Past Events

Job development is an important component to providing best practice employment services and includes initiating and developing relationships with employers. However, many vocational services staff express discomfort and limited skills in interacting with the business community. This three-part series will provide attendees with the tools to confidently approach employers, market their employment services, and develop and maintain relationships with employers. Sessions will be interactive with opportunities to practice newly learned skills. Attendees are encouraged to attend all three sessions.

  The Great Lakes A/MH/PTTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders.     Register to join us on the first Tuesday of each month from 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Central (11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Eastern). Each session will feature a new expert presenter.     DESCRIPTION  Alcohol is STILL a drug.  The opioid crisis, increase in stimulant misuse, and marijuana legalization dominate the news— yet alcohol remains the number one substance causing health, social, legal and financial problems throughout the US. While this series will focus on the hopefulness of recovery from alcohol use disorder, we’ll also take a deep dive into what we know about the full impact of alcohol overuse and the ways it affects every person in the US.   The December 7, 2021 session will focus on Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment. In this workshop, Joe Rosenfeld will briefly discuss the constant nature of alcohol as an epidemic and the early (pre-1950’s) efforts at treatment and recovery. Then present the emergence of the current Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment system and identify an array of evidence supported practices currently in use.   In the process, Joe will “slay” a long-held treatment practice. But you’ll have to watch to learn which one.   SPEAKER Dr. Joseph Rosenfeld, Psy.D., CRADC., HS-BCP Dr. Rosenfeld is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, a Certified Reciprocal Alcoholism and Other Drug Counselor, and Human Services - Board Certified Professional.  He is a Professor in the Addiction Counselor Training Program within the Human Services Department at Elgin Community College.   SERIES LEARNING OBJECTIVES These are the overall learning objectives for the full 10-session series:  Summarize the current impacts of problematic alcohol use in various/special populations, including pregnant women, youth, rural, and minority populations.  Assess and prioritize alcohol reduction efforts in targeted settings.  Describe the current efforts to curb problematic alcohol use, including best practices in providing treatment.      CERTIFICATES Certificates of attendance will be emailed to all participants who attend the sessions in full.     TRAINING SCHEDULE All sessions in this series will be held on the first Tuesday of each month from 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Central. There will be a new expert presenter for every session.  September 7, 2021 October 5, 2021  November 2, 2021  December 7, 2021 January 4, 2022 - NO SESSION February 1, 2022 March 1, 2022  April 5, 2022  May 3, 2022  June 7, 2022 July 5, 2022 - NO SESSION August 2, 2022    

This series of six meetings will promote further peer-to-peer learning and collaboration among Region 6 Employment and Education providers in community mental health settings who want to better engage and support the career development of young adults with serious mental health needs. Each learning collaborative will cover a topic that is critical for engagement and career development; an activity; and a discussion facilitated by trainers with lots of real-world vocational and community mental health experience.

These no-cost, virtual meetings offer you the opportunity to collaborate with other First Episode Psychosis (FEP) and Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) team Peer Supports and Family Partners in a supportive, mentoring environment. This is a space for resource sharing, support around ways to be most effective when working with FEP/CSC clients, options for self-care strategies, and more!

Several forces have converged over the last decade to call for a reconsideration of how to view, discuss, prescribe, and assess medications for effectiveness in the care of persons with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders. This webinar announces the release of a new tool to promote person-centered psychopharmacology describes six evidence-based principles for promoting self-management in individuals with mental illness and/or addictions and illustrates them using clinical vignettes. The principles are: 1. Elicit the person’s and family’s perspectives on the concerns bringing them to care. 2. Assess the person’s and family’s perceived needs and priorities, including any cultural preferences (e.g., ethnic, sexual, spiritual). 3. Identify the person’s short- and long-term goals. 4. Identify medication targets that indicate that the person is overcoming barriers to life goals or increasing their quality of life (beyond symptom reduction). 5. Prescribe medication as one component of an overall self-management plan that builds on personal and family strengths. 6. Identify and address barriers to self-management, including the need for additional supports (e.g., transportation, childcare, reminders, environmental modifications). Presenters: - Larry Davidson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine - Matcheri Keshavan, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard School of Medicine

