Products and Resources Catalog

Attendees learn the Five R’s for best practices in school crisis response: readiness, response, recovery, review/evaluate, and resources. Attendees identify common barriers to implementation of best practices and ways they can incorporate these vital components into their school’s crisis planning. Learn more: https://bit.ly/mhttccrisisseries2021

  Learn how the Adult Resilience Curriculum (ARC) for Health Professionals track can help individuals and organizations implement well-being strategies.   ARC for Health Professionals Professional Well-Being

Health care workers — including but not limited to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, behavioral health providers, and administrators — experience exceptional levels of burnout and compassion fatigue as the result of packed schedules, emotional demand, and moral injury — and these stressors have only been amplified since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this webinar, speakers will describe how stress affects us psychologically and biologically and share research-backed strategies for overcoming barriers to well-being. These strategies are rooted in the Adult Resilience Curriculum, or ARC, a 10-module model for implementing well-being at both the individual and organizational level. The model is rooted in adult positive psychology and organizational well-being theories and has been adapted to apply across medical and educational settings.   Learning Objectives: Discuss the psychological and biological effects of stress related to well-being. Explain how Adult Resilience Curriculum (ARC) for Health Professionals can be implemented at the individual and institutional levels to help overcome barriers to well-being. Articulate how the Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) resources can be utilized to assist with an individual’s professional well-being.   Speaker(s): Brittany Liebsack, PhD, LP, is a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC's school mental health team, developing and providing training and technical assistance at the universal, targeted and intensive levels. Passionate about the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices for children and their families, Dr. Liebsack helps our Center implement comprehensive mental health programming via the most accessible mental health providers for youths and teens: our schools. Throughout her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate research and clinical experiences, Dr. Liebsack became aware of and frustrated by the research-to-practice gap in the use of evidence-based practices in community settings and routine care. This led to her pursuit of graduate training and research interests in implementation, dissemination, and patient/family engagement in and barriers to treatment. Dr. Liebsack’s clinical interests include school mental health, integrated primary care, trauma/anxiety, and externalizing behavior. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at West Virginia State and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute, where she is now a postdoctoral fellow. Christian Klepper, PsyD, LP, is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She received her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, and completed her internship and post-doctoral training at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Dr. Klepper is the project coordinator for the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program and serves as a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC. Her clinical time is spent providing behavioral health services at Children’s Physicians, Creighton University Medical Center, in Omaha. Her research interests include integrating behavioral health into primary care, increasing access to care, anticipatory guidance and integrating behavioral health into well child visits, screening in primary care, psychological flexibility, and education and training in integrated primary care. Coming Home to Primary Care: Pediatric Integrated Health   

Health care workers — including but not limited to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, behavioral health providers, and administrators — experience exceptional levels of burnout and compassion fatigue as the result of packed schedules, emotional demand, and moral injury — and these stressors have only been amplified since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this webinar, speakers will describe how stress affects us psychologically and biologically and share research-backed strategies for overcoming barriers to well-being. These strategies are rooted in the Adult Resilience Curriculum, or ARC, a 10-module model for implementing well-being at both the individual and organizational level. The model is rooted in adult positive psychology and organizational well-being theories and has been adapted to apply across medical and educational settings.   Learning Objectives: Discuss the psychological and biological effects of stress related to well-being. Explain how Adult Resilience Curriculum (ARC) for Health Professionals can be implemented at the individual and institutional levels to help overcome barriers to well-being. Articulate how the Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) resources can be utilized to assist with an individual’s professional well-being.   Speaker(s): Brittany Liebsack, PhD, LP, is a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC's school mental health team, developing and providing training and technical assistance at the universal, targeted and intensive levels. Passionate about the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices for children and their families, Dr. Liebsack helps our Center implement comprehensive mental health programming via the most accessible mental health providers for youths and teens: our schools. Throughout her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate research and clinical experiences, Dr. Liebsack became aware of and frustrated by the research-to-practice gap in the use of evidence-based practices in community settings and routine care. This led to her pursuit of graduate training and research interests in implementation, dissemination, and patient/family engagement in and barriers to treatment. Dr. Liebsack’s clinical interests include school mental health, integrated primary care, trauma/anxiety, and externalizing behavior. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at West Virginia State and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute, where she is now a postdoctoral fellow. Christian Klepper, PsyD, LP, is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She received her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, and completed her internship and post-doctoral training at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Dr. Klepper is the project coordinator for the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program and serves as a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC. Her clinical time is spent providing behavioral health services at Children’s Physicians, Creighton University Medical Center, in Omaha. Her research interests include integrating behavioral health into primary care, increasing access to care, anticipatory guidance and integrating behavioral health into well child visits, screening in primary care, psychological flexibility, and education and training in integrated primary care. Coming Home to Primary Care: Pediatric Integrated Health   

