Products and Resources Catalog

Recording for Session 5: What Behavioral Health and Digital Mental Health Infrastructure to Build Now and What Can Be Built Later

Recording for Session 6: Rollout Lessons: Recommendations for Training, Known Issues with Provider Training, and Lessons Learned

  The purpose of the sessions is to support tribal health care providers, and non-tribal health care providers who serve tribal people, in today’s critical environment. Trauma, stress, fear, and anxiety touches health care workers, just as it is felt by the patient or person you are helping. Longer hours and extra shifts, and the deep concern for family and patients, can weigh heavy on us as we continue to do our jobs. Our goal is to continue the supportive environment we enjoyed last month; where we remembered our strengths and learned new ways to renew during the most stressful of times, enriched by a series of Native music videos.   To watch the recording, click here.   Other resources: Nakoa Heavy Runner - Warriors Prayer  Twin Flames - Human Tunchai Redvers - "You Matter" Spoken Word Poem 9 Terms to Avoid in Communications with Indigenous Peoples  

In this learning session, we had a “behind the scenes” conversation with Classroom WISE developers about how and why this resource was developed, as well as answers to frequently asked questions. We also heard from state and district leaders about how they are messaging Classroom WISE to their stakeholders, aligning it with related initiatives and frameworks such as PBIS, and supporting implementation in schools. Finally, we offered some guidance on implementation strategies that can be feasibly used in school systems to support teacher use of Classroom WISE content. Download the presentation slides here

View Session Recording Session 1: The Future of Telebehavioral Health and Digital Mental Health Services The COVID-19 pandemic forced many mental health organizations to rapidly modify services that are typically provided in-person to remote delivery via telehealth. Now as social distancing restrictions are lifted, you have to decide how your services will look going forward. This series of 6 sessions will help you think about how telebehavioral health services could continue to be utilized, how to think about investing for telebehavioral health, and what you need to do now for long-term success.

View Session Recording Session 2: The Evidence-Base for Telebehavioral Health and Digital Mental Health Services The COVID-19 pandemic forced many mental health organizations to rapidly modify services that are typically provided in-person to remote delivery via telehealth. Now as social distancing restrictions are lifted, you have to decide how your services will look going forward. This series of 6 sessions will help you think about how telebehavioral health services could continue to be utilized, how to think about investing for telebehavioral health, and what you need to do now for long-term success.

This webinar is focused on steps behavioral health employers can take to support the well-being of their employees, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first of a two-part series, this webinar will feature speakers who will share their lessons learned as behavioral health agencies supporting employee well-being through the pandemic and beyond. For over a year, the behavioral health workforce has worked harder and longer, often putting their physical and mental health and well-being on the line. This group – like so many others – has faced unprecedented demands, including but not limited to rapidly shifting to telehealth and/or figuring out safe ways to offer in-person services; grieving the loss of colleagues, clients, friends, and family; balancing decreases in funding with the increased need to support wellbeing for colleagues and clients alike; and more. Now, after more than a year of working during the global pandemic, providers are experiencing high levels of stress, vicarious trauma, emotional exhaustion, and compassion fatigue. This added burden puts them at risk for stress-related medical problems, mental conditions, and substance use, as well as increased risk for leaving their profession altogether. In this context, it is critical that employers adopt organizational strategies and practices to support employee well-being. The Quadruple Aim is a framework that adds “improving the work-life of providers and staff” to the goals of improving population health, enhancing the patient experience, and reducing costs. In this webinar, there will be a discussion of creative interventions to support the provider-oriented aim in this unprecedented time, with implications for wellness now and in the future.   To watch the recording click here.   Presenter(s): Allison Ponce and Kyle Pedersen are Co-Chief Wellness Officers for Connecticut Mental Health Center, a public mental health center run jointly by the State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Yale Department of Psychiatry.    Allison Ponce, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Yale Department of Psychiatry. She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut. She is the Director of Education at the Connecticut Mental Health Center. Dr. Ponce has research, administrative, and clinical interests in public mental health, particularly with regard to serious mental illness and homelessness. Another major area of focus is the education and training of psychologists and other mental health professionals. Dr. Ponce supervises and advises psychology fellows and coordinates several seminars focused on administration, leadership, and community-based care. Dr. Ponce is Chair of the American Psychological Association's Policy and Planning Board and Past-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers.   Kyle Pedersen, M.A.R., has worked for Connecticut Mental Health Center since 2002, is currently Director of the CMHC Foundation, and has more than 20 years of experience in community mental health and non-profit leadership in New Haven and New York City. In the Department of Psychiatry, he co-chairs the Project Synapse workplace improvement initiative and the Staff Sub-committee of the Anti-Racism Task Force. Kyle is skilled in executive leadership; strategic planning; new program development; sound fiscal management; donor relations and fund development; community connections; supervision of staff, volunteers, and interns; and training and education for students and learners of all ages. He is an anti-racist trainer/organizer with the Elm City-Undoing Racism Organizing Collective and People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond; deacon for Trinity Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church at Yale; treasurer of Gather New Haven; on the boards of Beulah Land Development Corporation and Citywide Youth Coalition; and has served on boards of other local and regional organizations. Kyle enjoys cooking, gardening, reading, and messing around in small boats.

