Past Events

This 90 minute training will provide behavioral health services administrators the tools necessary to support staff in implementing Motivational Interviewing (MI) into current services. Administrators will identify strategies to incorporate MI into current organizational practices and procedures.   (Closed)

Many individuals with first episode psychosis are reluctant to attend treatment and are at risk for dropping out before receiving the full benefits of care. This webinar will review reasons that teens and young adults may be wary of first episode psychosis treatment and offer practical suggestions for creating a program that promotes engagement and minimizes barriers at the outset of treatment.   Presenter (s): Emily Kline, Ph.D.

The National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC presents the Symposium: Acculturation, Trauma & Mental Health Services for Hispanic and Latino Communities in collaboration with Community Services Institute, Boston University School of Social Work and Boston College. The focus of the event is to recognize and address the intersection between acculturation, trauma and mental health among Hispanic and Latino populations. During this event, participants will be able to: Identify the main cultural idioms of distress and values within Hispanic and Latino communities' that may influence help-seeking behaviors and engagement in mental health services. Address the intersection between trauma experiences and acculturation among Hispanic and Latino populations Describe trauma-informed mental health services and their implications for Hispanic and Latino cultures The experts in the mental health field will share their experiences and research findings addressing disparities in service provision to Hispanic and Latino Populations living in the United States.

Based on CEI’s Heart Centered Learning® model, Mindfulness Practices explains, through research, the influential power mindfulness can have on reducing trauma and how this can positively affect a school’s climate and culture. This book study will provide educators with the opportunity to explore ways to uplift students through mindful breathing, yoga, meditation, and instruction in classrooms while building caring, kind, compassionate schools.   Presenter (s): Christine Mason, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director, Center for Educational Improvement (CEI) and C-TLC Project Director and Michele Rivers Murphy, Ed.D., Associate Director, Heart Centered Learning, Center for Educational Improvement

This session covers the dimension of positive mental health and application of evidence-based mental health promotion strategies; applying a multi-tiered public health approach to mental health with children and youth; overview of Every Moment Counts model programs; and build capacity of  school teams to be mental health promoters. This training is a private event. If you are interested in similar training for your school, please contact [email protected]. This training is being provided to  Century Elementary School, Grafton, ND; Smee School District-Wakpala School, Wakpala, SD; Redfield Elementary School, Redfield, SD; WilMac Multi-District Special Education Unit, Williston, ND.

This presentation will look at creative intervention strategies to address the continually evolving needs in a newcomer campus that works primarily with Latino students. We will discuss the spectrum of “traditional” mental health services as well as best practices that have been implemented, including the therapy bunny, garden and restorative circles. An overview of the needs of the school and the students will be presented to provide background on the development and implementation of the intervention strategies. The challenges that have arisen, creative solutions that have been adopted and the unexpected successes will be shared in order to provide participants strategies that they can implement in their settings. 

On September 19th and 20th, Dr. Sarah Kopelovich, along with Jeffrey Roskelley, trained a group in individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp). The training included didactic instruction and experiential learning, including guided rehearsals and practice using the intervention. Following this 2-day training, participants will begin receiving biweekly video consultation sessions where they will discuss and receive feedback on self-selected training cases. The goal of the training is to help clinicians reach competence in CBTp, to provide more effective treatment to individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Note: This is currently a closed course.

This webinar will define adverse childhood experiences and child trauma, describe how they impact student health, learning, and behavior and discuss how schools can respond by becoming trauma-informed.

The Danya Institute continues its collaborative efforts to develop and strengthen the specialized behavioral health and primary healthcare workforce to provide evidence-based and promising practices in the treatment and prevention of mental health and substance use disorders. The Danya Institute manages SAMHSA-funded Region 3 Technology Transfer Centers: Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Central East Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Central East Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Each center's director will provide an overview of their missions and goals. The TTCs are committed to helping the workforce achieve meaningful and lasting changes in policies, programs, and practices that will enhance services and improve outcomes for individuals and their families who have, or are at risk of developing, a behavioral health condition. In part, this is accomplished by providing no cost, individualized, locally-driven training and technical assistance (T/TA) to enhance the delivery of behavioral health prevention, treatment and recovery support services. OBJECTIVES: Orient attendees to the technology transfer model Inform attendees of T/TA opportunities Educate attendees of the process to request T/TA Inform attendees of joining an Advisory Boards Provide a Q/A forum to answer questions regarding your T/TA needs   WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Anyone! Behavioral health care professionals, prevention professionals, health care workers, community coalitions, peers, consumers, family members, stakeholders, and advocates interested in improving cultural competence and humility in the delivery of behavioral health.