Organizational well-being is often misunderstood as “self-care.” The COVID-19 pandemic has affected organizations and employees in myriad ways, prompting a renewed focus on the need for organizational structures, policies, and practices to support employee well-being. In particular, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) employees have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, while also experiencing the impact of racial inequities in the workplace and larger society.   The New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center has created this collection of resources to offer information, strategies, and practices to help behavioral health employers take steps to “fix the workplace” rather than “fixing the worker.” It is divided into four sections:   Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Workers and Organizations (p. 2) Organizational Strategies and Practices for Supporting Employee Well-Being in the Workplace (p. 5) Organizational Strategies and Practices for Supporting Employee Well-being: Resources Specific to Behavioral Health Organizations (p. 8) Organizational Strategies and Practices for Supporting Employee Well-being: Frameworks and Lessons Learned from Healthcare Settings (p. 12)     Are there resources you would like to see added to this list? Please let us know what information and resources your organization needs to better support employee well-being by emailing us at: [email protected].

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE This webinar session focuses on defining equity and examining actionable steps toward inclusive practices. The presenter will briefly review relationships between equity and recovery and facilitate a space for open and productive dialogue that honors the narratives of people experiencing marginalization in recovery spaces. Throughout the session, participants will discuss the barriers to talking about equity and recovery and will have the opportunity to lean into and practice authentic equity-focused conversations. In this session, we acknowledge that systemically marginalized communities continue to demonstrate their strength and resilience and we take accountability to make the critical culture shift necessary to reduce harm, starting with identifying the sources of oppression.  Find out more about our provider well-being series with C4 Innovations here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Download webinar slides Terms of use and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) disclosure statement FACILITATOR Ashley Stewart, MSW, PhD Dr. Ashley Stewart is an Adjunct Expert, Trainer & Curriculum Development Specialist at C4 Innovations. She received her PhD from The Ohio State University, College of Social Work and her Master’s at Columbia University. She is an Assistant Professor at Temple University, College of Public Health, School of Social Work, training interdisciplinary students about social justice theories and frameworks and translational skills for anti-oppressive practice. Ashley provides racial equity training, consultation, and support and understands and respects the intricacies inherent in diversity and inclusion. Her research includes assessing the intersections of identity, structural oppression, health and mental health, and policy. In addition to the advanced study of the consequence and causes of identity-based oppression, Ashley supports the implementation of anti-oppressive practices at organizational, structural, programmatic, and clinical interventions.      

Organizational well-being has been misunderstood historically and may be conflated with personal/professional well-being and “self-care.” Therefore, it is important to reconcile professional and organizational well-being and to understand the ways in which these two concepts are complementary. Broadly, there are three main components of organizational well-being: leadership, climate, and culture. Each of these can be broken down into various subdomains. Leadership involves setting policy and distributing leadership. Climate involves the structures in place within an organization to support well-being. Culture involves the ways in which people actually behave in the organization, including efficiency and available support. Finally, we will discuss some examples of ways in which these goals have been or could be implemented within the integrated primary care setting.   Learning Objectives: Describe organizational well-being, including how it is different from and related to professional well-being. Explain the main characteristics/factors/qualities of organizational well-being. Discuss exemplar implementation strategies that could be applied to the integrated primary care setting.   Speaker(s): Brittany Liebsack, PhD, LP, is a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC's school mental health team, developing and providing training and technical assistance at the universal, targeted and intensive levels. Passionate about the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices for children and their families, Dr. Liebsack helps our Center implement comprehensive mental health programming via the most accessible mental health providers for youths and teens: our schools. Throughout her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate research and clinical experiences, Dr. Liebsack became aware of and frustrated by the research-to-practice gap in the use of evidence-based practices in community settings and routine care. This led to her pursuit of graduate training and research interests in implementation, dissemination, and patient/family engagement in and barriers to treatment. Dr. Liebsack’s clinical interests include school mental health, integrated primary care, trauma/anxiety, and externalizing behavior. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at West Virginia State and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute, where she is now a postdoctoral fellow. Christian Klepper, PsyD, LP, is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She received her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, and completed her internship and post-doctoral training at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Dr. Klepper is the project coordinator for the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program and serves as a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC. Her clinical time is spent providing behavioral health services at Children’s Physicians, Creighton University Medical Center, in Omaha. Her research interests include integrating behavioral health into primary care, increasing access to care, anticipatory guidance and integrating behavioral health into well child visits, screening in primary care, psychological flexibility, and education and training in integrated primary care. Coming Home to Primary Care: Pediatric Integrated Health   

