Past Events

Strengthening Resilience: Promoting Positive School Mental Health Among Indigenous Youth  January 13, 2021 12:00pm - 1:00pm MST 1:00pm - 2:00pm CST Join us to learn more about how the information and resources in the new publication developed by the Mountain Plains MHTTC entitled: Strengthening Resilience: Promoting Positive School Mental Health Among Indigenous Youth can be adapted for use in your rural or urban school!    Authors Lavonne Fox, Sarah Nielsen, and Thomasine Heitkamp will review the key components of this toolkit and answer participant questions to support implementing these practices in your school.    Learning Outcomes Understand how to use resilience and culturally responsive practices to support the unmet needs of Indigenous youth.  Develop a deeper understanding of how trauma impacts Indigenous youth, including historical trauma.  Advance participants' understanding of the cultural context of Indigenous youth and how this relates to a school setting.  Learn strategies for incorporating traditional practices such as the Seven Teachings and Circle of Courage into a K-12 setting.    Trainers LaVonne Fox, PhD, OTR/L Sarah Nielsen, PhD, OTR/L Thomasine Heitkamp, LCSW  

Well-Being Wednesdays is a webinar series geared toward education professionals, administrators, and stakeholders, who are working together to create a culture of well-being that supports not only the students in their buildings, but the educators too! Each monthly session will outline each of the 10 ARC practice modules and follow a tell-show-do approach. Content will focus on one skill per session, outlining the skills, providing examples, and encouraging use of the skill. During the last session of the series, participants will be encouraged to identify and practice strategies that align with their personal and professional values, resulting in a “personal recipe for well-being.” In this session, attendees will learn about the different types of relationship vital to adult development including our general social support (and what good social support looks and feelings like), social services (like teaching), role models, mentors, and the unique teacher-student relationship. They will learn a concrete skill that can be applied to all relationship types as they pursue these connections.  

*Originally scheduled for November 11, 2020* FREE CEU TRAINING SPONSORED BY OPRE   The State of New Mexico Office of Peer Recovery and Engagement and the National Hispanic & Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center will offer a peer focused webinar that considers cultural elements of the Hispanic and Latino populations with indigenous perspectives and approaches. The goal of this 90-minute virtual training is to increase the awareness and abilities of peer workers in their use of cultural elements when working with Hispanic and Latino clients. This module will provide training on best practices in the engagement and treatment phase of mental health treatment of Hispanic and Latino clients.    Who should attend? This is an intermediate level educational event designed for peer workers, coordinators, and administrators.     About the presenter:      J Rocky Romero, PhD, LMSW - Dr. J Rocky Romero is the CEO and owner of JR Romero & Associates, a training and consultant company he started almost 20 years ago. Dr. Romero is a former Assistant Professor for New Mexico Highlands University School of Social Work in Albuquerque, NM. He served as the co-chair for Governor Richardson’s appointed NM Higher Education Department on Cultural Competency Task-Force. Dr. Romero has also served as an Executive Council member for the NM-Consortium for Behavioral Health Training and Research. Also, Dr. Romero completed his doctoral studies at the University of New Mexico in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies. Dr. Romero has been a trainer and consultant for the NHL-MHTTC for the last ten years. He is focused on culturally appropriate treatment while focusing on reducing health disparities for people of color.   Please read the following before registering:  The National Hispanic and Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center use GoToWebinar as our online event system.  Audio for the event is accessible via the internet. To receive audio, attendees must join the event by using computers equipped with speakers or dial in via telephone.  After registration, a confirmation email will be generated with instructions for joining the event. To avoid problems with log-in, please use the confirmation email to join the event.  

Trauma-Sensitive Schools Coaches from Region 6 will meet to discuss dissemination of the framework in their schools and how they're addressing trauma during COVID-19. Trauma-Sensitive Schools is a comprehensive approach to creating a school culture that is (a) grounded in an understanding that trauma impacts a significant proportion of students and staff and (b) promotes a safe and supportive environment that contributes to healing and resilience through positive relationships and trauma-specific supports and interventions. The Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Package was developed by the National Center on Safe and Supportive Schools through a contract by the U.S. Department of Education.

