After supporting the workforce during the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew staff and teams were continuing to face numerous stressors. We thought deeply about how we could offer learning opportunities that brought more connection to the experience, even though people were still under duress. We wanted to provide opportunities to learn new skills and also process this learning over time with interactive sessions drawing upon principles of adult learning and including follow-up reminders after each series concluded.
We designed and implemented several learning communities to address regional needs in an engaging and interactive longitudinal learning experience. Such learning communities represent a promising workforce development model that promotes skill development through interpersonal interactions and shared learning. Results from our tailored evaluations show that these virtual learning communities were well-received and served to provide interactive learning opportunities for participants.
We designed our Learning Communities with the following goals:
- Share practical skills via live, virtual experiences including didactic segments and breakout sessions
- Equitably reach our Region 10 States' workforce and leadership
- Facilitate connection among participants through engaging online tools, resource pages and supporting presenters
- Offer post-series tailored communications so concepts are reinforced
- Evaluate the impact of these through tailored evaluations across projects
Our model strives to improve each time paying attention to:
- Learning objectives, goals and themes that surfaced for each session
- Improving our approach with collaborative planning with presenters and interactive tools
- Between-session messaging to look back & look ahead to connect learners' experiences
- Tailored "make it stick" reminders of key ideas people can use in their daily work going forward
Publications & Presentations
Supporting Implementation Outcomes through Online Learning Communities: Poster presented at the 15th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation
Results: Online learning communities can be an effective form of support for the behavioral health workforce when they challenge current professional practices, focus on relevant topics, have skilled facilitators, and encourage connections among participants.
Implications: Learning communities can be successfully implemented in online formats. They lead to positive outcomes, especially when the topics are novel and relevant, training quality is high, and there are opportunities to form connections with other participants
Training and Supporting Healthcare Leadership During the COVID Pandemic: Article published in Elevate, from the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training
Article Overview: The Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center developed resources for leaders in public health to support and train during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Provider Well-Being Initiative was created with two goals in mind: building strategies for individual self-care and assisting health and behavioral healthcare agencies in implementing well-being interventions for their organizations. Learn more about how Northwest MHTTC’s initiative helped leaders in public health tackle the specific hardships faced by leadership in public health and what tactics led to a 100% recommendation rate among participants.
Washington Behavioral Healthcare Conference sessions related to Learning Community content:
2022:
"Supporting Our Well-Being: Workforce Equity, Training and Resilience" (Clayton, Mauseth, Martin)
2023:
"Virtual Learning Works! Building resilience, supporting leadership and connecting our field" (Clayton, Vaswani-Bye, Fikre)
"Hidden in Plain Sight: How racism & bias demands effective training" (Clayton, Jamerson, Messersmith)
Learning Community Projects To Date
Year 6: '23-'24
- COPE, CALM, CARE: Thinking, Feeling and Being with Kira Mauseth, PhD
- Learning Community: Essentials of Care for Supporting Individuals with Serious Mental Illness with SPIRIT Lab trainers (University of WA)
- Do You See Me? Silence vs. Voicelessness with Sherronda Jamerson, MA, SUDP
- Awareness, Agency and Advocacy Through a Polyvagal Lens with Rebekah Demirel, L.Ac, MPCC
- Embracing Our Diverse Tapestry: Cultural Humility and Responsiveness for Mental Health Practitioners with Lamarr Lewis, MA, LAPC, CPRP
- Motivation IN Mental Health Recovery: Sustaining Change and Creating Hope for a Life Well-Lived with Lamarr Lewis, MA, LAPC, CPRP
- Pain Psychology Approaches in Therapy Learning Community with the University of Washington Center for Pain Relief
- Culturally Informed Crisis Support with Kira Mauseth, PhD, and Salsabiel Alzubaidi, MA
- De-Escalation & Personal Safety Through a Trauma-Informed Lens with Martin Reinsel, LMHC
- Mastering the Art of Storytelling in Behavioral Health with Lamarr Lewis, MA, LAPC, CPRP
- Queering Supervision: How to Bring Your Authentic Self To the Supervision Space with Leah Post, LICSW, MSW, MPH
- Sex Education for Therapists: Allowing Sexual Health into the Treatment Conversation with Leah Post, LICSW, MSW, MPH
Year 5: '22-'23
- Operationalizing Resilience for Crisis Response Workers with Kira Mauseth, PhD
- Examining Bias and Ideologies to Improve Care with Sherronda Jamerson, MA, CDP
- Learning Community: Essentials of Care for Supporting Individuals with Serious Mental Illness with SPIRIT Lab trainers (University of WA)
- Challenging Stigma Through Understanding and Intentional Action with Carol Dickey, MBA, MS, Oregon Family Support Network
- Cultural Adaptations of EBPs in Treating Hispanic and Latinx with Mental Health Disorders with the National Hispanic & Latino MHTTC
- Wisdom to Know the Difference: Learning Community for Supervisors with Rebecca Demirel, R.Ac., L.Ac. MPCC
- Brave Spaces: Holistic Leadership Learning Community with Lamarr Lewis, MA, LAPC, CPRP
Year 4: '21-'22
- LGBTQ+ Youth/YA Suicide Awareness & Prevention for Families Learning Community with Oregon Family Support Network
- Kaleidoscope: A Learning Community for Multicultural Providers: Using Our Multicultural Lens to Learn, Heal and Thrive with Aleks Martin, MSW, LSWAIC, SUDP, A/M Consulting & Clinical Services LLC
- Knowing Head, Heart, and Gut: A Live Learning Community for Supervisors with Rebekah Demirel, L.Ac, MPCC
- Vitality for Behavioral Health Care Supervisors and Leadership Live Learning Community with Kira Mauseth, PhD
- Taming Turbulent Times Learning Community with Rebekah Demirel, L.Ac, MPCC
- Crisis Response, Management & Recovery Learning Community with Kira Mauseth, PhD
Year 3: '20-'21