This 75-webinar will provide an overview of selected content from the toolkit Whole-Person Care for People Experiencing Homelessness and Opioid Use Disorder.   ABOUT THE SESSION This is the first webinar of a 2-part series. The Whole-Person Care for People Experiencing Homelessness and Opioid Use Disorder toolkit, released by SAMHSA in August 2021, provides an overview of homelessness, opioid use disorder, and the core elements of a whole-person care framework. We will explore what it means to be person-centered, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, racially equitable, non-stigmatizing, housing-focused, peer-integrated, and self-compassionate in our work. This whole-person care framework is relevant for people working in all aspects of behavioral health care. Learning Objectives You will be able to: Name 4 elements of the spirit of whole-person care Describe 3 ways to "befriend the emotional brain" in using a trauma-informed approach Name the 4 agreements of "courageous conversations" JOIN US FOR THE SECOND WEBINAR IN THIS SERIES The second webinar in this series is "Listening to Voices of Lived Experience in Recovery," and will be held on December 9, 2022, from 10:00-11:15am Pacific Time. Register here. FACILITATOR KEN KRAYBILL, MSW Ken Kraybill, MSW, Senior Trainer, has worked in healthcare, behavioral health, homelessness and housing for more than 35 years. He has 18 years of experience working as a behavioral health practitioner in homeless services. For the past two decades, Ken has been developing curricula and facilitating in-person and online training on topics including motivational interviewing, trauma-informed practice, trauma-informed supervision, outreach and engagement, case management, critical time intervention, and resiliency and renewal for care providers.  

A three-part session: Dec 2, 2021, 9:00–12:00pm Central  Dec 9, 2021, 9:00–12:00pm Central  Dec 16, 2021, 9:00–12:00pm Central  The Great Lakes MHTTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders. Culture is an enduring element, a tradition that is embedded in every human thought, emotion, and behavior. Culture is an element that is often complex to assess as it is ever-changing as societal norms change. However, culture is also the critical factor that upholds belief patterns that maintain physical and psychological health. Culture also contributes to the tenacity of mental health and substance use disorders. This three-part training was developed for behavioral health professionals and administrators wishing to learn how to integrate cultural elements into effective behavioral health services for Hmong clients.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES Learn how to incorporate cultural values when treating Hmong with behavioral health disorders Distinguish culture-related symptoms when diagnosing Hmong clients Identify the harms of labeling culture-related reactions as pathological Identify strategies to engage Hmong clients effectively   CONTINUING EDUCATION Participants who complete all three sessions will earn 8.5 NAADAC Continuing Education hours.  Note: partial credit will not be awarded.   PRESENTERS Pang Foua Yang Rhodes, Ph.D. Pang Foua Yang Rhodes, PhD, LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who provides couples, family, and individual therapy. Her private practice focuses on premarital counseling and couples therapy and consists mainly of Hmong clients. She is a Minnesota board approved MFT supervisor. From 2009 – 2019 Dr. Rhodes was an assistant professor at Argosy University—Twin Cities, where she taught in the Doctorate and Master of Arts programs in MFT. As a conference and retreat speaker who has traveled across the US and Canada, she enjoys teaching people how to grow personally and spiritually, and she is energized by motivating people to thrive in their intimate and family relationships.   Pang Moua, M.A. Pang Moua is a Hmong-American woman born in Wausau, Wisconsin and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a proud first generation undergraduate and graduate student. Pang received a bachelors in Elementary Education from Saint Catherine University and a masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Bethel Seminary. Driven by her cultural, spiritual, and educational convictions, Pang is deeply committed to intergenerational healing and communal thriving. Her earliest experiences with healing and thriving occurred while teaching elementary education for five years in the Roseville school district. Gradually, Pang’s relationships with students and adults propelled her to pursue a degree in marriage and family therapy to better serve and understand families. 

/*--> Join us for this listening session to gain insight on the early signs and symptoms of psychosis, review the research on early intervention, and access tools that help young people connect with care. Specialized early intervention provides the best hope for recovery and growth for teens and young adults who are starting to experience psychosis.   Presenter(s):  /*--> Kelsey Johnson, MPH Dan Johnston Raquelle Mesholam-Gately, PhD Courtney Spitzer Martha Staeheli, PhD      

SERIES DESCRIPTION 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.   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, Policymakers and Advocates, Child-Serving Agency Staff  

Mid-America MHTTC faculty trainers will train employees at an Iowa agency in Motivational Interviewing for persons with serious mental illness. The training will focus on foundational knowledge and skills to engage clients in behavioral change.