Download the presentation slides here Classroom WISE is a free, 6-hour mental health literacy online course for teachers and school staff with brief, high-impact training videos and accompanying website (www.classroomwise.org ). This course was developed with input from educators, students, and school mental health leaders, co-developed by the National Center for School Mental Health and the SAMHSA-funded Mental Health Technology Center Network. During this learning session Dr. Elizabeth Connors provided an overview of Classroom Wise Module 1: Creating Safe and Supportive Classrooms and Module 2: Teaching Mental Health Literacy and Reducing Stigma. Dr. Connors also lead discussion around how these modules align with existing initiatives and supports and explored effective approaches to roll out the Classroom Wise in local schools. There are four additional sessions this summer to support Classroom WISE implementation in the Southeast, register for upcoming sessions here!   Session 2 Learning Objectives: 1. Increase understanding of Classroom WISE Modules 1 and 2 structure and content. 2. Increase understanding of best practices to effectively support Classroom WISE adoption and implementation in local school systems. 3. Promote cross-state networking and shared learning about best practices in school mental health system implementation of school staff training materials.

>>> Click the blue "View Resource" button above to access the event recording <<< How might the experience of surviving COVID-19 and experiencing long-haul COVID-19 impact mental health, and what can and should we as school mental health providers and leaders understand about that experience?    This is a special conversation with four survivors of COVID-19, all of whom identify as long-haulers, people who “have not fully recovered from COVID-19 weeks or even months after first experiencing symptoms,” according to Harvard Health. Like Derek, Karla, Mieka, and Jessica, “some long haulers experience continuous symptoms for weeks or months, while others feel better for weeks, then relapse with old or new symptoms. The constellation of symptoms long haulers experience, sometimes called post-COVID-19 syndrome” (Harvard Health: If you've been exposed to the coronavirus). Dr. Mauseth will provide an overview about Long COVID behavioral health.   This conversation is crucial, especially as schools begin or resume to gather learning in person. As our speakers will share, trauma may be now surfacing because people aren’t needing to focus on surviving; this trauma is surfacing as schools are reopening and as survivors are now beginning to process their experience and new realities.    Together, Derek, Karla, Mieka, and Jessica discuss and share: The potential Impact on students who have had COVID or have trauma associated with COVID How students might be impacted because their caregiver had COVID and is a long-hauler How students might be impacted because their teacher or administrator had COVID and is a long-hauler The anger, hypervigilance, isolation, and feelings of being unseen, unbelieved, dismissed, misunderstood experienced when navigating COVID and now in the long-hauler experience The need for structural policy response and solutions for COVID survivors  Long-haulers’ reflections and responses to your questions to enhance your practice   Please note: We are not centering the conversation on death related to COVID-19; rather, we come together to discuss and share the losses and grief related to surviving COVID and being a long-hauler.   Priming Content (Articles & Research about Long-Haul COVID-19):  Brain-Fog Treatments: COVID-19 Research Is Getting Better  COVID-19 long-haulers struggle with persistent mental health issues: brain fog, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders  For Long-Haulers, Covid-19 Takes a Toll on Mind as Well as Body  Long-Haulers Are Redefining COVID-19  How COVID could reshape mental health policy  1 in 3 COVID-19 patients are diagnosed with a neuropsychiatric condition in the next six months, large study finds  6-month neurological and psychiatric outcomes in 236 379 survivors of COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records  Children’s Hospitals Grapple With Young Covid ‘Long Haulers’  Resources From Panel Discussion Slide deck of panel discussion (PDF) Support resources (PDF) Graphic (below) by Rio Holaday   Faculty Derek Canty is the CEO and founder of Winning Edge, Inc., a training and facilitation company based in Las Vegas.  Winning Edge provides training, consulting and coaching solutions to help individuals and organizations achieve maximum personal and organizational effectiveness.  Derek is also the co-founder of College Summit now PeerForward, Inc., a national social non-profit organization that is based in Washington, DC, with seven regional offices. He has also developed in-school youth development tools for PeerForward that are used in classrooms around the country. Derek spearheaded the initial Diversity & Inclusion initiative and department, where he served as Chief Diversity Officer for two years.    Derek has worked with over 15,000 youth in 30 major cities across the United States and internationally in three countries and was honored by his selection as one of the lead program facilitators for President Clinton's First Annual Young Adult Symposium at Georgetown University.  