Products and Resources Catalog

NAMI has many free support and educational programs. This talk reviews these programs and discuss NAMI's first book You Are Not Alone, where people who have lived with mental health conditions use their names and share what they have learned. They do so to reduce the isolation and shame so common with mental health conditions and to make meaning of their experience. Their lessons include ways they have found to live with symptoms, give to others, and build a life. Families who have learned to communicate and cope with loss will also share what they learned.   Presenter: Ken Duckworth, MD, is the chief medical officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Ken is board certified in adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, and is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.   View a recording of this 9/13/23 session here. 

In this series, participants will learn about implementing and evaluating new or existing programs at their agency. In this first session, the planning stage will be covered.   View session recording here.

View session recording here.   Are you supporting individuals in returning to post-secondary education? If so, you may be interested in attending this training on assessing the need for and identifying the different types of assistive technology and accommodations available for students with mental health conditions in post-secondary settings. Assistive technology and accommodations can significantly improve academic success; however, accessing these supports can be cumbersome. Additionally, there are many types of assistive technology devices/tools that students can use for academic success that range on a continuum from low to high tech. We will define assistive technology and accommodations in the post-secondary setting as well as explore the types of accommodations and assistive technology used to improve performance in post-secondary school settings. Various types of assistive technology and apps will be demonstrated. A representative from Disability Rights’ Assistive Technology Advocacy Center will also be available to provide an overview of relevant legislation and how to access assistive technology. We will utilize a service conceptualization framework and peer/expert discussions to apply the skills learned. If you wish, please come prepared to discuss an individual participating in services (Please no names or other identifying information). This training is in collaboration with the Integrated Employment Institute (IEI) at Rutgers University.   Presenters: Joni Dolce, M.S., CRC  Joni Dolce is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions at Rutgers School of Health Professions. Joni has many years of experience working in behavioral health services, specifically Supported Employment (SE), providing both direct services and supervising SE staff. She has authored and co-authored several articles and workbooks on employment and presents and provides webinars and trainings locally and nationally on a variety of employment related topics. She has provided training in SE on a national level, including at the NY Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, Washington State Healthcare Authority, the Veterans Administration, and SAMHSA’s Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC). She has taught/co-developed the inaugural academic courses for Rutgers in SE and Supported Education. Joni was training coordinator for a Field Initiated National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) grant evaluating the implementation of SE into Supportive Housing environments. Joni has been invited to present to Human Resource professionals on the topic of mental health in the workplace and is listed in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as a recommended speaker on this topic. She is currently a member of the MHTTC’s Dissemination and Implementation working group and is a past president of the National Rehabilitation Association’s NJ affiliate chapter and past secretary of the NJ Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. Joni is a doctoral candidate in Psychiatric Rehabilitation further exploring the impact of disclosure decision making in employment.     Amy Banko, M.S., LAC, NCC, CPRP Amy Banko is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions at Rutgers University. In addition to providing course instruction, Ms.Banko is a trainer and consultant at the Integrated Employment Institute of Rutgers. Within this role, she facilitates trauma-informed, Supported Employment & Supported Education training and technical assistance to enhance practitioner competencies and program outcomes. Previously, Ms. Banko was a clinical contributor on three NIDILRR funded studies focused on education, employment,  and trauma for individuals with mental health conditions. Additionally, Ms. Banko is a co-author of a best practice manual for providing career services to transition-age youth with mental health conditions. She currently serves as Co-Investigator on two NIDILRR funded studies related to postsecondary education, mental health conditions, and trauma. Ms. Banko’s research agenda focuses on rehabilitation counseling and social/transformative justice as well as critical disability theory as she seeks to build interventions and counseling services that bolster the social determinants of health for those with mental health conditions. Her passion is addressing disability stigma, internalized stigma, ableism, and improving the social determinants of health for people with disabilities and those who experience the intersectionality of disability with other marginalized and oppressed identities. Additionally, Ms. Banko leverages her lived experience of a mental health condition to inform her research, course instruction, and counseling. Ms. Banko is currently attending her doctoral studies at Kean University for Counseling and Supervision with a focus on the treatment of trauma.