Organizational well-being has been misunderstood historically and may be conflated with personal/professional well-being and “self-care.” Therefore, it is important to reconcile professional and organizational well-being and to understand the ways in which these two concepts are complementary. Broadly, there are three main components of organizational well-being: leadership, climate, and culture. Each of these can be broken down into various subdomains. Leadership involves setting policy and distributing leadership. Climate involves the structures in place within an organization to support well-being. Culture involves the ways in which people actually behave in the organization, including efficiency and available support. Finally, we will discuss some examples of ways in which these goals have been or could be implemented within the integrated primary care setting.   Learning Objectives: Describe organizational well-being, including how it is different from and related to professional well-being. Explain the main characteristics/factors/qualities of organizational well-being. Discuss exemplar implementation strategies that could be applied to the integrated primary care setting.   Speaker(s): Brittany Liebsack, PhD, LP, is a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC's school mental health team, developing and providing training and technical assistance at the universal, targeted and intensive levels. Passionate about the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices for children and their families, Dr. Liebsack helps our Center implement comprehensive mental health programming via the most accessible mental health providers for youths and teens: our schools. Throughout her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate research and clinical experiences, Dr. Liebsack became aware of and frustrated by the research-to-practice gap in the use of evidence-based practices in community settings and routine care. This led to her pursuit of graduate training and research interests in implementation, dissemination, and patient/family engagement in and barriers to treatment. Dr. Liebsack’s clinical interests include school mental health, integrated primary care, trauma/anxiety, and externalizing behavior. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at West Virginia State and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute, where she is now a postdoctoral fellow. Christian Klepper, PsyD, LP, is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She received her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, and completed her internship and post-doctoral training at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Dr. Klepper is the project coordinator for the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program and serves as a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC. Her clinical time is spent providing behavioral health services at Children’s Physicians, Creighton University Medical Center, in Omaha. Her research interests include integrating behavioral health into primary care, increasing access to care, anticipatory guidance and integrating behavioral health into well child visits, screening in primary care, psychological flexibility, and education and training in integrated primary care. Coming Home to Primary Care: Pediatric Integrated Health   

This virtual town hall event provides information on the spring 2021 context of professional well-being within health care and features several regional experts focusing on supporting organizational well-being within their health care systems. Panelists from various large hospital systems share strategies and lessons learned from implementing employee well-being initiatives at the organizational level.   Speakers: Juliann Sebastian, PhD, RN, FAAN, is dean of and a professor within the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Nursing. She previously served as dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and earlier as assistant dean for advanced practice nursing and professor at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. Dr. Sebastian earned her bachelor’s and master of science degrees in nursing from the University of Kentucky, College of Nursing and her doctorate in business administration from the University of Kentucky College of Business and Economics. Dr. Sebastian's areas of expertise are organization of care delivery systems, community-based care for underserved populations, and health policy. She has worked extensively in the area of health professions well-being, including service as the inaugural chair of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Wellbeing Coordinating Council, beginning in 2015 and now serving as co-chair of that group. Her works have been published widely, including journal papers, book chapters, and three books. Steven Wengel, MD, is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the first-ever assistant vice chancellor for campus wellness for UNMC and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Dr. Wengel is from Omaha and has been a practicing psychiatrist since 1991, specializing in geriatric psychiatry. He treats patients with a broad range of psychiatric conditions, including dementia, depression, and anxiety disorders. He is currently the director of the UNMC Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, and he previously served as the chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, from 2004 to 2018. Dr. Wengel has a longstanding interest in the role of non-medication interventions for reducing stress and anxiety. He has employed meditation techniques in his personal, clinical, and academic practices for many years, and has worked with the University of Nebraska to create innovative academic and clinical programs in stress reduction. In his current role as the wellness champion for UNMC, he oversees academic programs reaching out to faculty and trainees in all disciplines. His goal is to reduce stress and burnout in health care students and staff, as well as to reach out to other populations across the state and region. Aria Fiat, PhD, is a pediatric and school psychologist devoted to promoting equitable, accessible, and culturally responsive mental health care. She is currently completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she will soon begin her tenure as an assistant professor of pediatrics. Dr. Fiat completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Munroe Meyer Institute, providing psychological services through Omaha Children's, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Omaha Public Schools. Dr. Fiat’s work as a clinician, researcher, educator, speaker, and advocate focuses on enhancing the capacity of systems to promote behavioral health and wellness, with an emphasis on supporting the educators and caregivers who help children thrive. She has co-authored over a dozen peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings and delivered multiple keynote addresses on related topics. Dr. Fiat is the creator of The Seven C’s: A Toolkit for Caregivers Coping in a Crisis. She is also a co-developer and researcher of the Adult Resilience Curriculum (ARC). In collaboration with the Mid-America MHTTC, Dr. Fiat is striving to increase availability of the ARC to school districts throughout Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. James Glenn is the associate administrator and business strategist at Truman Medical Centers Behavioral Health. He joined TMC Behavioral Health in June 2016, after serving as a housing consultant for the previous three years. Prior to TMCBH, Glenn was the founder and former executive director of Kim Wilson Housing and the senior vice president of Housing and Community Services at the Mental Health Association of the Heartland. In addition to his role at TMCBH, Glenn is a senior fellow with the Cookingham Institute of Urban Affairs, and he is the founder, principal, and lead consultant of Glenn & Company, LLC, a consulting, coaching, and capacity-building organization that helps to create social enterprise endeavors and synergistic opportunities among businesses and nonprofits. Glenn also serves as the co-director of the Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC), a partnership with the University of Missouri-Kansas City's School of Nursing serving Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. Professional Well-Being ARC for Health Professionals  

