Products and Resources Catalog

Working can be vitally important for the recovery and well-being of people with mental illness. Their employers -- and the workforce as a whole -- also benefit from their lived experience. But people with mental health challenges who are new or returning to the workforce can experience difficulty finding a job. And both employees and employers can struggle with how to approach workplace accommodations.   The Pacific Southwest MHTTC's new video tip series is designed to support the full engagement of people with mental health challenges in the workforce. Each short, 3-minute video is loaded with practical tips and key considerations to make the workforce work for everyone.   For Employees & Job Seekers: Dealing with Mental Health Part 1: Finding a Job & Job Resources What are the benefits of working if you have a mental health challenge? Who can help you find a job or employment services? Dealing with Mental Health Part 2: Getting What You Need to Do Your Job Should I disclose my mental illness at work? How do I request accommodations to be successful at my job?   For Employers: Mental Health on the Job Part 1: Tips and Strategies for Employers How do we recruit and interview staff with mental health lived experience? How do we create a safe workplace for everyone? Mental Health on the Job Part 2: Providing Accommodations What kinds of job accommodations should I provide? How do I talk to staff members about mental health?

This webinar explores low-barrier services for young adults of transition age experiencing or at risk for behavioral health challenges. Presenters discuss how low-barrier services can improve engagement and will identify strategies for integrating low-barrier policies and practices into organizational standards. Throughout the discussion, presenters provide examples of promising approaches that have been adopted by local communities, including the development of drop-in centers and peer-to-peer programs. Learning Objectives: Define low-barrier access in the context of behavioral health services. Explore the links between access to services and engagement in behavioral health treatment for young adults of transition age. Identify examples of model low-barrier access programs. Learn best practices and practical strategies for integrating low-barrier services into agencies serving young adults.  

Crisis and loss are common in the lives of students, whether due to a death or crisis involving a student's individual family or one that affects the entire school community. Major events have the potential to cause short- and long-term effects on the psychological functioning, academic achievement, emotional adjustment, health, and developmental trajectory of students. Classroom educators and other school professionals can play a vital role in providing important support to students to promote their understanding of the event, minimize the academic impact through academic accommodations, help them learn coping strategies to accelerate their adjustment and minimize their distress, and minimize maladaptive coping mechanisms and behavioral difficulties. Yet most educators and other school professionals have had limited to no professional training in how to support students in the aftermath of crisis and loss. This workshop helps school professionals learn basic skills in how to talk with and support individual students or the entire class/school as they struggle to understand and cope with a crisis or loss in their lives. Dr. Schonfeld draws on over 30 years' experience in school crisis response and pediatric bereavement to illustrate key points.  

Culture shapes every aspect of patient care, influencing when, where, how, and to whom patients narrate their experiences of illness and distress, the patterning of symptoms, and the models clinicians use to interpret and understand symptoms in terms of psychiatric diagnoses. Culture also shapes patients’ perceptions of care, including what types of treatment are acceptable and for how long. Even when patients and clinicians share similar cultural, ethnic or linguistic backgrounds, culture impacts care through other influences on identity, such as those due to gender, age, class, race, occupation, sexual orientation, and religion. Culture affects the clinical encounter for every patient, not only underserved minority groups, and cultural formulation therefore is an essential component of any comprehensive assessment. Cultural misunderstandings, biases, and communication gaps between providers and patients also contribute to disparities in the care of diverse populations, including by race/ethnicity, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation, suggesting person-centered cultural evaluation may help reduce care disparities. The purposes of this webinar are to understand the rationale, development, and content of a novel approach for conducting cultural assessments: the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI); and to discuss training resources and implementation strategies for integrating the CFI in diagnostic and treatment planning.

Expanding workforce diversity is a critical strategy to support improved access to health and health care for communities of color. To support this work, the PS MHTTC created a self-assessment tool to help mental health organizations explore their implementation of workforce diversity strategies: Assessing Workforce Diversity: A Tool for Mental Health Organizations on the Path to Health Equity. This workshop explores each of the tool's six key domains to build workforce diversity: Leadership and Governance Recruitment Orientation, Onboarding, and Ongoing Training Retention and Professional Development Communication Partnership and Community Goals This workshop outlines the purpose of these areas in strengthening workforce diversity and explore the different issues that require attention.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Explore the importance of a diverse workforce in effectively addressing mental health disparities for the populations in your community. Identify the critical components needed to assess the successes and challenges of your mental health organization in building a diverse workforce. Identify areas in which your organization excels and also areas in which you may want to focus attention. Identify action steps to address areas where your organization is more limited and incorporate these action steps into an existing organizational plan (e.g., strategic, cultural competency, or diversity plan).   INTENDED AUDIENCE: Policy makers Mental health leaders Service providers Human resource officers Community partners Mental health advocates  

Want to figure out how to create and develop policies that contribute to trauma-informed school environments? Tasked with ensuring trauma-informed  work is sustainable and scalable at your school, district office, agency, department, or organization? During this session, we'll explore the four choice points leaders face; tips  for successful policy development and implementation; and examples of current policy at the local, district, state, and federal levels from which you can choose and use for your own work. Additional resources include: Creating Trauma-Informed Policies: A Practice Guide for School & Mental Health Leadership: Guide and Infographic.  