Today, Derek serves as a coach, facilitator, and trainer for select non-profit organizations and corporations, assisting them in team building, leadership development, and defining/strengthening their organizational culture.     Derek and his entire family of five contracted COVID in July 2020. He was hospitalized for 10 days, and continues to manage the after effects on his overall health.    Karla Monterroso is currently a coach, strategist, and advisor for several organizations and people doing work impacted by the changing dynamics of the demographic shift--supporting both: 1) Their ability to distribute power strategically and contend with bridging the new divide between the social experience and institutional experience of power; 2) Working on the eradication of anti-Blackness in non-Black Latinx people through coaching, culture, and strategy.     Karla has spent two decades focused on growing the people and program functions of rapidly scaling social enterprises driving youth advocacy and leadership. Most recently as the CEO of Code2040 she stewarded the shift from Code2040 as a pipeline organization to an organization committed to dismantling the structural barriers to entry, retention, and promotion of Black and Latinx people in tech. She built the tools and ran the systems that supported the scale of healthcare non-profit Health Leads. Karla did similar work in college access for low-income communities with national organizations College Summit, and College Track. She is currently a board member for Alluma, a tech non-profit enabling the creation of pivotal technology necessary to build a path out of poverty. Karla is an alumnus of the University of Southern California.    Karla got sick with Covid19 on March 13th of 2020, the first day of California’s shelter in place orders. She experienced two months of acute Covid and has now been navigating Long Haul Covid for over a year. She’s been outspoken and in national press outlets about healthcare inequities in Latinx and Black communities. She is still managing chronic tachycardia, fatigue, and assorted other symptoms due to Long Covid.     Mieka Tennant (she/her) is a communications strategist and producer. Her work is focused on accountability, inclusivity and intentional initiatives that build a stronger foundation for her clients to stand on. For over a decade she has been developing and implementing holistic communications strategies for individuals and companies. She has produced campaigns, events, and projects with various organizations--from conceptualizing a public arts initiative for incarcerated sexual assault survivors, to curating an event series for a charter school that brings together community leaders and creatives. Her love of storytelling and amplifying the voices of others led her to develop and facilitate a weekly writing group with New Village Girls Academy, where she has volunteered for the past seven years.   Mieka contracted COVID-19 the week of May 19, 2020, and for the following seven months endured the extreme effects of the virus on her body and life.     Jessica Gonzalez, MSW, is the School Mental Health Coordinator for the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network Coordinating Office (NCO) at Stanford University School of Medicine. Jessica is coordinating the work of 12 centers that provide training and technical assistance to the mental health and school mental health workforce to increase the use of evidence-based mental health prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for students across the United States. Jessica has worked in the community as a social worker providing mental health services in school and outpatient clinic settings to children and adolescents of diverse socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. In addition, she has experience in project management support and coordination for research and evaluation in the areas of early childhood learning and development, special education, post-secondary education attainment, and delivery of school mental health services. Jessica has also worked for numerous high school and college programs in the Bay Area seeking to improve educational outcomes for first-generation, low-income students of color.   Jessica contracted COVID-19 the first week of March 2020 and was hospitalized due to severe symptoms and complications. To this day, Jessica continues managing the effects on her mental health and well-being resulting from the virus.   Dr. Kira Mauseth is a practicing clinical psychologist who sees patients at Snohomish Psychology Associates, teaches as a Senior Instructor at Seattle University and serves as a co-lead for the Behavioral Health Strike Team for the WA State Department of Health. Her work and research interests focus on resilience, trauma and disaster behavioral health. She has worked extensively in Haiti with earthquake survivors, in Jordan with Syrian refugees and with first responders and health care workers throughout Puget Sound the United States. Dr. Mauseth also conducts trainings with organizations and educational groups about disaster preparedness and resilience building within local communities.     This discussion was moderated by: The Pacific Southwest, Northwest, & Mountain Plains MHTTCs 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.