  The Great Lakes MHTTC and ATTC offer this training for behavioral health professionals in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI. Many people who work in human services consider their work to be a "calling." Two occupational hazards, burnout and compassion fatigue/secondary trauma can threaten to undermine that calling and diminish your effectiveness. Burnout is caused by feeling ineffective in your work and organizational/team stress. Compassion fatigue (also called secondary trauma/secondary PTSD) results from absorbing the traumatic stories and experiences of clients. Both occupational hazards can lead to a loss of energy, loss of hope, loss of enthusiasm, loss of idealism, spiritual distress and decreased effectiveness. This virtual presentation focuses on how to prevent and recover from burnout and compassion fatigue, with an emphasis on self-care and the four things high performers do to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue. We will also discuss how to maintain energy, reduce frustration in your clinical work, and feel more successful.   Learning Objectives: Be aware of the four stages of burnout Understand the differences between burnout and compassion fatigue. Evaluate your vulnerability for developing compassion fatigue Learn and utilize 10 strategies to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue. Learn skills to reduce frustration in your clinical work. Feel a greater sense of success in your work.   Speaker:  Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, is Illinois state project manager for the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC. He is an international speaker in the behavioral health field whose presentations have reached thousands throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Caribbean and British Islands. A partial list of clients include: General Motors Corporation; Xerox Corporation, Northwestern University and the United States Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The author of five books, Mark has had two stories published in the New Times bestselling book series, Chicken Soup for The Soul. He has taught at the University of Chicago, Loyola University of Chicago, and Illinois State University's schools of social work. Mark’s three decades of experience as a direct service, Licensed Clinical Social worker provide the foundation for his presentations.   

Overview Join the Mid-America MHTTC for an informational 101 on our approach to supporting health care workers: The Adult Resilience Curriculum for Health Professionals. This webinar is geared toward health care professionals, administrators, and stakeholders interested in developing a culture of well-being. Attendees will walk away with an understanding of the what, why, and how of the Adult Resilience Curriculum (ARC), as well as the most up-to-date information on stress: how it affects us psychologically and biologically, why it is necessary in certain situations, and how it relates to our overall well-being. ARC for Health Professionals is a 10-module model for implementing well-being at both the individual and organizational level. The curriculum is rooted in adult positive psychology and organizational well-being theories and has been adapted to apply across medical and educational settings. During the webinar, our Center will also present upcoming activities and trainings related to professional well-being, including a visit from two special guests: Dr. Jordan Thayer and Dr. Hannah West, to preview their new podcast, Burnout Busters.   Speakers   Dr. Erika Franta is the school mental health program director for the Mid-America MHTTC and an assistant professor in the psychology department at the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Franta has specialized training in juvenile forensic assessments and treatment, which led to her passion for increasing access to mental and behavioral health care for children, adolescents, and families through school, medical, and community systems. Dr. Franta approaches her work through a strengths-based and prevention lens and takes a systems-level approach to implementation of mental health initiatives across all settings. She oversees our Center's team of faculty and regional trainers and engages in training and technical assistance with educational leadership teams and school mental health providers in implementation of comprehensive school mental health supports. Dr. Franta also provides training and supervision in psycho-educational assessments, school consultation, and integrated care. She received her doctorate in School Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She completed her doctoral internship at Travis County Juvenile Probation in Austin, Texas, and her post-doctoral training at the Munroe-Meyer Institute.  Brittany Liebsack, PhD, LP, is a faculty trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC's school mental health team, developing and providing training and technical assistance at the universal, targeted and intensive levels. Passionate about the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices for children and their families, Dr. Liebsack helps our Center implement comprehensive mental health programming via the most accessible mental health providers for youths and teens: our schools. Throughout her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate research and clinical experiences, Dr. Liebsack became aware of and frustrated by the research-to-practice gap in the use of evidence-based practices in community settings and routine care. This led to her pursuit of graduate training and research interests in implementation, dissemination, and patient/family engagement in and barriers to treatment. Dr. Liebsack’s clinical interests include school mental health, integrated primary care, trauma/anxiety, and externalizing behavior. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at West Virginia State and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute, where she is now a postdoctoral fellow. Jordan Thayer, PhD, PLP, is a postdoctoral fellow at the Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and is a member of the research and implementation team behind the Adult Resilience Curriculum (ARC). He received his doctorate in school psychology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In both graduate school and in his work at MMI, he has split his time between collaborative research with schools and staff and practicing school-based mental health. These experiences developed Dr. Thayer's appreciation for the real-world challenges that every teacher faces when trying to implement what we know works to help kids develop academically, socially, emotionally, and mentally — particularly when teaching children with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and cultural values. Although recognized, these challenges are not always addressed, leaving teachers stressed and overwhelmed. ARC was designed to provide a flexible, contextual approach to support teachers’ personal well-being development by incorporating various skills and strategies into their daily lives. Dr. Thayer also works with school leaders and policymakers to remove outside factors that cause educator stress so that teachers’ well-being is supported by their own skills and by their environment. Hannah West, PhD, PLP, is a regional trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC and postdoctoral behavioral health provider at Sunflower Pediatric Behavioral Health in Shawnee, Kansas. Dr. West completed an undergraduate degree in psychology at Henderson State University, a master’s degree in clinical psychology at Missouri State University, and a doctorate in school psychology at Oklahoma State University. 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. She began working with the Mid-America MHTTC's school mental health team during her predoctoral internship at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, but recently was promoted to regional trainer in Missouri and Kansas. Professional Well-Being ARC for Health Professionals  

