Responding to COVID-19 | School Mental Health

Public health emergencies such as COVID-19 have a significant impact on students and their families, educators and the school mental health workforce, as well as the school mental health system. Addressing the mental health impact on students, parents, teachers and school personnel has become more important and necessary than ever before. The MHTTC Network recognizes this, and we are available to assist the school mental health workforce by providing training and technical assistance to help during these trying times. 

Access the full list of MHTTC events & resources related to school mental health and COVID-19 here. 

COVID-Related MHTTC School Mental Health Products and Resources

Back to School After COVID-19: Supporting Student and Staff Mental Health ToolkitNew England MHTTC 

This toolkit is designed to help guide conversations to include a trauma-informed, equitable, and compassionate lens to providing mental health supports to every member of the school community.


Back to School: Opening up with Optimism and ConnectionNew England MHTTC

As schools prepare to return to learning—in the classroom and virtually, they can help create a sense of safety that supports staff and student mental health by cultivating a culture of joy and forming positive connections in the school community. Three thought leaders share how their work in the fields of education, recovery-oriented care, and trauma recovery overlap to provide practical strategies to school staff and community members who care deeply about addressing the trauma that will be prevalent this fall. 


Be Our Lunch Date? A "Think Tank" Time: A Gathering of School Mental Health Practitioners to Surface School Mental Teleheath Needs and ResourcesNorthwest MHTTC & Pacific Southwest MHTTC

For the past couple of months the Northwest and Pacific Southwest regions have been engaged in learning about the Interconnected Systems Framework - a structure and process to integrate PBIS and school mental health within school systems. This systems work is just as important now, as schools explore how to best provide school mental health, telehealth, and virtual student supports. This "think tank" workshop served to identify the needs we are noticing; the resources in our field that can support those needs; and ways we can develop tools and supports to fill the gaps. 


Campus Mental Health: How Do We Come Back to the New Normal? | Mountain Plains MHTTC

In this Mountain Plains MHTTC virtual session, presenters discussed what coming back to the “new normal” looks like for college students’ as they return to their respective campuses. It is anticipated that many students’ will have experienced some trauma, if not just the shock of being dispersed from campus to the actual trauma of personal or familial illness. 


Changing the Conversation about Mental Health to Support College Students During a Pandemic | Mountain Plains MHTTC

This virtual session focuses on the emergent pandemic and the impact it is having on college students’ mental health and well-being.Topics covered include ways we can successfully support students’ mental health needs remotely; coping strategies for adapting to a new normal; and techniques for supporting social connectedness during a time of social distancing and educational disconnect.


Clinical Strategies to Promote Emotional and Behavioral Health in College-aged Youth During COVID-19Mountain Plains MHTTC

This training focuses on evidence based practices, strategies, and supports for use with college-aged youth as they return to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The session addresses the context and needs of campus mental health during COVID-19.


Considerations for Systematic Screening PK-12: Universal Screening for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in the COVID-19 Era | Northwest MHTTC

As educational leaders across the country navigate the complexities for providing instruction during the 2020-2021 academic year, questions have arisen regarding systematic screening practices. In this presentation, we offer considerations by Lane and Oakes (2020) for conducting systematic screenings for internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the COVID-19 era. We recommend educators continue to screen, use multiple sources of data to inform programming, and screen responsibly.


COVID-19 Disparities Webinar: How to Support Racial & Ethnic Minority Students | Southeast MHTTC

This webinar, presented by Dr. Briana Woods-Jaeger, examines the various adversities experienced by racial and ethnic minority students as a result of the outbreak COVID-19. Additionally, this webinar will highlight how teachers and school staff can provide support to students disproportionately affected by incorporating cultural humility practices in a school/classroom setting.


COVID-19 Effect on Child Mental Health Fact SheetCentral East MHTTC

This 2-page fact sheet describes the effect of COVID-19 on the mental health of children.