  Description: The Pandemic and recent incidents of Police Brutality have shed new light on age-old problems in the U.S. – inequality, systemic racism and disparities in behavioral health. These problems have caused an increase in substance abuse, suicides, child abuse, and depression. Unfortunately, equality in behavioral health care is the ideal but not yet the real. Disparities occur across many dimensions, including race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability status, and sexual orientation – Kaiser Family. This workshop will discuss how the recent incidents of civil unrest due to police brutality and the disproportionate impact of COVID 19 on African Americans, Latinx and aged populations.   Presenter: Anthony President is a Certified Trainer with the Institute for Human Services, Ohio Human Services Training Program, Author and Executive Coach. He holds a BA in Sociology from John Carroll University. He has served with distinction as the Senior Training Officer, for Cuyahoga County Human Services and worked with fragile families as a Social Services Worker. Anthony has over 20 years training experience in both the public and private sector on a variety of Human Service and Employee Development topics.   Learning Objectives: Define systemic racism and disparities Understand the extent of how systemic racism, civil unrest, and disparities has impacted our client population List the factors that can contribute to behavioral health care disparities such as provider bias, economic issues and sociopolitical factors among diverse populations   Contact Hours: 1.5 NAADAC   This event is provided in collaboration by the Central East PTTC, the Central East MHTTC and the Central East ATTC.

Description: This is the second component in a series examining challenges specific populations experience in response to COVID and other traumatic ordeals. A Community of Practice session will also be available to participants who would like to discuss clinical applications of the information provided during the initial webinar. The webinar presenters will draw on their subject matter expertise to facilitate the follow-up Community of Practice session. Download the Flyer here.   Presenters: Philip H. Rainer, M.S.W., LCSW-R, is a senior program associate at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP). He is highly skilled with more than 35 years of experience focused on clinical social work and demonstrated success in staff development; corporate training; program development and management based on promising and best practices; community education; public relations; and individual, group, and marital therapy. He has held leadership positions at several mental and community health organizations in the Albany, NY area. Mr. Rainer holds an M.S.W. from the State University of New York at Albany.  Pat Tucker, M.B.A., M.A., is a senior program associate at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP). Ms. Tucker is an experienced trainer and technical assistance (TA) provider and a nationally recognized leader in supportive housing, supported employment, and community integration for people with disabilities, including those with behavioral health conditions. As one of AHP’s top trainers, her professional experience and creative spirit produce a training style that is concise, easily followed, worthwhile, and fun. Ms. Tucker received her M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and her M.A. in industrial psychology from Roosevelt University. Learning Objectives: Describe how COVID-19 and other traumatic experiences are impacting adults with serious mental illness and/or those with co-occurring substance use disorders Identify resources effective in supporting their health and well-being when in-person supports are less available Recognize person centered and strengths based strategies to reinforce and encourage proactive and protective actions essential for this adult population with long-standing recovery challenges   Who Should Attend? Clinicians, case workers, peer recovery support staff, housing and employment specialists, administrators, and others who work on behalf of adults with serious mental illnesses and/or co-occurring substance use disorders impacted by the COVID-19 and the changes in recovery support environments.   COVID and Post-Trauma Care Series December 7, 2020, 2:00 – 3:00 PM EST Part 1: Supports for Transitioning Young Adults Impacted by COVID-19 and other Traumas January 11, 2021, 2:00 – 3:00 PM EST Part 2: Supports for Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses and/or Co-Occurring Disorders Impacted by COVID-19 and other Traumas REGISTER January 25, 2021, 2:00 – 3:00 PM EST Part 3: Supports for First Responders Impacted by COVID-19 and other Traumas REGISTER   When registering for these webinars, participants will have the option to enroll in the Community of Practice session which will occur on a separate day.   Certificates of attendance will be available to viewers of 50% (30 minutes) or more of each live webinar (via email within 30 business days post-event). CEUs are not offered for this session. Webinar slide presentations and recordings will be posted to the website.  

