Products and Resources Catalog

This infographic highlights the current stressors that may impact mental health patients and providers during this time as well as provides additional resources for addressing these challenges.

This is the slide deck for Ready to Hit the Pavement: How to Dive Into Primary Care, the third session in our series Coming Home to Primary Care: Pediatric Integrated Health. This session will present ways to introduce an organization, practice, and/or primary care physician to integrated behavioral health. Speakers will advocate utilizing successful strategies and lessons learned when establishing an integrated care practice.   Learning Objectives:  Describe tools/rubrics available to assist with assessing an organization’s ability to integrate behavioral health services Describe strategies for initiating conversations with the team about integrating behavioral health in primary care settings Identify business models for integrated care Describe different approaches to initiating and maintaining behavioral health in primary care   Target Audience: Behavioral Health Providers Primary Care Providers Nurses Learn more: https://bit.ly/ComingHometoIC  

Like many of our colleagues across the nation, we at the Northwest MHTTC have been closely monitoring the news regarding the wildfires in our region and beyond. In this newsletter, we share disaster-response resources. We also continue to spotlight events to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and National Recovery Month.

On Day 2 of our MHTTC Grief Sensitive Virtual Learning Institute, we open our full day of learning with a brief whole Institute gathering that will: Welcome back participants from Day 1 and welcome in new participants joining us; Offer a dedication to 9/11; and, Provide an overview and forecast to Day 2, previewing our learning line up Download the slides HERE. Speaker: PJ Wenger, LPC, NBCC, MFT, Ed.S., MA, M.Ed has 29 years of experience working in the field of mental health. She has spent considerable time in a variety of settings developing her counseling experience. These settings include psychiatric emergency, inpatient treatment with both adults and children, in home counseling for mental health issues, residential treatment, schools and private practice. In the school setting, PJ Wenger has worked at the Elementary level, the Middle School level and the high school level. In addition to this experience PJ has been a Trauma Responder at the Local, State and National Level. She has responded to large events like 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy as well as traumatic events that effect schools such as suicides, traumatic deaths of staff/students, and homicides. PJ is licensed by the NJ State Board of Family and Health Practitioners and is a certified member of the National Board of Certified Counselors. She has a Masters in Counseling and an Ed.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy. This webinar was the opening session of Day 2 of September's Grief Sensitivity Virtual Learning Institute (GSVLI). For more information on how to access resources from September's and November's GSVLI, please click here.

Join youth leaders from the RYSE Youth Center, a community based organization founded by young people and their adult allies who were experiencing- and still are- violence, loss, homicides, and trauma. Together, RYSE youth and staff created a home agency to address the emotional, mental and political health of youth that centers healing, agency, leadership, and dignity. The MHTTC GSVLI was honored to have RYSE youth sit with one another in a conversation-for them and by them- on what it looks, sounds, and feels like to not only survive grief, but to thrive in its wake. In sharing their experiences and stories, our conference ends with those we serve.  Download the slides HERE. Speakers: Latrinity Gulley has been a RYSE member since 2018 and is currently a student at Contra Costa College studying Psychology. She has been a part of the Community Leadership Institute (CLI), which is a program that teaches young leaders grassroots organizing. With CLI, she volunteered at various community organizations, including Safe Return. While working to clean up community parks and trails, she simultaneously started the first-ever Black Student Union at her high school. Mental health is essential to Latrinity because of her own struggles and having someone to talk to about l what she is going through has been crucial to her healing process. When she gets her degree, she hopes that she will be able to be there for people who too struggle with mental health.   Monica Tello has been a RYSE member since 2018 and is currently a student at Contra Costa College, exploring her career options, with plans to transfer to a university. While in high school, she spent a year volunteering at an animal shelter. Mental health is important to Monica because when she first started coming to RYSE she was going through the “worst year of her life” and having someone to talk to was essential for her to keep pushing and moving forward. “I believe everyone deserves that opportunity.”   Carizma Hughes has been a RYSE member since 2016 and is currently a student at Los Medanos College with plans to transfer to a university to study Elementary Education. She has been a mentor for Project WHAT!, a youth-led program that helps children of incarcerated parents build community by sharing their experiences through storytelling and creative work. She has also facilitated several groups to develop best practices in serving children of incarcerated parents. This webinar was the closing session of September's Grief Sensitivity Virtual Learning Institute (GSVLI). For more information on how to access resources from September's and November's GSVLI, please click here.