School Mental Health Financing and Sustainability: Using Stimulus Funds to Advance Comprehensive School Mental Health In this webinar, leaders from two school districts in the Southeast will join a panel to describe how they and their partners have made innovative use of Stimulus funds to finance their school mental health initiatives.  The panelists will discuss how their current approaches built upon prior school mental health programs and existing sources of financing, as well as how they are working towards sustainability.  They will also share their perspectives on how other school districts – which may be different from theirs in key respects (e.g., size, administrative capacity) – might think about the opportunities to appropriate these new funds in support of students’ mental health. Panelists will include Nancy Turner of Rock Hill Schools in South Carolina and Jessica Stormer and Fred Latschar of Henry County Schools in Georgia.   Learning Objectives: Identify a key source of federal stimulus funding that can be appropriated for use in school mental health programs. Explain school and school district-level strategies for effectively leveraging stimulus funds to finance school mental health programs. Engage in cross-state networking and shared learning about strategies for sustainable financing of school mental health programs.   Panelists:   Mr. Fred Latschar is the Director of Student and Employee Mental Health and Wellness in Henry County, GA.  Mr. Latschar currently oversees 53 mental health and wellness facilitators throughout all Henry County schools and the district’s wellness plan for staff and students.  He has over 17 years in public education as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and most recently district leadership.   Jessica Stormer currently serves as the Executive Director of Student Services for Henry County Schools.  Her leadership portfolio includes the School Counseling, School Social Work, School Psychological/Section 504, and Mental Health and Wellness Departments. Prior to joining the Henry County Schools team, Jessica engaged in 10 years of direct practice and supervision of mental health and child welfare services.  In her current role with Henry County Schools, she has over 14 years of experience in designing systems that lead to positive outcomes in student wellness.      Dr. Nancy Turner, Director of Mental Health for Rock Hill Schools, has also served as the Director of Exceptional Student Education in Rock Hill Schools, Spartanburg School District 2, Cabarrus County Schools (NC) and Union County Public Schools (NC).  She started her career as a special education teacher and site administrator in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District. Dr. Turner continues to work in collaboration with a variety of resources to create and implement connections and support for the Rock Hill District and community.  She has had the opportunity to share these innovative mental health initiatives on Good Morning America, WCNC (Charlotte Today) as well as local radio and other social media.     Melissa Morse is the Chief of Learning, Performance and Strategy for Henry County Schools. Melissa leads the academic, accountability and strategic plan work for the district. She designs and implments the systems and processes that sustain improvement for student achievement and growth, systems of accountability from the boardroom to the classroom, and most recently the community inspired path to the future for our students through the strategic plan. Prior to joining the Henry County community, Melissa was the Director of Instruction and Innovative Practice for the Cobb County School District in Marietta, Georgia. As a 26-year educator, Melissa is dedicated to transforming the public school experience for students so they can engage deeply in their learning, find school meaningful and create pathways for success as members of our community.

Mid-America MHTTC faculty trainers will train employees at an Iowa agency in Motivational Interviewing for persons with serious mental illness. The training will focus on foundational knowledge and skills to engage clients in behavioral change.

  Listening to Hispanic and Latinx/Latino Families about the Recovery from Mental Health Conditions of Their Loved Ones The New England MHTTC, Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC, and National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC will be conducting three virtual participatory conversations with family members of Latinos with mental health conditions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It will be a great opportunity to listen and learn from family members about their cultural perceptions and experiences related to mental health conditions and recovery to identify and develop resources that facilitate recovery for their loved ones.   Are you Hispanic/Latino/Latinx and have a family member(s) or a loved one with a mental health condition? Are you willing to discuss the challenges and experiences of supporting your family member(s) or loved ones with a mental health condition? Are you familiar with and willing to discuss the mental health services they are receiving?   The Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers invite you to a virtual discussion group. These discussion groups are being held to better understand the experiences of Hispanic/Latino/Latinx family members of people with mental health conditions. These conversations offer an opportunity to listen and learn from family members about their cultural perceptions and experiences related to mental health conditions. Ultimately, we will use this information to educate mental health providers to support mental health recovery for Hispanic/Latino/Latinx people.

