Past Events

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.   Weekly 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 and ACT stakeholders. These meetings will be held weekly on Mondays at 12:00-1:30 pm Pacific/3:00-4:30 pm Eastern. 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 outbreak.   Virtual Discussion Forum In addition to the weekly 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.   For more information or questions, contact: Maria Monroe-Devita, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine; Co-Director of the Northwest MHTTC; and Director, Washington State Center of Excellence in First Episode Psychosis. 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.

Communities are increasingly recognizing that people in behavioral health crisis have diverse and complex needs, and that simply creating a single crisis response program does not meet those needs successfully.   Further, it is clear that lack of effective crisis response is likely to lead to inappropriate arrests and incarceration, ER boarding, increased suicide rates, and - most tragically - painful challenges for individuals and families attempting to get help.  For that reason, in the past few years, the national conversation has turned to looking at the need for comprehensive and effective BH crisis SYSTEMS to serve the needs of communities (of all types) across the nation. Such systems should be viewed as Essential Community Services (like EMS and fire) that are responsive to everyone and "owned" and accountable to the community as a whole.  The Group for Advancement of Psychiatry Committee on Psychiatry and the Community (Dr. Minkoff is co-chair, and Dr. Flaum and Balfour are among the members) has worked for the past four years to put together a nearly completed documented outlining in detail the essential elements and measurable criteria for such a system, and steps for any community to make progress in achieving it. This presentation will illustrate the major components of such a system, including Accountability and Funding; Comprehensive Array of Components; and Essential Best Practices.   About the Presenter Ken Minkoff, MD Dr. Minkoff, a board-certified addiction psychiatrist, has been recognized as one of the most preeminent experts on integrated services and systems for individuals with co-occurring serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders. For over 40 years, he has worked to develop services and systems to best meet the needs of individuals, families, and populations with the greatest challenges. Dr. Minkoff has been involved in service provision, management, and consultation in almost every area of behavioral health. He serves on the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee, created by the 21st Century CURES Act to bring multiple federal departments together to create a transformed system of care for individuals and families addressing serious mental illness and serious emotional disturbance. Dr. Minkoff is co-chair of the Committee on Psychiatry and the Community for Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, which is developing the Ideal Crisis System materials being discussed today.  He and his consulting partner Dr. Christie A. Cline, MD, MBA, are currently providing consultation to communities interested in developing BH crisis systems and services. Dr. Minkoff is active in influencing policy and practice on a national and state level.

This webinar will identify stressors particular to the Hispanic and Latino population that can be exacerbated during quarantine as a result of infectious disease outbreaks. Also, the webinar will cover stress management tools during a stressful event such as a pandemic for mental health providers to use with their Hispanic and Latino clients. Special considerations for Latino youth mental health will be also provided. Objectives:   1. Identify particular stressors in the Hispanic and Latino population. 2. Describe stress management skills, including face-to-face and long-distance coping skills.  3. Describe considerations for youth mental health during a pandemic.   

Public health emergencies can provide a number of challenges for mental health facilities’ capacity to provide care to the populations they serve. Administrators and providers can take important steps to prepare for these emergencies and respond when they occur. This webinar will provide guidance on how these organizations can prepare for a public health crisis, develop continuity of operations plans, make needed service modifications, and address staffing concerns. By the end ofthis webinar, participants will have knowledge regarding: Why mental health systems must be prepared for public health emergencies Continuity of Operations Surge and Community Response Additional Resources

In the Managing Chronic Pain in the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Webinar Series, Drs. Christian Klepper, Chase Grosse and Tyler Brown will discuss the ways behavioral health providers understand, assess and manage chronic pain in the primary care setting. The first webinar will focus on conceptualizations and models of pain; the second will focus on assessment; and the third will focus on treatment. All of these concepts will be presented within the context of the behavioral health provider working with the medical home team.

