Products and Resources Catalog

The South Southwest MHTTC Annual Report two-pager highlights covering Center accomplishments from 2018 through 2019.

This report provides an overview of the Mid-America MHTTC's activities in its first grant year.

Two-page overview of the highlights of Great Lakes MHTTC Year 1 activities.  (August 15, 2018-August 14, 2019) 

This is the first of three webinars in our series on chronic pain, Managing Chronic Pain in the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH).   This presentation covers theories of pain, the psychosocial connection to pain and the treatment role of the behavioral health provider.   Visit the series web page for more.   Author(s): Klepper, C., Clarke, B.L., Johnson, S., Robinson, L./Mid-America MHTTC  

  Gender Violence among Latinas: Key Concepts and Cultural Considerations provides mental health clinicians an understanding of the main factors that influence Latina's vulnerability to experience gender-based violence. It also includes clinical recommendations for mental health providers and organizations.   This product explains the impact of gender and domestic violence among Hispanic and Latinas, describes the difference between domestic violence and intimate partner violence, and how cultural values like marianismo and machismo embedded in Hispanic and Latino populations could exacerbate differences in the role between males and females. Many Latinas may confront struggles regarding power balances due to their gender, and factors like immigration, anti-immigrant environments, low income, and cultural values might influence this. 

  The MHTTC Network in collaboration with the National Center for School Mental Health has launched a new and improved School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System. The SHAPE System was updated using feedback acquired from users. This flyer provides an overview of the SHAPE System.   Individuals, schools, districts and states can use SHAPE to:   Assess school mental health system quality using national performance measures Map school mental health services and supports Receive custom reports and strategic planning guidance and resources Utilize additional features including the Screening and Assessment Library and the Trauma Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA) Use district/state dashboards to collaborate with schools and districts in your region.   The updated SHAPE System offers new features and resources, including the recently released School Mental Health Quality Assessment and School Mental Health Profile, in addition to a robust Resource Center and Screening & Assessment Library.   If you are a previous SHAPE System user, your previous data are available here. There is a link to the legacy site at the bottom of every page of your new SHAPE account. Existing team members from the legacy site have been added to your new SHAPE account. However, legacy data are not available in the new SHAPE system. We recommend updating your data annually, so the next time you enter SHAPE data should be into the updated system.  

Prepared by Jessica Maura, PhD and Sarah Kopelovich, PhD Over 100 million people in the US identify as belonging to a racial and/or ethnic minority group. Individuals with a serious mental illness who also identify as a racial/ethnic minority tend to receive poorer quality of care, have less access to services, and experience higher dropout rates and poorer outcomes when compared to their White counterparts1. These differences have spurred initiatives to integrate cultural perspectives into evidence-based treatments. This practice brief is intended to help clinicians —particularly those who administer Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for individuals with serious mental illness—to enhance their cultural awareness and incorporate culturally-relevant practices into their formulation and treatment approach.

This is the fourth installment of our regional newsletter. This issue's focus is on mental health and the criminal justice system.

In this newsletter, you'll find new resources and upcoming conferences to help launch learning and skill development.  On January 1, an array of new policies took effect that will impact mental health services and supports, health care providers, or vulnerable populations in our region. We've highlighted a few of these new laws in this edition of the Newsletter.

Click here to watch the recording of Healing the Returning Warrior: Introduction. 

Click here to view the handouts of Healing the Returning Warrior: Introduction. 

Educators and school personnel play a vital role in promoting mental health and well-being and identifying and responding to emerging mental illness in children and adolescents. However, they often have not received the education, training, and/or ongoing support needed to respond in the classroom. The MHTTC Network and the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine collaborated on an environmental scan and needs assessment of available educator mental health literacy training and resources. This document: Describes the role of educators in supporting student mental health Explains the core components of mental health literacy Provides an annotated list of existing resources and trainings that instruct educators on mental health literacy. To access this document, please click on the download button above.

On January 14th, the webinar led by Dr. Sonya Troller-Renfree – a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Teachers College, Columbia, University – examined how early life deprivation impacts brain activity, executive functioning, and attention across development (toddlerhood to adolescence). Participants learned how adversity-related deficits in neurocognitive functioning relate to peer relationships, mental health, and academic achievement. To download the slides, click here. 

School Mental Health Initiative: Childhood Trauma Learning Collaborative (C-TLC)   Mental Health Resources for New England Educators: The C-TLC is a part of the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s (MHTTC) School Mental Health Initiative. The C-TLC  is designed to strengthen mental health supports that address the needs of children who have experienced/are at risk of experiencing significant trauma. The School Mental Health Initiative, which includes collaborations with Harvard University and C4 Innovations, provides training and technical assistance to school-based mental health professionals in the six states that are a part of the Region 1 grouping for activities: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Our aim is to enhance school culture and prepare school personnel to improve the mental health of school-aged children in the New England region.   C-TLC Toolkit Resource: Released December 2019 Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Responding to the Winter Blues in the Classroom This toolkit is designed to provide educators in Region 1 and beyond with practical advice for preventing, recognizing the symptoms of, and addressing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in the school building and community.        Authors Christine Mason, Ph.D. Program Director, Childhood-Trauma Learning Collaborative New England MHTTC   Martha Staeheli, Ph.D. Director, School Mental Health Supplement Initiative Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health   Dana Asby, M.A., M.Ed. Director of Innovation and Research Support Center for Educational Improvement   Didi Dunin, M.A. Intern Center for Educational Improvement  

Integrating cultural and linguistic considerations in our mental health services requires shifts in values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. If we are truly invested in improving the client’s experience as they enter our organizations and in creating equitable systems for services, we need to be open to changes. We can all lead and engage in a change process to integrate cultural and linguistic considerations into our policy, infrastructure, workforce, community engagement, and programs and services. Presenters Suganya Sockalingam and Annie Guo VanDan (Pacific Southwest MHTTC) provide a conceptual foundation of the importance of culture, including definitions, frameworks, and concepts. We look at a self-assessment tool to examine cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) in our organization, and we explore the leadership required to motivate and integrate CLC into systems and service delivery.   Participants will: Recognize and explain the importance of culture and language in mental health services. Use CLC strategies to meet the needs of culturally diverse populations. Identify ways participants can lead (promote) CLC in service delivery. Explore ways to make the CLC change stick!   Audience: Mental health services program directors, administrators, providers, and other personnel involved in mental health services and supports.    