All health service systems are undergoing fundamental changes in order to embrace the diversity of populations in the U.S. today. Many health systems continue to grapple with the numerous challenges of implementing systemic change to respond effectively to the multiple needs of diverse cultural and linguistic groups. Organizations working together as part of a broader system often do not know where to start the work of integrating cultural and linguistic competence. To do this work, organizations first need to come to a common understanding of culture and cultural competence and adopt a systemic framework for its integration into services and supports. This presentation provides a conceptual framework for cultural competence in health. Participants not only define and identify the framework and underlying principles of cultural competence, they begin to explore how these principles will influence their roles and functions. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Identify the components of a conceptual framework for cultural competence. Differentiate characteristics of culturally competent organizations and systems. Describe the implications for cultural competence in services and support systems. Determine steps to provide leadership in becoming more culturally and linguistically competent.   INTENDED AUDIENCE: Policy makers Mental health leaders Service providers Human resource officers Community partners Mental health advocates    

Mental Health and Student Learning Outcomes Webinar Series #2 Join nationally recognized suicide prevention advocates Leah Harris and Kelechi Ubozoh in exploring what a trauma-informed suicide prevention approach for educators might look like. This webinar begins with the perspective of a young person with lived experience of suicidal thoughts. Presenters identify common myths and misconceptions about students and suicide, and explore the vital importance of including students as partners in suicide prevention efforts. Examples of promising student-led initiatives, including peer-to-peer programs and school awareness campaigns, are provided.   Learning Objectives: Identify several myths or stereotypes about suicide and students Explore a framework for understanding suicide prevention through a trauma-informed and healing-centered lens Understand the links between trauma, toxic stress, and suicide and the latest findings in neuroscience that cite connectedness as a vital protective factor Describe the central values of trauma-informed practice and how to apply them to suicide prevention efforts in educational settings Name examples of model student-led suicide prevention programs and campaigns    

The current sociocultural climate and discourse in the United States elucidates the importance of understanding our humanity while fostering deeper cross-cultural relationships. As the nation demographically represents a multitude of cultures, our ability to engage in thoughtful and meaningful discussions on cultural issues, remains ever present. This webinar addresses why cultural humility matters in our work as service providers, the current literature on color-blind racial ideology, and implicit bias. The webinar provides insight into the importance of understanding one’s own limitations in ideologies as a way to enhance our service as cultural workers, both personally and professionally.

Latino adults in the United States face serious mental health care disparities. A combination of person-level barriers, such as, stigma, negative attitudes toward mental health treatments, and limited mental health literacy, contribute to these inequities in mental health care. In this presentation, Dr. Cabassa will review the literature on how person-level barriers impact mental health care disparities in the Latino community. He will describe how a depression literacy tool entitled “Secret Feelings” that integrates cultural elements from the Latino community and uses an entertainment-education approach can help address these barriers to care. He will discuss the practice and research implications of using “Secret Feelings” to improve mental health care in the Latino community.

Mental health among all cultures is one of the most relevant topics in today’s news. The webinar discusses the impact of mental health services in the school setting. As part of the National Hispanic Latino and Mental Health Technology Transfer Center ongoing commitment with School-Based mental health awareness, we bring to you Scott Bloom, LCSW-R. Mr. Bloom has extensive experience working with schools as a social worker, supervisor and directed nine school mental health clinics, and currently as the Director of School Mental Health services for the NYC Office of School Health. Through this webinar participants will understand how we all can learn a common language between mental health and school communities, recognize why is student’s mental health important to consider in the school settings, and the importance that mental health providers understand how to engage the Hispanic and Latino community.

The current sociocultural climate and discourse in the United States elucidates the importance of understanding our humanity while fostering deeper cross-cultural relationships. As the nation demographically represents a multitude of cultures, our ability to engage in thoughtful and meaningful discussions on cultural issues, remains ever present. This webinar addresses why cultural humility matters in our work as service providers, the current literature on color-blind racial ideology, and implicit bias. The webinar provides insight into the importance of understanding one’s own limitations in ideologies as a way to enhance our service as cultural workers, both personally and professionally.

Dr. Michael Hoge of the Annapolis Coalition provides an overview of the Ohio Workforce Recruitment and Retention Learning Collaborative in this one-hour webinar, presented on March 28, 2019. 

