mountain Plains MHTTC is to provide training, resources, and technical assistance to individuals serving persons with mental health disorders. Particular attention is given to serving providers with limited access to service delivery systems with attention paid to rural and agricultural communities. By providing free, innovative, and accessible learning opportunities on research-based practices in mental health services, we seek to help you better serve your communities, staff, and patients.The Mountain Plains MHTTC serves the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.


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Recent News

From the Mountain Plains MHTTC
Aug. 11, 2023
The American Psychiatric Association's Health Minds Monthly Poll found that 86% of pet owners say their pets have a mostly positive impact on their mental health.   Click here to read the full article.
Aug. 11, 2023
CDC released the latest provisional estimates for suicide deaths in the United States in 2022. After declining in 2019 and 2020, suicide deaths increased approximately 5% in the United States in 2021. The provisional estimates released indicate that suicide deaths further increased in 2022, rising from 48,183 deaths in 2021 to an estimated 49,449 deaths in […]
Jun. 29, 2023
"About five minutes into his Montana Football Hall of Fame induction speech, Dane Fletcher took an unexpected turn. “Tonight, I’m going to talk about my dark times,” Fletcher told the Billings Hotel and Convention Center crowd on June 25, 2022.  “Everybody kind of went, ‘What?’” said Montana Football HOF chairman Rick Halmes. “It really got […]

Upcoming Events

Hosted by the Mountain Plains MHTTC
Online Course
  Event Description This training focuses on building collaboration and cultivating a culture of inclusivity where everyone feels valued and heard. By learning how to invest in meaningful relationships, participants will work to create a positive and sustainable impact on their workplace environment. The hope is that they will learn ways to identify common goals and interests and empower all members to be a part of the change-making process.   Learning Objectives: - Identify opportunities for collaboration and person-centered engagement.  - Develop openness towards different perspectives to create a culture of shared decision making.  - Enhance communication to reduce misunderstanding and achieve identified goals.    Trainer Lamarr Lewis Lamarr Lewis, is a dedicated advocate, author, and agent of change. With a focus on community-based mental and public health, he works with diverse groups including individuals living with psychiatric disabilities, people in recovery from substance abuse, and at-hope youth (He does not use the term at-risk).   He is an alumnus of Wittenberg University graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with minors in Africana Studies and Religion. He later received his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Argosy University. His career spans over twenty years with experience as a therapist, consultant, public speaker, facilitator, trainer, and human service professional. He has been a featured expert for such organizations as; Boeing, Region IV Public Health Training Center, Fulton County Probate Court, Mississippi Department of Health, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and many more. His lifelong mission is to leave the world better than how he found it. 
Webinar/Virtual Training
  Event Description Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or ADHD often experience areas of significant executive dysfunction, which can adversely impact their educational performance. In order for these students to meet with more success in school, they will likely require evidence-based intervention, specific to their areas of executive dysfunction, to be implemented. This presentation will help participants to gain a broad understanding of what executive functions are, and how areas of executive dysfunction can negatively impact a student in school if interventions are not in place to assist them. It will take a deeper look at the areas of executive dysfunction commonly associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, and finally, it will discuss best practices (evidence-based interventions) to assist with the specific areas of executive dysfunction often found in students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.   After attending this session, participants will be able to:  1. Obtain a general understanding of what executive functions (EFs) are.  2. Be able to identify specific areas of executive dysfunction commonly associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, and understand how they may adversely impact a student’s educational performance.   3. Gain an understanding of best practices (evidence-based interventions) to implement to assist students with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD, specific to their areas of executive dysfunction.  Trainer Amanda Garrett, Psy.D., NCSP  Dr. Amanda Garrett is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist who has practiced School Psychology for the Department of Education (DOE) for over 16 years across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Hawaiʻi. After earning her Ed.S. in School Psychology at Rider University (NJ), she continued on to obtain her doctorate in School Psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PA). Dr. Garrett’s doctoral program had an emphasis in School Neuropsychology, which became an area of passion for her. In addition to working for the DOE, Dr. Garrett spent three years as the Southeast Delegate on the executive board of the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania (ASPP), and she is currently in her sixth year as an executive board member of the Hawaiʻi Association of School Psychologists (HASP), where she has served multiple positions, including Past President.  
Webinar/Virtual Training
  Event Description This presentation will provide an overview of the Structural Competencies model, which was first articulated in the medical education literature and more recently has been proposed for a more culturally and structurally responsive approach of mental health. The five principles of structural competencies will be discussed, and examples provided of how the structural competencies approach differs from the multicultural competencies approach.  Trainer Melanie Wilcox, PhD, ABPP Dr. Melanie Wilcox is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, Institute of Public and Preventive Health, and Department of Psychiatry at Augusta University. She is also a licensed psychologist and board certified in counseling psychology and works part-time in private practice providing both therapy and assessment via telehealth. Her clinical areas of expertise include culturally responsive and trauma-informed care as well as substance abuse and addiction. Her research focuses on culturally response and antiracist psychotherapy and training, racial and socioeconomic inequity in higher education, and racial and social justice more broadly. She is in her final year as a member of the American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs, which she chaired in 2020, and is currently President Elect-Elect of APA Division 17, the Society of Counseling Psychology. 

