Products and Resources Catalog

Farm Stress and Mental Health Resources The Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center team is dedicated to addressing rural mental health. However, they also recognize that the agricultural community encounters unique challenges related to the accessibility, availability, and acceptability of mental health services. In response, specific trainings and resources have been developed to address mental health and suicide among agricultural workers and their families. For clarity, unless otherwise specified, “farm” and “farmer” refer to ranchers, farmers, farm managers/owners, and agricultural workers. Farm Stress and Mental Health Resources The Rural Mental Health & Farm Stress resources page houses several resources that provide summaries of agricultural mental health concerns, up-to-date data visualizations, and toolkits for addressing barriers to mental health services for farmers, farm managers/owners, ranchers, agricultural workers and their families. If you have questions about this website or products you thing would be valuable on this page, please contact Shawnda Schroeder at [email protected]. 

Recording of the webinar titled Engaging Families in School Mental Health, originally held on October 16, 2019.   Slide Presentation

Recording of the webinar Parent Peer Support: Better Outcomes for Children, Youth & Families across Systems, originally held on October 30, 2019.   Slide Presentation

Hands-on Tools and Strategies to Assist Providers Working with Farmers December 16, 2019 Meg Moynihan, from Eyes on the Horizon Consulting, and Monica McConkey, from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, provided an overview on the tools and strategies they utilize every day to address the mental health needs of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers. This session highlighted specific examples of resources available to support farmers experiencing stress and mental health challenges, as well as a discussion on the best practices for providers working with this population. Slide deck Recording  

This flyer provides an overview of Mid-America MHTTC services in the field of serious mental illness.

Introduction to Farm Stress: Mental Health Needs Among Diverse Farm Populations   November 25, 2019 Dr. Shawnda Schroeder and Thomasine Heitkamp, Director of the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center presented alongside Matt Perdue with North Dakota Farmers Union. In this first of multiple sessions addressing agricultural mental health, presenters described the definition of farm stress, contributing factors, the impact of farm stress on the family, and how farming demographics and associated stress may vary by U.S. region. This session introduced resources that currently exist for farmers addressing stress and suicide risk, as well as presented ongoing gaps and barriers to utilizing mental health services among agricultural communities. Slide deck Recording     Trainers Dr. Shawnda Schroeder Professor Thomasine Heitkamp

This flyer provides an overview of Mid-America MHTTC services in the field of school mental health.

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.

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 May 23rd, Center for Educational Improvement (CEI) in collaboration with New England -MHTTC, presented the second webinar of the Childhood-Trauma Learning Collaborative (C-TLC) Webinar Series on Parents and Compassion. This webinar explained how schools can be engaged with families that are steeped in trauma. They discussed how trauma can impact children and how the family can assist, and how to increase compassionate interactions between school and families. To download the slides, click here. 

Though the practice of civil commitment and involuntary hospitalization has markedly changed since the middle of the 20th century, it remains one of the most controversial procedures in behavioral healthcare.   This webinar explores civil commitment law through the lens of civil liberties for young adults of transition age. We consider the ethical tensions between a provider or family member's desire to help a young person experiencing serious mental illness and the young person's autonomy. Presenters will discuss the importance of shared decision making and will provide strategies for improving the process of civil commitments for youth and their families.   Learning Objectives: Understand the history of civil commitment in the US. Consider justifications for civil commitment and involuntary mental health treatment. Identify best practices and practical strategies for shared decision making with youth and families through a civil commitment process. Identify key questions for policy and agency decision makers to consider when establishing processes which may lead to civil commitment.  

The World Health Organization has stated the “single most important barrier to overcome in the community is the stigma and associated discrimination towards persons suffering from mental and behavioural [sic] disorders.” In response, researchers collected data in North Dakota utilizing an existing and nationally validated instrument for measuring stigma. This brief presents the results of the survey and implications for communities.   On November 20, 2020, Sage Journals published an article based on this product entitled, "The Role of Rural and Urban Geography and Gender in Community Stigma Around Mental Illness." A subscription may be required for full access. Authors Shawnda Schroeder Thomasine Heitkamp Chih Ming Tan

The family navigator model is a peer-based, flexible approach to supporting families in which a child has a health or developmental challenge or disability. This guide is designed to support education agencies and school leaders interested in building or enhancing a family navigator program. Family-driven, youth-guided, culturally responsive support is a guiding principle of this document. It includes:   Overview of the model Special considerations for schools Guiding principles and best practices Practical tools for developing a program Links to more than 30 national and Pacific Southwest-specific resources This guide was developed by the Pacific Southwest MHTTC in partnership with Millie Sweeney, MS, from the Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association (FREDLA).