Products and Resources Catalog

A major concern in school communities across the country is school violence. This symposium provides an overview of the MHTTC Network's School Mental Health Initiative, and highlights training and technical assistance (TA) that the MHTTC Network is leading on addressing school violence and school mental health. NOTE: This was originally presented at the 2023 Advancing School Mental Health Conference, hosted by the National Center for School Mental Health in New Orleans, LA.

The Embracing Authenticity: A Guide to Authenticity and Cultural Awareness at Work webinar series provided guidance and support for the use and implementation of the accompanying workbook, which is intended to be used as a guide for deeper levels of processing and to support healthier conversations in the workplace around identity and wellness. This resource can be used as a tool to address the unique experiences of work-related stress compounded with being a person of color and also as a resource for folks seeking to be more accountable for reducing harm and creating a more equitable work environment. This comprehensive guide is designed to support you in cultivating authenticity, promoting inclusion, and prioritizing wellness in the workplace. Whether you're an organizational leader, a colleague, or an individual who has experienced marginalization, this workbook provides practical insights, exercises, and resources to make meaningful progress. Presenters: Ashley Stewart, PhD, MSSW, LSW, Director of the Center for Health Equity, C4 Innovations Ronitia Hodges, Senior Project Manager, C4 Innovations

This event discussed the New England MHTTC's work assisting organizations with racial equity and efforts to make web-based content reflective of the mission & values of the organization. With intersectionality in mind, Ashley Stewart, Director of the Center for Health Equity informed attendees about the methods used to ensure inclusivity, cultural awareness, and attunement via a web auditing process. The first part of the webinar series on December 5, 2023 covered: The inclusion of language addressing, responding to, and advocating around equity-related topics. C4 equity audits also assess for all forms of identity-based oppression, including, but not limited to, sexism, ageism, ableism, heterosexism, and linguistic and religious-based oppression.  

The Embracing Authenticity: A Guide to Authenticity and Cultural Awareness at Work webinar series provided guidance and support for the use and implementation of the accompanying workbook, which is intended to be used as a guide for deeper levels of processing and to support healthier conversations in the workplace around identity and wellness. This resource can be used as a tool to address the unique experiences of work-related stress compounded with being a person of color and also as a resource for folks seeking to be more accountable for reducing harm and creating a more equitable work environment. This comprehensive guide is designed to support you in cultivating authenticity, promoting inclusion, and prioritizing wellness in the workplace. Whether you're an organizational leader, a colleague, or an individual who has experienced marginalization, this workbook provides practical insights, exercises, and resources to make meaningful progress. Presenters: Ashley Stewart, PhD, MSSW, LSW, Director of the Center for Health Equity, C4 Innovations Ronitia Hodges, Senior Project Manager, C4 Innovations

  The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The December 2023 issue shares recorded content on wound care and xylazine, social media basics for preventionists, an infographic on providing behavioral healthcare to people living with HIV, and SAMHSA's tips for supporting your mental health through the holidays. As always, you will also find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!   Make sure you're subscribed to our email contact list, so you never miss a month of The Great Lakes Current newsletter and thank you for reading!

This event discussed the New England MHTTC's work assisting organizations with racial equity and efforts to make web-based content reflective of the mission & values of the organization. With intersectionality in mind, Ashley Stewart, Director of the Center for Health Equity informed attendees about the methods used to ensure inclusivity, cultural awareness, and attunement via a web auditing process. The first part of the webinar series on December 5, 2023 covered: The inclusion of language addressing, responding to, and advocating around equity-related topics. C4 equity audits also assess for all forms of identity-based oppression, including, but not limited to, sexism, ageism, ableism, heterosexism, and linguistic and religious-based oppression.

Behavioral threat assessment was developed to prevent targeted attacks, such as school shootings. However, there are concerns about the use of threat assessment in schools, including as it relates to student mental health. This symposium by the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office and National Center for School Mental Health details results of a key informant roundtable, scoping review, and white paper that examine considerations for behavioral threat assessment, research outcomes, and recommendations for the future of behavioral threat assessment in schools. NOTE: This was originally presented at the 2023 Advancing School Mental Health Conference, hosted by the National Center for School Mental Health in New Orleans, LA.

Series Description We are excited to announce that Christina Ruggiero, RP is returning to lead our fall Mindful Monday series entitled, Mindful Monday – Experiential Mental Health Practice. The Mindful Monday series continues to be extremely popular as we explore different mindfulness practices, related to overall well-being, resilience, and mental health. According to studies conducted by the National Institute of Health (NIH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, mindfulness practices may help people manage stress, cope better with serious illness, and reduce anxiety and depression.  Many people who practice mindfulness report an increased ability to relax, a greater enthusiasm for life and improved self-esteem. Mindfulness practices are varied and can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to an hour or more. Vishen Lakhiani, Meditation Expert and CEO of Mindvalley, states “You can take a one- to three-minute dip into peacefulness, and you can see remarkable results. The biggest benefits are going to happen in the first few minutes.” This is a 30-minute interactive training that begins on October 9th and will run every other week through December 4th, 2023. This series of Mindful Monday sessions features a wide range of evidence-based practices from different disciplines and topics, including, sound healing, self-compassion, creativity, and setting boundaries. Each training will feature exercises from different mindfulness disciplines. At the beginning of each session, participants will spend a few minutes grounding and learning about the practice for that day and then spend approximately 15-20 minutes in experiential practice, leaving a few minutes at the end for reflection and discussion. Dates October 9th - Sound Healing To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording October 23th - Grounding To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording November 6 - Creativity and the Inner Critic To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording November 20 - Self-Compassion HEAL Acronym To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording December 4 - Boundary Meditation To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording Trainer Christina Ruggiero, RP