Because individuals with vision loss can experience a higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues as compared to their sighted peers, Prevent Blindness, the nation’s leading nonprofit eye health and safety organization, has engaged experts from around the country to raise awareness, provide education and offer newly developed resources for patients, care partners, and healthcare service professionals. According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) one in four adults with vision loss reported anxiety or depression. Younger adults with vision loss had almost five times the risk of serious anxiety or depression compared to adults 65 and older.  “As a patient advocacy organization, we’ve heard for many years from our constituents that one of the biggest challenges of vision loss is how deeply it impacts mental health,” said Julie Grutzmacher, director of patient advocacy and population health initiatives at Prevent Blindness. “Working together with patients, their families and healthcare professionals, we are targeting specific areas for improvement and creating strategies to bring support for those whose mental health is significantly affected from vision impairments.”       Prevent Blindness recently convened an all-volunteer Mental Health Task Force, consisting of professionals from a variety of fields, including ophthalmology, optometry, social work and clinical psychology, as well as patients experiencing vision loss.  The group created the Vision Loss and Mental Health: Key Takeaways from an Interprofessional Task Force issue brief, and collectively identified opportunities to promote process improvement and advocacy in: vision rehabilitation, resource development and dissemination, training for providers (eye care, primary care and mental health),  developing an integrated eye care model. The issue brief is intended for policy makers, providers, professionals and program personnel. Funding support for the promotion and dissemination of the mental health issue brief has been provided by Horizon Therapeutics. As a next step, Prevent Blindness is working with the Task Force to develop training modules geared towards mental health providers. Through the free Living Well with Low Vision resource, Prevent Blindness offers the “Vision Loss and Mental Wellness” webpage. The site provides detailed steps to support mental health, and a listing of mental health services from a variety of organizations. For free information on general eye health, please visit PreventBlindness.org. For a patient guide, low vision resource directories and the latest news on low vision rehabilitation, research and developments in the treatment of eye disease, and a wide range of other topics, visit LowVision.PreventBlindness.org/.   About Prevent Blindness Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, visit us at PreventBlindness.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

This DEI Reference Guide was developed in 2023 through shared efforts and multiple collaborative meetings held across the MHTTC Network, and within the MHTTC Building Health Equity and Cultural Responsiveness Workgroup (BHE & CRWG). The BHE & CRWG prioritizes the dissemination of culturally appropriate information and provides technical assistance and training for the mental health field, to ensure equitable access to culturally appropriate and resonant mental health services and the utilization of those services, so that people can achieve wellbeing and improved health outcomes. This reference guide focuses on supporting intentional dialogue about diversity, equity, and inclusion. As essential as these terms are for bridging the gaps that impact mental health, they are also often misused and misunderstood. This guide addresses the role of the MHTTC Network as a vehicle to promote and implement DEI principles in behavioral health practices. It also makes clear the position of MHTTCs nationwide when issues of diversity, equity and inclusion are discussed.

Join us for Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid and other SUDs. This event took place on September 13, 2023. Click HERE to access the event recording.

Many practitioners know "the basics" of virtual treatment and seek support in improving their effectiveness & strategies. This desk guide provides resources, information, and quick tips for practitioners working with youth in virtual settings.  This guide was created by WAFCA with funding from the Great Lakes MHTTC and is based on material presented by Lisa Anderson, LPC, CSW, in spring 2021.

Series Description We invite you to take a few minutes this summer to explore the benefits of developing or expanding a personal mindfulness practice, by joining us for our bi-weekly experiential mindfulness training. This is a great opportunity to try different activities and practices, and to acquire mindful tools and skills to apply in your everyday life either personally or professionally!    Studies show the practice of mindfulness can reduce stress levels, help us manage our emotions and reactions, tune in better to how we and others are feeling, and cultivate compassion for ourselves and others. This helps us make wiser choices, can boost our relationships, and mean we feel happier and calmer.    According to the American Psychological Association (APA) a mindfulness practice can help with the ability to relate to others and oneself with kindness, acceptance, and compassion.  By connecting to themselves, individuals have reported having stronger social connections and reduced feelings of loneliness and isolation.    This series of Mindful Monday sessions will feature a wide range of evidence-based practices from different disciplines, related to Self-Compassion, Intentional Visualization, and Creativity.     This is a 30-minute interactive training that begins on June 26th and will run every other week through September 25th, 2023,     Each month will have a specific theme/focus with exercises from that discipline. At the beginning of each session, participants will spend a few minutes grounding and learning about the practice for that day and then spend approximately 15-20 minutes in experiential practice, leaving a few minutes at the end for reflection and discussion.   Dates July 10th - Compassion 1   To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording July 24th - Compassion 2  To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording August 21st - Intentional Visualization 1 To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording August 28th - Intentional Visualization 2 To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording   September 11th - Creativity 1  To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording  September 25th - Creativity 2 To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording    Participants only need to register once to be able to attend any number of sessions. The same link will be used for all sessions. Upon completion of your registration, you will receive the session link in a confirmation email.  Trainer Genevieve Berry

Join us for Wellness: Mind, Body, Spirit. This event took place on August 22, 2023.

