Training and Events Calendar

The South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), invites Region 6 Peer Specialists and Family Partners to participate in our monthly networking meetings. These no-cost, virtual meetings offer you the opportunity to collaborate with other Peer Specialists and Family Partners in a supportive, mentoring environment. The goal is to provide a space for resource sharing, support around ways to be most effective when working with clients, options for self-care strategies, and more! This event takes place on the first Friday of each month from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. CT.  About the Facilitator:  Jessi Davis (she/they) is an experienced Program Coordinator with a demonstrated history of working in the Peer Support, Mental Health, and Substance Use Recovery fields. Jessi is known for work surrounding Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training, technical assistance, and leadership. Their qualifications include Mental Health Peer Specialist, Recovery Support Peer Specialist, Peer Recovery Support Specialist – Transitional Aged Youth, and Digital Peer Support certifications. Currently working at the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, Jessi works to provide support, technical assistance, and training to the peer workforce throughout the 5 states and all tribal communities within Region 6. They have spent much of their career focused on Youth and Young Adult Peer Support and is currently the President of the National Association of Peer Supporters.

A learning community among state education and mental health leaders involved in Project AWARE grants in the region.

This training is invite only.  The South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) invites peer specialists from across Region 6 to apply for the Youth and Young Adult Peer Specialist training. In order to attend the YAYAPS TOT, participants must have successfully completed the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training through the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center. Youth and Young Adult Peer Support is a three-day training that provides participants with a foundation for youth experience with mental health and substance use challenges, the unique issues for youth navigating recovery and youth-serving systems, and best practices and tools for peer specialists looking to support youth. The training will also encourage participants to consider how to use their own lived experience when supporting youth through structured reflection, group discussion, and interactive activities. The Training of Trainers Event for the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support will prepare people to co-facilitate this training in their community. The virtual YAYAPS TOT is four days long, during which experienced facilitators will introduce the terms and concepts in the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training, review the structure and expectations for facilitating the training, and discuss common challenges or questions that come up when facilitating the training. Learning Objectives: At the end of this training, it is envisioned that participants will be able to: Identify the core learning objectives and main ideas for the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training; and Conduct the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training according to best practices and expectations for instructors.   Facilitators Jessi Davis (she/they) is an experienced Program Coordinator and Peer Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the Peer Support, Mental Health, and Substance Use Recovery industries. Jessi is known for work surrounding Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training, technical assistance, and leadership. Currently working at the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, Jessi works to provide support, technical assistance, and training to the Peer Workforce throughout the 5 states and all tribal communities within Region 6. They have spent much of their career focused on promoting access to quality Peer Specialist services across the lifespan. Darcy Kues (she/her) is a Project Manager with the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and the Addiction Research Institute, where she writes curricula focused on peer support and recovery services. She has over 7 years of experience in curriculum development, grant writing, and program coordination for peer support services and recovery-oriented behavioral health. Darcy has developed trainings on reentry peer support, youth and young adult peer support, trauma responsiveness, peer support supervision, LGBTQ affirming services, and more. She is committed to building a world where recovery and lived experience are centered at every level of decision-making.

Join Us to Learn Realistic, Achievable Habits that Strengthen Our Mind and Improve Wellbeing SMART offers an innovative, modern, uplifting, and highly scalable approach to enhance individual resilience. Developed by Dr. Amit Sood at the Mayo Clinic, SMART is offered as a four-module structured program. SMART has been tested and found efficacious in over 30 clinical trials for decreasing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and burnout, and increasing resilience, wellbeing, mindfulness, happiness, and positive health behaviors. CEUs are available!

This event is an excellent opportunity for professionals in the early childhood mental and behavioral health field to learn about ASQ-3™ and ASQ:SE-2™, two important developmental screening tools that are widely used in all child-serving settings. Led by certified trainer, Holly Gursslin M.Ed, NCC, LPC attendees will gain practical skills and knowledge to use these tools to effectively identify and monitor developmental and social-emotional needs in young children.   *This event has reached full capacity. Please join our waitlist by applying here. Please note that this is not the link to attend the training event, but to join our waitlist for future events.

The Region 6 Peer Support Advisory Committee (PSAC) to the South Southwest MHTTC meets on a monthly basis to collaborate across the states and tribal communities to identify and address common areas of need and share resources. Based on feedback from the PSAC, and needs identified by peers across Region 6, the MHTTC organizes training and technical assistance focused on peer retention and workforce development. This is a closed meeting.

This highly interactive training is only open to Early Childhood Professionals working in the following states: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, & Texas. This event will provide training on the use of the following level one screening tools for identifying developmental concerns: Survey of Well Being of Young Children (SWYC) and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (MCHAT-R/F).  The training will include: Guidelines for the administration, scoring, and interpretation of each measure Review of best practices in communicating results and decision-making regarding referrals Discussion of cultural considerations and resources to use in everyday practice About the Presenter Meredith Brinster, PhD has focused her research and clinical work on increasing access to care for autistic children and their families, with a special emphasis on supporting families through the lengthy diagnostic odyssey. She has over 15 years of experience and has partnered with Sheri Ravenscroft, MD, the Section Chief of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics to develop the Comprehensive Autism Program (CAP), with novel program development that has dramatically reduced waitlists to obtain an early autism diagnosis. She has also developed numerous programs to further support primary care physicians and reduce waitlists for school-aged children. She maintains a passion for empowering families through the diagnostic process while supporting and developing programs to further empower families during the post-diagnostic process.