As agency leaders, directors, and supervisors, how do we stay grounded and focused during these hard times? How do we bring forth our humanity and strengths to support employees? What challenges/learning opportunities are staff experiencing? What do they need? How do we listen and respond well? Join us in identifying principles and practices to help staff adapt and thrive in this extraordinary period of our lives.   Learn in this webinar recording:  Name two personal practices to stay grounded and focused  Describe three challenges/learning opportunities staff are currently experiencing   Name two guiding principles for supporting staff  Identify three specific practices to employ to help staff adapt and thrive   Click here for the Slide Deck Presenter Ken Kraybill, MSW, Senior Trainer at C4 Innovations, has worked in healthcare, behavioral health, homelessness, and housing for more than 35 years. Ken has 18 years of experience working as a behavioral health practitioner in homeless services. For the past two decades, he has been developing curricula and facilitating in-person and online training nationally on topics including motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care, outreach and engagement, case management, critical time intervention, and supervision. He also has experience facilitating strategic planning processes and providing staff retreats focused on finding resiliency and renewal for care providers. Ken is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). He has a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington.   Want more information? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's Resource Library and Websites by Topic  and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

  Responding to Provider Stress and Burnout - Cultivating Hope and Compassion Providers of all occupations are experiencing increased levels of on-the-job stress as they work to respond to the many needs of the individuals they serve during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging these challenges and securing appropriate supports are crucial to promoting the well-being of all providers. This training provided attendees with detailed information on the impact of chronic stress and compassion fatigue as well as strategies to cultivate hope, compassion, and resilience. Contact David Terry with any questions.    Slides and Recording Access slides using the download button above Recording   Additional Resources Voices from the Field: A Blog about Resilience during the Pandemic Provider Well Being: Program Goals and Resources   Trainers LaVonne Fox, PhD, OTR/L Dr. Fox was born and raised on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa reservation. She has considerable experience working with children, youth, and young adults with mental health issues in communities. Dr. Fox is currently serving as a technical trainer for the Mountain Plains MHTTC and is the lead trainer on the tribal school's Community of Practice program serving communities across Health and Human Services (HHS) Region 8.   Shawnda Schroeder, PhD Shawnda Schroeder is a Research Associate Professor. With the Mountain Plains MHTTC she focuses on access to care, rural mental health, and provider well-being.    Thomasine Heitkamp, LCSW Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, Thomasine Heitkamp is the PI and Co-Director of the Mountain Plains MHTTC. She currently leads two teams of faculty and staff who provide their expertise to behavioral health practitioners to ensure positive treatment outcomes that support sustainability.   David Terry, BA David is the Program Coordinator for the Mountain Plains MHTTC and is the lead for the latest effort to address provider well-being during the global health pandemic.  

  Riding the Wave of Stress and Trauma to Enhance Self-Care Resources Access slides using the download button above Recording   Providers of all occupations are experiencing increased levels of on-the-job stress as they work to respond to the many needs of the individuals they serve during the COVID-19 pandemic. This training provided a metaphor for riding the wave of stress, trauma, and grief. It examined how integrating the brain and body response can heal during times of crisis. A focus was provided on maintaining healing practices and building new pathways to enhance self-care. Traditional Indigenous trauma processing and the importance of grief rituals were explored with a discussion of commonalities of cultures.  

Original Broadcast Date: 12/15/20 Weathering the Storm: Adaptive Leadership for Resilient Mental Health Organizations in the Pacific Southwest Innovative Leadership Strategies for Mental Health Professionals Leading mental health organizations, programs, and initiatives can prove challenging in the best of times. Meeting the needs of clients in the diverse Pacific Southwest while effectively navigating the field’s evolving best practices, policies, and funding requires innovative, resilient, and adaptable leadership at all levels. COVID-19’s impact on both our personal and professional lives exacerbates the need for these skills.   The Adaptive Leadership Framework facilitates evolution and growth in response to change and challenge. Join us as we explore the principles of Adaptive Leadership and how you can apply the framework to lead more effectively.    Learning Objectives During this three-part series, participants will: Learn the principles of Adaptive Leadership and how to implement them in mental health work. Identify strategies for engaging others to initiate, make, and sustain change. Apply Adaptive Leadership principles to “weather the storm,” lead effectively, and prioritize well-being during challenging times.   Click the "View Resource" button above to watch Part 3: After the Storm.   Leading in the mental health system requires us to navigate continuously changing and evolving regulations and mandates. Leaders need to review, prioritize, and sunset certain projects or initiatives while initiating others. This environment proves particularly challenging when the needs of communities in the Pacific Southwest region are varied and shifting. This session will cover how adaptive leaders in mental health can effectively manage change and address multiple competing needs.  Watch Part 1: Before the Storm or Part 2: During the Storm from this series.