  The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The September 2023 issue honors National Recovery Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, Addiction Professionals Appreciation Day (September 20), and the 10th anniversary of the ATTC/NIATx Service Improvement Blog! As always, you will also find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!  

Available in both English and Español! Trauma-informed care and culturally responsive care are two important mental health service delivery approaches that are increasingly recognized as necessary for providing effective and equitable mental health care. Latino communities in Ohio face several challenges, including limited accessibility to healthcare services, particularly mental health care, and a lack of multicultural and multilingual clinicians. Implementing culturally responsive and trauma-informed approaches can effectively support mental health professionals to address the needs of Hispanic and Latino populations in Ohio. By providing accessible, sensitive, and tailored care, professionals can promote help-seeking behaviors, healing, resilience, and well-being within these communities.      

Available in both English and Español! Los cuidados de salud mental culturalmente sensibles e informados en trauma, son dos enfoques que se reconocen cada vez más como necesarios para brindar servicios de forma eficaz y equitativa. Las comunidades latinas en Ohio enfrentan varios desafíos, incluyendo la accesibilidad limitada a los servicios de salud primarios, en particular los servicios de salud mental, y la falta de clínicos multiculturales y multilingües. La implementación de enfoques culturalmente sensibles y basados en el trauma puede ayudar de manera efectiva a los profesionales de la salud mental a abordar las necesidades de las poblaciones hispanas y latinas en Ohio. Al brindar atención accesible, sensible y personalizada, los profesionales pueden promover la búsqueda de ayuda, sanación, resiliencia y de bienestar dentro de estas comunidades.      

This is a recording of Region 9's webinar, "California CARE Court: What Providers Need to Know" that took place on August 8, 2023.    In this session, the Pacific Southwest MHTTC brought together key stakeholders in the California’s CARE Act, including Orange County’s Chief of Mental Health and Recovery Services Dr Veronica Kelley, Urban Los Angeles NAMI Executive Director Harold Turner, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Honorable James Bianco and the former Director of the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics, Christopher Schneiders.  These subject area experts each presented an overview of the CARE Act and discussed the opportunities and challenges to self-determination for individuals with serious mental illness (SDM, PADs, Care Plans). Pacific Southwest MHTTC’s Research Associate, Amanda Lipp moderated this panel and a discussion on the CARE Act's new framework for family members and other stakeholders to petition the courts and provide support during the CARE process.   This panel presentation video is suitable for a viewership of leaders within the peer, family-advocacy, judicial, and mental health field.

This comprehensive guide is designed to support BIPOC employees, allies, and leadership in fostering a more inclusive and supportive workplace environment. By recognizing and addressing the unique challenges faced by People of Color, promoting allyship, and empowering leadership, we can create a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and able to thrive.   This guide provides practical strategies, exercises, and resources to enhance well-being and promote equity within your organization. View a series of webinars for guidance and support for the use and implementation of the guide: Day 1 recording Day 2 recording Day 3 recording

Participants learned how to:  Describe how both positive and negative attentional biases may contribute to suicide risk  Describe the Broaden and Build theory of positive emotions  Describe specific strategies to increase one's attention to positive emotions and experiences   Presenter: Shirley Yen, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychology, Harvard Medical School This hybrid event was co-hosted by Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet.

