Past Events

This session will focus on the principles of shared decision making for clients diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Dr. McLean will discuss the current evidence based practices behind the topic and ways to support shared decision making in day-to-day practice.

This webinar will cover housing for all in rural communities and focus on housing solutions for persons with mental health concerns in rural settings. Host: Jennifer Lopez, MS Jenn Lopez is president of a small consulting firm and works throughout the Southwest on affordable housing and homeless programs. Prior to launching this small business, Ms. Lopez was the Director of Homeless Initiatives for Governor John W. Hickenlooper. Jenn worked across state agencies to implement outcome-based policies and programs that prevent and end homelessness in Colorado. Her initiatives included managing the Pathways Home Supportive Housing Toolkit, implementing the first-ever Medicaid Academy to train service providers on ways to bill Medicaid for supportive services, serving as a social innovation bond fellow through the Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah, sponsoring the Coming Home Colorado Action Lab series to reduce veteran’s homelessness in Colorado and managing a joint underwriting initiative between the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority and the Colorado Division of Housing (CDOH) to increase permanent supportive housing statewide. Her efforts resulted in over 200 million in housing investments and over 530 units of Permanent Supportive Housing investments over 2 years. Prior to this work Jenn had spent several years working a variety of affordable housing programs for small urban centers and rural communities. She has a Master's in Community and Regional Planning and completed the Achieving Excellence Program at Harvard University in 2010. All training sessions are provided for free and registration is strongly encouraged.