Registration has closed for this event. Conversations around bias, race, and equity can prove uncomfortable; however, open communication is critical for advancing principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in your mental health organization. Meeting the needs of clients in the diverse Pacific Southwest requires attention to these principles and mental health providers must first build their personal capacity if they hope to deliver equitable services.    Mitigating bias and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion require personal skill-building. These sessions will provide you with tools to communicate, facilitate, and engage in conflict more effectively. Participants will learn the principles of engaging in courageous conversations to advance equity. Opportunities for practicing with peers and self-reflection are embedded in the sessions. Upon completion of the six-part, instructor-led series, participants will leave with a personal action plan and skills they need to advance equity in their work through courageous conversations.

College Mental Health Professionals Community of Practice (CoP): Self-Care and Wellness during COVID-19 Part 1 January 11, 2021 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm MST | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm CST 2020 has brought about an increased level of stress and uncertainty for college students dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. As students' mental health needs continue to escalate, the people serving them; mental/behavioral health providers, campus mental health counselors and staff are finding themselves overwhelmed with the number and frequency of requests from both students and administrators. Without training and support, providers face increasing levels of burn-out, leaving students with the possibility of receiving even fewer critical mental health services.     This CoP is designed for mental health professionals looking to learn and implement effective self-care and wellness strategies in response to the increased workload caused by COVID-19. Participants will identify a self-change project and identify 1-2 things they want to incorporate into their daily routine to promote self-care. They will track their progress throughout the series. Members of the cohort will also learn and practice coping skills and relaxation techniques that can be implemented immediately.    Dates The cohort will be comprised of four 90-minute sessions and will be limited to 12 participants.  All sessions will begin at 1:00 pm MST – 2:30 pm MST.    Session 1: January 11, 2021 Session 2: January 25, 2021 Session 3: February 8, 2021 Session 4: February 22, 2021   Trainers Shannon M. Bennett, Ph.D.  Shannon Bennett is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Attending Psychologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Bennett is the Site Clinical Director for the New York Presbyterian Hospital Youth Anxiety Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. She also serves as the Director of the Tourette Association of America’s Center of Excellence for Tourette Syndrome at Weill Cornell. Dr. Bennett’s research interests include the development and evaluation of novel treatments for anxiety and related disorders, and understanding the mechanisms involved in symptom change. Dr. Bennett currently oversees multiple clinical research studies in the areas of anxiety and related disorders, and has written several papers, book chapters, and treatment manuals on these topics. Dr. Bennett received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Boston University where she contributed to several cognitive-behavioral treatment research programs at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. She was the Co-Founder and Associate Director of the Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Intensive Treatment Program at the University of California, Los Angeles before joining the faculty at Weill Cornell. Dr. Bennett also led a multi-disciplinary research team focused on the psychosocial needs of women who experience perinatal loss, and earned a National Research Service Award for this research effort.  Dr. Bennett was honored with a Career Development Leadership Award from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and serves on the Medical Advisory Board for the Tourette Association of America. Dr. Bennett was a Principal Investigator of the Treating Tourette Together project, which was a federally funded initiative to plan the next phase of behavioral therapy research for Tourette Syndrome.   Anne Marie Albano, PhD  Anne Marie Albano is a Professor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry at Columbia University, founder of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, and Clinical Site Director of New York Presbyterian Hospital's Youth Anxiety Center. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Albano is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a Beck Institute Scholar, and is Board Certified in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Dr. Albano received the Herbert Pardes Faculty Fellowship (2017-2020) at Columbia University Medical Center, was the recipient of the 2015 ABCT Award for Outstanding Contributions by an Individual for Clinical Activities, and in 2008 the Rosenberry Award for service to children, adolescents and families from the University of Colorado at Denver. Dr. Albano is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, a past president of the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology of the American Psychological Association, and past president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). She is a past editor of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, past associate editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and founding editor of the journal "Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health". She has published more than 200 articles and chapters and is the co-author of several cognitive behavioral treatment manuals and of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children, all published by Oxford University Press.   Andrea Temkin, Psy.D. Andrea Temkin, Psy.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She is a licensed psychologist with expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety, depression, attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and related conditions. Dr.  Temkin earned her Psy.D. from The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University where she received training at the Youth Anxiety and Depression Center. Her research focused on improving treatments for children and adolescents through technology and through the use of transdiagnostic interventions. Dr. Temkin also looked at ways to improve the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices through collaboration with community-based clinicians. Dr. Temkin completed her clinical internship at Bellevue Hospital Center/New York University Child Study Center. During this time she earned specialized training in treatments for ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders. Following her intern year, she was a post-doctoral fellow at the Youth Anxiety Center at Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian where she contributed to clinical and research efforts focused on youth and young adults.     Lauren Hoffman, Psy.D. Lauren Hoffman, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD) at Columbia University Medical Center, where she also completed her postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Hoffman received her B.A. with honors in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and her doctorate in clinical psychology from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She completed her predoctoral clinical internship at the NYU Child Study Center and Bellevue Hospital Center. Dr. Hoffman specializes in providing cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and depressive disorders in children, adolescents, and young adults. She also has clinical expertise in family and school-based interventions for youth with disruptive behavior disorders, as well as extensive clinical training in dialectical behavioral therapy for adolescent emotion dysregulation and nonsuicidal self-injury. Dr. Hoffman’s research has examined parent-child agreement on treatment goals, the relationship between bullying and emotional distress, and the development of novel assessments and interventions for bullied youth. Her current research interests also include the use of novel technology, such as virtual reality, to improve access to care for youth and young adults with anxiety. Dr. Hoffman has presented her work at national conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.  