  School Mental Health Best Practices in Region 8 September 25, 2020   Slide deck Recording This free webinar, hosted by Region VIII Adolescent and Young Adult Health Workgroup, was intended to promote and enhance youth mental health in today’s complex school environment. The webinar highlighted school mental health strategies, proven practices, and resources. Presenters showcased a unique telehealth program to support children with disabilities, as well as an innovative youth advisory board that empowers students to advocate for critical health and behavioral health issues. The webinar was designed for a wide audience and included time for Q&A.   Featured Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Wyoming Institute for Disabilities Project ECHO Kids First Health Care    

A clinical brief that describes Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) and its benefits for psychosis treatment. 

A CEDAR Clinic clinical brief that describes telehealth and discusses its benefits in the treatment of young people at risk for psychosis.  It also discusses the benefits of using telehealth vs. traditional therapy.  

School Community of Practice (CoP) Connections and Conversations: Adapting to COVID-19 This meeting was an informal facilitated gathering for the cohorts that had participated in the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s Every Moment Counts Community of Practice (CoP) to gather and discuss the challenges, changes, and adaptations required by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Sarah Nielsen, Dr. Lavonne Fox, and Thomasine Heitkamp facilitated discussion among CoP members about how schools are responding to student mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a brief session introduction, attendees moved into breakout groups to have focused discussion around specific topic areas.   Share and Borrow Session on School Mental Health:Responses to the Public Health Emergency   This was a closed event. If you are interested in learning more about the Mountain Plains MHTTC’s Community of Practice learning opportunities please contact David Terry at [email protected].   Trainers Sarah Nielsen, PhD, OTR/L Lavonne Fox, PhD, OTR/L Thomasine Heitkamp, LCSW

About the Event:  As COVID-19 infections reach the 6 month and 6 million infected mark in the United States, behavioral health organizations are finding themselves having to move beyond rapid infectious disease preparations and on to a "next phase" of care. This webinar explored the ongoing approaches to care and how they are evolving to best meet the needs. From telehealth to revenue cycle concerns, remote supervision to resuming in-person treatment, balancing staff resilience and second wave safety concerns, this is a transitional phase in what appears will be a lengthy pandemic experience for all of us.    Learning Objectives:  1) Describe where your organization is now in a COVID trajectory and planning process moving forward.  2) Identify best practice approaches to delivering telehealth services. 3) Identify methods to continue to maintain staff resilience as the pandemic progresses.    About the Presenter:  Dr. Lori Raney is a board-certified psychiatrist and Principal with Health Management Associates in Denver, Colorado. She is considered a leading authority on the collaborative care model and the bidirectional integration of primary care and behavioral health. Her work focuses on service evaluation, gap analysis, and design and training of multidisciplinary teams to implement evidence-based practices to improve the identification and treatment of mental illness in the primary care setting and improve the health status of patients with serious mental illness in behavioral health settings. Her current work also includes evaluating hospitals and clinics in recognizing and developing strategies to deal with the impact of behavioral health across health care systems, including the design and implementation of integrated care in primary care practices. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is pleased to announce the release of Screening and Follow-Up for Unhealthy Alcohol Use: Quality Improvement Change Package for Health Plans, a toolkit to help health plans address unhealthy alcohol use among their members and improve reporting of the HEDIS alcohol measure using electronic clinical data.  This Change Package was developed with funding from SAMHSA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the National Committee for Quality Assurance. This Change Package is rich with evidence-based practices, successful strategies, and resources from a three-year Learning Collaborative involving five health plans.  This toolkit specifically includes guidance for reporting the HEDIS alcohol measure using Electronic Clinical Data Systems (ECDS), examples of effective quality improvement tools, and strategies for improving measure performance from health plan innovators in ECDS reporting.