Our mission is to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based and empirically supported mental health practices to improve the lives of individuals living with mental health conditions and support their recovery, wellness, and resilience. As we conclude our fifth year of activities at the Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, we are reflecting on strategies to support the sustainability of our efforts. A critical component of sustainability is collaboration with valued partners. We’ve had the opportunity to build many such partnerships. You’ll see in this summary of our Year 5 activities that collaborations are central to our work and its sustained impact.

Rates of behavioral health needs are higher for people living with HIV (PLWH) and those at risk of acquiring HIV than the general population. Current research indicates PLWH are twice as likely to have a behavioral health condition than the general population. For this reason, our partners at Vivent Health have created this new infographic highlighting some basic information about integrated care for PLWH that providers need to know.

Vera Muñiz-Saurré and host Joey Rodriguez discuss experiences with culturally responsive care in early psychosis and strategies for providers. This Changing the Conversation podcast episode is sponsored by the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC).

The one-hour Reclaiming Native Psychological Brilliance virtual series provides an opportunity for participants to: Gain skills on strength-based approaches in partnership with Native People to enhance Native behavioral health, and Discuss ways that Native brilliance is demonstrated and supports behavioral health, and Learn about Native brilliance examples to share with behavioral health and other health care staff, as well as with local Tribal Nation citizens The concept of Native psychological brilliance will be celebrated through Native music videos and Native spoken word performances as part of each session of the Reclaiming Native Psychological Brilliance series.   November's topic was "Listening to You" where we listened to participant's input on our upcoming 2024 series. 

The Embracing Authenticity: A Guide to Authenticity and Cultural Awareness at Work webinar series provided guidance and support for the use and implementation of the accompanying workbook, which is intended to be used as a guide for deeper levels of processing and to support healthier conversations in the workplace around identity and wellness. This resource can be used as a tool to address the unique experiences of work-related stress compounded with being a person of color and also as a resource for folks seeking to be more accountable for reducing harm and creating a more equitable work environment. This comprehensive guide is designed to support you in cultivating authenticity, promoting inclusion, and prioritizing wellness in the workplace. Whether you're an organizational leader, a colleague, or an individual who has experienced marginalization, this workbook provides practical insights, exercises, and resources to make meaningful progress.   Presenters: Ashley Stewart, PhD, MSSW, LSW, Director of the Center for Health Equity, C4 Innovations Ronitia Hodges, Senior Project Manager, C4 Innovations

This session provided participant providers with experiential opportunities to learn about Breath-Body-Mind™, an integrative approach and universally accessible stress reduction practice. These techniques were introduced using breath work and gentle, adapatable, body movements. Parents/caregivers and other family members often bear the stressors of trying to navigate systems, advocating for supports and services that work, balancing the internal struggle between caring "for" and caring "with", and juggling other work, family, and life responsibilities, leaving little time to protect their own peace and wellbeing.  Led by Level 4 practitioner Linda Lentini as she showed us useful stress reduction tools we can all use and share with families and caregivers.

This poster uses an Implementation Research model to examine how contextual factors (e.g., leadership and climate; steps taken by the school to incorporate the content into professional development activities) affect implementing a mental health literacy training, Classroom WISE, in K-12 schools, and how to leverage facilitators to increase program uptake. NOTE: This poster was originally presented at the School Social Work Association of America's 2023 Annual Conference in Broomfield, CO.

In this evidence-based presentation, we discussed the powerful healing properties of nature. We also discussed realistic and accessible ways to engage with nature. We explored how humans are hard-wired to see beauty in nature and why teaching our children to love nature is more important than ever.   Presenters: Catherine Haines, OT, OTR (she, her) is a community based occupational therapist and consultant for the Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Mindfulness and Compassion. She is a member of the stakeholder committee for Project SUCCESS, comparing evidence-based interventions for improving functioning of people with schizophrenia-spectrum illnesses. Through UMASS Memorial Medical Center, she leads support groups for siblings of children with severe behavioral and developmental challenges. She has developed nature-based presentations for The Somerville Community Growing Center and the Earthspirit Community. She is a coordinator for a community garden in her neighborhood in Somerville, MA.   Frannie Marin (she/her) is a clinical research coordinator with the Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Mindfulness and Compassion (CMC). With CMC, she researches the impact of stress reduction training and vagus nerve stimulation for patients with chronic pain. During her time on the CBS reality competition show Survivor, Frannie spent nearly one month on the islands of Fiji with few resources and no contact with the outside world. During that time, she experienced first-hand the potent healing power of nature, even within the high-stress environment of competing against 17 other people for one million dollars. Spurred by her personal experiences, she hopes to pursue a PhD program in psychology to explore new methods to reduce stress and improve the lives of others.