The Peer Support Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (PS ECHO) is a movement to share knowledge, and amplify capacity to provide best practices. The PS ECHO is an online community for Peer Recovery Specialist and Mental Health Peers to: Share community and statewide resources Learn new skills and tools for doing peer work Meet and connect with other peers    

Dr. Rao will present socio-behavioral and mental health-related barriers to engagement in care for people with HIV. She will also discuss research to develop stigma reduction interventions to help people with HIV achieve HIV viral suppression and improve their overall quality of life.    Speaker Deepa Rao, PhD, MA is Professor in the Departments of Global Health and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and her professional interests are to implement effective interventions to improve mental health and reduce stigma for people with various conditions such as breast and cervical cancer, HIV, diabetes, and depression. She works in the United States on stigma reduction efforts, in South Africa on building mental health research capacity, and in India with pregnant women with depressive symptoms and experiences of domestic violence. She is the Associate Director of the Center for AIDS Research Behavioral Science Core, Associate Director of Global Mental Health, and the Associate Director of the M.P.H. program in Global Health at the University of Washington.      Application for CME credit has been filed with the American Academy of Family Physicians.  Determination of credit is pending. CME sponsorship provided by:     

Time: 3:00pm - 4:00pm PT In times of uncertainty, there is one thing we do know: educators and school mental health leadership are resilient, creative, tenacious and…needing support to provide support. The context of our schools is changing, and the context of our work is changing. In times of uncertainty, unpredictability, and potentially overwhelming stress, now is the time to gather and resource one another as much as possible. In collaboration with the Meaning Makers Collective, we’re pleased to offer three School Mental Health Wellness Wednesdays. Each Wellness Wednesday is a 60-minute virtual session for the school mental health workforce to call in, connect, reflect, and support each other through this time period. Please note that the three Wellness Wednesdays are not a sequence; you can join us for one, two, or all three.   What: Three virtual learning discussion Hours for school mental health practitioners from Region 9 who want to share experiences, exchange resources, and ask and answer questions with and for each other. Who: For state and local education agency education and behavioral health leaders, community-based organization staff, teachers, school site leaders, district administration, principals, school-based mental health staff, student support service providers, and anyone else who would like to join.   We look forward to gathering and supporting all of you who support. March 25: http://bit.ly/ww-mar25 April 1: http://bit.ly/ww-apr1 April 8: http://bit.ly/ww-apr8

The South Southwest MHTTC has partnered with the Texas Education Agency and Texas Health and Human Services to develop a school mental health learning collaborative for mental health teams working in Texas' Regional Service Centers. The regional mental health teams will be training school mental health teams in their districts to expand their services and meet all all of the legislated school mental health requirements recently enacted in Texas.

Peer recovery support services (PRSS) are increasingly being offered across diverse criminal justice settings to address opioid misuse and achieve positive outcomes. The power and potential of PRSS comes from the unique roles that peers play, promoting both hope and pragmatic steps for change. As peer practitioners move into a variety of roles in the criminal justice system, programs need to be mindful and knowledgeable about how to effectively provide peer support to minority and underserved populations and ensure cultural responsiveness on individual, programmatic, and organizational levels. Hosted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance in collaboration with the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) team at the Altarum Institute’s Center for Behavioral Health, the South Southwest MHTTC was proud to partner with the organizers to feature Reggie Smith, Team Lead for the Peer Services Unit at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), as part of this 1-hour webcast on "Peer Services in African American Communities.

Northwest MHTTC faculty, staff and Advisory Board members gathered online on March 25, 2020. This meeting focused on pandemic response. Meeting Notes Summary Meeting Slides   Advisory Board Contact List As of December 2019 

