Products and Resources Catalog

Hispanos y latinos Mayores en los Estados Unidos con Condiciones de Salud Mental es una hoja informativa basada en el webinar facilitado por el Dr. Bernardo Ng, psiquiatra Latino y ex presidente de la American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry. La población de latinos mayores es heterogénea y está subrepresentada en la investigación, lo cual representa un desafío para los clínicos. Entre los trastornos de salud mental más frecuentes entre los latinos mayores se encuentra la depresión, la enfermedad de Alzheimer y otros trastornos neurocognitivos. Los proveedores de servicios de salud mental que atienden latinos mayores deben considerar el uso de traductores e intérpretes, o tener acceso a profesionales que hablan español para personas monolingües. Además, pueden aumentar la literacia en salud de sus clientes al desarrollar y diseminar materiales educativos en español u otros dialectos. A su vez, los clínicos interesados ​​en ofrecer servicios a los latinos mayores deben evaluar su propio nivel de sensibilidad cultural con respecto a las poblaciones hispanas y latinas.   Versión en inglés  

Debra A. Pinals, MD, Brian Hepburn, MD, and Joseph Parks, MD will speak about the response of behavioral health systems and facilities to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Their presentation will cover preparedness and response for state hospitals, crisis services, residential & community treatment services, and the criminal & civil justice interface. They will also speak about the challenges regarding financing for community providers, providing medication, adapting to changing technology, and special behavioral health populations such as people experiencing homelessness, children, and older adults.

Mental Health Issues among Older Hispanic and Latino Adults in the United States is a fact sheet based on the webinar; Older Latinos in the U.S.: Mental Health Issues provided by Bernardo Ng, MD. Latino older adults are considered heterogenic and are underrepresented in research, posing challenges for practitioners. Some of the most prevalent mental health disorders among older Latinos include depression, neurocognitive disorders due to Alzheimer´s disease, and other neurocognitive disorders. Mental health clinicians serving older Latinos should consider the use of translators, interpreters, or having access to Spanish-speaking professionals for monolingual clients. Also, they can increase health literacy by creating and disseminating educational materials in Spanish or other dialects. Clinicians interested in offering services to Latinos should assess their own level of cultural responsiveness regarding Hispanic and Latino cultures. Spanish Version

The Pacific Southwest MHTTC curated a series of topical resource sheets to help you find high-quality tools and information on caring for yourself, your families, and the communities you serve. This resource sheet focuses on links to articles about family coping strategies, caring for children and other family members, and talking to children about COVID-19. It also includes family support groups and warmlines. Click the "View Resource" link above to download, or view all available resource sheet topics.

Recording of the webinar Assessing Organizational and Systems Readiness for Access to Appropriate Care Levels, originally held on August 8, 2019.   Slide Presentation Older Adult Fact Sheet

Recording of the webinar titled Integrated Care Needs of Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness & Implications for Effective Care Transitions, originally held on July 10, 2019.   Slide Presentation  Older Adult Fact Sheet

Aging is a fact of life and it is frequently accompanied by declining health, but it does not always have to be that way. The aging adult is frequently expected to manifest deficits in cognition, and these deficits can be part of a primary brain degenerative process, a psychiatric illness, or physical disease. These conditions either individually or combined interact with each other, meaning that the presence of one can make the other one worse. Any of these conditions along with other social factors, such as the environment where one is born, lives or works, ethnicity, income, support system, level of acculturation, and the degree of health literacy can facilitate or obstruct access to care and eventually influence health outcomes. This presentation will explain the interaction of these conditions in the Latino elderly, and the known barriers coming from the health system and health disparities perspective. The presentation will close with ideas of what you can do at home while working with the Latino elderly, and with a short video of an older Latino woman who will explain her desire to live in spite of her illnesses. With the Latino aging population growing in the US, it is our turn to promote health messages that resonate with their needs and preferences, such as optimism and acceptance, connectedness, independence, and self-worth.

Emerging Factors: Impact on an Aging Population fact sheet from the first webinar in the Improving Services for Older Americans series.

Prepared by Lydia Chwastiak, MD, MPH Older adults with serious mental illnesses (SMI), such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder, have more hospitalizations and 4 times greater risk of death at any given age than those without SMI. They are also 3.5 times more likely to live in a nursing home. Despite higher acute and long-term healthcare costs, adults with SMI experience greater barriers to preventive and routine health care, and often receive care that is fragmented and inadequate. These disparities highlight a need for effective and sustainable integrated care models designed specifically to support the special health care needs among older adults with SMI. This research brief provides a summary of evidence-based integrated models of care that address the mental and physical health needs of adults with SMI.  

Michelle Zechner, PhD, LSW, CPRP is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers-School of Health Professions, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions. She has focused her 25 year career on supporting the recovery of people with mental illnesses and their families. She has worked in a variety of community and inpatient settings, including nursing homes, outpatient mental health services, state psychiatric hospitals, and community services for older adults. In her current role she has focused on implementation of evidence-based psychosocial practices in psychiatric hospitals, developing and testing health and wellness promotion interventions in community settings, teaching students, training diverse mental health staff on best practice interventions for older persons with mental health conditions, and conducting research. Dr. Zechner’s research includes the development of multi-domain wellness programs for people with mental illnesses, promotion of and adherence to physical activity in people with mental illness, use of peer health coaching strategies and identifying best practices for use with older adults with mental illnesses. She has co-authored peer-reviewed and technical publications on health promotion for persons with mental illness, and has presented her work at local, national and international conferences. She is passionate about supporting older adults with mental illnesses to improve their mental and physical health.   Part 2 of the webinar addresses the following learning objectives: Discuss evidence based practices (EBPs) for age onset depression Identify EBPs and best practices for programming for older adults with serious mental illnesses Discuss wellness as a framework for developing new programming Explore knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for working with older adults    Click here to view a recording of the webinar delivered on March 27, 2019.  Click on the download link above to access the webinar slides. 

Dr. Michelle Zechner, PhD, LSW, CPRP is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers, School of Health Professions, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions. She has focused her 25 year career on supporting the recovery of people with mental illnesses and their families. She has worked in a variety of community and inpatient settings including nursing homes, outpatient mental health services, state psychiatric hospitals, and community services for older adults. In her current role she has focused on implementation of evidence-based psychosocial practices in psychiatric hospitals, developing and testing health and wellness promotion interventions in community settings, teaching students, training diverse mental health staff on best practice interventions for older persons with mental illnesses, and conducting research. Dr. Zechner's research includes the development of multi-domain wellness programs for people with mental illnesses, promotion of and adherence to physical activity in people with mental illness, use of peer health coaching strategies and identifying best practices for use with older adults with mental illnesses. She has co-authored peer-reviewed and technical publications on health promotion for people with mental illnesses, and has presented her work at local, national, and international conferences. She is passionate about supporting older adults with mental illnesses to improve their mental and physical health.    Part 1 of the webinar addresses the following learning objectives: Develop understanding of older adults with SMI Describe this growing population Identify unique concerns for this population Health challenges Psychiatric symptoms Evaluate the strengths that develop with older age   Click here to view a recording of the webinar delivered on March 20, 2019. (Please note the recording begins a couple of slides in).  Click on the download link above to access the webinar slides.