Creating Resilience in Children to Foster Potential and Increase their Success in the WorldNortheast and Caribbean MHTTC

Do you want to prepare your children to become healthy, productive, contributing adults that will allow them to navigate an increasingly complex and changing world? This webinar explores how to create resilient children who can overcome adversity and view challenges as opportunities for growth and creativity. We identify ways that parents can accomplish this task from the doorways of their very own homes.


Crisis Readiness, Response, and Recovery Webinar Series | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

Bereavement outside the context of a crisis is common – the vast majority of children experience the death of a close family member or friend. These deaths have a significant and often long-term impact on learning, social and emotional development, behavior, and adjustment. 

  • Part 1 - Principles of Commemoration and Memorialization: Commemorative activities and memorialization in schools present opportunities for students and staff to take an active role in constructing an enduring memory related to a crisis event and to honor those whose lives were lost. This session reviews key considerations for planning commemorative and memorial activities in school settings.
  • Part 2 - Supporting Grieving Students During a Pandemic: The current pandemic is associated with a large and growing number of deaths. This presentation provides practical suggestions on how schools can talk with and support grieving children in general. This presentation also highlights the unique challenges for supporting students during the pandemic and describe free resources from the Coalition to Support Grieving Students that can be used to address these challenges.
  • Part 3 -  When School Starts Back: Helping Students, Staff, and Yourself Cope with Crisis During the COVID-19 Pandemic: This session summarizes the principles of psychological first aid and common reactions that may be seen in any crisis event, including the current pandemic. It also provides practical advice on how to help students and staff understand and cope with the current pandemic and begin to prepare for what may be needed to offer support to students when schools re-open. The session underscores the need for professional self-care and highlights some of the barriers as well as some potential solutions.

Culturally Responsive Strategies to Promote Student Success | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC and National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC

This webinar provides strategies to facilitate culturally responsive supports for student mental health and affirming approaches that capitalize on student strengths and avoid reinforcing stigmatizing beliefs.


DBT STEPS-A Q&A Sessions with Jim and Lizz MazzaNorthwest MHTTC

Have you been watching the Mazza's live or online videos as they support their kids and your kids in developing DBT, otherwise known as, critical life skills? These 1-hour, interactive Q&A sessions with Doctors Jim & Lizz Mazza focus on their online, live-streamed 16-lesson DBT STEPS-A curriculum to teach the basics of emotional regulation and specific skills such as mindfulness, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness—essential skills at any time, but even more critical during COVID-19.


Educator Self-Care and Thriving During a Public Health Crisis | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

With the current public health crisis, we are facing a new way of engaging and teaching our students. While some of us may have been doing some assignments remotely in the past this new platform and the current social distancing orders have created a whole new set of stressors on our educators, their students, and families. This webinar provides some helpful hints to help us all survive and thrive during this time while simultaneously taking care of ourselves, our students, and their families. 


Educator Wellness SeriesNorthwest MHTTC

The Northwest MHTTC, in Partnership with WellEducator & the Northwest PBIS Network, brings you the Educator Wellness Series! This Educator Wellness Series is designed for you, the educator, to take a break from what can feel like an overwhelming hustle to prepare, deliver, and support your students and focus on your own wellbeing.  We designed this 4 Session Series to support you in tapping into your resiliency skills, increasing your self-compassion, creating self-care routines, building a practice of gratitude and appreciation, and celebrating - even those small successes - to support your wellbeing. 


¡En español! Apoyando el bienestar emocional y salud mental de los estudiantes hispanos y latinos y sus cuidadores durante la pandemia de COVID-19 | National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC

  • Parte I: Este seminario virtual examina la diferencia entre el distanciamiento social y la desconexión social y proporcionará estrategias para lidiar con las secuelas emocionales de estar lejos de los demás entre los niños, adolescentes y cuidadores, especialmente enfocado en aquellos que se identifican como latinx. 
  • Parte II: Este seminario web discuta las emociones y sus manifestaciones y brinda estrategias para manejar las emociones en niños, adolescentes y cuidadores que se identifican como latinx durante la pandemia de COVID-19. 
  • Parte III: Este seminario web identifica los tipos de duelo y proporciona estrategias para manejar el duelo en niños, adolescentes y cuidadores que se identifican como latinx durante la pandemia de COVID-19. 