Calm Moments Cards Program School Communities of Practice (CoP) Drs. Nielsen and Fox worked with schools throughout the region to address student mental health. Communities of Practice (CoP) were developed and in the third training, Drs. Nielsen and Fox spoke to symptoms of stress and anxiety and the impact on learning. They explained the purpose of the Calm Moments Cards program and assisted in the development of plans for using Calm Moments Cards. This training was a private event. If you are interested in similar training for your school, please contact Sarah Nielsen at at [email protected].   Trainers Dr. Sarah Nielsen Dr. LaVonne Fox Calm Moments Cards Every Moment Counts is a mental health promotion initiative developed to help all children and youth become mental healthy in order to succeed in school, at home and in the community.   As described on their website, "The Calm Moments Cards program was specially developed, implemented and evaluated in 2014-2016 in order to build the capacity of diverse school personnel (teachers, related service providers, para-educators, and administrators) to recognize signs of stress and anxiety in students during 17 typical situational stressors (e.g. taking a test, completing a writing assignment, transitioning to another class) and apply evidence-based embedded strategies to help reduce stress and anxiety and enhance emotional well-being in order to improve school function.   Each of the 17 Calm Moments Cards includes easy-to-implement evidence-based strategies in the following areas:   Thinking strategies (cognitive behavioral) Focusing & Calming strategies (mindfulness, yoga) Sensory strategies (visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive)                                                                                                                                              

Native American Summit on Spirituality: Cultural Inclusion into Mental Health Assessments for Native Americans Please note: the face-to-face event has been cancelled. We are planning to run a series of virtual meetings and reschedule a face-to-face event in the near future. Click the registration button above to register for the first virtual session on Friday, March 20 from 2-4pm EDT, 1-3pm CDT, 12-2pm MDT, 11am-1pm PDT, 10am-12pm ADT.  The American Indian and Alaska Native ATTC and MHTTC have invited spiritual leaders from American Indian and Alaska Native communities to come together to discuss the importance of spirituality in the treatment of behavioral health and mental health disorders. Spirituality is often left out of counseling and therapeutic relationships, but is an essential part of healing and change for many clients.  Behavioral health, mental health, and addiction treatment professionals, spiritual leaders, social workers, and other health service professionals are welcome to attend this important discussion on methods for integrating spirituality into their work with clients. Click here for promotional flyer.  

Substance Use Disorder Services In The Days Of A Pandemic: You're Going To Need A Bigger Boat!   Friday, March 20, 2020  1:00pm ET, 12:00pmCT 11:00am MT, 10:00amPT Providing SUD services during a pandemic requires a mix of disaster preparedness, safety precautions, telehealth, and ethics. During her tenure as a leader in SUD treatment, Sheila Weix has been involved with emergencies related to the HIV epidemic, 9/11, and the 2008 economic collapse. She is currently applying this experience in an outpatient treatment service that includes medication-assisted treatment in rural Wisconsin during the COVID19 pandemic. Webinar participants will learn about: Safety precautions How to move all services to telehealth Reimbursement contingencies Leadership actions underway to address this rapidly changing situation     

Arizona has spent the past several decades developing a crisis system that is widely regarded as one of the most advanced in the nation. In this model, a robust continuum of services work together in concert to provide high-quality care in the least-restrictive setting that can safely meet the person’s needs while also ensuring fiscal sustainability and responsible stewardship of community resources. This webinar will describe key features of the Arizona model including: overview of the crisis continuum; governance, financing, and accountability; examples of collaboration with law enforcement and other community partners; and strategies for using data to drive continuous system improvement.   About the Presenter Margie Balfour, MD, PhD A psychiatrist and national leader in quality improvement and behavioral health crisis services, Dr. Margie Balfour is the Chief of Quality and Clinical Innovation at Connections Health Solutions, which provides access to mental health and substance use care throughout Arizona, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona. Dr. Balfour was named the Doctor of the Year by the National Council for Behavioral Health for her work at the Crisis Response Center in Tucson. She was awarded the Tucson Police Department’s medal of honor for her efforts to help law enforcement better serve the mentally ill population. She serves on the board of directors of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists, The American Association for Emergency Psychiatry, and NAMI Southern Arizona. She earned her MD and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati, and completed her residency and fellowship in Public Psychiatry at the University of Texas.

This event will be virtual on 5/19/2020 Hector R. Matascastillo, MSW, LICSW, is an 18-year U.S. Army Veteran. In this four-hour training, Hector will present on veteran culture and its parallel with mental health from a historical perspective.   Part I:  Literary history of trauma and the military Part II: Trauma as a framework for viewing the problem. Part III : Resilience as the antidote to trauma Part IV:  Hector will share his own military story of trauma, recovery and resilience.    

