Products and Resources Catalog

There is a growing movement to identify and promote community-defined evidence (CDE) practices and strategies. CDE practices are bottom-up/ground-up practices that come from the community and the organizations that serve them. CDE practices can range from mental health treatments to community outreach to other services and supports. This compendium is designed to help organizations, providers, and communities establish evidence of effectiveness for CDE practices. It includes: an introduction to CDE; examples from the Pacific Southwest region; evaluation approaches; best practices for ethical evaluation; and an annotated resource list.

Recording of the webinar titled The Logic of Scientific Revolutions: Peer Support Workforce and Mental Health System Transformation, originally held on July 16, 2019.   Slide Presentation

Youth peer support is a growing field in many mental health and child-serving systems, yet many agencies are new to supervising and supporting these roles. This line of work can often be taxing for its young employees, and self-care is just as important to supervision as job performance. This webinar presents specific strategies supervisors can use to promote self-care among their youth peer staff while ensuring accountability to their job duties.  

Youth peer support is an emerging and innovative role within mental health that is seen as valuable for young adults who are system involved. While many agencies want to employ or do employ youth peer support specialists, there are many questions and challenges regarding how to best support this role. In this webinar we will clarify the responsibilities and boundaries of the youth peer support role and offer tips on how to support this role and these employees within your agency.

On July 10th, we held our fourth Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Series webinar on "How to Implement Trauma-Informed Care". Katie Volk discussed the very practical ways individuals and programs can implement trauma-informed care. She also described a framework for understanding the implementation process, discussed key factors that support and inhibit organizational change, and described the process step-by-step.

Schools play an important role in recognizing and responding to suicide risk in students. Effective strategies must be embedded within a positive school climate that engages the entire school community. This webinar outlines best practice strategies schools can implement to identify and respond to students at risk for suicide. In addition, the webinar describes the steps that schools should take to mitigate suicide risk and promote positive mental health and well-being. Presenter:  Tandra Rutledge, MA, is the Director of Business Development at Riveredge Hospital in Forest Park, Illinois. She is a certified suicide prevention gatekeeper trainer for the QPR Institute, a trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s educational programs, and a CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) instructor with the Chicago Police Department. As a mental health advocate and suicide prevention trainer for the past 25 years,Tandra provides training to schools, parents, faith-based organizations, physicians and other healthcare professionals Webinar Slides: The Role of Schools in Preventing Suicide Transcript: The Role of Schools in Preventing Suicide   

Aging is a fact of life and it is frequently accompanied by declining health, but it does not always have to be that way. The aging adult is frequently expected to manifest deficits in cognition, and these deficits can be part of a primary brain degenerative process, a psychiatric illness, or physical disease. These conditions either individually or combined interact with each other, meaning that the presence of one can make the other one worse. Any of these conditions along with other social factors, such as the environment where one is born, lives or works, ethnicity, income, support system, level of acculturation, and the degree of health literacy can facilitate or obstruct access to care and eventually influence health outcomes. This presentation will explain the interaction of these conditions in the Latino elderly, and the known barriers coming from the health system and health disparities perspective. The presentation will close with ideas of what you can do at home while working with the Latino elderly, and with a short video of an older Latino woman who will explain her desire to live in spite of her illnesses. With the Latino aging population growing in the US, it is our turn to promote health messages that resonate with their needs and preferences, such as optimism and acceptance, connectedness, independence, and self-worth.

Dr. Anthony Zazzarino, PhD, LPC, ACS, CPRP is a full-time faculty member at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions. He currently provides instruction for professional education courses for New Jersey’s Supported Housing agencies implementing Community Support Services (CSS), the Master’s program in Rehabilitation Counseling, and the Doctoral program in Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Zazzarino is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), and Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP). He completed his PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at Walden University where he focused on improving the lives of sexual minorities with serious mental illnesses and enhancing individual’s knowledge of multicultural competence. Dr. Zazzarino is actively presenting at local, state, and national conferences related to psychiatric rehabilitation methods, counseling services, and supervision practices. In addition to his work at Rutgers, Dr. Zazzarino is a suicide prevention trainer for the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, facilitates group therapy for adolescents and adults at an intensive outpatient program, provides outpatient counseling services at his private practice, and provides clinical supervision for counselors who need supervised clinical hours in New Jersey.    Webinar Description and Objectives: Participants will become familiar with the unique needs facing individuals who identify as a sexual minority, enhance awareness of increased rates of mental health symptoms, substance use, and suicidality within this population, and explore effective services for sexual minority individuals. A sexual minority is an individual who identifies with a sexual identity other than heterosexuality.    Define the term sexual minority Identify different sexual orientations Distinguish between sexual and gender identity Explain the importance of the minority stress model Discuss the increase in mental health needs of sexual minorities Illustrate the reasons for an underutilization of services   Access webinar slides. Access webinar recording. 