January 11, 2021  10:00am–2:00pm CST 11:00am–3:00pm EST  The Great Lakes MHTTC offers this training for mental health and other behavioral health professionals in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI.    Introduction to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is the first in a series of seven DBT modules that will be presented every three weeks. This session will introduce the basic concepts of DBT including: • defining five areas of dysregulation, • the etiology and biosocial theory of emotion dysregulation, and • epidemiology and prevalence of borderline personality disorder. This session will also cover the structure and components of DBT, such as individual therapy, skills training, telephone consultation and the use of a consultation team. Finally, Introduction to DBT will cover the stages of treatment and the strategies to engage change.   Learning Objectives 1. Describe the biosocial theory and the transactional relationship between biology and the invalidating environment. 2. Identify at least three different levels of validation. 3. Describe the concept of dialectics. 4. Explain the hierarchy of target behaviors.   Presenter Lesley Baird Chapin, Psy.D. is the Vice President and Executive Director of the Pauquette Center for Psychological Services and the DBT consultant and trainer for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Dr. Chapin completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire in 2005 and received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Denver in 2009. She completed her internship at CMC-Randolph Behavioral Health in Charlotte, North Carolina, and her post-doctoral supervision with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. She has practiced in inpatient, outpatient, residential, correctional and forensic settings with adolescents, adults, and families since 2006 and has extensive training in DBT and Prolonged Exposure therapy. Dr. Chapin is a board-certified DBT clinician, certified by the Linehan Board of Certification in multiple DBT protocols and applications including prolonged exposure, complex trauma substance use, adolescent, and child.

  SERIES DESCRIPTION The Central East MHTTC in collaboration with the National Center for School Mental Health is pleased to offer a school mental health webinar series with a focus on advancing high quality, sustainable school mental health from a multi-tiered system of support, trauma sensitive, and culturally responsive and equitable lens. To familiarize yourself with the foundations of school mental health, please review the school mental health guidance document. Download the Series flyer here.   OBJECTIVES Gain increased awareness of high quality, sustainable multi-tiered system of school mental health supports and services Support trauma-informed systems in schools Discover the impacts of social determinants of health on student academic and social-emotional-behavioral success Learn to provide more culturally responsive and equitable services and supports Hear perspectives on school mental health from school, district and state levels Obtain insight into how youth, families, schools and communities can best work together to address student mental health needs   WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Educators, Administrators, Health and Behavioral Health Care Professionals, Child-Serving Agency Staff, Policymakers and Advocates interested in improving high quality, sustainable school mental health across a multi-tiered system of support.   Scheduled Webinars for September 2020 – January 2021 Wednesday, September 2, 2020, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Integrating Social-Emotional Learning into the Classroom Recording   Slides   Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth Recording   Slides   Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Promoting Educator Well-Being: Understanding and Combatting Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress Recording   Slides   Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Addressing Racial Stress and Trauma Recording   Slides Wednesday, January 6, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Trauma Responsive Care for Younger Students Register   Registration questions, Dr. Sylvia McCree-Huntley, [email protected] 410-706-0981