Michelle Zechner, PhD, LSW, CPRP is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers-School of Health Professions, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions. She has focused her 25 year career on supporting the recovery of people with mental illnesses and their families. She has worked in a variety of community and inpatient settings, including nursing homes, outpatient mental health services, state psychiatric hospitals, and community services for older adults. In her current role she has focused on implementation of evidence-based psychosocial practices in psychiatric hospitals, developing and testing health and wellness promotion interventions in community settings, teaching students, training diverse mental health staff on best practice interventions for older persons with mental health conditions, and conducting research. Dr. Zechner’s research includes the development of multi-domain wellness programs for people with mental illnesses, promotion of and adherence to physical activity in people with mental illness, use of peer health coaching strategies and identifying best practices for use with older adults with mental illnesses. She has co-authored peer-reviewed and technical publications on health promotion for persons with mental illness, and has presented her work at local, national and international conferences. She is passionate about supporting older adults with mental illnesses to improve their mental and physical health.   Part 2 of the webinar addresses the following learning objectives: Discuss evidence based practices (EBPs) for age onset depression Identify EBPs and best practices for programming for older adults with serious mental illnesses Discuss wellness as a framework for developing new programming Explore knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for working with older adults    Click here to view a recording of the webinar delivered on March 27, 2019.  Click on the download link above to access the webinar slides. 

Suicide Prevention for Primary Care Physicians March 26, 2019 Learn more about the toolkit which offers the support necessary to establish the primary care provider as one member of a team, fully equipped to reduce suicide risk among their patients. Recording Suicide Prevention Toolkit

Dr. Michelle Zechner, PhD, LSW, CPRP is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers, School of Health Professions, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions. She has focused her 25 year career on supporting the recovery of people with mental illnesses and their families. She has worked in a variety of community and inpatient settings including nursing homes, outpatient mental health services, state psychiatric hospitals, and community services for older adults. In her current role she has focused on implementation of evidence-based psychosocial practices in psychiatric hospitals, developing and testing health and wellness promotion interventions in community settings, teaching students, training diverse mental health staff on best practice interventions for older persons with mental illnesses, and conducting research. Dr. Zechner's research includes the development of multi-domain wellness programs for people with mental illnesses, promotion of and adherence to physical activity in people with mental illness, use of peer health coaching strategies and identifying best practices for use with older adults with mental illnesses. She has co-authored peer-reviewed and technical publications on health promotion for people with mental illnesses, and has presented her work at local, national, and international conferences. She is passionate about supporting older adults with mental illnesses to improve their mental and physical health.    Part 1 of the webinar addresses the following learning objectives: Develop understanding of older adults with SMI Describe this growing population Identify unique concerns for this population Health challenges Psychiatric symptoms Evaluate the strengths that develop with older age   Click here to view a recording of the webinar delivered on March 20, 2019. (Please note the recording begins a couple of slides in).  Click on the download link above to access the webinar slides. 

In this short 5-7 minute video scripted, conceptualized and facilitated by youth from Long Beach, CA, young people describe why school mental health championship is vital to student mental health and the challenges and key success factors that contribute to adults showing up as allies to young people in their mental health championship & leadership. Produced by Youth Leadership Institute. --- Attributions --- Music: "Wavy Glass" by Podington Bear via FreeMusicArchive.org (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License) http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Meet_Podington_Bear_Box_Set_Disc_1/12_Wavy_Glass_1687 Graphics: Designed by Vectorpocket https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/vector-cartoon-background-empty-school-classroom_2890966.htm Designed by Freepik https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/city-at-night-and-day-illustration_829621.htm https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/school-building_805937.htm https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/background-of-boy-typing-on-laptop_1091783.htm

Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Manifestations and Consequences for Persons with Psychosis or Other Serious and Persistent Mental Illness   About this resource:   This pre-recorded webinar will teach clinicians about the important links among trauma, PTSD, and Serious Mental Illness (SMI) diagnoses. Clinicians will learn about the specific manifestations of trauma in this population, as well as the clinical, functional, and psychotherapeutic consequences of untreated PTSD among individuals with SMI. Finally, clinicians will learn about screening instruments and methods for assessing trauma exposure and PTSD among individuals with SMI.  About the Trainer:  Jennifer Gottlieb, Ph.D., is a Diplomate in the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and a licensed clinical psychologist whose research and clinical work is dedicated to the development and implementation of effective psychotherapeutic interventions for psychosis, schizophrenia, and other severe psychiatric conditions. She earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Montana, completed her clinical internship at the University of California/San Diego VA, and has been on the faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry Schizophrenia Program, Dartmouth Medical School, and Boston University. 

This pre-recorded webinar session celebrates culture and communities, and explores community programs and practices that work and are helping people. The session explores how we collectively approach the concept of evidence, effectiveness of practices, and the role of communities in achieving positive outcomes for individuals experiencing mental health conditions. This discussion is intended for clinicians, mental health program providers, evaluators, and others.