Overview: Date: Monday, June 24 and Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm each day Where: DoubleTree Hotel Sacramento 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento, CA 95815   The Pacific Southwest MHTTC is pleased to offer five, no-cost, state-of-the-art intensive learning sessions for the mental health workforce, including the school-based mental health workforce of: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau.  Each session is a day-long learning experience, independent of other sessions. Participants are welcome to attend one or two Institute sessions. Please register in advance for session and date. These are first come, first served for 75 participants per session. There is no charge to attend. Registration extended thru June 14th.   Learning Institute Sessions: Available 6/24 ONLY: Leading For and With Well Being, Resilience, and Healthy Workplaces Provided by the Pacific Southwest MHTTC Join us for this interactive and dynamic session that explores what trauma is and how services, systems, and policies can become trauma-informed to best provide individuals the care they need. We begin with the basic theory and research to provide us with a framework for trauma-informed practices, and then examine what these practices look like across different systems, and dig into organizational level considerations for local providers, directors and managers of agencies, and mental health and education leaders. Participants receive guidance on how to create and enhance organizational practices that support healing and resilience. This session engages in learning on the following topics: self and organizational trauma informed organizational assessments; the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences on brain development, physical health, and behavioral health; the intersection of culture with trauma; the role of cultural and linguistic competence in policy and planning for programs, systems, structures and program design; opportunities for each participant or team to create a comprehensive strategic plan for strengthening efforts to be trauma-informed at both the policy and practice level; and, opportunities to engage with one another and share practices, resources, strategies and tools that support their trauma-informed approach to project design and implementation. Learning Objectives: Build and enhance the foundation of knowledge on trauma-informed care, emphasizing the impact of trauma and adversity as well as the critical role of healing and resilience in policy and program design, and its relationship to leading for and with healthy workplaces Promote the creation and enrichment of effective therapeutic and organizational practices that support the values of a trauma-informed system  Identify actionable steps for generating system and organizational change to enhance the integration of trauma-informed care principles at both the policy and practice levels Audience: System leaders, mental health service providers, mental health advocates, educators, administrators, executives, school site leadership district and state administrative leadership, and more! Learn more about the presenters   Available 6/24 or 6/25: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership and Social Justice Provided by the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM) This training aims to support advocates, educators, administrators, executives, and other leaders in managing stress and trauma in their organizations. Participants will learn to adopt the necessary tools to incorporate emotional justice, equity, and wellness into their approach to leadership, as well as their organization’s practices and processes. The session focuses on improving mental health outcomes, alleviating stigma, and providing tools and skills in social-justice informed peer support for marginalized communities. Participants are provided with a broad overview of mental health diagnoses, therapy, and counseling skills. Participants are educated in the psychological impacts of transphobia, racism, misogynoir, and homophobia. Audience: System leaders, mental health service providers, mental health advocates, educators, administrators, executives Learn more about the presenters   Available 6/24 or 6/25: Creating School and District Systems for Employee Sustainability and Wellness Provided by The Teaching Well This training tackles the complexity and opportunity of leading with a sustainability lens. We start with the personal sustainability of school site leaders and district personnel. We provide tools, dialogue, and resources for leaders to hone their well-being in authentic leadership. We will explore new lenses for approaching the reality of leading in high-trauma, under-resourced environments, along with navigating the challenging adult dynamics this context can create for on-site and district level leaders. The training explores the impact of our natural stress responses, and how to navigate while creating healthy boundaries that support sustainability for self and others. Audience: School sites, school board of directors, district leadership Learn more about the presenters   Available 6/24 or 6/25: Hispanic and Latino Culture: Dialogue on School-based Mental Health Provided by the National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC Latinos are the second fastest growing ethnic population in the United States (US) and engaging Latino families and youth in schools to address mental health needs continues to be a growing concern. Increasing cultural awareness of mental health providers and professionals in school settings is a crucial component to increase access to mental health care for children and youth. Knowledge and use of concepts such as cultural humility, tailoring and adapting evidence-based practices, and integrating culturally alternative medicine into treatment plans will serve to increase dialogue between school professionals and Latino families while also increasing availability and access to appropriate mental health services. With mental health issues on the rise among Latino youth, the need for culturally appropriate services continues to remain at a deficit. A significant opportunity to bridge the gap between the need for mental health services for Latino youth and accessibility to appropriate services resides in school-based providers learning about important cultural elements in treating Hispanic and Latino youth. Audience: School-based mental health providers, community-based mental health providers, school and district leadership, county/state education leadership, advocates of youth and young adult mental health Learn more about the presenters   Available 6/25 ONLY: Supporting Children, Staff, and Schools at Times of Crisis and Loss Provided by the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement Crisis and loss are common in the lives of students, whether due to a death or crisis involving a student’s individual family or one that affects the entire community. These experiences can have a significant impact on children’s capacity to learn in the classroom setting and a long-term impact on their social and emotional development. Classroom educators and other school professionals play a vital role in providing important support to students. Yet most educators and other school professionals have had limited to no professional training in how to support students in the aftermath of crisis and loss. This training helps classroom educators and other school professionals learn skills in how to talk with and support individual students or the entire class/school as they struggle to understand and cope with a crisis or loss in their lives. Together, we consider the common symptoms of adjustment reactions in children and adolescents that may occur in response to a crisis; the timeline for adjustment for children and teens after a crisis event; issues of professional self-care when supporting children who are grieving or adjusting to a crisis event; and more. Audience: Pre-service teachers, teachers, school site leadership district and state administrative leadership, school counselors and psychologists (in-service and pre-service), social workers (in-service and pre-service), school nurses (in-service and pre-service) Learn more about the presenters   Additional Information: Travel. Participants are responsible for costs and coordination of their own travel accommodations. Lodging at the state government rate can be reserved at the DoubleTree Hotel. Click here for reservations.  Airport: The closest major airport to the hotel is Sacramento International Airport (SMF). Parking. Parking is available onsite at the DoubleTree at the discounted rate of $5/day. Meals. Participants are responsible for their own food and beverage. No food will be provided by the host in order to comply with federal funding regulations.   Continued Education Hours for CA Professionals (Optional): Up to 12 Hours of Continuing Education Credit are available for professionals licensed in California. Course meets the qualifications for up to 12 hours continuing education credits for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and/or LEPs as required by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT). Credit also available for RNs and CCAPP. C.E. Hours are offered by CARS for $25 for one day or $35 for two days and must be paid in advance during the online registration process. No payment will be accepted onsite. Cancellation charges depend on when the written cancellation notice is received. A full refund will be given only if more than 2 weeks’ notice is given of a cancellation, see below for refund rates. 2 weeks’ cancellation notice = Full refund Less than 14 days’ cancellation notice = No refund unless in exceptional circumstances, for which a medical certificate may be requested. CARS is an approved provider for: CCAPP #4N-08-923-0718, CA Board of Registered Nurses #16303, and CAMFT #131736 All participants who complete a full day are eligible for a certificate of participation per session.

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 for the second edition of this webinar series to hear from the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission about the efforts underway to promote student supports for emotional and behavioral health across the state. Learn about recent legislative changes intended to support safe and healthy campuses across the state.