  The Take 10 podcast features 10 minutes of ideas and inspiration focused on provider self-care and well-being during the COVID-19 era. The podcast is written and hosted by Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC.  All episodes are posted on the Great Lakes Wave podcast channel:https://anchor.fm/greatlakescurrent Available for listening on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms. 

People define their spirituality, faith, and religion as being a process involving growth, addressing existential questions about meaning and sense in life, life satisfaction, well-being, a sense of purpose, hope, and optimism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and communities have started to explore more personal and collective connections with spiritual, faith, and religious resources as coping mechanisms. They seem to be a potential antidote that minimizes the consequences of anxiety, depression, and any other mental or physical stress caused during the coronavirus crisis.   In this context, the proposed panel and conversation series on spirituality, faith, and religion: creating a time and space for connection, wellness, and hope can be a tool for healthcare professionals, patients, family, and communities to reconnect with themselves, provide the most comprehensive care possible, benefit from spiritual practice, build social support, and share stories of hope and resilience.   Our community conversation series will offer comfort and safe space through structured and innovative conversation focusing on spiritual beliefs and coping. Activities facilitate verbal expression and appropriate social interaction and build a sense of belonging. We discuss activities and themes from these webinars within a recovery-oriented “emotion-focused coping” framework. A faith community member will lead this series.   To watch the recording, click here.    Moderator: Thomas Burr, Community and Affiliate Relations Manager, NAMI Connecticut   Panelists for July 8th, 2021   Enroue [On-roo] Halfkenny [Haf-ken-ee] Enroue Halfkenny has been a Babalawo [Bah-bah-lah-woe] within the West African traditional religion of the Yoruba [Yoh-ru-bah] People for more than 20 years. He is a clinical social worker, an artist, and an activist. He is a multiracial, Black, cisgender, heterosexual man, father of two, who has been married for more than 21 years. Mr. Halfkenny has also been living sober for over 28 years. The weaving together of spiritual health, mental health, and social justice issues and practices guide his life and direct his work with others. Noman J. Nuton Jr., Senior Minister Congregation: New Haven Church of Christ A native of Cambridge, Maryland, Minister Nuton is a graduate of Amridge University (formerly Southern Christian University) where he earned his bachelor of science degree in bible/ministry, graduating summa cum laude. For several years, he served at the Cambridge Church of Christ as the assistant minister and youth minister. At the Capital Church of Christ, he assisted with the youth ministry, teaching high school teens and preaching the gospel. Minister Nuton served as the senior minister of the Church of Christ in Easton Maryland for 6 years; for the past 4 years, he has served in his current position as senior minister at the New Haven Church of Christ. Committed to serving his church and his community, Minister Nuton is a board member of Christian Community Action, which is a faith-based nonprofit organization committed to housing, feeding, and educating families who are less fortunate. Minister Nuton achieved recognition working as a paralegal for a prominent law firm in Baltimore City, Maryland. In addition to his ministerial service, he worked in the insurance industry for 15 years in various positions, including working as a national sales executive for an insurance brokerage in Cambridge for 8 years. He also worked in conjunction with the Dorchester County Public Schools, speaking at various schools and community events. Minister Nuton, a resident of Hamden, Connecticut, is married to Myra; together they have three children, Mya, Mariah, and Norman III. Reverend Bonita Grubbs Rev. Grubbs has been the executive director of Christian Community Action since December 1988. Before that, 1985–1988, she was employed as assistant regional administrator in Region V (Northwest Connecticut) for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health. Actively engaged in public service, she has served as a governing board member for these organizations: Connecticut Housing Coalition The Hospital of Saint Raphael Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund International Festival of Arts and Ideas Connecticut Voices for Children Project Access New Haven Community Economic Development Fund Addition leadership positions include the following: Member, Connecticut Judicial Review Council Interim pastor, Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church, Hamden, Connecticut President, Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness Co-chair, Steering Committee of New Haven’s Fighting Back Project Member, Board of Trustees of Mercy Center in Madison, Connecticut Member, Board of Trustees of Connecticut Center for School Change and Dwight Hall at Yale University Lecturer in supervised ministries and homiletics, Yale Divinity School President, ABCCONN, and chair of ABCCONN’s Personnel Committee   Rev. Grubbs holds an undergraduate degree in sociology and Afro-American studies from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She received two degrees from Yale University, a master of arts in religion and a master of public health. She received an honorary degree from Albertus Magnus College in 2001. In 2012, Richard Levin, former Yale University president, and Rev. Grubbs received the New Haven Register’s Person of the Year Award. In 2013, she received the Humanitarian Award from the Connecticut Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission. Presently, Rev. Grubbs is a member of the governing board of the Regional Workforce Alliance. Confirmed as deputy chaplain of the Connecticut State Senate General Assembly in 2015, she continues to serve in this capacity.  