Financing School-Based Mental Health Services during a State Budget Crisis | Southeast MHTTC

Today’s economic crisis, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures, poses significant challenges for state budget-makers. This webinar, led by health care financing expert Dr. Adam Wilk, discusses those challenges in the context of school and school district leaders’ efforts to finance school mental health programs.


Fostering Resilience in Families during Uncertain TimesSouth Southwest MHTTC

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted life as we know it Prevention strategies used to stop the spread of the coronavirus pose challenges to the education system, school-age children, and the families trying to support their education. More than at any other time in history, families are feeling the challenges of supporting the health and emotional well-being of the children in their care. Fostering resilience in families during uncertain times is the focus of this brief.


Fostering Resilience: Responding to the Needs of School-Age Children | South Southwest MHTTC

This brief discusses how educators, school-based mental health providers, and school-age children and families can foster resilience during a pandemic-related disruption.


Happy Teachers Practice Self-CareGreat Lakes MHTTC

This presentation focuses on prioritizing self-care while working from home. Presenters introduce the impact of job burnout, as well as how to recognize signs and symptoms; define “Social Emotional Learning” and provide examples on how this can be included in the classroom or virtually; discuss tools to help prevent burn-out, and set boundaries to separate work time from personal and develop a self-care plan.


Having Difficult Conversations: A Guide for Providers, Teachers, and Parents | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

The pandemic, ongoing social and racial injustices, and the recent violent events on the Capitol may have you and those close to you feeling uncertain, unsettled, and overall fearful. As behavioral health providers, teachers, parents, peers, and community members, you can provide support during these challenging times in several impactful ways. Having Difficult Conversations: A Guide for Providers, Teachers, and Parents presents a number of steps you can take when having difficult conversations. 


Helping Students Cope with StressNortheast and Caribbean MHTTC

In this webinar, participants learn to define stress and how it manifests in children; look at how COVID-19 affects stress; recognize the parallel between stress and mental health; identify how educators and school mental health personnel can help children deal with stress; identify what teachers can do; learn about concrete strategies and resources to help students cope.


K-12 COVID Best Practices PosterNational American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC

This poster can be used in schools to help promote best practices for reducing the spread of the virus. It can be printed on 11x17 paper or smaller. 


Leading Trauma Informed School Systems Change - Before, During & After Pandemic Times | Southeast MHTTC

This Southeast MHTTC webinar focuses on systems leadership approaches that embrace trauma-informed care at both the district and state levels. Highlighting local and regional leaders, this series offers both the theory and practical tips to support school workforces to implement trauma informed principles in our practices, programs and policies.


LEARN Saves Lives Suicide Prevention for Parents and Caregivers | Northwest MHTTC

The Northwest MHTTC partnered with Forefront Suicide Prevention & the University of Washington SMART Center to bring the LEARN® Saves Lives Suicide Prevention Training for Parents/Caregivers directly to you in your own home, free of charge. Developed by Forefront, the five simple and effective Forefront Suicide Prevention LEARN® steps empower individuals to help others move in the direction of hope, recovery, and survival. 


LGBTQ Youth Tobacco Prevention: COVID-19 and Lung VulnerabilityCentral East MHTTC

LGBTQ populations are at higher risk for COVID-19 due in part to wildly disproportionate rates of smoking, vaping, and other forms of tobacco use. Tobacco dependence usually starts in adolescence, and studies have shown LGBTQ youth are especially vulnerable to substance misuse, predatory ad campaigns, and peer influence. This webinar explores the rates, risks, and intersections of tobacco use and the novel coronavirus among queer and gender expansive teens and young adults.