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 second webinar in the series to hear from the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission about new initiatives underway to expand access to student supports for emotional and behavioral health across the state. Tune in for an update on the recent legislative changes intended to create safe and supportive schools in Texas.

Aging is a fact of life and it is frequently accompanied by declining health, but it does not always have to be that way. The aging adult is frequently expected to manifest deficits in cognition, and these deficits can be part of a primary brain degenerative process, a psychiatric illness, or physical disease. These conditions either individually or combined interact with each other, meaning that the presence of one can make the other one worse. Any of these conditions along with other social factors, such as the environment where one is born, lives or works, ethnicity, income, support system, level of acculturation, and the degree of health literacy can facilitate or obstruct access to care and eventually influence health outcomes. This presentation will explain the interaction of these conditions in the Latino elderly, and the known barriers coming from the health system and health disparities perspective. The presentation will close with ideas of what you can do at home while working with the Latino elderly, and with a short video of an older Latino woman who will explain her desire to live in spite of her illnesses. With the Latino aging population growing in the US, it is our turn to promote health messages that resonate with their needs and preferences, such as optimism and acceptance, connectedness, independence, and self-worth.   REFERENCES: Nguyen H, Lee JA, Sorking DH, et al. Living happily despite having an illness. Perceptions of healthy aging among Korean American, Vietnamese American, and Latino older adults. Applied Nursing Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2019.04.002   Babulal GM, Quiroz YT, Albensi BC et al. Perspective on ethnic and racial disparities in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias: update and areas of immediate need. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 15 (2019) 292-312.   Strizich G, Kaplan RC, Gonzalez HM et al. Glycemic control, cognitive function, and family support among middle-aged and older Hispanics with diabetes: the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 117 (2016) 64-73.

This webinar will cover the Together With Veterans Program. Together With Veterans targets rural populations and empowers Veterans to lead community-based and evidence-informed planning efforts to address Veteran suicide locally and discuss implementation strategies. Host: Gina Brimner, MSW, LCSW Gina holds a master’s degree in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Her career spans direct service, management and leadership roles in government and non-profit health and behavioral health sectors in multiple western states. Most recently, Gina held independent consultant contracts with health care organizations, states, and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE BHP) before joining WICHE as an employee in 2019. In her role at WICHE BHP, she leads Together With Veterans Projects, a rural veteran suicide prevention collaborative developed in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Positions Gina held previously include Senior Vice President of Youth and Family Services at Albertina Kerr Centers in Portland, OR; Adolescent Unit Supervisor for the Policy Division of the Washington State Children’s Administration; Clinical Director of Juneau Mental Health, Inc.; and multiple roles in the State of Alaska Division of Behavioral Health. All training sessions are provided for free and registration is strongly encouraged.

This session will be a continuation of a strategic planning session hosted by David Terry in April 2019.  Participant groups will continue to develop their mission statements, and will identify clear steps to achieve their group's goals by September 2019.  The groups are: mental health education, community mental health resources, data and policy to support mental health, and mental health community outreach. Contact [email protected] if you have questions about the training or interest in something similar for your service area.

Webinar presented by Yale University - Program and Recovery and Community Health (PRCH) and NE-MHTTC   This webinar series will review key indicators of PCRP from both a process and a documentation perspective.This will run from 1-2:30PM EST.   Presenter(s): Janis Tondora, Psy.D, Yale Program and Recovery and Community Health and Dan Wartenberg, Psy.D, M.P.H., Chief Clinical Officer, Newport Mental Health.

The principles of trauma-informed care and those of a recovery orientation complement one another well. During this session, we will describe both models, discuss the overlap between the two, and highlight examples of how recovery-oriented, trauma-informed approaches look in programs/practice.This webinar will run from 12:30PM to 1:30PM EST.   Presenter (s): Katie Volk & Rebecca Miller

Our topics will be identified as we listen to the needs of the state teams participating in our region. *This is a Virtual Learning Session for the team members in Southeast School Based Mental Health Learning Community.