Are you Hispanic/Latino/Latinx and have family member(s) or a loved one with a mental health condition? Are you willing to discuss the challenges and experiences of supporting your family member(s) or loved ones with a mental health condition? Are you familiar with and willing to discuss the mental health services they are receiving? Please join us for a confidential, virtual discussion. The Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers invite you to a virtual discussion group. These discussion groups are being held to better understand the experiences of Hispanic/Latino/Latinx family members of people with mental health conditions. These conversations offer an opportunity to listen and learn from family members about their cultural perceptions and experiences related to mental health conditions. Ultimately, we will use this information to educate mental health providers to support mental health recovery for Hispanic/Latino/Latinx people.

Session Three: Gender affirming support practices in schools: How to support students, school communities, families and school staff This new webinar series will bring professionals from the school mental health field to share knowledge, lived experiences, affirming practices and resources to create supportive spaces for the LGBTQIA2+ community in schools in our region. Coming Up: Session Four - December 14, 2021

Session Description: Helping professionals, such as counselors, teachers, and health professionals, are critically important to the workforce, yet we are also at great risk for helping others more than we help ourselves! In this 6 part series, we invite YOU to sit down, take a breath, replenish yourself and restore by considering strategies to help you flourish. Together, we’ll explore the importance of making our own well-being a priority, think about our work/life balance, remember our purpose, take actions to flourish, and use our strengths within a framework of healthy positivity. This 6-week collection (webinar and podcast series) will be led by experts in supporting personal recovery, wellness, and positive psychology with practical approaches that build up to a comprehensive flourishing plan. Join us for this series designed to support your flourishing. Your one-time registration will automatically enroll you in all 6 sessions of this series. Presenter:  Michelle Zechner, PhD, MSW, LSW, CPRP, Assistant Professor at Rutgers, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Programs, has focused her career on the promotion of health and wellness for people with mental health conditions, their families, and the staff who support them for over 25 years. She has worked in a variety of settings including: academia, outpatient mental health programs, family advocacy organization, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, and training services. She conducts research, teaches and mentors students, and consults with state psychiatric hospitals on the implementation of evidence-based mental health practices. She is also involved in family advocacy in New Jersey.

Mindful Movement is a 30 minute meditation space for individuals to ground themselves, release any built up tension, prepare for the week ahead, etc..   1:00-1:30pm CT Tuesdays   It will be led by Victoria Marie, Wáčhiŋhiŋ Máza Wíŋyaŋ (Iron Plume Woman) (https://indigenouslotus.com/about) and is for all school personnel to attend and benefit from.   The sessions will be recorded and can later be used for teachers to use as a resource whenever needed.   Questions? [email protected]  

The Great Lakes MHTTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders.   ClassroomWISE, a new mental health literacy course developed by the MHTTC Network and the National Center for School Mental Health is a free 3-part training package that assists K-12 educators and school personnel in supporting students' mental health in the classroom and is comprised of a free self-guided online course, video library, resource collection, and website focused on educator mental health literacy. Many schools and districts are already addressing different aspects of school mental health by using various programs, practices and initiatives to support students. ClassroomWISE was designed to integrate and enhance school mental health efforts to provide even greater assistance to students at both the prevention and intervention levels. Each webinar in this series will focus on a different school mental health framework: social emotional learning, trauma informed practices and multi-tiered system of support. Clear examples, tips and discussions will help illustrate the relationship between ClassroomWISE and the specific SMH framework. Participants are welcome to attend the whole series or the individual sessions most aligned with your current SMH practices. This webinar series is for educators, school mental health professionals, school and district decisions makers, and administrators.   REGISTRATION LINKS TO ALL SESSIONS Introduction to ClassroomWISE October 26, 2021  10:00 - 11:00 AM Central Time  Integrating ClassroomWISE with a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Framework November 9, 2021 10:00 - 11:00 AM Central Time  Integrating ClassroomWISE with a Trauma-Informed Schools Framework November 16, 2021  10:00 - 11:00 AM Central Time   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Review ClassroomWISE mental health literacy resource. Explore how ClassroomWISE enhances an MTSS framework for school mental health services and supports. Identify talking points and implementation strategies to integrate ClassroomWISE into your school’s MTSS framework Participants are encouraged to visit the ClassroomWISE website in advance of the webinar.   PRESENTER   Stefanie Winfield is an Adjunct Faculty Instructor the University of Denver, Graduate School of Social work. In her past role as School Mental Health Lead for the Mountain Plains MHTTC, Stefanie focused on providing intensive technical assistance and training to educators, teachers administrators and all school staff on ways to improve and enhance school mental health. Stefanie has extensive experience working in schools promoting youth sexual health, conflict and anger management, behavioral health education, and school-based health care. With over 20 years of experience working with nonprofits and community organizations, Stefanie has done everything from grant management and implementation, to program and outcome evaluation, training and facilitation. CERTIFICATES: Certificates of attendance will be emailed to all participants who attend the training in full.   