This module includes the definition of school mental health funding and sustainability and opportunities to secure and leverage diverse funding sources and to sustain successful school mental health systems. Quality indicators, best practices and resources for funding and sustainability are reviewed in detail.   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.

Weathering the Storm: Adaptive Leadership for Resilient Mental Health Organizations in the Pacific Southwest Innovative Leadership Strategies for Mental Health Professionals Leading mental health organizations, programs, and initiatives can prove challenging in the best of times. Meeting the needs of clients in the diverse Pacific Southwest while effectively navigating the field’s evolving best practices, policies, and funding requires innovative, resilient, and adaptable leadership at all levels. COVID-19’s impact on both our personal and professional lives exacerbates the need for these skills.   The Adaptive Leadership Framework facilitates evolution and growth in response to change and challenge. Join us as we explore the principles of Adaptive Leadership and how you can apply the framework to lead more effectively.    Learning Objectives: During this three-part series, participants: Learn the principles of Adaptive Leadership and how to implement them in mental health work. Identify strategies for engaging others to initiate, make, and sustain change. Apply Adaptive Leadership principles to “weather the storm,” lead effectively, and prioritize well-being during challenging times.   Part 2: During the Storm Original Broadcast Date: 12/03/20 Leadership during chaos requires mental health providers to reflect and learn about existing challenges, find solutions collaboratively with other professionals and team members, and determine new solutions.  The unpredictability and severity of the challenges influences the strategies that mental health providers, organizations, and systems must put in place.  In this workshop, we apply new strategies and Adaptive Leadership principles to continue to “weather the storm,” and lead effectively, while addressing our own well-being. Watch Part 1: Before the Storm or register for Part 3: After the Storm of this series.   About the Presenters  Tonicia Freeman-Foster, EdD, CDP is a Certified Diversity Professional with nearly 20 years of experience in restoring hope, resiliency, and wellness through her work with underserved persons and marginalized communities, as well as managing and directing local, state, and federal funding. Dr. Freeman-Foster is passionate about and possesses extensive knowledge of the challenges related to child welfare, HIV/AIDS, substance use, mental health, as well as the unique experiences of LGBTQ2, re-entry, youth, young adults, women, and BIPOC populations. Dr. Freeman-Foster serves as a Change Specialist at Change Matrix. In this role, she provides technical assistance, training, and skills building in topics related to cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion for national projects and grantees. Dr. Freeman-Foster possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science Education (Community Health), a Master’s degree in Human Services (Organizational Management and Leadership), and a Doctorate degree in Education (Organizational Leadership).     Suganya Sockalingam, PhD is a Founding Partner at Change Matrix, LLC, which supports agencies in addressing diversity, cultural competence, and cross-cultural communication as well as leadership, collaboration, and conflict management. Dr. Sockalingam focuses on supporting individuals, organizations, and systems to motivate, manage, and measure systems change. Currently, she serves as a training and technical assistance provider for several national technical assistance centers, and for other federal, national, state, territorial, and community agencies. She earned her doctorate at Washington State University and has worked in many capacities in public and behavioral health, both nationally and internationally, for over 25 years.       

Weathering the Storm: Adaptive Leadership for Resilient Mental Health Organizations in the Pacific Southwest Innovative Leadership Strategies for Mental Health Professionals Leading mental health organizations, programs, and initiatives can prove challenging in the best of times. Meeting the needs of clients in the diverse Pacific Southwest while effectively navigating the field’s evolving best practices, policies, and funding requires innovative, resilient, and adaptable leadership at all levels. COVID-19’s impact on both our personal and professional lives exacerbates the need for these skills.   The Adaptive Leadership Framework facilitates evolution and growth in response to change and challenge. Join us as we explore the principles of Adaptive Leadership and how you can apply the framework to lead more effectively.    Learning Objectives: During this three-part series, participants: Learn the principles of Adaptive Leadership and how to implement them in mental health work. Identify strategies for engaging others to initiate, make, and sustain change. Apply Adaptive Leadership principles to “weather the storm,” lead effectively, and prioritize well-being during challenging times.   Part 1: Before the Storm Original Broadcast Date: 11/18/20 Leadership during chaos requires mental health providers to reflect and learn about existing challenges, find solutions collaboratively with other professionals and team members, and determine new solutions.  The unpredictability and severity of the challenges influences the strategies that mental health providers, organizations, and systems must put in place.  In this workshop, we apply new strategies and Adaptive Leadership principles to continue to “weather the storm,” and lead effectively, while addressing our own well-being. Watch Part 2: During the Storm or Register for Part 3: After the Storm of this series.   About the Presenters  Tonicia Freeman-Foster, EdD, CDP is a Certified Diversity Professional with nearly 20 years of experience in restoring hope, resiliency, and wellness through her work with underserved persons and marginalized communities, as well as managing and directing local, state, and federal funding. Dr. Freeman-Foster is passionate about and possesses extensive knowledge of the challenges related to child welfare, HIV/AIDS, substance use, mental health, as well as the unique experiences of LGBTQ2, re-entry, youth, young adults, women, and BIPOC populations. Dr. Freeman-Foster serves as a Change Specialist at Change Matrix. In this role, she provides technical assistance, training, and skills building in topics related to cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion for national projects and grantees. Dr. Freeman-Foster possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science Education (Community Health), a Master’s degree in Human Services (Organizational Management and Leadership), and a Doctorate degree in Education (Organizational Leadership).     Suganya Sockalingam, PhD is a Founding Partner at Change Matrix, LLC, which supports agencies in addressing diversity, cultural competence, and cross-cultural communication as well as leadership, collaboration, and conflict management. Dr. Sockalingam focuses on supporting individuals, organizations, and systems to motivate, manage, and measure systems change. Currently, she serves as a training and technical assistance provider for several national technical assistance centers, and for other federal, national, state, territorial, and community agencies. She earned her doctorate at Washington State University and has worked in many capacities in public and behavioral health, both nationally and internationally, for over 25 years.       

