About this event

Objectives:

• Describe the importance of the school setting as both a protective and risk factor for gang involvement.
• Discuss how school-based services provide a critical point of delivery for therapeutic services.
• Describe how to Push and Pull risk factors can be aligned with therapeutic interventions.
• Identify common factors in youth decisions to leave gangs or separate from gang-involved peers.

Workshop Presenters:

Scott Bloom, LCSW-R, is the Director of Special Projects and Initiatives for the New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center. He has spent his 33-year career at the intersection of mental health, communities, and schools working to improve access to social-emotional services and resources by integrating these programs, and creating opportunities for children and youth to overcome emotional and behavioral barriers to academic achievement.

He was the founding Director of School Mental Health Services for the New York City Department of Education for the last 15 years, facilitating community partnerships and implementing mental health initiatives building on a city-wide system of mental health services and resources in over 1,800 city schools; enabling schools to better serve the needs of 1.2 million students and families. He serves on the advisory boards for multiple cities, state, and national mental health initiatives around the country. Mr. Bloom has contributed to journals, magazines, and books, and has presented at local and national conferences. Mr. Bloom has certification as a psychotherapist.

Kristin M. Scardamalia, Ph.D., LSSP National Center for School Mental Health University of Maryland School of Medicine

Dr. Scardamalia has a Doctor of Philosophy, School Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. A Master of Science from Tarleton State University in the Department of Educational Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University in the Department of Psychology.

Her current position is an Assistant Professor with the National Center for School Mental Health Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine.

New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed Creative Arts Therapists #CAT-0094, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists #MFT-0098 and Licensed Mental Health Counselors #MHC-0225. New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center is also recognized by the State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed Social Workers #SW-0662.