This session covers the dimension of positive mental health and application of evidence-based mental health promotion strategies; applying a multi-tiered public health approach to mental health with children and youth; overview of Every Moment Counts model programs; and build capacity of  school teams to be mental health promoters. This training is a private event. If you are interested in similar training for your school, please contact Sarah Nielsen at [email protected]. This training is being provided to Boulder Elementary, Boulder, MT.

Rebecca Helfand is facilitating a webinar series for Colorado's Office of Behavioral Health (OBH). OBH has pilot programs across the state for first responders and co-responders to learn from each other and to create a sense of community among providers and law enforcement who are doing this very complicated work.

The Mountain Plains MHTTC in partnership with the University of North Dakota Department of Occupational Therapy will host a half-day training symposium on suicide prevention for students and faculty of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The training will open with a presentation of commonly used suicide assessment tools, how to have a conversation with patients regarding suicidal thoughts, and best practices for using a multi-disciplinary approach to supporting patients with active suicidal thoughts. A moderated panel discussion on suicide prevention with special populations will follow this presentation. Panel presenters will review suicide prevention practices for: American Indians (Dr. Donald Warne, MD MPH), children and adolescents (Dr. John-Paul Legerski, PhD), Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Trans Gender Queer (LGBTQ+) (Bruce Reeves, MSW, LMSW), and Veterans (Nathan Modeen, MSW, LCSW). The panel presenters will provide attendees with a case conceptualization and best practices for working with their identified special population. 

This online consultation session will discuss best practices for conducting telemental health via mobile videoconferencing.  Case examples (videos) will be used to illustrate some of the common challenges providing these services in both clinically supervised and unsupervised settings. From these video case examples, a facilitated discussion will be held on core principles for providing services utilizing videoconferencing. Finally, specific clinical pearls from each video clinical session will be identified to help participants apply these clinical lessons to their own practice and programs.

In association with the World Suicide Prevention Day Conference that Northwest MHTTC co-sponsored with Forefront on September 10 in Seattle, we also supported a small-group training in Safety Planning for a cohort of 32 regional trainers on September 11 & 12. The training was facilitated by the intervention’s developers, and will include follow-up calls to ensure the trainees are proficient in the skills. Participants chose an Adult or Youth track, depending on the primary age level of those they work with. The participants were very positive and appreciative of gaining tools for helping to prevent suicide. Our MHTTC was able to sponsor one person from each State in our Region 10 network to attend in the adult track, and our School Mental Health supplement also had attendees in the youth track. Forefront Suicide Prevention, based at the University of Washington School of Social Work, focuses on reducing suicide by empowering individuals and communities to take sustainable action, championing systemic change, and restoring hope. The World Suicide Prevention Day Conference on September 10 featured national experts who presented practical, evidence-based strategies that will save lives.

Research has shown that children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders and their families face personal, financial, and neighborhood challenges more often than families of children without these disorders. These challenges may make it harder for some parents to give their child the resources they need to thrive. The type of community that families live in, urban versus rural, may increase these challenges. Join us for a discussion about  better access to mental health care for children and parents in rural areas.   Presenter (s): Suzan Mullane, MSEd., Research Associate and Trustee, Center for Educational Improvement

This project employs a Community of Practice approach that builds the capacity of schools' teams to promote positive mental health in children and youth throughout the school day using a multi-tiered approach.

This session covers the dimension of positive mental health and application of evidence-based mental health promotion strategies; applying a multi-tiered public health approach to mental health with children and youth; overview of Every Moment Counts model programs; and build capacity of  school teams to be mental health promoters. This training is a private event. If you are interested in similar training for your school, please contact Sarah Nielsen at [email protected]. This training is being provided to Anaconda School District, Anaconda, MT; Prairie Rose Elementary, Dickinson, ND; Lennox School District, Lennox, SD; West Central Middle School, Hartford, SD.

