Recent News

Leadership Academy Facilitates Personal Growth and Peer Networking The Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s (MHTTC) 2nd  Annual Leadership Academy for new and emerging leaders working in Region 8 states (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY) ran from November 2020 through February 2021. Participants with diverse backgrounds assessed their leadership style and learned […]

Voices from the Field: A Blog Series Valuing Community Connectedness “Hello again.” To get to know Robe Walker and how he serves his community, simply ask him for his name. The answer won’t be as straightforward as you think, but it will certainly be insightful. “When I was little, I was called by ‘Baa’s tsii’h ii’h hii’h (Bass-tse-eh-he), which means ‘a lot […]

Rural Communities Improving Resilience and Well-Being Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Co-Director Dennis Mohatt recently participated in the International Initiative on Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL), which hosted representatives from five rural counties in Texas to learn about rural community development and well-being.   Participants discussed the value of listening to one’s community, […]

Online Role-Playing Games as Group Therapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic Role-playing games (RPGs) are being used in telehealth group therapy to facilitate individual growth in a group context. RPGs enlist players as adventurers, working together to overcome challenges and earn rewards. Facilitators, or "dungeon masters," narrate a story while players describe how their characters respond. For […]

Voices from the Field: A Blog Series Recharging Empathy via Self-Care Well before the coronavirus pandemic gripped the nation in 2020, Kara Cunningham was on the front line of a deadly crisis in her home state of Utah: the opioid epidemic. Carbon County, where Cunningham lives and works as a clinical director for Four Corners Behavioral Health in […]

Request for Information on Rural Mental Health Research Priorities The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Office for Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity, as well as the Office of Rural Mental Health Research, promote research that can address mental health issues facing rural residents and communities. NIMH has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking […]

“Do work that matters. Vale la pena” ― Gloria E. Anzaldúa   Join the Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center for a special three-part series followed by a four-part learning community focused on (im)migrant student mental health. Through this program, we hope to:  Deepen our understanding and awareness of the unique gifts, strengths, and […]

      Adapting to the Behavioral Health Needs of Underserved and Racially/Ethnically Diverse Youth Thursday, March 18, 2021   |   2:00 pm - 3:30 pm EDT The COVID-19 pandemic on top of growing racial tensions across the nation are impacting youth mental health—including stress, anxiety, and fear. With school closures and the digital divide, young people […]

Voices from the Field: A Blog Series Practicing Compassion by Listening As a priest for the past 42 years, Father Phil Ackerman has spent many of his Sundays facing the congregation, serving as the voice of the parish through prayer, song, and ceremony. Naturally, Ackerman is sought after as a spiritual leader, one who can speak to […]

Editors' Note: This story ran in our March newsletter, published March 4.   In light of today's unprecedented mental health needs, our Center is launching a brand new programming area centered around improving the resiliency and well-being of health professionals and educators.   Information about this training and technical assistance is available on our new Professional Well-Being page. The […]

Editors' Note: This story ran in our March newsletter, published March 4.   A Roadmap for Rural Permanent Supportive Housing, the next webinar in our permanent supportive housing series, airs 1:30-2:30 p.m. Central Time on March 18. You can register for the webinar here.   Jennifer Lopez, a permanent supportive housing consultant with 22 years of experience in the […]

Editors' Note: This story ran in our March newsletter, published March 4.   Equity Considerations in Rural Communities and Reservations airs 12-1 p.m. Friday, March 26, with guest speakers Drs. Anitra Warrior and Kay Bond.   Attendees of this webinar, part of our Coming Home to Primary Care: Pediatric Integrated Health webinar series, will develop an understanding of mental health […]

Free Webinar: Reaching the Hard to Reach The E4 Center is hosting a free webinar, Reaching the Hard to Reach – Strategies for Addressing Social Isolation, Depression, and Other Psychosocial Problems in Homebound Older Adults, on March 11, 2021. Homebound older adults suffer an especially high burden of social isolation, loneliness, depression and other psychosocial problems, but […]

Voices from the Field: A Blog Series Improving Mental Health with Physical Activity  When your organization is in the business of bringing people together, how do you operate during a pandemic? For Jacki Hillios, deputy executive director for The Phoenix, the answer is to double down on your mission, values, and sense of purpose.  Hillios is the cofounder of […]

Mountain Plains Staff Receive Interdisciplinary Collaboration Award Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) staff members Andrew McLean, MD, MPH, Shawnda Schroeder, PhD, MA, and Thomasine Heitkamp, LCSW, have received the University of North Dakota (UND) Award for Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Research and Creative Activity for their work on the Behavioral Health Bridge project. Stephen […]

Technology Transfer Centers Collaborate on Telehealth Journal Publication A collaboration by Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), Mid-America MHTTC, Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC), and the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office was recently published in the Journal of Rural Mental Health. The article examines the rapid move to telehealth necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the immediate need […]

Click HERE to view our MHTTC Year in Review for 2020!

Voices from the Field: A Blog Series Enhancing Well-Being Through Faith Before applying to become a chaplain two years ago, John Ahola had been a Lutheran pastor for fourteen years. He understands the need to “practice what he preaches” when it comes to personal well-being.  At hospitals, being a chaplain is quite different from being a pastor. Chaplains are a listening […]

Check out this recently released resource from the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH). Alignment of School Mental Health Quality Frameworks and Tools: Guidance to the Field Schools play a vital role in supporting student social, emotional, and behavioral well-being to promote learning and success. Accordingly, the school mental health field has a robust […]

Voices from the Field: A Blog Series Setting Goals and Celebrating Success At the beginning of each year, Laura Schmid-Pizzato writes out goals she has for herself. She typically approaches the list with professional aspirations in mind. For most of her career in clinical social work, Schmid-Pizzato has worked for Southwest Counseling Services in Sweetwater County, […]

Surgeon General Calls for Implementation of National Strategy for Suicide Prevention A new report, entitled "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention," released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), outlines actions that communities and individuals can take […]

Voices from the Field: A Blog Series Finding Resiliency "In the Moment" As the executive director for a community mental health agency in rural South Dakota, Lindsey McCarthy, and everyone on her staff, “wear a lot of hats.” Southern Plains Behavioral Health Services, based in Winner, SD, is the mental and behavioral health services provider for Tripp, Gregory, Mellette, and […]

The UW SMART Center has put together The Case for School Mental Health Brief that highlights key statistics on the benefit of – and need for – comprehensive school mental health services. As you will see, the “Case for School Mental Health” does not just point to a general recommendation for increased availability of school mental […]

Editors' Note: This story ran in our February newsletter, published Feb. 3.   Registration is open for the MHTTC Network's upcoming Always and Now 8-part learning series on the National School Mental Health Curriculum.   This curriculum was developed by the MHTTC Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH). It is intended to help states, […]