Learn how one Wisconsin school district partners with the county restorative justice program to to engage with youth caught vaping on school grounds. Featured presenters: Tim Wavrunek, Eau Claire County Restorative Justice Program, and Kim Koller, Director of Administrative Services, Eau Claire School District.

Newsletter published January 8, 2020.

In 2018, one in five high school students and one in 20 middle school students reported that they had “vaped” in the past 30 days, a substantial increase from the previous year. In this webinar, we outline exactly what E-cigarettes are, explore the youth vaping epidemic, and introduce CATCH My Breath as one possible solution. CATCH My Breath is a youth E-cigarette and Juul prevention program developed by the University of Texas Health Science Center. The program provides up-to-date information to teachers, parents, and health professionals to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed decisions about the use of E-cigarettes, including JUUL devices. CATCH My Breath uses a peer-led teaching approach and meets national and state health education standards. And best of all, it’s FREE!!  

Compassion Fatigue: Farm Stress and the Mental Health Provider January 6, 2020 Robin Landwehr, LPCC, discussed burnout prevention strategies for mental health providers working with farm and ranch populations. This session focused on the unique challenges and stressors faced by the individuals who work to support persons experiencing farm stress. Robin also discussed ways for providers to increase compassion satisfaction, minimize compassion fatigue, and prevent the onset of burnout related to mental health work. Slide deck Recording  

Educators are often the first line of support in addressing mental health needs for students. They recognize the impact a student's mental health has on learning and achievement and realize that there's a great deal that can be done to help students in the school setting. In response, the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) has developed training, technical assistance, and resources to support school- based mental health. The MHTTC team continues to develop online resource guides and toolkits as well as curricula and self-paced trainings to assist school professionals in understanding and implementing core concepts of best practices in school mental health. School-Based Mental Health Resources The School-Based Mental Health resources page houses dozens of reputable resources and evidenced-based models for educators and parents. The webpages is continually being updated and is currently organized by the following topics:   COVID-19 For Families Mental Health and Equity Military Children and Family Rural School Mental Health School Mental Health School Safety Social Emotional Learning Suicide Prevention Teacher and School Staff Wellness Trauma Responsive Practices   If you have questions about this website, contact Shawnda Schroeder at [email protected]. If you have products you think would be valuable on this page, please send them to Stefanie Winfield at [email protected].  

Farm Stress and Mental Health Resources The Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center team is dedicated to addressing rural mental health. However, they also recognize that the agricultural community encounters unique challenges related to the accessibility, availability, and acceptability of mental health services. In response, specific trainings and resources have been developed to address mental health and suicide among agricultural workers and their families. For clarity, unless otherwise specified, “farm” and “farmer” refer to ranchers, farmers, farm managers/owners, and agricultural workers. Farm Stress and Mental Health Resources The Rural Mental Health & Farm Stress resources page houses several resources that provide summaries of agricultural mental health concerns, up-to-date data visualizations, and toolkits for addressing barriers to mental health services for farmers, farm managers/owners, ranchers, agricultural workers and their families. If you have questions about this website or products you thing would be valuable on this page, please contact Shawnda Schroeder at [email protected]. 

Latino adults in the United States face serious mental health care disparities.  A combination of person-level barriers, such as stigma, negative attitudes toward mental health treatments, and limited mental health literacy, contribute to these inequities in mental health care.  This factsheet includes information on how person-level barriers impact mental health care disparities in the Latino community.  The factsheet also describes how a depression literacy tool entitled “Secret Feelings” that integrate cultural elements from the Latino community and uses an entertainment-education approach can help address these barriers to care. Information includes results from studies indicating that the use of “Secret Feelings” may improve mental health care in the Latino community

Los adultos latinos en los Estados Unidos enfrentan serias disparidades en el cuidado de la salud mental. Una combinación de barreras a nivel de la persona, como el estigma, las actitudes negativas hacia los tratamientos de salud mental y la alfabetización limitada de la salud mental, contribuyen a estas desigualdades en la atención de la salud mental. Esta hoja informativa incluye información sobre cómo las barreras a nivel de persona impactan las disparidades en la atención de la salud mental en la comunidad latina. La hoja informativa también describe cómo una herramienta de alfabetización de la depresión titulada "Sentimientos secretos" que integra elementos culturales de la comunidad latina y utiliza un enfoque de educación de entretenimiento puede ayudar a abordar estas barreras para la atención. La información incluye resultados de estudios que indican que el uso de "Sentimientos secretos" puede mejorar la atención de salud mental en la comunidad latina

The current sociocultural climate and discourse in the United States elucidate the importance of understanding our humanity while fostering deeper cross-cultural relationships.   As the nation demographically represents a multitude of cultures, our ability to engage in thoughtful and meaningful discussions on cultural issues, remains ever-present.  This factsheet describes why and how cultural humility matters in our work as service providers, the current literature on color-blind racial ideology, and implicit bias. The factsheet mentions the importance of understanding one’s own limitations in ideologies as a way to enhance our service as cultural workers, both personally and professionally.