Description: This four-part webinar series will share information and discuss applications that practitioners and others can use to help engage and activate individuals with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders in person-centered treatment and services.   Presenter: Iruma Bello, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and is the Co-Associate Director and Clinical Training Director of OnTrackNY and Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her research and practice focus on improving outcomes for individuals diagnosed with first episode psychosis. Iruma received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and completed her clinical internship and post-doctoral training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.   Amanda Saake, LCSW, CPRP, is a Special Assistant to the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health,  and directs the Office of Consumer Affairs. Previously she was Director of Training & The Center for Rehabilitation & Recovery at The Coalition for Behavioral Health in New York City. In that role, she oversaw training and technical assistance to build capacity of community-based providers to deliver high quality, recovery-oriented services. Amanda is a graduate of Marywood University (Scranton, PA) and Columbia University School of Social Work (New York, NY).   Learning Objectives: Provide service providers with information about two tools which can help establish positive relationships and productive communication with individuals often considered “difficult to engage.” Provide examples of how these tools can be applied in a range of settings and with diverse groups of people. Offer opportunities to discuss practical challenges and opportunities for implementing these tools in day-to-day practice.   Who Should Attend? Clinicians and practitioners working in mental health and substance use services, managers and supervisors, people using services and their families.

The Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, in partnership with the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center for Resiliency, Hope, and Wellness in Schools at the University of Southern California, present the: 2019-2020 Webinar Series: Creating Trauma-Responsive Schools The first 100 registrants can attend the live webinar. Webinars will be recorded and posted on the Northwest MHTTC website within a few days and links will be sent out through our mailing list. Each webinar requires separate registration. Register only if you plan to attend the live webinar and consider joining in a central location if multiple people from your school, district or organization plan to attend.   Webinar #4: Trauma-Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment Tool (TRS-IA) Times: 11-12:30 p.m. PT / 10-11:30 a.m. AK / 12-1:30pm MT This webinar describes the systematic development of a Trauma-Responsive School Framework co-developed by the National Center for School Mental Health and the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center for Resilience, Hope and Wellness in Schools. The webinar provides an overview of how this framework was translated into an online assessment tool for schools and districts - The Trauma-Responsive School Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA). Presenters will demonstrate how to use the TRS-IA tool can be used to gauge a sites current level of trauma-responsiveness and how to use the tool’s feedback reports to help sites transform into trauma-responsive systems. Finally, presenters will review strategies for integrating the tool into strategic planning activities. Learn more about the six-part series and register for all six webinars here.   Presenter Bios Vivien Villaverde, MS SW, PPSC, LCSW is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Field Education Department of the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and a member of the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center for Schools. She is a trained School Social Worker who was affiliated with the Los Angeles Unified School District for about 10 years. Prof. Villaverde has expertise in trauma-informed intervention, disaster/crisis response and trauma-responsive program development. She has extensive background in collaboration and education systems change. Her expertise includes training and consultation with school districts in trauma-responsive transformation including program development, EBP training, and policy development. Prof. Villaverde collaborates with the California Department of Education and has partnered internationally with South Korea and the Republic of the Philippines. In addition, she uses the “Social Responses to the Human Impacts of Climate Change” Grand Challenge in her disaster response planning work in Asia. She is also the Teaching Institution (TI) Coordinator at the School of Social Work. As the Coordinator, she engages in different innovation to promote university-community partnership for quality MSW internship and for community capacity-building.   Pamela Vona, MA, MPH, is currently the Program Manager for the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center for Resilience, Hope and Wellness in Schools. Her interests include understanding how to support the implementation of trauma practices in the school setting. Specifically, her work has focused on how web-based platforms can support training in and implementation of evidence-based practices in schools. Ms. Vona served as a lead developer of the Trauma Responsive School Implementation Assessment—an online assessment designed to help schools improve their trauma-responsiveness.  She is also leading the development of the Trauma Informed Skills for Developers (TISE) curriculum designed to enhance educators’ trauma knowledge and skills. Ms. Vona serves on the School Committee Workgroup for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) and previously was a member of the NCTSN Policy Task Force.   Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.  