State-level staff from Project AWARE teams will meet to discuss Project AWARE media strategies. Project AWARE grants are awarded for the purpose of expanding the capacity of state education agencies - working in partnership with state mental health authorities - to expand mental health awareness, training, and services in 3 local education agencies. Funding for these grants comes from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Please join us in our weekly open forum to listen and share suggestions/resources. Special attention will be paid to resiliency, strength, overcoming challenges of social distancing, and supporting mental health professionals in their efforts to adapt their delivery of services. Times for this session: 11:00am – 12:00pm AKST 12:00pm – 1:00pm PST 1:00pm – 2:00pm MST 2:00pm – 3:00pm CST 3:00pm – 4:00pm EST

National ACT Virtual Meetings & Discussion Forum to Address Impact of COVID-19 Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a multidisciplinary, team-based model that provides intensive community-based and outreach-oriented services to people who experience the most severe and persistent mental illness. The vast majority also have a co-occurring substance use disorder and many experience comorbid medical illnesses as well as homelessness. This is a vulnerable population and their providers – ACT teams – are at elevated risk themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual Meetings The Northwest MHTTC is partnering with the Institute for Best Practices at the University of North Carolina to host and facilitate regular meetings for ACT teams. Goals of the meetings are to: connect with one other share strategies and resources for adapting team practices and communications    facilitate connection to the most up-to-date resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Virtual Discussion Forum In addition to the meet-up, we have also created a Virtual Discussion Forum to help organize information, resources, and strategies used across teams. You can participate in the forum as a guest, or sign up as a member. Within the Discussion Forum are specific board topics: Support for ACT Service Recipients; Support for ACT Team Staff; Info and Updates: Federal Sources; Info and Updates: State and Local Sources; ACT Fidelity and COVID-19 Pandemic; and Words of Encouragement. Click on a board of interest to read existing threads, react to threads, or post new threads. Recordings of prior meetings are also posted at this forum.   Guest Speaker/Topic Kicking off the New Year with a Crash Course on Developing Meaningful Objectives within Person-Centered Planning by Lorna Moser, PhD, Director of UNC's Institute for Best Practices. For more information or questions, contact: Maria Monroe-DeVita or Lorna Moser, PhD, Director of the UNC ACT Technical Assistance Center in the UNC Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health; and Coordinator of the North Carolina ACT Coalition.  

This is a closed training. Please contact Megan Dotson for more information.

What is the Family Bridger Program? The Family Bridger (FB) is a novel peer-to-peer model of support to address unmet needs of caregivers of loved ones experiencing early psychosis. While family and caregiver engagement is critical to improving long-term outcomes of individuals experiencing early psychosis, negative caregiver experiences can impede recovery. Peer navigator models have been demonstrated to be a successful method of addressing unmet caregiver needs, though such support for caregivers of loved ones experiencing psychosis is limited. The Family Bridger Program was developed to train caregivers with long-term lived experience caring for an individual experiencing psychosis (Family Bridgers) to serve as peer navigators to address these needs for newer caregivers via interpersonal support, education, advocacy, resource provision, and skill building. FB’s work collaboratively with caregivers to identify needs, co-develop a plan of action, and work with families to meet identified needs. Please note: Enrollment is currently limited to families engaged in New Journeys coordinated specialty care programs in Washington State. This training is hosted by the Northwest MHTTC in partnership with the SPIRIT Lab at the University of Washington, the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the Washington State Center of Excellence in Early Psychosis. Project Overview/Goals New Journeys team members may refer interested caregivers who will be able to meet with Family Bridgers via teleconsultation in one-hour sessions as frequently as once a week, up to 10 times across 5 months. Family Bridgers receive weekly consultation to aid in session planning, manage common challenges, identify successes, and to provide an opportunity for additional feedback and reactions to the program, and/or areas for improvement/additional consideration. The primary goals of the pilot are: Demonstrate feasibility by recruiting and training Family Bridgers and enrolling caregivers of clients engaged in New Journeys coordinated specialty care programs for early psychosis in Washington State. Collect feedback and program metrics at two timepoints from enrolled caregivers, Family Bridgers, and referring New Journeys team members. Develop training curriculum and program manual to facilitate broader implementation.