Making a Good Connection: Engaging Students and Families in School Tele-Mental Health | MHTTC Network

Making a Good Connection: Engaging Students and Families in School Tele-Mental Health is a three-part webinar series geared toward providers who are making the transition from in-person to telehealth services. Session content focuses on practical strategies and equity concerns related to engaging children, adolescents, and families using distance technology. Attendees are given the opportunity to submit questions upon registration, enabling our Technology Transfer Center (TTC) Network specialists to shape their content to meet your needs.


Managing Anxiety & Return to School Webinar Series | Northwest MHTTC

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns youth face. While it is a normal emotional experience, it can grow to become incredibly distressing and interfering, particularly as it comes to school. In these webinars, we discuss how to identify, understand, and intervene for problematic anxiety for youth in your classroom.


Managing Behaviors in the Classroom During Challenging Times | Mountain Plains MHTTC

As an unprecedented new school year begins, this 60 minute webinar addresses basic classroom management strategies with a focus on preventing undesirable behaviors and increasing awareness of challenging behaviors related to trauma, grief, and stress. Viewers will learn easy-to-implement interventions to promote resiliency.


Mental Health & Equity in Schools | South Southwest MHTTC

This webinar focused on teaching general mental health, including the signs/symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation as well as practical steps teachers can take to support students. Additionally the webinar focused on the stressors and mental health implications of COVID/race/police/equity issues in the world right now as they impact high school students.


Mental Health Resources for K-12 Educators During COVID-19 | Mountain Plains MHTTC

In response to the recent pandemic (COVID-19), several national organizations and associations have shared and promoted resources to assist K-12 educators. Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults play a critical role in helping children make sense of what they hear and making sure that it is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety and fear. This product compiles all recent toolkits, guides, tip sheets, and infographics that have been developed by reputable sources to assist educators during this time.


Native Youth Telehealth Initiative Webinar | National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC

In this session, Dr. George Baston, MHRD, Ed.D CTE, and Natasha Peterson, BS, cover how to implement telehealth using the “Let’s Talk Interactive” platform and opportunities to collaborate with the National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC. An opportunity to participate in our Native Youth Telehealth Initiative, and receive intensive technical assistance, is announced in this webinar. Application information is given at the end of Dr. Baston's presentation. Six sites are chosen from the applicants.


Planning for School Crises During School CrisisPacific Southwest MHTTC

In this webinar, Dr. Stephen Brock provides an overview of the third edition of PREPaRE, a curriculum that contains current research and strategies for integrated school safety and crisis prevention, planning, response, and recovery efforts. He also discusses how to adjust school crisis response plans to accommodate the reality of a global pandemic. Yesmina Luchsinger shares her crisis planning and response lessons learned as a state leader, including the development and dissemination process of the Pandemic Preparedness Guide the state released in March 2020.


Promoting Educator Well-Being: Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress in the Era of COVID-19 | Central East MHTTC

This webinar training explores the differences between and strategies to counter fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Participants also learn strategies to enhance well-being and promote job satisfaction.


Providing Telehealth Services and Instruction to Students and Clients with a Focus on those with Developmental Disabilities and on the Autism Spectrum | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

The focus of this webinar is to provide the support and information that teachers, supervisors, BCBAs, therapists and other professionals supporting youth during COVID 19 have been seeking. The challenges that COVID 19 poses to clients and students are discussed. Strategies for reaching and supporting clients via telehealth platforms and teaching students through the virtual classroom are identified and discussed. Individuals across the Autism Spectrum have specific needs and profiles that are discussed and the supports and strategies needed to address their specific strengths and weaknesses are explored.