This webinar will provide a backdrop to the recurrence of the farm crisis, new legislation to address the crisis, as well as strategies for addressing the needs of farming communities. Host: Charles Griffin, MS Charlie Griffin is an Assistant Research Professor, Emeritus, in the School of Family Studies and Human Services, College of Human Ecology, Kansas State University. For the past 23 years, he directed Programs for Workplace Solutions, a project providing training and curriculum development in conflict resolution and mediation, collaborative work skills, facilitation and leadership development. He provides a monthly leadership development course in the US Army’s School for Command Preparation at Ft. Leavenworth. Griffin was Assistant Director of Kansas’ farm crisis hotline from 1986-1994,  Administrative Coordinator for Kansas' All-Hazards Behavioral Health Project 2005-2008 coordinating FEMA funded statewide disaster behavioral health responses, director of the Kansas Rural Family Helpline, a telephone based crisis hotline, 2001-2010. Griffin has a background as a marriage and family therapist, working widely with family relationships, family and home-based business management, change and stress management, chemical dependency treatment, dispute resolution and mediation All training sessions are provided for free and registration is strongly encouraged.  

The Southeast MHTTC, in partnership with Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network, is pleased to offer a Peer Voice Training. This training will instruct mental health peers on ways to gather data from large and small community groups and build support for mental health recovery. Participants will gain an understanding of how individuals, communities, and organizations can work collaboratively to produce successful mental health recovery outcomes. After completing the training, participants should be able to 1. Discuss the importance of the peer voice in developing and delivering services in the behavioral health community, 2. Describe the benefits of collaborating with allied organizations, 3. Discuss the role of the behavioral health peer community in providing diverse perspectives, 4. Identify strategies for including the peer voice in adapting data collection tools, and 5. Create a plan to develop a system of information gathering for peer populations.

Time: 6-7 p.m. ET / 3-4 p.m. PT / 12-1 p.m. HT / 9-10 a.m. ChT The workload for a school counselor in a traditional role can be overwhelming, and students in need of mental or emotional support may be inadvertently overlooked. This webinar describes how shifting from a traditional counseling approach to a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) benefits both students and staff members who provide mental and/or behavioral support services.  Strategies discussed include using data to identify students in need of support, expanding the effectiveness of the continuum of interventions, and thinking “out of the box” to engage non-traditional MTSS team members. The Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience Education) Coordinators from two rural school districts in northern Nevada will share how an MTSS has transformed their districts and positively impacted the lives of students. Participants will learn key strategies from two rural school districts who built a Multi-Tiered System of Support from the ground up. Successes, lessons learned, and the challenges that two Project AWARE grantees have experienced while implementing a Multi-Tiered System of Support will benefit all participants who join!   Participants will: Identify school and community resources that can be used to provide preventative and early intervention services Understand the enhanced continuum of interventions in a multi-tiered and multi-dimensional system of support Understand how to target interventions and monitor progress using data   About the Presenters Susan Harootunian is the Project AWARE Coordinator for the Douglas County School District in Nevada. Project AWARE’s goals are to increase awareness of mental health issues among school-age youth, as well as to increase school staff members’ ability to detect mental health issues, respond to them, and make connections to appropriate services. Previously, Ms. Harootunian worked as a special education teacher, and she was recently certified as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Ms. Harootunian received a B.S. in Human Development from the University of California, Davis, and an M. Ed. in Special Education from the University of Nevada, Reno.   Shauna Bake is the Project AWARE Coordinator for Pershing County School District. She has guided the development and implementation of a Multi-Tiered System of Support and has spearheaded the development and adoption of school district policies regarding suicide prevention. She has been instrumental in developing partnerships with mental health providers to offer services directly in the school setting.  Prior to becoming the AWARE Coordinator, Ms. Bake spent 22 years as a teacher and volleyball coach. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Nevada and her master’s degree in School Counseling from American Public University.

Join us to explore on the role of the peer workforce in supporting people through transitions of care.    This face-to-face suicide prevention symposium will focus on engaging in dialogue, brainstorming, and learning from one another about the workforce development needs for peers with lived experience and their roles in supporting people through transitions of care. There will also be an opportunity to apply for participation in a New England Suicide Prevention Learning Collaborative (SPLC), a workforce development initiative for peers with lived experience.   NOTE: If you need help with transportation to this event, please contact us by emailing [email protected].

