Products and Resources Catalog

Fostering inclusivity in our schools means recognizing, valuing, and celebrating the unique cultural, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds that each student brings to the classroom. This is a foundational principle to supporting the delivery of an anti-racist curriculum that illuminates the value and importance of racial equality and justice and highlights the richness and uniqueness of diverse histories. Educators can encourage critical thinking and nurture empathy by challenging stereotypes and expanding the perspectives of their students. Additionally, accessibility to quality education for all students, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status, is vital for the growth and success of both individual students and the larger society. It requires equipping underrepresented students with adequate resources and support.   This product is part of the Mental Health Matters Lead with Equity series. Check out other products in this series:   Supporting LGBTQ Students in Schools   Supporting Diverse Educators

Dina Coughlan shares her experience as a mental health advocate with host Ashley Stewart, and they discuss how to support mental wellness in the workplace. This podcast episode is sponsored by the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC).

Cedric Woods shares strategies for reaching and engaging Native youth with host Ashley Stewart. This podcast episode is sponsored by the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC).  

Recording of the event Mental Health Disorder in African American Men, originally held on June 15, 2023. Presentation Slides

Transgender people experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidality than cisgender people, and the highest rates of mental health challenges among people who identify as LGBTQIA+. Presenters speak about their work in New England, share their strategies for and experiences with supporting mental health for transgender populations and answer questions from participants. Presenters: Layne Alexander Gianakos (he/him), Program Coordinator, Office of Health Equity Research at Yale School of Medicine Kirill Ivan Staklo (he/him), Program Director, PeerPride Dr. Heather Kim, MD (she/they), Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital   View a recording of this 6/21/23 event here.    Check out our additional resources: Supporting LGBTQ Students in Schools Supporting Diverse Educators

In honor of PTSD Awareness Month, the Great Lakes MHTTC is releasing new episodes of the Checking In Podcast that focus on the different ways PTSD treatment providers embrace self-care and maintain their own mental health, as well as how they "check in" with themselves and recognize when they need to engage in stress relieving techniques. Dr. Michael Gomez shares his insights on self-care, including the importance of agencies taking on the responsibility of providing clinicans with the necessary self-care resources to be well.      About Our Guest Michael Gomez, PhD Dr. Michael Gomez has held multiple positions in the mental health field. He was previously on staff at Bradley Hospital, Lifespan Institute, one of the teaching hospitals for the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. Dr. Gomez was also previously director of the Adversity and Resilience Community Center (ARCC), a child trauma behavioral health clinic in the West Texas area where he was also an adjunct professor at Texas Tech University Psychological Sciences; the Texas Tech University College of Education; and the TTUHSC School of Nursing. He was previously faculty at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect/Child Study Center Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the OU Health and Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. He specializes in Trauma-Focused CBT, treatment of adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB), PCIT, TARGET, and assessment of autism spectrum disorders. He is a Nationally Certified TF-CBT Trainer; of which he is one of 70 in the world.  Additionally, he is a Nationally Certified CE-CERT Trainer, a model for addressing burnout and vicarious trauma in providers, of which he is one of 10 in the US. He is also a nationally certified PCIT therapist. He is trained in assessment and diagnostics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He is one of the three founders of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s (NCTSN) Trauma and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Workgroup (formerly the NCTSN Trauma and ASD Community of Practice). He was also a member of the NCTSN Steering Committee, the NCTSN Affiliate Program, and the NCTSN Youth Action Committee.      You can find this episode and many more from the Great Lakes Wave podcast channel on YouTube, Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and all other major podcast platforms! 

July is recognized as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) mental health awareness month. To commemorate this month, we have compiled a list of resources for BIPOC individuals, practitioners, and allies. 

The fifth June issue of our newsletter shares resources for PTSD Awareness Month and features upcoming partner events and other resources.