New Resource! Please feel free to share with anyone that might be interested. The UW SMART Center Speaker Series brought esteemed scholars virtually to elevate our understanding of issues related to school mental health and critical topics in education. The school mental health supplement to the Northwest MHTTC co-sponsored the UW SMART Center's 2021 Virtual Speaker Series. Originally a series of in-person events, we moved these presentations to a virtual format due to COVID-19. Full Series details can be accessed here. Learn more about the UW SMART Center here.   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.

Recording of the event What to Do When A Client Texts You Outside of Work Hours: The Ethical Use of Technology in Clinical and Support Behavioral Practice, originally held on June 22, 2021.   Presentation slides.

Recording of the event Ethical Considerations for Behavioral Health Providers and Support Workers Recording, originally held on June 8, 2021.   Presentation slides.

>>> Click the blue "View Resource" button above to access <<< The Northwest and Pacific Southwest MHTTC provided a series that explores the ISF framework by examining and redesigning systems (structures and leadership) that are equitable by using data to support practices (services and supports) needed to promote wellness for all. What is the Interconnected Systems Framework? The Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) promotes using a single system of delivery for educational and mental health support in schools. ISF offers a solution to the challenge of meeting the needs of the whole child. ISF is a structure and process that maximizes effectiveness and efficiency by blending the strengths of school and community mental health with strengths of the multi-tiered framework of PBIS (Barrett, Eber, Weist, 2013). Acknowledgments The ISF series that started in 2019 and continues in 2021 would not have been possible without the thought leadership and vision stewarded by the Pacific Southwest and Northwest MHTTCs, the Center on PBIS and the National ISF Leadership Team. Questions? Contact your MHTTC Center! Northwest MHTTC Email: [email protected] Phone: 206-744-9327 Pacific Southwest MHTTC Email: [email protected] Phone: 844-856-1749 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.

Learning Revolution invited the MHTTC Network to their Well-Being Wednesday Podcast, led by Rebecca Muller at Exceptional Circumstances for Exceptional Learners, to discuss their new school mental health training package, Classroom WISE (Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators). Classroom WISE is a FREE 3-part training package that assists K-12 educators in supporting the mental health of students in the classroom. Developed by the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health, this package offers evidence-based strategies and skills to engage and support students with mental health concerns in the classroom. In addition to a free online course on mental health literacy for educators and school personnel, a video library and resource collection are also available! Access Classroom WISE at https://www.classroomwise.org/. In this podcast session, Jessica Gonzalez, MHTTC SMH Coordinator, shares an overview of the MHTTC School Mental Health Initiative and discusses how Classroom WISE came to be. She is joined by Sharon Hoover, Co-Director of the National Center for School Mental Health, who co-developed the content for the Classroom WISE training package and shares about some of the content covered in the Classroom WISE online course. Erika Franta, SMH Program Director from the Mid-America MHTTC, also joins the conversation to discuss how the MHTTC Network plans to disseminate Classroom WISE and support the implementation of this training package in schools in the Mid-America region and beyond.