The UW Psychiatry and Addictions Case Conference series (UW PACC) is a free, weekly teleconference that connects community providers with UW Medicine psychiatrists and addictions experts. This series includes both an educational presentation on an addictions or psychiatry topic and case presentations where providers who participate receive feedback and recommendations for their patients.   Modeled after the University of New Mexico's Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), the three main aims of UW PACC are:   Train the fellows to deliver a regional peer learning and support network for treating mental health and addictions across the state of Washington Expand the mental health and addictions care capacity of health care professionals in remote, underserved areas of Washington Offer telehealth resource support to build the confidence and skills of providers who care for patients with mental and behavioral health conditions   Northwest MHTTC's Co-Director, Lydia Chwastiak, MD, MPH and Training Director, Sarah Kopelovich, PhD, presented didactics at two PACC Echo sessions in June:   Psychosis in Primary Care: Assessment of Psychosis and Behavioral Interventions Presenter: Sarah Kopelovich, PhD June 20, 2019 Psychosis in Primary Care: Medical Management Presenters: Lydia Chwastiak, MD, MPH and Sarah Kopelovich, PhD June 13, 2019 UW PACC sessions take place Thursdays from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. PT. Any community providers (physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and mental health professionals) in Washington State are welcome to join the weekly teleconference.

2-day Motivational Interviewing for Community Health Professionals Working in Native Communities--Anchorage, AK June 13-14--limited to 40 participants Must attend both days in full   Presented by: Lonnie Nelson, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Eastern band Cherokee (AniKituwah) Krystal Koop, MSW, Makah Partnerships for Native Health at Washington State University   Day 1 ·  Intro to the Spirit of Motivational Interviewing (MI)  ·  Why MI for Native Communities  ·  Intro to the Tools of MI  ·  Skill– Building Exercises   Day 2 ·  Review & Discussion of Day 1  ·  Skill‐Building Exercises  ·  Deeper into Change Talk  ·  Rolling with Resistance  ·  Avoiding traps  ·  Real World application

Violence Risk Assessment & Management is a self-paced course that provides the necessary tools for clinicians to assess, manage, and stabilize threats of violence, hosted on the HealtheKnowledge platform. Concerns about violence risk frequently arise in clinical settings. There is often confusion among providers about the boundaries of confidentiality, when and how to invoke their professional obligation to protect or warn third parties, and how to balance therapeutics and public safety. This course addresses: Boundaries of confidentiality Clinicians’ duty to warn or protect potential victims Proven methods to assess and manage the risk of violence Download the course flyer here.   Each module of the course includes: Real case vignettes A 3-item assessment to guide your learning Interactive practical exercises with feedback A 3.0 hour certificate of completion is available. This online course was created by the Northwest Region 10 Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  Physicians, physician assistants, primary care ARNPs, psychologists, and other health care providers may be eligible for CME or CEUs for completing the course.  Trainers Dr. Sarah Kopelovich, a forensic clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine based at Harborview Medical Center  Dr. Katherine Michaelsen, a forensic psychiatrist at the Puget Sound Veterans Administration and Acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine Dr. Tobias Wasser, a forensic psychiatrist at Whiting Forensic Hospital and Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine Registration How to register for a course at HealtheKnowledge and how to get technical support    

Liza Tupa, PhD will provide an overview of suicide in North Dakota, and of a toolkit for primary care providers to implement a suicide prevention protocol for their patients.

Michael Hoge, Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine Senior Science & Policy Advisor The Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce       There are longstanding concerns about whether the mental health workforce has been adequately trained and is large enough to the meet the diverse needs of this country’s population. The concerns have become more acute as a strong U.S. economy drives greater recruitment and retention problems in this field. This webinar, sponsored by the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office, will briefly review the major challenges and then present an array of strategies for finding, keeping and building a more competent workforce. Innovative practices from across the country will be highlighted. Note: No registration required. Please join the webinar by clicking on the Zoom link here at the time of event.

Lenny Hayes, MA, citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton-Oyate of the northeast corner of South Dakota   Check your time zone:

This webinar will focus on the unique needs facing individuals who identify as a sexual minority, such as increased rates of mental health symptoms, substance abuse and suicide along with effective services for this population.  A sexual minority is an individual who identifies with a sexual identity other than heterosexuality. REGISTER:   http://bit.ly/2QfNpIA

The MHTTC Buzz Session will focus on the basic principles of the mental health technology transfer center and ways for providers in North Dakota to access the resources of SAMHSA and the TTC network. This will be presented by David Terry, the Mountain Plains MHTTC Coordinator.