Educators and school personnel play a vital role in promoting well-being and identifying and responding to emerging mental illness in children and adolescents. However, they often have not received the training and ongoing support needed to respond in the classroom. To address this need, the MHTTC Network, in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, developed a FREE 3-part training package focused on educator mental health literacy. Informed by and co-developed with K-12 educators, Classroom WISE (Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators) launched in June 2021. Since then, over 10,000 educators and school staff have completed the training! This summary highlights participant feedback as well as MHTTC's dissemination and implementation efforts for Classroom WISE since its launch.

Developing and disseminating effective educator and school personnel training packages does not necessarily lead to their use and implementation. This session demonstrates Classroom WISE, a free 3-part package (online course, video series, resource library) focused on educator mental health literacy, and presents evaluation results for the package and a technical assistance project that examines differences in uptake of the Classroom WISE based on the level of implementation support. NOTE: This was originally presented virtually at the 2022 Advancing School Mental Health Conference, hosted by the National Center for School Mental Health.

About 4 of 5 children with mental health issues have unmet mental health needs. Key to addressing the youth mental health crisis (as declared by the U.S. Surgeon General) is identifying and addressing student mental health challenges in school settings. This poster examines how much technical assistance/implementation strategies was needed to introduce districts and schools to Classroom WISE and help them explore, plan, implement, and sustain training. NOTE: This poster was originally presented at the 15th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Washington, DC.

School mental health staff play a vital role in promoting mental health and well-being and identifying and responding to emerging mental illness in children and adolescents. Partnering with educators is essential; however, they often have not received the education, training, and/or ongoing support needed to respond in the classroom. Learn how school mental health staff can use the free Classroom WISE suite of tools to move school mental health forward. NOTE: This was originally presented at the School Social Work Association of America's 2022 Annual Conference in Chicago, IL.

This Summer Region 9 School Mental Health Champions! newsletter edition was released in June, 2023 - for some of our readers, this is a time of break, vacation, and restoration. For others, it might be a time of closing the school year and preparing for a new one - of taking stock and exhaling after what may have been a busy year. Wherever this newsletter finds you, we hope you can take an inhale and exhale and honor the work of this past year. This newsletter provides new programming and products from our center, upcoming school mental health conferences and learning opportunities from the network and field, and recent research and scholarship to support our school mental health practices and policies. We’re happy to share that our region’s school mental health website is up to date and ready to support you: https://mhttcnetwork.org/centers/pacific-southwest-mhttc/school-mental-health Please contact us with specific requests, feedback, or your own resources you’d like us to share with your regional colleagues: [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

This Fall 2023 edition of Region 9 School Mental Health Champions! newsletter was released in October, a time and month that for many school-based leaders and educators is full, often a time and month that yearns for rest and rejuvenation. Our Region 9 team extends our wishes for our readers to feel resourced and supported and we are continually grateful for the opportunity to be a resource and a support to the work that makes your love for school mental health equity visible.    In this quarter’s newsletter, we offer new programming, research, and resources, and so much more. 

The Embracing Authenticity: A Guide to Authenticity and Cultural Awareness at Work webinar series provided guidance and support for the use and implementation of the accompanying workbook, which is intended to be used as a guide for deeper levels of processing and to support healthier conversations in the workplace around identity and wellness. This resource can be used as a tool to address the unique experiences of work-related stress compounded with being a person of color and also as a resource for folks seeking to be more accountable for reducing harm and creating a more equitable work environment. This comprehensive guide is designed to support you in cultivating authenticity, promoting inclusion, and prioritizing wellness in the workplace. Whether you're an organizational leader, a colleague, or an individual who has experienced marginalization, this workbook provides practical insights, exercises, and resources to make meaningful progress.   Presenters:  Ashley Stewart, PhD, MSSW, LSW, Director of the Center for Health Equity, C4 Innovations Ronitia Hodges, Senior Project Manager, C4 Innovations   View a recording of this 11/15/23 session here. 

Youth & Young Adults Now: Vision, Voice, and Ventures is a quarterly newsletter dedicated to promoting resources, perspectives, and organizations that support youth and young adult (YYA) advocates, advocates for YYA, and YYA-serving professionals. In this Fall Issue, our Pacific Southwest MHTTC team announces the start of two key Youth & Young Adult serving programs, initiated by our YYA team leads, Oriana Ides and Evelyn Clark. Read through this issue to see our center's uplifting of juvenile justice organizations and leaders in the field, recent product releases, and more.