  Building Resilience Among Providers During a Global Health Pandemic (4-Part Series) Access slide decks and toolkit with the green download link above Session descriptions and recordings below   Providing physical or behavioral healthcare to others during the global health pandemic can lead to increased levels of stress, fear, anxiety, burnout, frustration, and other strong emotions. It is imperative that physical and behavioral healthcare providers recognize personal signs of mental fatigue, are given supports in their organization to ensure continued productivity and quality care, and are provided with tools to learn how to cope and build resilience. This training series has been developed to encourage self-care and to assist in building resilience among physical and behavioral healthcare providers amidst the global health pandemic.   Session One: Understanding the Impact of a Public Health Crisis on Medical and Behavioral Healthcare Providers   This session will outline common terms, introduce compassion fatigue, and discuss the impact of moral injury and traumatic stress. Speakers will also present a toolkit that has been developed to assist providers and their organizations in building resiliency.   Watch the recording here   Session Two: Home Life, Clinical Care, and Work Relationships: Causes of Stress and Resiliency Building for Providers   Presenters will discuss home life stressors, challenges of managing work relationships during a time of crisis, and the current issues facing providers as they work to provide quality care during a public health emergency. This session will also offer specific solutions and key resources for fostering resilience and balancing demands of home life, clinical care, and professional relationships during a pandemic.   Watch the recording here   Session Three: Preventing and Responding to Grief, Loss, and Secondary Traumatic Stress among Providers   Providers are experiencing loss of normalcy, loss of routine, and other ambiguous loss. Many may also be dealing with grief over the loss of a loved one, or the loss of numerous patients. Compounding this sense of loss and grief, providers commonly carry their patients’ stories with them. It is important that providers connect with their patients. If providers feel nothing, then they cannot connect as strongly and may not be able to optimize patient care. However, this connection, especially during a pandemic, can lead to secondary traumatic stress (STS). This session will address signs and symptoms of grief and loss among providers that have been present during the pandemic, and will describe secondary traumatic stress. Presenters will also offer ways to prevent and respond to these experiences at both an organizational and individual level.   Watch the recording here   Session Four: Promoting Resiliency at an Organizational Level   Research indicates that, although efforts to promote resilience at an individual level are important, addressing characteristics of the external environment are at least as important. Absence of organizational and leadership support for provider distress during COVID-19 may adversely impact organizational resilience, patient safety, and staff retention. Providers cannot sustain their own well-being without the support of their leadership. Targets for improvement at the organizational level include ensuring:   Organizational efficiency through identifying inefficient workplace processes. A transformational work culture. Correction of any negative leadership behaviors.   Watch the recording here

Mid-America MHTTC trainer Holly Roberts, PhD, LP, sits down with Jason Medows of Ag State of Mind to talk about rural mental health and telehealth. Episode description: Back to interview podcasts today. A few months ago, Elizabeth Lewan from American Psychological Association reached out to me regarding the impact COVID has had on America’s farmers. She put me in contact with Dr. Holly Roberts from the Psychology Department at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Holly and I chatted about her background in a farming community and how getting mental health care treatment into farming communities is often a challenge. We discuss that although COVID is a challenge, it also produced the opportunity to showcase that Telehealth can really work. I am very flattered that APA reached out to me and put me in touch with Holly. I’m also quite impressed that APA is recognizing this need and is going to work on it. To get in contact with Holly send her a message at [email protected]. Learn more about Ag State of Mind

Young people who have experienced psychosis and their families may have unanswered questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. With walk-in vaccine appointments now available across Massachusetts, this panel of early psychosis peer specialists and local vaccine experts are here to share their experiences.   This presentation and open conversation focused on the COVID-19 vaccine, equity, and mental health. You can read more at www.mapnet.online/covid19-vaccine.   Panelists Mary LaSalvia, MD; Division of Infectious Disease, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Victoria Shokunbi, RN, MSN; Nurse Educator, Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Robert Walker, CPS; Office of Recovery and Empowerment, Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Joshua Cairns, CPS; Recovery Counselor, Prevention & Recovery in Early Psychosis (PREP) Program Tammie Badura, CPS; Certified Peer Specialist, Prevention & Recovery in Early Psychosis (PREP) Program

There are enough COVID-19 vaccines for everyone in the United States, but some people aren't quite sure yet if they are ready to get one. Dr. Emily Kline taught how to use skills from an evidence-based approach called motivational interviewing to have more successful conversations about COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Emily Kline is a psychologist, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, and the Director of Psychological Services for the Wellness and Recovery After Psychosis program at Boston Medical Center. She has created a brief curriculum that teaches core motivational interviewing concepts to non-professionals facing difficult conversations with their loved ones.