Have a training or technical assistance question regarding mental health service provision or school mental health in the Pacific Southwest MHTTC region of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, or the Pacific Islands? Join us for monthly PS MHTTC Office Hours! Once a month, PS MHTTC staff will host a virtual meeting for the mental health and school mental health workforce to pose questions, access support, and share resources. Office Hours are held 3-4 p.m. PT on every 4th Monday of the month, October through January, and on the 3rd Monday in February. Please register at by 3 p.m. PT on the dates you would like to attend.

Mental Health Providers are skilled at helping others manage emotional difficulties and crises, but how good are we at asking for help when we need it? During this presentation, we will talk about when and how to get support for yourself. We will also talk about how to give yourself permission to need support from others, and share ideas about reaching out when you need it.

For people who are grieving, holidays can often be times of immense sadness. While others are celebrating, people coping with loss can feel alone and in emotional pain. This webinar will present several activities designed to help people who are grieving reframe the holiday season into a time of celebration for the life of a loved one rather than a time of mourning for the loss of that loved one. The activities presented will be applicable to secular holidays as well as the holidays celebrated within Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faith traditions. Presenter: Douglas Smith has been the lead instructor for the University of Wisconsin’s Grief Support Services Certificate program, which has trained over 600 healthcare professions in 39 states and 14 countries. He has conducted extensive grief training workshops in all 50 states and internationally. He also has extensive personal experiences related to grief.

Please join us for our weekly sessions at 2- 3pm CST. With schools re-opening just around the corner and many complications still unknown, tribal schools and communities are faced with making very tough decisions about moving forward. The challenge posed by this crisis adds to existing issues present in some Native communities such as teacher shortages and the lack of infrastructure for high speed internet, which further impedes their ability to offer appropriate distance learning programs. The MHTTC K-12 program invites the entire school community (students, parents, teachers, counselors, and principals) to our special weekly listening sessions covering topics that are important for you as we go through this new school year together. “Throughout their history, tribes have faced numerous and dark challenges, and they have always managed to overcome…It’s been a story of resilience and perseverance.” — Eric Henson

Families of persons with serious mental illness play an important role in the lives of their loved ones. In addition to being caring siblings, parents or spouses, they often function as caregivers and can be an asset to any mental health team to assure optimal benefit of treatment. A new workforce is emerging to support these families. Family peer support workers are persons with a lived experience trained to provide support to other family members who are caring for a person with a serious mental illness. Join us every month for our Family Peer Support: An Emerging Workforce webinar series, which will expand upon concepts outlined in our Aug. 4 webinar. Speakers will outline SAMHSA-published competencies in peer support and explore how persons with lived experience as a family member, friend or other caregiver of a person with a mental illness can support others in a similar situation, and discuss the training needs of this emerging workforce. Content is tailored to address needs within our four-state region — Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri — but all are welcome. Certificates of completion will be provided to viewers of 50% or more of the live webinars.