Participants will become familiar with the unique needs facing individuals who identify as a sexual minority, enhance awareness of increased rates of mental health symptoms, substance use, and suicidality within this population, and explore effective services for sexual minority individuals. A sexual minority is an individual who identifies with a sexual identity other than heterosexuality.  Identify additional factors that may contribute to increased mental health needs Discuss risk factors and warning signs of suicide Describe the positive psychology framework and apply this framework to working with sexual minorities   View session recording   Dr. Anthony Zazzarino, PhD, LPC, ACS, CPRP is a full-time faculty member at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions. He currently provides instruction for professional education courses for New Jersey’s Supported Housing agencies implementing Community Support Services (CSS), the Master’s program in Rehabilitation Counseling, and the Doctoral program in Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Zazzarino is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), and Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP). He completed his PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at Walden University where he focused on improving the lives of sexual minorities with serious mental illnesses and enhancing individual’s knowledge of multicultural competence. Dr. Zazzarino is actively presenting at local, state, and national conferences related to psychiatric rehabilitation methods, counseling services, and supervision practices. In addition to his work at Rutgers, Dr. Zazzarino is a suicide prevention trainer for the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, facilitates group therapy for adolescents and adults at an intensive outpatient program, provides outpatient counseling services at his private practice, and provides clinical supervision for counselors who need supervised clinical hours in New Jersey. 

On June 26th, we held our webinar "Financial Health and Mental Health: Making the Connection". Annie Harper, Ph.D, from Yale Program and Recovery and Community Health, addressed the connection between mental illness and poverty, focusing particularly on money management and access to financial services. 

Housing for all in Rural Communities June 24, 2019 Jennifer Lopez discussed housing for all in rural communities with a focus on housing solutions for persons with mental health concerns in rural settings. Slide deck Recording

Together with Veterans: A Rural Veteran Suicide Prevention Program June 20, 2019 Gina Brimner spoke to the Together With Veterans Program. Together With Veterans targets rural populations and empowers Veterans to lead community-based and evidence-informed planning efforts to address Veteran suicide locally and discuss implementation strategies. Slide deck

We are excited to introduce ourselves and the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (Northwest MHTTC). When we received news that our proposal was funded late last year, it felt like a dream come true. Now we have the opportunity to move the needle on improving behavioral health outcomes for persons with or at risk of developing serious mental illness across Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington).

On June 19th, we held our third Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Series webinar on "Trauma-Informed Care in the Context of Recovery-Oriented Approaches". Rebecca Miller discussed the principles of trauma-informed care and those of a recovery orientation complement one another well. She also described both models, discussed the overlap between the two, and highlighted examples of how recovery-oriented, trauma-informed approaches look in programs/practice. 

On June 19th,we held the second part of the webinar series "Person-centered Recovery Planning (PCRP) Implementation Series". Janis Tondora, PsyD. from Yale University's Program and Recovery and Community Health, and Dan Wartenberg, Psy.D, M.P.H., Chief Clinical Officer, Newport Mental Health reviewed the key indicators of PCRP from both a process and a documentation perspective.

Webinar by Kate Hardy, Clin.Psych.D Dr. Kate Hardy, an international expert in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp), gives a didactic on incorporating natural supports into therapy for a group of CBTp trainees. She covers the utility of involving natural supports like family members or friends into a course of CBTp and illustrates through case examples how to do so skillfully and therapeutically.