Build your Motivational Interviewing (MI) skills through the free Motivational Interviewing Learning Collaborative! Third Wednesday each month, beginning February 19, 2020.  10:00-10:45am CST The Great Lakes MHTTC and PTTC will host a series of interactive calls via Zoom for people who want to enhance their MI skills. This learning opportunity provides practitioners with a no-cost, easy to access opportunity to continue to build their practice skills towards fidelity.  All sessions will be geared towards multiple levels of learning.  Attend all sessions or select from the menu (see list of dates and topics below). Calls last for 45 minutes You only need to register one time for the Zoom link to the calls  ​​​ Trainer: Laura Saunders State Project Manager, Wisconsin Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC Laura A. Saunders, MSSW, is the Wisconsin State Project Manager for the Great Lakes Addiction, Mental Health and Prevention Technology Transfer  Centers. Her position is housed at the UW–Madison, where she’s worked since 1988. Since 2001, Laura has provided SBIRT and Motivational Interviewing training to physicians, nurses, medical students, psychologists, specialty addiction treatment providers, social workers, physical therapists, health educators, and staff who work in correctional settings. She has provided feedback and coaching to hundreds of social workers, correctional staff,  and other human service providers who are interested in using evidence-based practices with fidelity. Laura joined the international group of Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) in 2006 (Sophia, Bulgaria) and is an active member of the Wisconsin MINT group.   February 19 Your MI Spirit Is Showing March 18  Let Your Partner (Client, Consumer, Customer, Patient) Know You're Working Hard to Understand April 15 WHY Not Ask WHY And Other Things to Think About With Open Questions May 20 Taming Your Inner Cheerleader: Be Proud Of You and How Well You Can Use Affirmations June 17 Gold Star Things to Say (Genuinely!)  July 15 What To Do When the Client Says Something About Changing Their Behavior August 19 What to Do When The Client Seems Stuck About Changing Their Behavior September 16  Pay Attention to Discord October 21 Guess What Happens When You Ask for Change Talk? November 18:   TBD December 16:   TBD 

We are postponing this meeting at this time. We will send an e-mail to all registrants about this and we will inform everyone once it is rescheduled. Thank you!   PRCH – Program for Recovery and Community Health is organizing a meeting with providers (clinicians, case managers, and peers support) to engage in a meaningful conversation about recovery. This means that we will work around your needs to provide qualify training, products and information to reduce health disparities among Hispanics and Latinos experiencing mental health disorders. The Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH) is partnering with the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC, and Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC. For more information, please reach out to [email protected].

Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) is a skills-based, group intervention that is aimed at relieving symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and general anxiety among children exposed to trauma. Children learn skills in relaxation, challenging upsetting thoughts, and social problem solving, as well as work on processing traumatic memories and grief. These skills are learned through the use of drawings and talking in both individual and group settings. Between sessions, children complete assignments and participate in activities that reinforce the skills they’ve learned. CBITS also includes parent and teacher education sessions. The CBITS program has been used most commonly for children in grades six to nine (ages 10 to 15) who have experienced events such as: witnessing or being a victim of violence, being in a natural or man-made disaster, being in an accident or house fire, being physically abused/injured, and/or who are suffering from moderate to severe levels of PTSD symptoms. WHO IS QUALIFIED TO ATTEND: Licensed Mental Health Providers, or Interns working towards licensure, who are working in school settings ONLY! Others will not be permitted into the training. TRAINING DETAILS In this 2-day workshop participants will receive an overview of the mental, health and academic consequences of childhood trauma and PTSD, an introduction to the history and evidence base of CBITS, thorough session by session demonstrations and supervised practice of each core concept for both group and individual sessions, and guidance on implementation and site planning. Participants must be able to commit to: attending both days of training, complete required evaluation post training and 30-day follow-up, and participate on required consultation calls if the school will be implementing CBITS (see below). Following the workshop, each cohort will be required to participate in phone-based clinical coaching support, (if you are implementing in your school) as a group, to enhance their competency and problem-solve barriers to implementation of CBITS. Phone calls will take place on dates/times that are conducive to all/most members of the group. Training manuals will be provided. Participants do not bring your computers as this is an interactive training. Participants will be trained by Certified CBITS trainers from across the US. The first day of the training will occur in Room 104. Day two will be in Room 614. This training is only open to Licensed Mental Health Professionals (or interns working toward a license) working in school settings.