The MHTTC Network held a two-part series, Supporting School Mental Health Navigating Racial Violence on July 31 and August 7 that  intended for students, families, educators and school mental health professionals who are navigating the impact of racial violence on student mental health. Each 1.5 hour learning session featureed a moderator who engaged advocates, leaders and the school mental health workforce in a conversation that focused on: Strategies for supporting students’ mental health while navigating racial violence (in and out of school); Opportunities for the field to improve its commitment to fostering a workforce ready, able and willing to hold racial violence as a mental health issue; Steps we might take to advance school mental health supports for students experiencing racial violence. In addition to providing recordings of each learning session, a list of resources from the presenters and the field was compiled to promote continuous learning. To access the resource document, please click on the DOWNLOAD button above. Questions? Please email Jessica Gonzalez at [email protected].

In this keynote address, Dr. M. Katherine Shear describes a model of grief and adaptation to loss that is derived from clinical and experimental research. She discusses the new diagnosis of Prolonged Grief Disorder, identifies some unique challenges posed by loss during COVID-19, and explains why bereavement during the pandemic is associated with increased risk for the development of Prolonged Grief Disorder (i.e. complicated grief). Download the slides HERE. Speakers: Dr. M. Katherine Shear, Founder and Director of the Center for Complicated Grief, is an internist and a psychiatrist with the heart of a social worker. She is a talented clinician who is widely recognized for her work in bereavement studies and complicated grief disorder. Dr. Shear developed a short-term psychotherapy for people unable to move forward after a loss that was influenced by her inherent optimism and faith in human creativity and resilience. Complicated Grief Therapy (CGT) has proved to be efficacious in three NIMH-funded randomized controlled trials. Her work has produced several assessment instruments and an instruction manual for CGT—a focused, adaptation-focused approach with the strongest evidence base of any grief treatment to date. Dr. Shear is the Marion E. Kenworthy Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia School of Social Work and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. She served on review committees of the National Institute of Mental Health and on the advisory council for its National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She served as an advisor to the DSM-5 workgroup on complicated grief and adult separation anxiety, a member of the World Health Organization’s ICD11 Working Group on Mood and Anxiety Disorders, a member of the scientific advisory board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and an elected member of the board of the Association for Death Education and Counseling. This webinar was the opening session of September's Grief Sensitivity Virtual Learning Institute (GSVLI). For more information on how to access resources from September's and November's GSVLI, please click here.