Psychological First Aid – Listen Protect Connect/Model and Teach | Northwest MHTTC

This training was designed as a five-step crisis response strategy based on communication skills that educators and school staff use every day. The goal of Psychological First Aid for Schools - Listen Protect Connect/Model and Teach have relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic which has seriously disrupted the daily lives of children and adults all over the world. The closure of schools and businesses adds to the health risks faced by all which contribute to the stresses that students and adults face under orders of physical distancing, stay at home directives, or quarantine conditions. 


Recruitment and Retention of School Mental Health ProvidersSoutheast MHTTC

This webinar series highlights the importance of sustaining the school mental health workforce for achieving the goals of an effective, high-quality school mental health services system. Dr. Mark Weist and Dr. Janet Cummings discuss recruitment and retention approaches that community mental health providers and local education agencies may want to consider implementing to support these goals, the current evidence concerning these approaches, and key resources to inform implementation efforts.


Resources for Supporting the Mental Health and Well-being of Children and Families During COVID-19Northwest MHTTC

This webinar focuses on the mental health and well-being of children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic and the early data that provides insight into the challenges and opportunities for substance misuse prevention practitioners to support families and communities during this time. The webinar also highlights many of the resources available from Child Trends, the nation’s leading research organization focused exclusively on improving the lives of children and youth, especially those who are most vulnerable. 


Rising Telehealth Behavioral Health Practices-Centering the Needs of Historically Marginalized Youth in California | Pacific Southwest MHTTC 

COVID-19 has forced us into conditions that challenge best practices for serving the mental health needs of youth we marginalize. Through these two sessions, we supported California school mental health advocates, educators, administrators, and other school systems leaders in managing stress and trauma in their communities.


School Community of Practice Connections and Conversations: Adapting to COVID-19Mountain Plains MHTTC

This meeting was an informal facilitated gathering for the cohorts that had participated in the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s Every Moment Counts Community of Practice (CoP) to gather and discuss the challenges, changes, and adaptations required by the COVID-19 pandemic. 


School and Community-Based Trauma-skilled Practices Supporting Youth Virtual WorkshopNew England MHTTC

This virtual workshop helps you cultivate a compassionate school community, using mindfulness practices and community-based visioning to address trauma, will help staff, as well as students and their families, return to school this fall with tools to overcome the mental health challenges presented by COVID-19 and amid widespread collaborative support to end racial inequity and injustice across the globe. 


School Mental Health Crisis Leadership Lessons: Voices of Experience from Leaders in the Pacific Southwest RegionPacific Southwest MHTTC

This guide highlights how school mental health leaders can – and do – work with and through crises; provides an overview of the crisis continuum; explores the intersection between school crises and school mental health leadership; and examines each component of the school crisis continuum (readiness, response, recovery, and renewal) by learning from voices of experience from the field. A complementary Reflection Worksheet is designed to help readers work through the guide.


School Mental Health Professional Series | Mountain Plains MHTTC and Mid-America MHTTC

In this webinar series, school counselors, social workers, and psychologists addressed the current and immediate needs of school mental health professionals in Region 8, due to the pandemic. Participants met every other week and received training on different topics related to school mental health before walking through a case presentation. This was a closed group.


School Mental Health Wellness Wednesdays Series | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

In this period of stress and uncertainty, now is the time to gather and resource one another. In collaboration with the Meaning Makers Collective, the Pacific Southwest offered a series of School Mental Health Wellness Wednesdays. Each Wellness Wednesday is a 60-minute virtual session for the school mental health workforce to connect, reflect, and support each other.


Self-Care Through the Summer | Mid-America MHTTC

This handout for educators and school mental health providers provides tips for recharging after a school year cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Self-Care and Compassion for the Educator Webinar Series | Northwest MHTTC in partnership with the Northwest PBIS Network

During these sessions, participants practice skills to decrease stressors on mind/body systems to stay connected to the wonders and curiosities of teaching using evidence-based mindfulness practices, radical acceptance and values-driven goal setting.