At the Montana Pediatric Mental Health Symposium, Dr. Liza Tupa will present on using the Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Primary Care Practices in a pediatric primary care setting. Primary care providers serve a vital role in the effort to prevent youth suicide, and the Toolkit provides step-by-step information on how to put a suicide prevention protocol in place in any clinic. Please contact Liza Tupa at [email protected], with any questions or concerns.  

This is a 4-part series on the principles and practices of recovery-oriented care. Larry Davidson will lead this webinar series that starts in November.    About Presenter: Larry Davidson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Program for Recovery and Community Health of the School of Medicine at Yale University. He also serves as Director of the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Previously, he was the Project Director for the national Recovery to Practice initiative, also of SAMHSA. His research has focused on processes of recovery in serious mental illnesses and addictions, the development and evaluation of innovative recovery-oriented practices, including peer-delivered recovery supports, and designing and evaluating policies to promote the transformation of behavioral health systems to the provision of recovery-oriented, person-centered, and culturally-responsive care. In addition to being a recipient of psychiatric care, Dr. Davidson has produced over 450 publications, including A Practical Guide to Recovery-Oriented Practice: Tools for Transforming Mental Health Care and The Roots of the Recovery Movement in Psychiatry: Lessons Learned. His work has been influential internationally in shaping the recovery agenda and in operationalizing its implications for transforming behavioral health practice.   Event Details: Nov 14, 2019 | 1-2PM EST - Principles of Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care  Dec 12, 2019 | 1-2PM EST - Peer Support as a Recovery-Oriented Practice Feb 13, 2020 | 1-2PM EST - Can Clinical Care be Recovery-Oriented? Mar 12, 2020 | 1-2PM EST - The Importance of Community Inclusion

Description: This webinar will discuss incorporating end-user participation in digital mental health intervention development, including evidence-based technology design features for people with a lived experience of a mental health condition, 508 compliance in technology design, and integrating user-centered design with community engaged research to address health disparities.   Presenter: Karen L. Fortuna, PhD, MSW, holds a doctorate in Social Welfare and a master’s degree in Social Work. Dr. Fortuna is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. Dr. Fortuna is co-producing digital peer support programs with peer support specialists as equal partners in development, research, and ownership. Her team has developed a commercially viable smartphone app, PeerTECH, in which they are currently testing its impact in a real-world environment. Dr. Fortuna was awarded an NIMH K01 award (K01MH117496), a NARSAD Young Investigator Grants from the Brain and Behavior Foundation and the Alvin R. Tarlov & John E. Ware Jr. Award in Patient Reported Outcomes for her work, and the Association of Gerontological Education Social Work Faculty Achievement Award. Dr. Fortuna’s work can be seen in numerous book chapters on digital peer support, in Nature, Psychiatric Services, and Forbes Magazine. She currently serves as editor of the JMIR: Journal of Participatory Medicine. She is a board member of the International Association of Peer Supporters. She currently serves on the International Editorial Board for the British Journal of Social Work. She was invited to serve as a member of the American Psychiatric Association’s Smartphone App Expert Advisory Panel.   Learning Objectives: Understand the role of researchers and peer support specialists in digital health development and implementation. Understand the intersection between user-centered design and community-engaged research. Identify future opportunities relevant to advancing the role of peers in digital health development and implementation.   Who Should Attend? Peer support specialists, researchers, administrators, behavioral health care professionals, state and local policymakers, and community advocates.