The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) has established Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers (MHTTCs) to facilitate the development of the nation’s mental health workforce. The MHTTC Network includes a Network Coordinating Office, 10 MHTTC Regional Centers, a Tribal Affairs Center, and a Hispanic and Latino Center.
Rutgers School of Health Professions, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, has been awarded the Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC for Federal Region II serving New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
Over the next five years (2018 – 2023) the MHTTC will work with organizations and treatment practitioners involved in the delivery of mental health services to strengthen their capacity to deliver effective evidence-based practices to individuals with mental health conditions by providing at no cost training, technical assistance, and resource dissemination.
- Promote the adoption and implementation of high-fidelity, evidence-based mental health promotion, prevention, intervention, and recovery support services.
- Develop local capacity to sustain the availability of high-fidelity, evidence-based mental health promotion, prevention, intervention, and recovery support services beyond the grant period.
- Heighten the awareness, knowledge, and skills of the workforce that addresses the needs of individuals living with mental illnesses by making available and delivering free training and technical assistance to the mental health workforce.
- Foster the development of regional consortia and participate in national alliances among culturally diverse practitioners, researchers, policy makers, family members, and participants in mental health services.
Each MHTTC has been asked to identify their area(s) of expertise. The Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC has identified the following evidence-based and promising practices as areas of focus:
- Supported Employment
- Illness Management and Recovery (IMR)
- Supported Housing
- Supported Education
Our mission is to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based and empirically supported mental health practices to improve the lives of individuals living with mental health conditions and support their recovery, wellness, and resilience.
Our vision is to create behavioral health and education workforces that have the skills to effectively support the mental health needs of their program participants and/or students.
We prioritize collegiality, professionalism, respect, and mutual support.
We embrace differences.
We promote recovery, strengths, and resilience.
We strive to be culturally responsive, diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
We value team wellness and work-life balance.
We create high-quality products.
We produce work grounded in research and scientific evidence.
We commit to evaluation of our activities and continuous improvement.
The Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC is committed to rigorously assessing the impact of the Center’s activities. Its intended outcomes include:
- Increasing the number of people in the mental health or related workforce trained in mental health related practices.
- Increasing the number of individuals who have receive training in mental illness prevention and mental health promotion.
- Increasing the number of individuals contacted through program outreach efforts.
- Increasing the number of programs, organizations, and communities that have implemented evidence-based mental health-related practices and activities.