No one knows better than registered nurse Denesha McGhee-Hill that we have to lean on our connections with others to help us weather difficult experiences. McGhee-Hill started working on a medical surgical floor in February 2020 and, like many nurses at the time, quickly transitioned into treating COVID-19 patients. In addition to learning to bear the typical stressors of patient care, she was on the front lines as the world came to find out just how devastating the COVID-19 virus would be. In this episode of Burnout Busters, join us for a conversation with McGhee-Hill about how relationships — be it with a partner, family member, colleague, or mentor — provide support during difficult times in our personal and professional lives and help us maintain perspective on life. -- Denesha McGhee-Hill is a registered nurse on a medical surgical floor at Nebraska Medicine. Since early 2020, she has treated countless COVID-19 patients by day (and sometimes night) and then come home to resume her other life roles as mother, spouse, and role model. Prior to her work as a front-line nurse amid a pandemic, Denesha spent four years as a clinical licensed practical nurse (LPN), splitting her time between two Nebraska Medicine clinical sites. Her main base site at this time was the Girls Inc. Health Center. During her time here, she was the pioneer and point person for the Allied Health Professionals (AHP) program, which provided free STI testing to individuals ages 14-24. She performed these tests and educated clients on making safe and conscious decisions pertaining to consensual sexual activities. Denesha is a fierce advocate for her patients, other nurses, and herself, making her the perfect person to sit down with us and discuss techniques for managing individual well-being under strenuous circumstances. In particular, we'll hear how she leaned on personal connections and her community through these times. -- Remember, you can use the hashtag #mhttcbyebyeburnout to share your well-being journey with us and others! Learn more at https://bit.ly/BurnoutBustersThePodcast  

Health care professionals working with patients or clients who have endured traumatic events can expect to experience some stress related to this role. But at what point does that stress become detrimental, or even cross a line into secondary or vicarious trauma? This week, join our Burnout Busters for a conversation around trauma. Host Hannah West, PhD, talks about her work with trauma patients and with organizations on addressing trauma among caregivers, prior to and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. You’ll learn how to recognize trauma and take steps to respond to its symptoms, and how the “do no harm” tenet of the Hippocratic oath applies to health workers in addition to their subjects. -- Hannah West, PhD, BCBA, is a regional trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC and behavioral health provider at Sunflower Pediatric Behavioral Health in Shawnee, Kansas. Dr. West is passionate about assisting schools and districts at the systems level through consultation and coaching to match student academic, behavioral and mental health needs with resources available through the development of multi-tiered systems of support. As a trainer for the National Association of School Psychologists’ (NASP) PREPaRE curriculum, she is also passionate about working with schools to implement best-practice prevention, intervention, and postvention supports related to school crises. Dr. West received her doctorate in school psychology from Oklahoma State University. Her doctoral training and research focused on child and adolescent assessment and treatment, as well as working within the systems and environments they live to match resources to needs. -- Remember, you can use the hashtag #mhttcbyebyeburnout to share your well-being journey with us and others! Learn more at https://bit.ly/BurnoutBustersThePodcast  

About the Learning Session: The MHTTC Network is hosting an 8-part training series using the National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules for States, Districts, and Schools. This resource was developed by the MHTTC Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) and aims to help states, districts and schools advance comprehensive school mental health and engage in a planning process for implementation.  Module 8: Impact explains the purpose and value of documenting and sharing information about the impact of your comprehensive school mental health system. Access the recording of this session by clicking the blue "View Resource" button above. Access presentation slides here. Access our FAQ and Resources document (that includes responses to questions asked by participants during the live event) here. Access the closed captioning transcript for this session here. This session wraps up this series! To access previous recordings from this series, please click here. To learn more about the National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules and gain access to the COMPLETE resource, click HERE. PLEASE NOTE: As of April 2021, the MHTTC Network and National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) changed the title of the National School Mental Health Curriculum: Guidance and Best Practices for States, Districts, and Schools to the new title 'National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules for States, Districts, and Schools.' Session Panelists: Amber Fox has been a member of the Kent School Services Network Administrative team in Kent County, Michigan since 2014. She has a Master's in Social Work and more than 20 years of experience in the fields of Youth Development, Education and Social Work. Previously, she served as the Kent ISD program coordinator for Michigan’s Project AWARE (2014-2018). In her current role of Director of Integrated Supports and Team Lead Supervisor, she co-coaches and co-develops a team of 40 community school coordinators and 5 team leads, serving 45 schools in 9 school districts. She is a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid trainer and Youth Program Quality External Assessor. Dr. Louis Laffitte, Jr., is an instructional trailblazer who partners with thought leaders across the country to improve outcomes for learners of all ages and demographics. With more than two decades dedicated to the field of education, Dr. Laffitte’s critical insight into what drives teaching and learning has benefited students and colleagues alike. With a career path focused on empowering the disenfranchised, Laffitte has been a voice and advocate for change, which has benefited the many leadership roles he’s undertaken as an educator. These roles have included principal, special education director, human resources director and assistant superintendent.