Products & Resources

Developed by the Mountain Plains MHTTC
Multimedia
  Event Description January 8 An Integrated Approach to Primary Care Behavioral Health: Part 1 This session will discuss the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model for addressing behavioral health concerns in a primary care setting. PCBH is an integrated care model that is team-based and focused on population health. Participants will learn about gaining agency buy-in, creating space for workflow, developing a collaborative, team-based approach to behavioral health, and the type of skills and training a behavioral health provider may need to be successful in a primary care consultation model.   To view resources from this training, please click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording   January 15 An Integrated Approach to Primary Care Behavioral Health: Part Two In this continuation from session one, participants will become familiar with the clinical aspects of PCBH work. This will include screening for behavioral health concerns, learning how to conduct brief visits with targeted interventions, documentation, collaborative care work with consulting psychiatrists, the use of SBIRT, and other strategies.   To view resources from this training, please click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording Trainer Robin Landwehr   Robin is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) who holds a Master of Science degree in mental health counseling from Capella University, and a Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) degree from Arizona State University. She currently serves as the Integrated Care Director at a Federally Qualified Health Center, and has a small private practice.  During her career, Robin has been fortunate enough to be involved in numerous writing projects and trainings, practiced as part of a collaborative care team, and provided clinical supervision. Her experience as a clinical counselor includes assisting individuals struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, health behaviors, substance abuse, and other issues. She is a certified instructor in the Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) and Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) suicide prevention programs.  
Multimedia
To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording Event Description The training will cover the following learning objectives: - Identify stigma around mental health. - Understand stigma as a barrier to early intervention among youth seeking mental health services. - Discuss causes and solutions to mental health stigma among adolescents. Trainer Bobbi Perkins   Bobbi Perkins joined the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) in September 2021 as a Technical Expert Lead with the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program and as the Project Director for the Mountain Plain Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Center. Prior to joining WICHE, she worked at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division (BHDDD) since 2014. In this role, she represented MT as the Single State Authority (SSA) for substance use disorder continuum of care and was responsible for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Block Grants and SAMHSA discretionary grants (Partnership for Success, State Opioid Response, FEMA Crisis Counseling, Pregnant and Post-Partum Women Pilot). Through this work she worked with partners and experts in the field to identify prevention, treatment and recovery support needs for individuals and families at risk for or struggling with substance, opioid, and stimulant use disorders. Collaboratively, she designed training and technical assistance to enhance access to evidence-based treatment across the behavioral health continuum. Bobbi has worked in the EMS, healthcare, and public health systems since 1995 and earned an undergraduate degree in Organizational Communication from Montana State University, a certificate in Public Health Management from the University of Washington, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health and public administration through the University of Montana.
Multimedia
  To view resources from this training, please click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording Event Description Learn about the COMET™ conversation. Join our panelists, Maret Felzien, Kristen Curcija, MPH, and Dr. Jack Westfall, as they present an insightful mental health model designed for rural and agricultural communities that teaches communities how to address difficult issues before they become mental health crises. Developed by the High Plains Research Network, COMET™ (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory) is a community training that teaches community members how to support a friend or neighbor in a vulnerable space by helping them shift their mental health trajectory back to a place of wellness and away from the path of a mental health crisis. The COMET™ model aligns with rural cultural values of neighbor helping neighbor and communities being their own best resource. The holidays can be stressful, and this conversation reminds us how we can identify those stress points within our community and how we all can be supportive in a natural way to engage a friend, a neighbor, or an acquaintance when you are concerned about their well-being. Trainers Maret Felzien Maret is a native to northeastern Colorado and recently retired from a long career working to support underserved and underprepared students at the local 2-year college. Currently she assists with the daily operations of the family dry-land farm and cattle ranch. She became involved with community engagement and primary care practice- and community-based research  20 years ago working with High Plains Research Network (HPRN) and its Community Advisory Council. This group informs, advises, and co-creates health research to strengthen primary care across rural eastern Colorado. The research conducted in these rural communities has been fun, meaningful, and successful, and most importantly, has shown positive impact on the health of the communities. Her community engagement work and advocacy has grown from this experience to include work at the state and national level; additionally, she continually collaborates on research teams and with projects as a patient/community voice or leader, an advocate, and even sometimes as a co-investigator in research and primary care advocacy. Kristen Curcija Kristen Curcija, MPH, is a Research Services Senior Professional at the University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine and has been with the department for over 7 years. Her work focuses on practice-based and public health research, particularly in rural regions. She supports the High Plains Research Network and its Community Advisory Council. Originally from a small town in central Illinois, Kristen enjoys learning about the unique experiences of rural clinics and communities in eastern Colorado because the stories resonate with things she is familiar with. Her research experience and interests include diabetes, loneliness, drug and alcohol screening, treatment for opioid use disorder, and improving mental health in rural communities. Kristen has experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection, management, and analysis through survey administration and key informant interviews.  She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Benedictine University and a Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Kansas State University. Jack Westfall Jack Westfall is a family doctor in Colorado. He completed his MD and MPH at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, an internship in hospital medicine in Wichita, Kansas, and his Family Medicine Residency at the University of Colorado Rose Family Medicine Program. After joining the faculty at the University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine, Dr Westfall started the High Plains Research Network, a geographic community and practice-based research network in rural and frontier Colorado. He practiced family medicine in several rural communities including Limon, Ft Morgan, and his hometown of Yuma, Colorado. He added Medication Assisted Treatment to his clinical care in 2016.The work of the HPRN and its participatory, Community Advisory Council has included funding from the CDC, NIH, AHRQ, and numerous state and local foundations. After retiring from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, he worked for several years as the Director for Whole Person Care at Santa Clara County Health and Hospitals in San Jose, California. He served for several years as the Director of the Robert Graham Center for policy research in primary care and family medicine in Washington DC. He continues to consult and collaborate on primary care practice-based research, community-based participatory research,  integrated primary care and behavioral health, and the interface between primary care, public, and community health.
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