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE Life can be complicated and there may be times we feel overwhelmed by the many choices and decisions we are faced with. Sometimes it’s hard to know what direction to go and that can just add to our level of stress. Rebekah Demirel brings us Wisdom To Know The Difference viewing our decision-making through a trauma-informed lens, inviting us to explore our own personal history, psycho-neuro patterns and habitual thought processes. Through discovering roots of our thoughts and actions, applying nervous system healing techniques, we bring fresh awareness and mental health resilience to our everyday life, making it possible to build new decision-making paths towards a more stable and dependable foundation of clarity and heart, as well as the ability to carry this resilience into our practice as mental health professionals.   ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Slides 6, 1, 8 breathing instructions handout In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Maté, MD The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté, MD Film by Gabor Maté, Wisdom of Trauma The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski PhD, Amelia Nagoski, DMA  Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb Dana Speak Peace in a World of Conflict: What You Say Next Will Change Your World by Marshall B. Rosenberg Alternate Nostril Breathing Pranayama Nothing's for Nothing: Transformation through Trauma by S. Rebekah Demirel We Make The Path By Walking Webinar and Podcast Series with Rebekah Demirel The Ethics of Caring: Honoring the Web of Life in Our Professional Healing Relationships by Kylea Taylor, Jack Kornfield   FACILITATOR Rebekah Demirel, R.Ac., L.Ac., MPCC Rebekah Demirel is the founder of Trauma Integration Programs, providing training and support to social services personnel, medical and education professionals, emergency services teams and corporate organizations for more than twenty years. Her background includes fourteen years as a BC Ambulance paramedic, twenty-two years as a paramedic trainer and over two decades as a registered clinical counsellor, specializing in post-traumatic stress and loss. She is a licensed East Asian medicine practitioner and acupuncturist, generating another depth of understanding to her counselling work. Rebekah’s unique skill set and experience is informed by her own traumatic childhood and teen years spent on the street and in the foster care system, giving her a special familiarity and empathy for trauma and loss. Rebekah continues to be an active volunteer and advocate for people who are unhoused, in her community and beyond.    Terms of use and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) disclosure statement

This is a recording of the May 31st, 2023 Session 4 in the series Aging Out or Growing Together? Flipping the Youth Services Paradigm to Better Support Young Adulthood. This fourth session, Navigating Barriers to Service and Client/Participant Resistance in Case-Management featured special guests Falilah Bilal, Dr. Jaleel Abdul-Adil, and Magali Rivera-Davis. Our Region 9 Training Specialist Oriana Ides facilitated this panel discussion to address how organizational values, program design, implementation strategies, and long-term visions for young adults can expand to support their evolving needs. This session and all those in the series are designed for agencies and individuals that serve transition-aged youth and young adults and explore themes specific to the needs of this age group.

This is a recording of Session 2 of Rising Practices & Policies Revisited - Uplifting Supports, Strengths, and Healing for Refugees from War. The session was held on June 12, 2023. In this session, Region 9’s Technical Assistance Specialist, Oriana Ides, facilitated a panel that focused on trauma informed and sensitive approaches to service for clients and students who are refugees from current and previous crises. The panel included speakers across our region who have lived experience with the impact of war and whose practices and policies reflect attunement to war-recovery needs. These special guests included José Patiño, Dr. Natalya (Natasha) Bogopolskaya, and Stephanie Noriega, who all shared strategies for working with individuals who have survived wars and navigated the ensuing primary, secondary, and vicarious traumas that resulted from this experience. In this session, we explored the following questions and more: What are fundamental elements of providing care and services to those who are war impacted? What are ways that experiencing secondary or vicarious war impacts survivors’ recovery (e.g., how does seeing the war in Ukraine impact the mental health of Afghani refugees in California, Ecuadorian asylees in Arizona, or native Pacific Islanders in Guam)? How can therapists, peer specialists, social workers, and other providers adapt services to ensure cultural humility and responsiveness? What practices and policies have emerged in the past year to help us help?

  This is the June session of our ongoing Workshop Wednesday learning series. To view resources from this presentation, click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording Event Description This training will provide information about anxiety in children, adolescents, and emerging adults. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of psychosocial developmental milestones (e.g., independence, emotion regulation, identity formation) and the ways in which anxiety, stress, and sociocultural factors can interfere with the successful transition to young adulthood.   Practical strategies for assessment and tools to support youth independence and college or workforce readiness will be reviewed. Trainer Lauren Hoffman

Recording of the event Black Youth Suicide: Exploring a Public Health Crisis and the Role of Racial Trauma, originally held on June 6, 2023. Slide presentation