Farm Crisis and Behavioral Health June 19, 2019 Charles Griffin provided a backdrop to the recurrence of the farm crisis, new legislation to address the crisis, as well as strategies for addressing the needs of farming communities. Slide deck Recording

This 45-minute video interview presentation created by Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), representing HHS Region VIII, is a professional learning tool to explore how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) affect the human population. Director of Mountain Plains MHTTC, Professor Thomasine Heitkamp, interviews a national expert on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Dr. Donald Warne, who offers insight to providers and educators interested in gaining a deeper understanding of ACEs, including content on historical trauma and addressing stigma. WHAT ARE ACEs? Adverse Childhood Experiences ACEs are experiences in childhood that are unhappy, unpleasant, and/or hurtful. They are sometimes referred to as toxic stress or childhood trauma. ACEs are categorized into three groups: abuse, neglect, and household challenges. Each category is further divided into multiple subcategories. The prevalence of ACEs is organized by category. All ACE questions refer to the respondent’s first 18 years of life. Abuse Emotional abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home swore at you, insulted you, put you down, or acted in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt. Physical abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home pushed, grabbed, slapped, threw something at you, or hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured. Sexual abuse: An adult, relative, family friend, or stranger who was at least 5 years older than you ever touched or fondled your body in a sexual way, made you touch his/her body in a sexual way, attempted to have any type of sexual intercourse with you.   Household Challenges Mother is treated violently: Your mother or stepmother was pushed, grabbed, slapped, had something thrown at her, kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, hit with something hard, repeatedly hit for over at least a few minutes, or ever threatened or hurt by a knife or gun by your father (or stepfather) or mother’s boyfriend. Substance abuse in the household: A household member was a problem drinker or alcoholic or a household member used street drugs. Mental illness in the household: A household member was depressed or mentally ill or a household member attempted suicide. Parental separation or divorce: Your parents were ever separated or divorced. Incarcerated household member: A household member went to prison.   Neglect Emotional neglect: Someone in your family helped you feel important or special, you felt loved, people in your family looked out for each other and felt close to each other, and your family was a source of strength and support. Physical neglect: There was someone to take care of you, protect you, and take you to the doctor if you needed it, you didn’t have enough to eat, your parents were too drunk or too high to take care of you, and you had to wear dirty clothes.   Research Findings The Center for Disease Control-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and neglect and household challenges and later-life health and well-being. The original ACE Study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente from 1995 to 1997 with two waves of data collection. More than 17,000 Health Maintenance Organization members from Southern California receiving physical exams completed confidential surveys regarding their childhood experiences and current health status and behaviors. The CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study uncovered how ACEs are strongly related to development of risk factors for disease, and well-being throughout the life course. More detailed information about the study can be found in this article, “Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults External.”

on June 5th, Dr. Rivers Murphy, with Kate Retzel, Principal, Lee Elementary School (Lee, MA), shares strategies and activities used during the implementation of a year-long mindfulness program in a prek-6 school. They also shared strategies for introducing mindfulness in high schools, including some of the unique opportunities and challenges associated with this work at the secondary level. To download the slides, click here. Presenter(s): Michele Rivers Murphy, Ed.D., CEI Associate Director, Heart Centered Learning

On June 5th, we held our second Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Series webinar on "What Is Trauma-Informed Care and Why Does It Matter?" Katie Volk discussed principles of trauma-informed care, ways to implement it in your organization, and how it aligns with and promotes recovery-oriented practice. To watch Nadine Burke Harris's TED Talk mentioned during the webinar, click here. 

The state of affairs in the United States and globally currently places policies over people. The intersection of international territories and human rights is most salient in our discourse on immigration. The impact systemic policies have on families, particularly children, is profound and deeply troubling. This webinar will address the challenges immigrant children face, including unaccompanied minors, and how school-based systems can create supportive contexts for children and their families.

Assertive Community Treatment Fidelity and Rural Considerations May 28, 2019 Dr. Hannah Koch discussed how to tweak the Assertive Community Treatment model to make it work in a rural setting. Slide deck

The MHTTC News May 2019 includes: Recovery-Oriented Trauma-Informed Care Webinar Series and Learning Collaborative Training and Events Calendar How to Access our Services Mental Health Resources: State Profiles And much more!   

Hispanics and Latinos' cultural values are essential for a competent mental health services, assessment and treatment.