  Panel Discussion: How States are Addressing TBI and Mental Health Slide Deck Recording To address concerns around traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mental health, the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center has partnered with the National Association of State Health Injury Administrators to host a series of workshops focused on the intersection of TBI and mental health. This panel included state TBI leads from South Dakota, North Dakota, and Colorado. They answered questions from attendees and engaged in conversation around barriers they have experienced while addressing TBI and mental health, as well as promising practices and models that have worked well in their respective states.   View slide decks and recordings of previous sessions in this series on their product page.   Resources Shared by Panelists Association Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Risk of Suicide Brandeis University resources about the interconnectivity between opioid misuse and brain injury CDC: TBI-related Deaths Extensive listing of resources and informational handouts for TBI related conditions from the North Dakota Brain Injury Network Factsheets on depression and emotional conditions after TBI: Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center HELPS Brain Injury Screening Tool Jeff Kruetzer, VA Commonwealth University resources National Association of State Head Injury Administrators resource library on co-occurring conditions Ohio State University Web-based TBI Training Modules Screening for TBI Using the OSU TBI-ID Method Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Deaths from Firearm Suicide: United States, 2008-2017 VA Rocky Mountain MIRECC on Suicide Prevention toolkit on TBI and co-occurring conditions     Panelists Rebeccah Wolfkiel, MPP, National Association of State Head Injury Administrators Rebeccah Wolfkiel, Executive Director National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) Rebeccah joined NASHIA as Executive Director in January 2018. She brings fifteen years of experience in promoting policies that provide resources for individuals with brain injury, and their families. In her role as Executive Director, Rebeccah is committed to representing the interests of State governments and supporting the unique and integral role they play within the service delivery system. Rebeccah has also worked with former Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Ridge, at the Ridge Policy Group, for ten years, where she formerly represented NASHIA as a government affairs advisor. She played an integral role in the successful reauthorization of the Traumatic Brain Injury in 2014, paving the way for the federal TBI program’s move to the Administration for Community Living. Prior to her time at the Ridge Policy Group, Rebeccah worked on Capitol Hill for over six years where she served as Legislative Director to Congressman Todd R. Platts, Co-Chair of the Traumatic Brain Injury Taskforce. Managing the Congressman’s legislative agenda, she learned how to effectively navigate the lawmaking process and develop successful strategies. During her tenure on the Hill, Rebeccah became keenly aware of the importance of bipartisanship and developed strong Congressional relationships with Republicans and Democrats alike. She often bridged partisan gaps and facilitated communication between contrasting viewpoints. In her free time, Rebeccah enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, husband Ryan, daughter Anna (11) and son Jack (4). Rebeccah received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. Rebecca Quinn, MSW, LMSW, North Dakota Traumatic Brain Injury Network Rebecca Quinn is a program director for the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Grand Forks. She manages the North Dakota Brain Injury Network providing brain injury education, outreach, and support across North Dakota.            Justine Ashokar, PhD, The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center at Black Hills Works Justine Ashokar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, is the Director of Clinical Services at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center, Black Hills Works in Rapid City. Justine has a M.S. in Counseling, M.A. in Clinical Psychology and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with Clinical Neuropsychology Concentration. Justine is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist and is a co-facilitator of the Brain Injury Support Group of the Black Hills. She has experience serving veterans, people with developmental disabilities, and people with brain injury. She is a member of the Mayo Clinic TBI Regional Advisory Council. She is a board member of the Brain Injury Alliance of South Dakota and is working to improve services for those with TBI in South Dakota. She is also an adjunct instructor at South Dakota State University.     Kate Kerkmans, LCSW, CBIS, The Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado Kate Kerkmans has a Master's degree in Social Work. Before working at BIAC she worked as a family therapist. As Director of Client Programs, Kate manages client programs, budgets, and finances; oversees and supervises department staff; provides oversight for clinical services; and champions strategic plan goals.            Liz Gerdeman, MA, CBIST, MINDSOURCE Brain Injury Network Liz has been in the brain injury field for over a decade, supporting individuals with brain injury, their family members, and professionals. Most recently, she worked as the Director of Professional Programs for the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado (BIAC). Her role included training community organizations about brain injury, building capacity within systems to better serve clients, and ensuring clients are connected to valuable resources. Liz received a Master’s Degree in International Disaster Psychology from the University of Denver and is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer. She has run support groups for family members, developed educational materials, provided resource navigation to individuals with brain injury, served on committees and workgroups with the goal of improving access to care, and she has worked in brain injury research at Children’s Hospital Colorado.    Shawnda Schroeder, PhD, MA, Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Dr. Schroeder conducts rural health research, serves as lead on statewide program evaluation, and serves on several national and statewide rural and oral health work groups. She is the director of the Rural Health Research Gateway, a federally-funded program dedicated to the dissemination of rural health research, and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Rural Health. Under the Mountain Plains MHTTC, Dr. Schroeder provides training on rural mental health, leads web content development, and conducts research on stigma as well as mental health training needs.              