Recording of the event Portrayal of Mental Health and Gun Violence in the Media, originally held on June 7, 2023.   Slide presentation

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE Dr. Nelson will discuss how to diffuse acute emotional reactions in volatile situations to de-escalate potentially dangerous individuals in clinical settings using principles of rapid rapport building. Offered in collaboration with Dr. Lonnie Nelson, Partnerships for Native Health, WSU. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Slides How to De-escalate Anyone with Dr. Christian Conte Find resources from all Technology Transfer Centers Free e-course: Violence Risk Assessment & Management in Community Mental Health Settings 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health at Washington State University   FACILITATOR Lonnie Nelson, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Associate Professor, Partnerships for Native Health, Eastern band Cherokee (AniKituwah)  Dr. Lonnie Nelson (descendant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) earned his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Rehabilitation Psychology at University of Washington's Harborview Medical Center. In 2012, he returned to the field of Native health disparities through the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Career Development Award (K12) at the University of Washington School of Public Health. Dr. Nelson joined the Washington State University College of Nursing in 2015. His work aims to address health disparities experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native communities through multiple avenues. His current research interests focus on the elimination of health disparities in urban dwelling and other Native populations through the application of culturally adapted evidence-based interventions and other patient centered approaches to changing health behaviors, such as indigenized motivational interviewing and harm reduction treatments. Outside of work, he enjoys making and using traditional Native archery gear and spending time with his 7-year-old daughter, Amelia.   Terms of use and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) disclosure statement

  Contents: Introduction and Acknowledgments Introduction to Integrated Primary Care Terminology and Definitions Developing an Integrated Primary Care Clinic Supportive Data Collection for Integrated Primary Care Business Models of Integrated Primary Care Integrated Primary Care—Implementation and Operations Characteristics and Competencies of Successful Behavioral Health Providers in Integrated Primary Care Developing Relationships in Integrated Primary Care Screening for Behavioral Health Concerns in Primary Care Diagnostic, Billing, and Insurance Considerations The Electronic Health Record (EHR) Working in the Medical Clinic—Terminology The Role of the Integrated BH Clinician in Primary Care Medication Management References     Authors: Joseph Evans, PhD, Holly Roberts, PhD, Rachel Valleley, PhD, Brandy Clarke, PhD   Editing Contributors: Christian Klepper, PsyD, Kristen Johnson, PhD, Bob Mathews, MD, Terri Mathews, PhD, APRN, Heather Agazzi, PhD, Laura Holly, BS     Learn more about our area of focus: Integrated Primary Care    

This event took place on May 23, 2023.

The National AI/AN Childhood Trauma TSA, Category II, and National AI/AN MHTTC K-12 School Mental Health Program invite you to learn about the philosophy and practice of Navajo Peacemaking as it is practiced on Diné Bikéyah. Navajo Peacemaking was used by Diné for millennia so that numerous beings could coexist in peace. Learn the process and components of Navajo Peacemaking and how it centers Diné knowledge and teachings. Navajo Peacemaking can be applied to resolve conflict, restore balance and wellness, respond to and heal trauma, and achieve Hózhó, the Diné philosophy of harmony, in various settings. Consider the use of Indigenous restorative justice practices with Indigenous populations to resolve conflict and maintain harmony.

The Caminos Translational Project will review results from the Caminos Research Study and translate key findings for numerous stakeholder groups that would benefit from increased awareness of outcomes associated with this research. The goal of this project is to increase awareness of the unique experiences of Latino youth and families, including the risk/protective factors and contextual variables, associated with the emotional well-being and academic success of participants in the research study. A total of four factsheets and 1 booklet resulted from this initiative.  The Caminos Research Study examines how stressors and supports in youth’s social environments shape family functioning and a range of indicators of adolescent health and well-being. Adolescents’ mental health outcomes are measured by internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., conduct disorder, aggression, rule-breaking). Other adolescent outcomes include substance use, prosocial behaviors, and grade point average. Stressors examined include ethnic discrimination, COVID-19, and immigration threats. Supports examined include teacher, peer, and parent support. Additional factors assessed include traditional Latino cultural values as well as cultural gaps between parents and their children and between parents and the school. 