The Great Lakes MHTTC and PTTC present this webinar for prevention practitioners and mental health professionals in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI For many of us, the accumulated stress, grief, fatigue, and despair of the Covid-19 crisis pose a significant challenge to our coping resources. While this perfect storm of stressors may be unprecedented, there is much we know about how to cope with and manage stress, even at these levels.  In this talk, Dr. Kanter will describe new research on predictors of coping with the crisis and effective interventions for reducing depression and loneliness during the crisis. Dr. Kanter integrates these new findings with established science and offers strategies for managing the psychological consequences of the crisis in our everyday lives. Learning Objectives: Review results of national research on effective coping tips during the pandemic (helpful in non-pandemic times as well) Understand and practice evidence-based mindfulness strategies for effective coping Understand and practice evidence-based strategies for improving well being and closeness with others Presenter: Dr. Jonathan Kanter, University of Washington's Center for the Science of Social Connection Dr. Jonathan Kanter is Director of the University of Washington’s Center for the Science of Social Connection. Over the course of his career, Dr. Kanter has investigated psychosocial interventions for depression, including how to disseminate culturally appropriate, easy-to-train, evidence-based approaches, with emphasis on evidence-based treatments such as behavioral activation for groups who lack resources and access to care. Dr. Kanter has published over 100 scientific papers and 9 books on these topics and his work has been funded by NIH, SAMHSA, state governmental organizations, foundations, and private donors. He is regularly invited to give talks and workshops nationally and internationally. When the COVID-19 crisis hit Seattle, the Center pivoted its resources to understand and mitigate the relational and mental health consequences of the crisis, to assist with public health efforts, and to inform the public dialogue with scientifically informed advice. Dr. Kanter has been asked to comment on the relational and mental health consequences of the crisis by, and the Center’s response to the crisis has been featured on, NPR, the BBC, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, National Geographic, and other local and national news outlets.

Facilitated by Northwest PTTC   DESCRIPTION Learn how legalization for non-medical marijuana use has transformed the cannabis plant into manufactured products of high THC potency. Washington State researchers will share a recently published Washington State Scientists Consensus Statement on high potency cannabis and the findings of an accompanying report from this same group. Washington State community prevention partners will explore the prevention and policy implications from this research report and investigate advocacy opportunities. Please note: This event will be limited to 500 attendees. Access to the live event will be available to registered participants on a first come, first serve basis. To secure a spot, we invite you to log on 5 - 10 minutes prior to the event. OBJECTIVES By the end of the webinar, participants will have increased their capacity to: Cite the research discussing the impacts of modern high potency THC; identify related policy implications; and validate opportunities for community advocacy efforts. DATE Thursday, December 17, 2020 TIMES 09:00 am – 10:30 am Alaska 10:00 am – 11:30 am Pacific 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Mountain Find it in your timezone. AUDIENCE Community and state-level prevention practitioners, allied health partners and community members working to prevent substance misuse in the Northwest Region (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington). DOWNLOAD FLYER PRESENTERS   Bia Carlini, PhD, MPH leads the Cannabis Research and Education Unit at UW ADAI. Her research career has been dedicated to understanding the public health impact of legal psychoactive substances such as alcohol, inhalants, tobacco, and cannabis. Dr. Carlini is especially interested in the impact of cannabis and tobacco use on perpetuating health and social disparities.   Michael McDonell, PhD conducts research on the impact of cannabis on mental illness, especially on the mental health of youth experiencing psychosis. His other research focuses on testing treatments for co-occurring substance use disorders and severe mental illness. He also partners with American Indian and Alaska Native communities to test the new treatments for alcohol and drug problems. Liz Wilhelm, CPP is a Certified Prevention Professional (CPP) and coordinates the Prevention Works in Seattle (WINS) Coalition through Seattle Children’s Hospital. Liz has been working in the Washington State substance abuse prevention and community health field for over 25 years in a variety of settings. Adding to her community prevention work, Liz serves on the Prevention Specialist Certification Board of Washington, being a founding member and on the WASAVP (Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention) board advocating for sound policies and funded prevention strategies. Recipient of the Health Care Authority (HCA) 2018 Prevention Professional Award of Excellence, Liz is committed to this work.   CERTIFICATES Participants will receive a continuing education certificate of 1.5 hours for this live webinar event. QUESTIONS? Please contact Clarissa Lam Yuen ([email protected]) for any questions related to registration. For any other questions, please contact Janet Porter ([email protected]). Want more information? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's Resource Library and Websites by Topic  and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.