Social Emotional Learning at Home: Remote Learning Options | Great Lakes MHTTC

We are all learning to navigate remote learning and education from afar. There are several reputable, evidence-informed resources available to help educators and families promote social and emotional well-being in their students outside the classroom. The Great Lakes MHTTC School-based Supplement has compiled a list of SEL resources, lesson plans, activities, games, and tip sheets to get you started on your SEL at home journey. 


Social Emotional Learning at Home: Remote Learning Options | Great Lakes MHTTC

We are all learning to navigate remote learning and education from afar. There are several reputable, evidence-informed resources available to help educators and families promote social and emotional well-being in their students outside the classroom. The Great Lakes MHTTC School-based Supplement has compiled a list of SEL resources, lesson plans, activities, games, and tip sheets to get you started on your SEL at home journey. 


Special Weekly Series for Tribal Schools as they Reopen Amidst COVID-19 | National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC

The challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic adds to existing issues present in some Native communities such as teacher shortages and the lack of infrastructure for high speed internet, which further impedes their ability to offer appropriate distance learning programs. The National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC's K-12 program invited the entire school community to special weekly listening sessions covering relevant topics.


Staying Connected with Students and Youth during COVID-19 | Great Lakes MHTTC

In the wake of COVID-19 school closures, educators, parents, and students across the globe are coping with a new reality. In this webinar series, we explore research on belonging and connectedness, they key tenants of virtual communication for educators, and effective strategies for building virtual connectedness.


Stress, School, and Self-Care: COVID-19 Highlights Inequities, Mental Health Challenges, Systemic Needs, and Possible SolutionsNew England MHTTC

This Childhood-Trauma Learning Collaborative (C-TLC) issue brief shares results of the reflective conversations the New England MHTTC has had with C-TLC Fellows - a unique group of district leaders, educators, and school-based mental health professionals with whom the New England MHTTC has built a sense of trust and community over the past 18 months. 


Student Mental Health During COVID-19: How to Prepare as Schools Reopen | Mid-America MHTTC and MHTTC Network Coordinating Office

This webinar is geared toward emergency managers, public health professionals, and school administrators who are working together to create school reopening and response plans. Session content is focused on the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and educators related to crises and how community and school organizations can partner to develop responsive plans that address these needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Supporting Latinx Students and Caregivers Emotional and Mental Health Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic | National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC

This is a 3-part webinar series on Supporting Hispanic and Latino Students Emotional and Mental Health Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic. 


Supporting School Mental Health in the Wake of COVID-19: A Virtual Conference | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

Delivered by the Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and the Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc., this two-day conference for K-12 educators, staff, and administrators focused on strategies to support students and educator mental health as they transition back to school (remotely or in-person). View the recordings and slide decks for all presentations here!


Supporting Student Resilience: Strategies for Teachers During School Closures | South Southwest MHTTC

This infographic outlines the opportunities for educators and other school staff to support student resilience during the pandemic. The product provides a graphic depiction of strategies that school staff can use to promote coping and resilience. It serves as a companion to a brief report that can be found here.


Telehealth Learning and Consultation (TLC) Tuesdays: Telehealth with Children and AdolescentsMid-America MHTTC, Mountain Plains MHTTC, and Mid-America ATTC

Mindy Chadwell, Ph.D., LP, BCBA; Erika Franta, Ph.D., LP; Jennifer Cox, LSW; and JK Costello, MD, MPH, discuss their experience working with children and adolescents via telehealth.

  • FAQ Document (This resource includes answers to the most frequently asked questions during the Telehealth for Children and Adolescents TLC Tuesday session).

Telehealth Toolbox for School Personnel | Mid-America MHTTC

The Telehealth Toolbox for School Personnel is a practical and concise guide to incorporating telehealth into your routine as a provider working with students. In addition to a handy, overarching guide entitled Getting Started, the toolbox contains handouts on each of the following topics:

The entire toolbox is available for download on the web page.