People define their spirituality, faith, and religion as being a process involving growth, addressing existential questions about meaning and sense in life, life satisfaction, well-being, a sense of purpose, hope, and optimism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and communities have started to explore more personal and collective connections with spiritual, faith, and religious resources as coping mechanisms. They seem to be a potential antidote that minimizes the consequences of anxiety, depression, and any other mental or physical stress caused during the coronavirus crisis.   In this context, the proposed panel and conversation series on spirituality, faith, and religion: creating a time and space for connection, wellness, and hope can be a tool for healthcare professionals, patients, family, and communities to reconnect with themselves, provide the most comprehensive care possible, benefit from spiritual practice, build social support, and share stories of hope and resilience.   Our community conversation series will offer comfort and safe space through structured and innovative conversation focusing on spiritual beliefs and coping. Activities facilitate verbal expression and appropriate social interaction and build a sense of belonging. We discuss activities and themes from these webinars within a recovery-oriented “emotion-focused coping” framework. A faith community member will lead this series.   Moderator: Thomas Burr, Community and Affiliate Relations Manager, NAMI Connecticut   Panelists for June 3rd, 2021   Pastor Marylin Rodriguez Congregation: Church Oasis of Blessing Christian Center   Pastor Marilyn Rodriguez was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and raised in a Christian home. In 1996, Pastor Rodriquez received her bachelor’s degree in visual arts and moved to New Britain, Connecticut, where she met her future husband, Jose Rodriguez. She has always been active in her church, and in 1999 she graduated from the Hispanic Bible Institute. In 2014, Pastor Rodriguez graduated from the Latin-American Bible Institute and went on to teach there for 2 years. For the last 8 years, she and her husband have worked at the Church Oasis of Blessing Christian Center. Pastor Rodriguez and her husband Jose have eight children. Pastor Kelcy G. L. Steele Congregation: Varick Memorial African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church   A native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Rev. Steele is the 43rd pastor of Varick Memorial AME Zion Church. He is author of the book The Sound of Revival: 7 Powerful Prophetic Proclamations, which explores prophetic preaching in the Wesleyan tradition. He earned his master of divinity degree at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 2018. Governor Ned Lamont appointed Pastor Steele to the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles in 2020. Pastor Steele is CEO of the Varick Center for Empowerment and an Imani Breakthrough Project Leader. He serves on the Board of Directors of Booker T. Washington Academy and is Cultural Ambassador of the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation. Pastor William L. Mathis Congregation: Springs of Life-Giving Water Church (The Springs) A native of Albany, Georgia, after graduating from Morehouse College with a bachelor’s degree in political science and accounting, Pastor Mathis joined the staff of the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control for the U. S. House of Representatives.   Afterwards, he pursued his interest in law at Boston College, earning his JD degree in 1989 and serving as the National Chair of the Black Law Students Association in the wake of increasing minority presence in the profession. He served first as a judicial law clerk and then as Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorney. While in these positions, he worked to ameliorate the plight of juvenile delinquents and to develop preventive programs and supporting environments. During this time, he was called to the ministry and began ministering through public policies. Before he entered Harvard University, he served as chaplain, counselor, and teacher at The Baraka School, a school for inner-city male youth based in Kenya, East Africa. Pastor Mathis received his MDiv from Harvard in 2002.   The Springs is an American Baptist Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Pastor Mathis seeks to help individuals view and develop each life experience as empowering and directional for their purposed lives as they become all that God intends. In line with his assignment, Pastor Mathis is CEO of WLM Ministries, a nonprofit organization devoted to providing consulting services to create community and faith-based initiatives focused on criminal justice, neighborhood safety, community building, youth empowerment, social justice, and African diaspora collaboration.    These are additional positions and affiliations for Pastor Mathis: Immediate past president, American Baptist Churches of Connecticut (ABCCONN), 2019–2020 Member, Baptist World Alliance’s Justice and Freedom Commission Consultant, Brazilian faith-based communities and non-governmental organizations working to empower Afro-Brazilian communities Member, Kingdom Association of Covenant Pastors Founding and steering committee member, New Haven 828, an organization devoted to bringing pastors and para-church leaders together for prayer and the formation of collaborative initiatives to address social ills Advisory board member, New Haven’s Juvenile Review Board Member, New Haven’s Reentry Initiative Roundtable Member, New Haven Community Violence Response Group