Great Lakes MHTTC Needs Assessment Survey Results

The Great Lakes Mental Health Technology Transfer Center launched in fall 2018 with a goal of providing training and technical assistance to mental health treatment providers in Health and Human Services Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 

In November 2018, we conducted a survey of Region 5 providers, with assistance from provider association partners in each state. The 22-item survey asked respondents to range the importance of various training and technical assistance topics from a list of commonly-used mental health evidence-based practices. 

Survey Findings

• The majority of respondents (56%) could be considered “management” within the organizations surveyed (CEO or Executive Director was the largest single category at 22%).
• A majority of respondents (40%) cited “mental health treatment” as their field of work however another 25% cited “co-occurring disorders” or “substance use disorder” as their primary field of work.
• There was no predominant population group that respondents stated that they needed assistance with, although the highest single percentage (12%) cited was children, along with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (10%), and individuals with substance use disorder (8%). 
• Training in trauma-informed care emerged as a top priority among cross-population evidence-based practices.
• For adults with serious mental illness, respondents cited Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) as the top training need.
• Coordinated specialty care (CSC) emerged as a top training priority for transition age youth.
• Mental Health First Aid for Youth and Cognitive Behavior Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) were rated equally as “most important” in the area of school-based mental health.
• Top priorities for training topics for individuals who are homeless included critical time intervention (CTI) and engagement/outreach strategies – they were ranked equally.
• Cognitive Behavior therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) were equally ranked as top training priorities for clinicians. Training in clinical assessment tools was also a top priority for individual clinicians.
• Crisis intervention training (CIT) emerged as the top-ranked crisis response practice.
• As a system-wide training priority, culturally competent service delivery was ranked as the top priority among respondents.
• Quality improvement training and technical assistance was also a focus of the needs assessment survey - Improved implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) was cited as the most important need along with improved care transitions.
• Finally, respondents were asked to weigh in on their most preferred training method – in-person workshop meetings or networking emerged as “most preferred” with on-line self-paced (e-learning, webinars, etc.) ranked a close second.
   

The complete survey report is available for viewing and download from the Great Lakes MHTTC Products and Resources page on our website.

We are honored to serve as the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center for Region 5 and look forward to working with providers throughout the region to meet the needs of people with mental health or co-occurring disorders. 

Todd Molfenter, PhD
Director 

Lou Kurtz, M.Ed
Co-Director, Great Lakes MHTTC