Original Broadcast Date: 11/13/20 For part two of this series, Justin Thongsavanh, Iana Malcolm, and Carla Fernandez share learnings from The Dinner Party, a nation-wide movement turning loss from an isolating experience to one marked by community support, candid conversation, and forward motion. From small groups gathering in over 100 cities across the US to now an entirely virtual offering in the COVID-era for individuals and organizations, Iana and Carla will share key lessons learned in 2020, and how they translate to your workplace. They will take you through an interactive work session to design your own loss readiness plan for your organization. Their work has appeared widely in media, from CNN to New York Times, OnBeing and Oprah Magazine, and as a case study in over half a dozen books. Their workplace program has been rolled out in organizations across sectors and sizes, such as Banner Health, Good Shepherd Services, Redfin, Google, and more. For more information, visit thedinnerparty.org/atwork. Download the slides HERE.   Speaker Bios: Carla Fernandez, Co-Founder, The Dinner Party Fernandez is the co-founder of the award winning The Dinner Party , which houses Grief At Work. The family dinner table is sacred ground in the Fernandez family - so when her dad passed away of brain cancer, coming back to the table was a natural way for her to connect with others and unpack the experience of life after loss. She is also on the founding team of enso, a mission-driven creative agency working with brands such as Google, Khan Academy, and Nature Conservancy on their impact campaigns. She is an NYU Social Entrepreneurship Fellow, and Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg School of Communications Innovation Lab.     Iana Malcolm is a community manager & BIPOC lead. At 27, and after 7 years of being her Caregiver, she lost her mother to Breast Cancer. At 31 years old, she lost her father to Brain Cancer. Since then she has dedicated her life to the support of Caregivers and all those managing life after loss. Outside of her work as a Community Manager for The Dinner Party, she is a birth and death Doula, Yoga and Meditation teacher, and leads Wellness retreats worldwide with her company Bliss Out Retreats.     Justin Thongsavanh, MPA is a community manager for The Dinner Party. Throughout his career, he has worked for a variety of nonprofits and municipalities focusing on the development and implementation of programs for youth. Prior to joining The Dinner Party, he worked for one of the nation’s largest bereavement camps, developing programs and raising funds for children and teens who experienced the loss of a parent or sibling. After the death of his own father at the age of 12, he felt isolated and alone. As an adult he has made it his mission to not only find a community for himself, but to also help create a community for folks who have experienced loss and subsequent adversities. He holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies, a Certificate in Non-Profit Management, and a Master’s in Public Administration all from California State University, Long Beach.     This webinar was one of the sessions of November's Grief Sensitivity Virtual Learning Institute (GSVLI). For more information on how to access resources from September's and November's GSVLI, please click here.

Cultural competence is essential to achieve patient-centered or client-centered care. This workshop continues the work of enhancing skills and knowledge to work more effectively in a multicultural setting. Participants explore stereotypes and enhance skills for interrupting bias. Sometimes we hear others say demeaning, degrading, or hurtful comments and lack skills to interrupt and redirect the intentional or unintentional behavior. This workshop provides skills to interrupt bias in a healthcare setting using a video titled “Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts,” and concludes with points on what it means to be culturally competent. Learning Objectives Define stereotypes, bias and oppression Describe the Ladder of Oppression Learn skills for interrupting bias, stereotypes and derogatory remarks or jokes Intended Audience: Mental Health Professionals and Healthcare Professionals   Watch Recording of Part 1.   About the Presenter  Joel Jackson serves as a subject matter expert for several programs at the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination. Through Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation of Greater Chicago, Joel serves as a Racial Healing Practitioner. In this role, Joel co-facilitates Racial Healing Circles across Chicagoland, helping to provide space for healing and connection and to reaffirm the humanity in all of us. He is also the UChicago Medicine Assistant Director of Inclusion and Training for the Urban Health Initiative Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. He coordinates the hospital’s cultural competence training strategy and is the lead facilitator of the UChicago Medicine Cultural Competence Course. Joel is also helping to coordinate the hospital’s Resilience Based Care training strategy, which will include a focus on compassion fatigue resilience and a focus on trauma-informed care. He is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional and the 2020 Staff Diversity Leadership Award recipient for the University of Chicago.