The Future of Education: Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice | New England MHTTC

In this session, leaders and partners of the New England MHTTC share their insights, discuss innovative programs and recommendations, and vision for equity and inclusion in schools in 2021. You will leave with practical ideas and resources to help alleviate stress and create a brighter future, even in the midst of all we are handling today.


The Impact of COVID-19 on School Mental Health in WashingtonNorthwest MHTTC

The Northwest MHTTC is excited to co-sponsor the UW SMART Center's 2020 Virtual Speaker Series. Originally a series of in-person events, these presentations transitioned to a virtual format due to COVID-19. Recently, Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal presented on the Impact of COVID-19 on School Mental Health in Washington.


The Mental Health Impacts of Surviving COVID-19: Implications for School Mental Health Systems Leaders and Providers | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

How might the experience of surviving COVID-19 and experiencing long-haul COVID-19 impact mental health, and what can and should we as school mental health providers and leaders understand about that experience? This is a special conversation with four survivors of COVID-19, all of whom identify as long-haulers. As our speakers will share, trauma may be now surfacing because people aren’t needing to focus on surviving; this trauma is surfacing as schools are reopening and as survivors are now beginning to process their experience and new realities. 


The School Leader SeriesNorthwest MHTTC

This webinar series is focused on the role of the school leader in creating and maintaining a positive climate and culture virtually during the global pandemic and in the building upon the return to school. We know these are challenging times and want to provide information you can use immediately and to use for the plans to return to school as part of your MTSS framework. 


The Value of Teacher Well-Being: A Research BriefMid-America MHTTC

In this research brief, learn common barriers to well-being, how teacher well-being impacts outcomes, how social-emotional learning (SEL) can improve teacher well-being, strategies for improving well-being, and steps that states, districts, and schools can take to improve teacher well-being.


Tips for Educators: Supporting Parents During this Pandemic | Mountain Plains MHTTC

This virtual session aims to provide strategies for educators to use in supporting parents as they transition to a new and uncertain role in providing daily instruction for their children. Dr. Tami DeCoteau brings her extensive knowledge and experience working with children, families, and school personnel to explore how educators can support parents in this difficult time.


Tools for Educators During a Public Health Crisis | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

Educators have had to adjust to new learning environments, provide emotional support to students, maintain communication with parents, take care of themselves and their families, among other responsibilities. At the same time, they are experiencing anxiety and worry about the public health crisis along with the rest of the community. These tools were developed by the Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC to help.


Top 4 Strategies to Increase Student Motivation: What Every Parent Should Know | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

It can be extremely challenging to keep kids motivated during this time. The good news is there are simple strategies parents can use at home to increase motivation and engagement. In this webinar, we review these easy-to-implement strategies to help keep your kids fully engaged and ready to learn.


Trauma Informed Suicide Prevention: Leading School District, County & State Systems | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

This three-part webinar series is for school field leaders who are leading systems’ support for student suicide prevention. Session content focuses on providing timely, effective, competent, and evidence-based suicide prevention support to students and families. Each session is contextualized with experience and suggestions from on-the-ground regional leadership


Visioning Onward: A Guide for All Schools | New England MHTTC

These guides help school leaders implement recommendations from the guided discussion series Visioning for the Future of Education in their own schools and districts. 


Well-Being Wednesdays: Taking Care of Educators Who Take Care of KidsMid-America MHTTC

This is a monthly webinar series geared toward education professionals, administrators, and stakeholders who are working together to create a culture of well-being that supports students and educators. Each session focuses on one of the 10 ARC practice modules and follows a tell-show-do approach. Session leaders teach one skill per session, outlining the skill, providing examples, and promoting use of the skill. 


What will school be like next year? Visioning for the Future of Education | New England MHTTC

In this webinar, participants receive a study guide to take our virtual approach back to your schools and districts to conduct your own visioning sessions. Participants are guided through our 8-step iterative visioning approach, explaining the importance of visioning for success in business and in education, and helping you plan for visioning with your staff and local communities. 