The Caminos Translational Project will review results from the Caminos Research Study and translate key findings for numerous stakeholder groups that would benefit from increased awareness of outcomes associated with this research. The goal of this project is to increase awareness of the unique experiences of Latino youth and families, including the risk/protective factors and contextual variables, associated with the emotional well-being and academic success of participants in the research study. A total of four factsheets and 1 booklet resulted from this initiative.  The Caminos Research Study examines how stressors and supports in youth’s social environments shape family functioning and a range of indicators of adolescent health and well-being. Adolescents’ mental health outcomes are measured by internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., conduct disorder, aggression, rule-breaking). Other adolescent outcomes include substance use, prosocial behaviors, and grade point average. Stressors examined include ethnic discrimination, COVID-19, and immigration threats. Supports examined include teacher, peer, and parent support. Additional factors assessed include traditional Latino cultural values as well as cultural gaps between parents and their children and between parents and the school. 

The Caminos Translational Project will review results from the Caminos Research Study and translate key findings for numerous stakeholder groups that would benefit from increased awareness of outcomes associated with this research. The goal of this project is to increase awareness of the unique experiences of Latino youth and families, including the risk/protective factors and contextual variables, associated with the emotional well-being and academic success of participants in the research study. A total of four factsheets and 1 booklet resulted from this initiative.  The Caminos Research Study examines how stressors and supports in youth’s social environments shape family functioning and a range of indicators of adolescent health and well-being. Adolescents’ mental health outcomes are measured by internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., conduct disorder, aggression, rule-breaking). Other adolescent outcomes include substance use, prosocial behaviors, and grade point average. Stressors examined include ethnic discrimination, COVID-19, and immigration threats. Supports examined include teacher, peer, and parent support. Additional factors assessed include traditional Latino cultural values as well as cultural gaps between parents and their children and between parents and the school. 

The Caminos Translational Project will review results from the Caminos Research Study and translate key findings for numerous stakeholder groups that would benefit from increased awareness of outcomes associated with this research. The goal of this project is to increase awareness of the unique experiences of Latino youth and families, including the risk/protective factors and contextual variables, associated with the emotional well-being and academic success of participants in the research study. A total of four factsheets and 1 booklet resulted from this initiative.  The Caminos Research Study examines how stressors and supports in youth’s social environments shape family functioning and a range of indicators of adolescent health and well-being. Adolescents’ mental health outcomes are measured by internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., conduct disorder, aggression, rule-breaking). Other adolescent outcomes include substance use, prosocial behaviors, and grade point average. Stressors examined include ethnic discrimination, COVID-19, and immigration threats. Supports examined include teacher, peer, and parent support. Additional factors assessed include traditional Latino cultural values as well as cultural gaps between parents and their children and between parents and the school. 

The Caminos Translational Project will review results from the Caminos Research Study and translate key findings for numerous stakeholder groups that would benefit from increased awareness of outcomes associated with this research. The goal of this project is to increase awareness of the unique experiences of Latino youth and families, including the risk/protective factors and contextual variables, associated with the emotional well-being and academic success of participants in the research study. A total of four factsheets and 1 booklet resulted from this initiative.  The Caminos Research Study examines how stressors and supports in youth’s social environments shape family functioning and a range of indicators of adolescent health and well-being. Adolescents’ mental health outcomes are measured by internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., conduct disorder, aggression, rule-breaking). Other adolescent outcomes include substance use, prosocial behaviors, and grade point average. Stressors examined include ethnic discrimination, COVID-19, and immigration threats. Supports examined include teacher, peer, and parent support. Additional factors assessed include traditional Latino cultural values as well as cultural gaps between parents and their children and between parents and the school. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Latinx communities and highlighted how preexisting health disparities increase mental health conditions (Fortuna & Tolou-Shams, 2020). Challenges faced by Latinx families such as bereavement, food insecurity, reduced access to mental health services, and housing instability emphasize the critical need to translate and apply the best practices at the intersection of behavioral health, comprehensive school mental health systems, and Hispanic cultures. The purpose of this product is to share the lessons learned in implementing behavioral health strategies during the pandemic and exchange ideas for future responses and programs’ needs for improving Latinx communities’ mental health. The resource is a collaboration among the National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC, Central East MHTTC, National Center for School Mental Health, and the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.