Arkansas is hosting the first annual peer recovery conference for Region 6.

World Suicide Prevention Conference Calling all Health and Behavioral Health Professionals, School and Higher Education Counselors… Join us on World Suicide Prevention Day as we present practical, evidence-based strategies that will save lives. This is a conference you do not want to miss. Featured Workshops Safety Planning Intervention Unpacked (It’s More than Filling out a Form!)  with Gregory K. Brown, Ph.D. & Kelly L. Green, Ph.D. Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania For years, safety plans have been filled out to assist people at risk for suicide, but not all safety plans are created equal! Developer of the Safety Planning Intervention will be in town to teach us how to ensure safety plans have their maximum impact. What if it’s that Simple? Non-Demanding Caring Contacts for Suicide Prevention with Amanda Kerbrat, MSW, LICSW Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, School of Medicine For decades, research has indicated that the Caring Contacts intervention suicidal behaviors. Learn about this simple approach for reducing suicide risk with a local suicide prevention champion. This training will also address practical considerations for implementation such as the target population, message content, delivery options, and contact modality (e.g., postal mail, email and text messages). Advanced LEARN® SAVES LIVES for School Mental Health Professionals with Harry Brown, M.A., LMFT Forefront Suicide Prevention in the Schools, Mercer Island Youth and Family Services There is a lot more we can do to prevent youth suicides from happening. This three-hour suicide prevention training is designed with the school mental health professional in mind, teaching practical skills in how to identify, intervene and provide on-going support to youth and young adults who are at-risk. This trainer has carried out hundreds of successful interventions with youth in schools during the course of his 25 year career. Parking & Transportation Paid parking lots and UW gatehouse parking lots are available. UW Gatehouse parking: 15th Ave NE and NE 41st Street, underground in the Central Plaza Garage - $3 per hour with a maximum of $15/day Non-UW parking lot: 4105 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105 - $15/day Street parking: not recommended as there's a two-hour limit ($2.50/hour). Public Transportation: The UW Campus is conveniently located near several King County Metro bus stops, and includes a Link Light Rail Station on campus. Plan your trip.   Have questions about World Suicide Prevention Day Conference?  Contact Forefront Suicide Prevention Event Details Date: September 10, 2019 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Venue: University of Washington - Kane Hall

Dates: Sept 9-11, 2019 Residents of rural and remote places are often underserved by mental health resources, and many live in areas with long standing mental health professional shortages. WICHE has endeavored to identify both the challenges and opportunities to improve rural workforce development. While we will share presentations about key initiatives from the rural west, such as our WICHE Psychology Internship Initiative and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium's Behavioral Health Aide program, we invite participants to share information both about the rural challenges they face and the unique efforts they have made that are showing positive impact. WICHE will invite the participation of emerging leaders in the Mountain Plains area to attend and participate in this unique knowledge exchange. This is a closed event, but please contact Rebecca Helfand with any questions at [email protected].

Texas schools have never been more interested in supporting students’ mental health. Community mental health centers are a critical partner for schools seeking to provide comprehensive school mental health; however, creating healthy partnerships can be challenging. Join us in the final webinar in the series to hear other Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHAs) share accomplishments they've had working in schools and to participate in discussions about how LMHAs can get support for their work.  

This is part three in a three part series on Trauma-Informed Care and Practices. In this session, you will learn more about correcting behaviors. Dr. Tami DeCoteau, a national expert on trauma-informed care, will offer insight to providers and educators interested in gaining a deeper understanding of trauma, including content on historical trauma and adverse childhood experiences. The science of trauma-informed care compels us to look more deeply into the human physiological process and understand how DNA provides evidence of intergenerational trauma. Recent research has shown that emotional trauma often affects the human nervous system long-term. Study of epigenetic DNA demonstrates that the substance use disorder need for self-regulation via alcohol or drugs is actually a physiological process and not a moral choice.