Zoom, Zoom: Helping your virtual sessions take off! For School and Youth Providers | Great Lakes MHTTC

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a seismic shift in how practitioners and school-based mental health professionals provide services. This session focuses on the pragmatic questions of how to do these services with practical suggestions about what helps and what interferes with client engagement, how to prevent problems, and how to manage when challenges arise. 

School Mental Health Resources From Other Organizations

For Children and Parents

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Talking to Children About Coronavirus

American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress: Helping Children Cope Emotionally with the Coronavirus 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Talking With Children About Coronavirus Disease

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tips for Parents While School’s Out

Child Trends: Resources for Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Letters to Strangers: Mental Health Made Personal

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Supporting the Emotional Needs of Youth During COVID-19 Webinar

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Ask the Expert Webinar: In-Person, Virtual and Everything In Between – Supporting Families and Children Returning to School, Thursday, August 27, 2020

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Fighting the Big Virus: Trinka's and Sam's Questions (also available in Spanish, Chinese, Finnish, Portuguese, and Mandarin)

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with COVID-19 (also available in Spanish and Chinese)

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Trinka and Sam Fighting the Big Virus: Trinka, Sam, and Littletown Work Together (also available in Spanish, Chinese, Finnish, Portuguese, and Mandarin)

The Institute for Innovation & Implementation at University of Maryland: Coping with COVID-19 as a Family

For Educators and School Mental Health Professionals 

American School Counselors Association: Planning for Virtual/Distance School Counseling During an Emergency Shutdown

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) Detail Steps Necessary for Safely Reopening Schools This Fall

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: One-Stop Shop COVID-19 Resources | K-12 Schools

Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student/Learning Supports: Responding to the Coronavirus Crisis

Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student/Learning Supports: Embedding Mental Health as Schools Change

Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student/Learning Supports: Restructuring California Schools to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching in the COVID 19 Context and Beyond 

Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support: Resources for Returning to School During and After Crisis

Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety: Strategies for Trauma-Informed Distance Learning

Child Trends: As Schools Reopen, Addressing COVID-19-related Trauma and Mental Health Issues Will Take More Than Mental Health Services

Department of Education COVID-19 Handbook: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs

Ed Redesign Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education: Re-Envisioning School-Based Health Centers During Covid-19: A Spotlight on Innovative Approaches

Kaiser Permanente: When Learning Starts: Playbook for Healthy School Communities

Mental Health America: Young People’s Mental Health In 2020

Mental Health Association in New York State School Mental Health Resource and Training Center: Maintaining Mental Health in Schools During Social Distancing:An MTSS approach 

National Association of School Psychologists: Countering Coronavirus Stigma and Racism | Tips for Teachers and O: er Educators

National Association of School Psychologists: Preparing for Infectious Disease Epidemics| Brief Tips for School Mental Health Professionals

National Association of School Psychologists: Responding to COVID-19 | Brief Action Steps for School Crisis Response Teams

National Association of School Psychologists: When One Door Closes and Another Opens: School Psychologists Providing Telehealth Services

National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement: COVID-10 Pandemic Resources

National Center for School Mental Health: COVID-19 Resources

National Center for School Mental Health and the School-Based Health Alliance: School Mental Health Planning for the 2020-21 School Year During COVID-19

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Coping in Hard Times: Fact Sheet for School Staff

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: PFA-S: Provider Self-Care

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Trauma-Informed School Strategies during COVID-19

SAMHSA: COVID-19 Guidance for Schools and Childcare Programs

School Safety.gov: COVID-19 Resources for Schools

School Social Work Association of America: Supporting LGBTQ Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Tipsheet for School Social Workers

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Reopening K-12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Prioritizing Health, Equity, and Communities

Thriving Schools: Resources for Schools and Families Impacted by COVID-19


SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline is standing by 24/7 to support you during the pandemic & beyond. Toll-free, multilingual, & confidential support services are available to all residents in the U.S. & its territories. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained counselor.

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