Original Broadcast Date: 9/11/20 This two- part series shares learnings from The Dinner Party, a nation-wide movement turning loss from an isolating experience to one marked by community support, candid conversation, and forward motion. This session takes you through the basic principles of a grief-sensitive workplace, including cultivating a culture of peer support and re-engaging struggling employees. For more information, visit www.thedinnerparty.org/atwork. Download the slides HERE.   Speaker Bios: Carla Fernandez, Co-Founder, The Dinner Party Fernandez is the co-founder of the award winning The Dinner Party , which houses Grief At Work. The family dinner table is sacred ground in the Fernandez family - so when her dad passed away of brain cancer, coming back to the table was a natural way for her to connect with others and unpack the experience of life after loss. She is also on the founding team of enso, a mission-driven creative agency working with brands such as Google, Khan Academy, and Nature Conservancy on their impact campaigns. She is an NYU Social Entrepreneurship Fellow, and Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg School of Communications Innovation Lab. Iana Malcom is a community manager & BIPOC lead. At 27, and after 7 years of being her Caregiver, she lost her mother to Breast Cancer. At 31 years old, she lost her father to Brain Cancer. Since then she has dedicated her life to the support of Caregivers and all those managing life after loss. Outside of her work as a Community Manager for The Dinner Party, she is a birth and death Doula, Yoga and Meditation teacher, and leads Wellness retreats worldwide with her company Bliss Out Retreats. Justin Thongsavanh, MPA is a community manager for The Dinner Party. Throughout his career, he has worked for a variety of nonprofits and municipalities focusing on the development and implementation of programs for youth. Prior to joining The Dinner Party, he worked for one of the nation’s largest bereavement camps, developing programs and raising funds for children and teens who experienced the loss of a parent or sibling. After the death of his own father at the age of 12, he felt isolated and alone. As an adult he has made it his mission to not only find a community for himself, but to also help create a community for folks who have experienced loss and subsequent adversities. He holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies, a Certificate in Non-Profit Management, and a Master’s in Public Administration all from California State University, Long Beach. This webinar was one of the sessions of September's Grief Sensitivity Virtual Learning Institute (GSVLI). For more information on how to access resources from September's and November's GSVLI, please click here.

School Community of Practice (CoP) Connections and Conversations: Adapting to COVID-19 This meeting was an informal facilitated gathering for the cohorts that had participated in the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s Every Moment Counts Community of Practice (CoP) to gather and discuss the challenges, changes, and adaptations required by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Sarah Nielsen, Dr. Lavonne Fox, and Thomasine Heitkamp facilitated discussion among CoP members about how schools are responding to student mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a brief session introduction, attendees moved into breakout groups to have focused discussion around specific topic areas.   Share and Borrow Session on School Mental Health:Responses to the Public Health Emergency   This was a closed event. If you are interested in learning more about the Mountain Plains MHTTC’s Community of Practice learning opportunities please contact David Terry at [email protected].   Trainers Sarah Nielsen, PhD, OTR/L Lavonne Fox, PhD, OTR/L Thomasine Heitkamp, LCSW

Original Webinar Date: 8/27/20 We all have implicit biases, and it’s important that we become mindful of how they can show up and impact our work with others. Implicit biases can lead to unfair differences in the expectations we hold for those we serve, how we interact with them, and the learning opportunities we provide. In this recording of Part 4 in this series, we explore the dynamics of implicit bias and its impact on decision-making in behavioral health spaces. In the process, we grapple with the concepts of prejudice, bias, microaggressions, and stereotypes. Presented by Pacific Southwest MHTTC team members Dr. Rachele Espiritu, Kaitlin E. Ferrick, JD, and Dr. Suganya Sockalingam.   Part 4 of this recorded series will challenge you to: Reflect on your own implicit bias Recognize the role bias plays in responding to mental health concerns and in client interactions Learn ways to become self-aware of personal biases Acknowledge the way bias shows up in our organizational culture, climate, policies, and practices Examine strategies to disrupt the biases that show up in our work  

This guide provides practical strategies for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in your mental health organization or agency. Highlighting the specific cultures and communities of the Pacific Southwest region, this guide includes concrete examples, tools, and research-informed strategies. The guide is organized into three sections: recruitment, hiring, and retention. Each section includes a series of recommendations to help employers develop and maintain a workforce that is reflective of diverse communities and responsive to their needs.