School-based mental health (SBMH) services are very heterogeneous, ranging from population-level school climate interventions to intensive interventions for individual students.  This infographic illustrates terminology commonly used to classify SBMH services into 3 “Tiers.

  Trauma 101: An Introduction to Trauma in the Classroom September 17, 2020   Slide deck This free, 90-minutes training provided an introduction to trauma in the classroom. This was a closed event, and direct technical assistance to Spring Creek School in Mission, SD, Region 8.   The objectives were to: Describe childhood trauma. Recognize the impact of trauma. Understand the impact of trauma and/or social emotional difficulties on school performance. Understand the role of self-awareness and self-care in building relationships. Explore several school level strategies.   This was a closed event. If you are interested in similar technical assistance training, please contact Lavonne Fox at [email protected]. Trainer LaVonne Fox, PhD, OTR/L LaVonne Fox is currently a program developer at the Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt, N.D. Her position is to develop and teach in a Master of Education Degree. This degree is designed to teach the deconstruction of colonized (decolonization) Indigenous K-12 education and using Indigenous cultural reconstruction It is a whole system approach to bring in the Indigenous voice and keep the student and culture at the center of learning. This is essential for Indigenous mental, phyiscal, spiritual and cultural health.  Prior to that, Graduate Director and faculty at the University of North Dakota Occupational Therapy Program.  

Clinical Strategies to Promote Emotional and Behavioral Health in College-aged Youth During COVID-19 September 16, 2020 Slide Deck Recording   Other sessions in this series September 30, 2020: Understanding and Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Faculty, Resident Assistants, and Staff Slide deck Recording   October 14, 2020: Assessment and Treatment Strategies for Mood and Anxiety Disorders Slide deck Recording Cognitive Restructuring Worksheet   October 28, 2020: Strategies for Promoting Resilience, Wellness, and Coping Skills for the Campus Community Slide deck Recording   In collaboration with the New York Presbyterian Youth Anxiety Center, we are proud to present a clinically based webinar training series designed primarily for campus based mental health providers. This first training focused on evidence based practices, strategies, and supports for use with college-aged youth as they return to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The introductory session addressed the context and needs of campus mental health during COVID-19. Topics addressed in this session included: Anticipating and addressing the psychological needs of students. Evidence-based strategies for young adults struggling with anxiety and mood symptoms. Models and strategies to assess stress and meet the psychological needs of students on campus. Strategies to promote long-term wellness on campus. Supporting students' academic, social, self-care, and behavioral independence goals as they transition into adulthood.   Following the introductory session, there will be a series of small, 90-minute intensive TA workshops on specific topics. Separate registration is required for each of the workshops. Trainers Shannon M. Bennett, Ph.D.  Shannon Bennett is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Attending Psychologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Bennett is the Site Clinical Director for the New York Presbyterian Hospital Youth Anxiety Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. She also serves as the Director of the Tourette Association of America’s Center of Excellence for Tourette Syndrome at Weill Cornell. Dr. Bennett’s research interests include the development and evaluation of novel treatments for anxiety and related disorders, and understanding the mechanisms involved in symptom change. Dr. Bennett currently oversees multiple clinical research studies in the areas of anxiety and related disorders, and has written several papers, book chapters, and treatment manuals on these topics. Dr. Bennett received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Boston University where she contributed to several cognitive-behavioral treatment research programs at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. She was the Co-Founder and Associate Director of the Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Intensive Treatment Program at the University of California, Los Angeles before joining the faculty at Weill Cornell. Dr. Bennett also led a multi-disciplinary research team focused on the psychosocial needs of women who experience perinatal loss, and earned a National Research Service Award for this research effort.  Dr. Bennett was honored with a Career Development Leadership Award from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and serves on the Medical Advisory Board for the Tourette Association of America. Dr. Bennett was a Principal Investigator of the Treating Tourette Together project, which was a federally funded initiative to plan the next phase of behavioral therapy research for Tourette Syndrome.   Anne Marie Albano, PhD  Anne Marie Albano is a Professor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry at Columbia University, founder of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, and Clinical Site Director of New York Presbyterian Hospital's Youth Anxiety Center. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Albano is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a Beck Institute Scholar, and is Board Certified in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Dr. Albano received the Herbert Pardes Faculty Fellowship (2017-2020) at Columbia University Medical Center, was the recipient of the 2015 ABCT Award for Outstanding Contributions by an Individual for Clinical Activities, and in 2008 the Rosenberry Award for service to children, adolescents and families from the University of Colorado at Denver. Dr. Albano is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, a past president of the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology of the American Psychological Association, and past president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). She is a past editor of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, past associate editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and founding editor of the journal "Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health". She has published more than 200 articles and chapters and is the co-author of several cognitive behavioral treatment manuals and of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children, all published by Oxford University Press. As a researcher, Dr. Albano served as a Principal Investigator of a 6-site, National Institute of Mental Health-sponsored study entitled "Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Treatment Study" (CAMS) and the extended long-term follow up of CAMS (CAMELS) and was a Principle Investigator for the Treatments for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). Both trials examined the relative efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, combination treatment, and pill placebo in youth. Her book with Leslie Pepper, "You and Your Anxious Child: Free Your Child from Fears and Worries and Create a Joyful Family Life," was a 2014 ABCT Self-Help Book Award winner and 2014 Self-Help Book Award winner from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. In 2015, a new ABCT award was established in Dr. Albano's name, the "Anne Marie Albano Early Career Award for Excellence in the Integration of Science and Practice."