Welcome to Dreams, Dilemmas and Dialogues, a podcast produced by the Pacific Southwest MHTTC, that explores thought-provoking discussions between educators and school mental health providers on issues that impact our schools, classrooms, and communities.    In this four-part podcast co-hosted by Oriana Ides and Candice Valenzuela, and with guests throughout, we cover a rich tapestry of themes, ranging from fostering a positive school culture that empowers both students and educators, to the importance of centering compassion and empathy in the classroom, and creating spaces where learning and personal growth intertwine.   Join us as we dive into the realm of staff development, uncovering strategies to help educators continuously enhance their skills and ignite their passion for teaching. We also look at cultural shifts in education, examining how societal changes shape our classrooms and influence the way we educate the next generation.   Whether you're a school mental health provider, educator, parent/caregiver, student, or anyone curious about the future of education, these episodes are here to inform, inspire, and ignite conversations to inform our practices and policies. Tune in for fresh insights, and thought-provoking conversations that allow us to question and contemplate. Welcome to Dreams, Dilemmas and Dialogues—where every episode is a journey into our own and collective hope and healing.   Listen to each episode below, or click the "View Resource" button above to subscribe on Spotify!     Episode 1 - What Informs Us and Our Work? Reflection and Action: An Introduction to Liberation Psychology In this opening episode, hosts Candice Valenzuela and Oriana Ides explore their foundational values and formative experiences as healing centered practitioners in education.  Their conversations elevate some of the tenets and practices that have been most transformative in their individual and collective efforts to build school communities rooted in hope, healing and liberation.        Episode 2 - Interrupting Grind Culture; Shifting Professional Development, Pedagogy and Practice to Center Staff and Student Wellness Episode 2 features longtime classroom teacher Giulio Sorro, and co-hosts, Candice Valenzuela and Oriana Ides who steer the dialogue to how educators can uplift frameworks and orientations that support professional development where learning and personal growth intertwine. This episode illuminates the possibilities and practices for fostering a school culture that centers humanity, justice and empathy in the classroom.        Episode 3 - No Missed Steps; Laying the Groundwork for Healing and Restoration in Schools Episode 3 welcomes Stephanie Cariaga, professor of Teacher Education and Tatiana Chaterji, Restorative Justice (RJ) visionary, into an honest conversation that quickly moves beyond the implementation of programs and initiatives towards the possibilities of embodying the principles of RJ and building entire infrastructures rooted in its indigenous, culturally sustaining values. Together we witness, uplift and celebrate one another’s experiences of joy, righteous rage and safety as a pathway towards healing and visioning.        Episode 4 - Honoring Praxis; The Intentional Practice of Reflection and Action In this final episode, Candice Valenzuela and Oriana Ides reflect upon their decades in education and the ways in which they’ve consciously and unconsciously created culture in school sites and beyond. In the spirit of trailblazers and change-makers, this episode celebrates the abolitionists of traditional educational norms. Our podcast invites you to join the conversation on revolutionary approaches to teaching and learning, and to explore the transformative potential of anti-racist pedagogy.         Meet the Podcast Co-Hosts   Oriana Ides, MA, PPS, LPCCI (she/hers) is the School Mental Health Training Specialist at CARS, who approaches healing the wounds of trauma and oppression as core elements of social justice.  She has worked with young people across the life course from elementary school to college, and has served as teacher-leader, school counselor, classroom educator and program director.  She is committed to generating equity within school structures and policies by focusing on evidence-based mental health techniques and institutional design.     Candice Valenzuela MA, MFTI, YT-200 (they/them) is a proud Afro-Latinx native of Watts, California. They have worked at the crossroads of education and healing for 17 years. Candice earned a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and a minor in Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University, earned a secondary teaching credential from Alliant University, and a Master of Arts in East-West Psychology at the California Institute for Integral Studies. Candice is certified as a trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness instructor through the Niroga Institute and has training in mesoamerican indigenous healing practices through Ancestral Apothecary in Oakland, California. Candice is currently training as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Denver, Colorado.  Candice believes that ancestral, community and ecological healing are the most urgent issues of our time. They coach administrators, train teachers and lead professional development at schools throughout the nation in addition to providing gender affirming therapy as an Intern Therapist at Queer Asterisk in Denver, Colorado . When they are not working or studying, Candice enjoys sharing their enthusiasm for nature with their 6 year old child.       Meet the Guests   Giulio Sorro is a father of three as well as a son, brother, uncle, teacher and learner. He is forever in search of balance between the stars above and the concrete streets he walks. The Bronx, Enssogologo, Africa, San Francisco and June Jordan School for Equity serve as his official classes and continue to provide rich opportunities for learning and growth.  Even as a classroom teacher, he believes we must find our way out of these four walls and turn liberation theology into practice.  His bougie tendencies are loose leaf tea.     Stephanie Cariaga has served the wider Los Angeles community for sixteen years as a high school and middle school literacy teacher, founding member of the People’s Education Movement and co-organizer of the People’s Education Conference, and now an assistant professor in teacher education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Rooted in radical feminist ways of knowing that center the body, wholeness, and justice, her teaching and research examines the intersections between trauma/healing-informed pedagogies, critical literacy, and critical teacher sustainability.       Tatiana Chaterjee is an educator, trainer, and restorative justice practitioner working at the borders of criminalization, intergenerational trauma, structural violence and youth empowerment. With over a decade of experience in schools, prisons, re-entry, juvenile justice, and community settings, I bring deep commitment to peacebuilding, violence prevention, and healing. ​Using personal narrative and embodied practice, I deepen conversations across difference and cultivate humanizing relationships. I integrate tools from multiple traditions to recover human connection between people at multiple ends of historical injustice. I seek opportunities for dialogue and accountability regarding systemic oppression and the way it manifests in interpersonal relationships. I mobilize my survivorship from violence for radical love, with an eye toward (dis)ability, disrupting power & hierarchy, and stopping harm.    

Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! We hope you had a fantastic summer.  To kick off this year, we present the following haiku: School bells are ringing Doors open widely for all  Eager students near Teachers greet students Classrooms are freshly prepared   Lesson plans begin  Anxious, distracted  Not all students adapt well Coping skills needed Who can they turn to? You! Mental health champions Assess, plan, support Action drives outcomes Building teams create promise Kids begin to thrive We invite you to read and access the many resources shared in this newsletter edition to help your students thrive. Wishing you a wonderful start to the new school year.  Best Wishes, The NWMHTTC School Mental Health Team   Sign up for our School Mental Health Newsletter!  Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

The language of the written word is too limiting for efforts to communicate mental health awareness. Image and sound, which have been used to communicate and teach since ancient times, are much more powerful. Film and other audiovisual media are important ways to promote mental health and reduce stigma and can help enhance emotional and intellectual harmony. Presenter: Mohan Agashe, MD   View a recording of this 8/25/23 session here. 

A joint project of the National Federation of Families, National Family Support Technical Assistance Center, and the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, this tip sheet provides vetted resources and links for school, family, and community leaders to address school culture and climate. Access this publication for tips on what families, parents, caregivers, individual educators, family peer specialists, and mental health providers can do to address the young person engaging in bullying behavior while school and family leaders address school culture and climate and support the child being bullied.

At the New England MHTTC, we believe that agencies and organizations can benefit from applying a racial equity lens to their structure and activities. “A racial equity lens is a set of questions we ask ourselves when we are planning, developing or evaluating a policy, program or decision. It helps us assess if we are taking in the perspectives of the racially diverse people and communities we intend to serve, and whether our policies and programs are resulting in equitable or inequitable outcomes. An equity lens helps us see where challenges and opportunities exist, so that we can make intentional steps to ensure more equitable outcomes for all individuals and communities.” Asking meaningful questions is key. In order to compile the questions for consideration below, the TTC Network conducted a review of approximately 50 organizational and community assessment tools and resources available from the website, Racial Equity Tools. We pulled and synthesized questions from these materials, as well as direct resources from the New England MHTTC, to determine questions most applicable for our work. By providing this resource, we are not signifying that this is a complete list of questions to consider in order to achieve racial equity. We aim to spur thinking and action among the agencies, organizations, and collaborators in our community and we acknowledge that this is just one step in a longer, more integrated and comprehensive process.

Compassionate Listening is... A personal practice – to cultivate inner strength, self awareness, self regulation and wisdom. A skill set – to enhance interpersonal relations and navigate challenging conversation. A process – to bring individuals or groups together to bridge their differences and transform conflict A healing gift – to offer a compassionate listening session to a person who feels marginalized or in pain.   These principles, adapted with permission from the Compassionate Listening Project,, guide the engagements of the New England MHTTC's Racial Equity and Advancing Cultural Humility (REACH) for Organizational Change Learning Collaborative. We encourage you to use these principles as you engage in frank and honest conversations in the workplace. The principles are designed to keep the dialogue grounded so that you can focus your energy on cultivating compassion and respect for others; serving as a witness to another's truth; and listening and speaking from the heart.  

Issues stemming from race and other cultural matters are broad and varied. Individuals and organizations will find that they are quite knowledgeable and proficient in some aspects of cultural competence, and yet, may neglect asking crucial questions in another area. For instance, we may be acutely aware of making focus group (or other) accommodations for the hearing impaired community, but may not have a cache of options to make public health programs accessible to non-native English speakers. When you begin to consider your approach to engagement with diverse communities, you can gauge how and why mainstream strategies have a lower effectiveness and work from a more culturally responsive foundation. Ultimately, the more your work stems from relevant aspects of racial and cultural identity, the greater your chances for effective outcomes and increased, sustainable engagement from a broader, more diverse community. In assessing your agency/organization's capacity for cultural responsiveness, it is useful to have a tool that is focused on core ways to interpret the wide range of behaviors and attitudes that are expressed in the policies and practices of an organization. Our Process of Gaining Cultural Competence represents a continuum into which we can place behaviors, attitudes, policies, and practices. This is intended to be a dynamic tool, since there is always room for growth and development in individuals, organizations, and institutionalized policies and practices.

This social media toolkit includes six posts that each debunk a different myth around suicide. Feel free to share on your own networks!

Despite impacting tens of thousands of people each year, there are still many misconceptions surrounding suicide. It is of utmost importance that we begin to breakdown these misunderstandings by providing up-to-date information and education. The South Southwest MHTTC has put together four posts for social media that offer a unique "fast fact." Please feel free to share these posts across your social networks.