Educators! Join Us to Learn Realistic, Achievable Habits that Strengthen Our Mind and Improve Wellbeing SMART offers an innovative, modern, uplifting, and highly scalable approach to enhance individual resilience.  Developed by Dr. Amit Sood at the Mayo Clinic, SMART is offered as a four-module structured program. SMART has been tested and found efficacious in over 30 clinical trials for decreasing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and burnout, and increasing resilience, wellbeing, mindfulness, happiness, and positive health behaviors. CEUs are available!

The South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) invites peer specialists from across Region 6 to apply for the Youth and Young Adult Peer Specialist training. The Youth and Young Adults Peer Support training was developed to train peer supporters on the topics of youth voice and issues specific to youth navigating mental health or substance use challenges. The Youth and Young Adults Peer Support training is available for anyone who works, or is interested in working, as a peer specialist. This three-day training provides participants with a foundation for youth experience with mental health and substance use challenges, the unique issues for youth navigating recovery and youth-serving systems, and best practices and tools for peer specialists looking to support youth. The training will also encourage participants to consider how to use their own lived experience when supporting youth through structured reflection, group discussion, and interactive activities. There is no age requirement for participating in this training. Applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis, so we encourage interested folks to apply early since space in the training may fill up quickly. Not all applicants will be accepted as we have limited seats available. The Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training is appropriate for anyone working or volunteering (or interested in working or volunteering) as a peer specialist. The only prerequisite to attendance is that participants must have previous formal training in peer support practice (e.g., their state’s Peer Specialist certification training, Intentional Peer Support, etc.). Priority consideration will be given to people who are interested in attending the YAYAPS Training of Trainers so that they may facilitate the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support Training in their communities. Learning Objectives: At the end of this training, it is envisioned that participants will be able ​​to: Define the term “youth” Identify and practice effective ways of meeting youth and young people “where they are” Build authentic connections with young people based on lived experience, regardless of differences in age or other experiences Identify stigmatizing language used to describe young people and effectively reframe such language through the lens of peer values Understand how resistance or other actions may be forms of self-advocacy, communication, or responses to trauma Identify common responses to trauma that young people experience Support young people in exploring different ways to heal from trauma Utilize foundational knowledge of power and privilege to support youth experiencing oppression Assist young people in learning to advocate for themselves within the settings that young people must navigate Set and hold boundaries with persons served and coworkers Identify challenges and ethical boundaries for supporting family members of a young person Facilitators Amey Dettmer Amey Dettmer has nearly fifteen years of experience in the peer support workforce. She has worked as a peer support specialist in direct service settings, as a peer supervisor, and as a nationally recognized peer support educator. Amey is a well known leader in the peer support movement and has worked with peer supporters in all 50 states and from around the World. She was recognized by the National Association of Peer Supporters(N.A.P.S.)  in 2018 with the “Disruptive Innovator Award” highlighting her work in youth peer leadership and honoring her as a young adult who has made a significant transformative contribution to the field of Peer Support through leadership, programming, and activism.  Amey is distinguished as an Advanced Level Facilitator, an Organizational Intentional Peer Support Trainer, a Youth and Young Adult Peer Support Trainer, and an Alternatives to Suicide group facilitator. She currently is employed with Pathways Vermont as a statewide training specialist. Currently, she serves as chair of the Vermont Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Council and is a Board Member of Disability Rights Vermont.   When not pursuing her passion for peer support, Amey is focusing her energy on motherhood and raising her children in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She enjoys hiking, kayaking, watching wildlife and building meaningful connections in her local community. Vanessa Williams Vanessa Williams (she/her) is a Certified Peer and Recovery Support Specialist, trainer, and mental health advocate. Since beginning her journey in 2010 as a Warm Line specialist and supervisor, Vanessa has made significant strides in the field of peer support. She has presented at several behavioral health agencies and conferences on the importance of employment opportunities for behavioral health peer support specialists.She offers continuing education training courses for Peer Specialists and facilitates support groups to support and uplift the Black community. Vanessa also serves as the Board President for the National Association of Peer Supporters (N.A.P.S.).  Specializing in the application of accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (A-JEDI) principles, Vanessa helps organizations enhance their workplace culture, leading to improved representation, productivity, and employee retention. Her expertise extends to peer support leadership, mentoring, and coaching from a trauma-informed perspective. Vanessa's contributions to healthcare education have earned her recognition as a finalist for The Phoenix Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes awards in 2016 and 2017.   In addition to her peer specialist work, she returned to college and earned an AAS in Organizational Management from Rio Salado College, a BAS in Public Administration from Northern Arizona University, and a MS in Leadership from Grand Canyon University. She is currently working on a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

The Region 6 Peer Support Advisory Committee (PSAC) to the South Southwest MHTTC meets on a monthly basis to collaborate across the states and tribal communities to identify and address common areas of need and share resources. Based on feedback from the PSAC, and needs identified by peers across Region 6, the MHTTC organizes training and technical assistance focused on peer retention and workforce development. This is a closed meeting.