The Managing Anxiety & Return to School webinar series is part of The Back-to-School Series - Supports for Staff, Students & Families During COVID-19. Click here to learn more about our series of webinars on concrete strategies to strengthen connections, promote mental wellness and resilience, and support everyone in the return to schools during a global pandemic. About this Resource: Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns youth face. While it is a normal emotional experience, it can grow to become incredibly distressing and interfering, particularly as it comes to school. When anxiety is present in the school setting (whether in-person or remote), educators have an important role in encouraging and reinforcing brave vs. anxious behavior. Research supports the importance of youth moving from a cycle of avoiding to a cycle of approaching anxiety-provoking situations in order to overcome problematic anxiety. In this webinar, we will discuss how to identify, understand, and intervene for problematic anxiety for youth in your classroom. Webinar Objectives: Identify common ways in which anxiety presents in school settings including in-person and online formats. Learn empirically supported strategies to reduce problematic anxiety. Describe school-based approaches for anxiety that encourage and reinforce empirically supported strategies (approach to anxious situations vs. avoidance).   >> Presentation PDF >> Click "View Resource" above to access the recording This recording is about the 4-part Managing Anxiety & the Return to School webinar series. Learn more and register for upcoming Anxiety & Return to School Webinars here.  About the Presenters: Jennifer Blossom, PhD is a Clinical Child Psychologist with expertise in assessment and intervention for youth with anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Dr. Blossom has worked in some capacity in the field of clinical child psychology for over 10 years. Currently, Dr. Blossom is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Psychology and Human Development at the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF), teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Before joining UMF, Dr. Blossom completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Seattle Children’s/University of Washington where she conducted research and provided clinical services within the Mood and Anxiety Program and Crisis Care Clinic. Dr. Blossom maintains an active research program related to service delivery, efficiency, and access for youth with internalizing problems, with particular emphasis on expanding behavioral interventions within integrated healthcare settings.   Kendra Read, PhD is a clinical psychologist, the Director of the Mood & Anxiety Program and Director of Anxiety Programs at Seattle Children’s. She is also the Director of Psychotherapy Training through the University of Washington School of Medicine Child Psychiatry Fellowship. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA under the mentorship of Philip Kendall, Ph.D., completed her internship in pediatric psychology at Nemours/A. I. duPont Hospital for Children, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department. Dr. Read specializes in the treatment of youth with anxiety disorders and OCD from a cognitive behavioral therapy perspective. Her research interests include understanding factors that contribute to treatment outcome, and the dissemination and implementation of CBT for anxiety disorders.     Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

Description: This timeline provides a historical overview about the evolution and significance of the peer support workforce.

  Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center: Year Two Program Snapshot In year two, the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) team pulled together experts from around the nation to develop resources, provide training, create and share continuing education opportunities, and offer technical assistance to individuals serving persons with mental illness throughout the six state region. To ensure reach, the team maintained a website, managed social media campaigns, and grew an electronic mailing list. This snapshot provides program goals, reach, and the measures impact of the MHTTC program in year two (August 15, 2019 - August 14, 2020).   Key Points: The Mountain Plains MHTTC hosted 93 events in the last year. Roughly 96% of the nearly 10,500 people who completed a training evaluation in the last year agreed/strongly agreed they would recommend the training to a colleague. The team developed 17 new written products. The Mountain Plains MHTTC developed SIX new resource pages. The website had 115,537 total pageviews.   Authors Shawnda Schroeder David Terry Becky Helfand    

Description: This brief (the first in a series) emphasizes opportunities to divert individuals with serious mental illness at various points of contact with the criminal justice system and explores the complexities that contribute to the difficulties these individuals face.

Description: This brief (the second in a series) offers a closer look at clinical and programmatic approaches responsive to the needs of justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness.

For Suicide Prevention Month 2020, we've shared a variety of suicide prevention resources that you can share with your school community so that everyone is aware of what to look out for and how to protect our at-risk kids and family members: Forefront Suicide Prevention Center's Toolkit for Schools LEARN® Saves Lives Webinar Recording Additional suicide prevention resources   Please share these resources with your school community because now more than ever, we all need to learn how to prevent suicide.   >> Click "View Resource" above Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

  Pine Ridge Girls' School: Trauma Responsive Practices This free series consisted of two, 75-minute training sessions that provided technical assistance to the Pine Ridge Girls' School in South Dakota, in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Region 8. With a focus on trauma and healing within a cultural context, trainers discussed stigma, resilience, trauma informed teaching approaches, and supporting families to support their students. Part One September 13, 2020 This session explored the effects of trauma on behavior and learning, trauma informed techniques in the classroom, modifications for virtual learning environments, and teacher self care to avoid burnout. Slide deck Part Two September 20, 2020 This session discussed partnering with families to support learning and parent and family education to support students' mental wellness. Slide deck Trainers Stefanie Winfield MSW Stefanie Winfield is a Research and Technical Assistance Associate with the Behavioral Health Program. Her work at WICHE focuses on the Mental Health Technical Transfers Center’s work providing intensive technical assistance and training to elementary schools. Stefanie comes to WICHE with extensive experience working in schools promoting youth sexual health, conflict and angry management, behavioral health education, and school-based health care. With over 17 years of experience working with nonprofits and community organizations, Stefanie has done everything from grant management and implementation, to program and outcome evaluation, training and facilitation. Stefanie received her BSW from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY and her MSW from the University of Denver. She has also completed certificates in the Advanced Study of Program Evaluation, Accelerated Learning, E-learning Design and Organization Development.   Liza Tupa, PhD Dr. Liza Tupa is the Director of Education and Research for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Behavioral Health Program (WICHE BHP) and a technical trainer for the Mountain Plains MHTTC. A licensed clinical psychologist, her work at the WICHE BHP has included expanding rural psychology internship development to seven western states, behavioral healthcare workforce training, service delivery system and clinical consultation, statewide behavioral health needs assessments, and developing toolkits for Suicide Prevention in Primary Care and School Behavioral Health Advocacy.