Job development is an important component to providing best practice employment services and includes initiating and developing relationships with employers. However, many vocational services staff express discomfort and limited skills in interacting with the business community. This three-part series will provide attendees with the tools to confidently approach employers, market their employment services, and develop and maintain relationships with employers. Sessions will be interactive with opportunities to practice newly learned skills. Attendees are encouraged to attend all three sessions.

This 2-hour session is part of the live learning lab series Essentials of Care for Supporting Individuals with Serious Mental Illness presented by the SPIRIT Lab at the University of Washington. This training is limited to a specific cohort. Find out more about this learning lab series here. ABOUT THE SESSION Crisis Response and Risk Reduction. Develop knowledge and skills to work with individuals in crisis. FACILITATOR JEFF ROSKELLEY, LICSW Jeff Roskelley graduated from the University of Utah with a Masters of Social Work degree in 2008, and has worked in several different settings including hospice, as a co-occurring assessment specialist at the University of Utah, and as a co-occurring specialist for the Lake Whatcom Assertive Community Treatment team in Bellingham, WA. Since 2013, Jeff has provided training, consultation, and quality monitoring to clinicians in outpatient and Assertive Community Treatment teams across Washington State and has provided training to ACT teams on evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions nationally. Finally, Jeff is an ardent dog lover and self-described qigong dabbler.  

Mindful Movement is a 30 minute meditation space for individuals to ground themselves, release any built up tension, prepare for the week ahead, etc..   1:00-1:30pm CT Tuesdays   It will be led by Victoria Marie, Wáčhiŋhiŋ Máza Wíŋyaŋ (Iron Plume Woman) (https://indigenouslotus.com/about) and is for all school personnel to attend and benefit from.   The sessions will be recorded and can later be used for teachers to use as a resource whenever needed.   Questions? [email protected]  

Special Program! A Conversation with Survivors and COVID-19 Long-Haulers: Implications for School and Mental Health  Part II: Where Are We Now? Checking in Six Months Later & Looking Ahead to the Holiday Season > Monday, November 22 at 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. MT / 3:00 p.m. PT – 4:30 p.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. HT / 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. American Samoa > Tuesday, November 23 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Marshall Islands, Pohnpei, Kosrae /   9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Chuuk, Yap / 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Palau  See your time zone here    Six months ago in June 2021, we gathered to listen to COVID-19 survivors and long haulers and learn about their experience to inform how we as school mental health providers and leaders prepared for the needs of staff and students for the coming school year. Graphic illustrations by Rio Holaday         The school year has begun, and the experience of Long Haulers continues.    Join us for a second special conversation on November 22nd 2021 to check in with our panel and each other: Where are we now? As we approach the holiday season, what considerations might we need to explore to support our staff and students?    Dr. Kira Mauseth returns to provide a more in-depth share about Long COVID behavioral health and what we are learning in our research. Derek, Karla, Mieka, and Jessica (four survivors of COVID-19, all of whom identify as long-haulers) return to share where they are now and offer recommendations for school providers.      This is not a Zoom webinar; we are structuring it as a Zoom meeting to have breakouts facilitated by each panelist to learn from each other, share, and ask questions.     Together in our main room, Kira Derek, Karla, Mieka, and Jessica will discuss and share considerations for the holiday season: how to support Long Haulers, those secondarily impacted by COVID-19, and school communities.     The breakout sections (up to participant choice) include: 1. Resilience research: How might research inform our practice? Led by Dr. Kira Mauseth  2. Compounded experiences: How might we support those with Long Haul and are COVID survivors who also have lived experience with other forms of loss and grief? Led by Jessica Gonzalez  3. Workplace leadership considerations: How might we as managers, principals, administrators, and supervisors create trauma informed, long-hauler attuned workplaces? Led by Karla Monterroso  4. Student and family partnerships: How might we, as school leaders, partner with students and families to hear and listen to their experience with Long Haul and COVID-19 to inform our policies and practices? Led by Derek Canty 5. Self-care and identity: How might the experience of COVID-19 calibrate with our sense of who we are? Led by Mieka Tennant   Please note:  We are not centering the conversation on death related to COVID-19; rather, we come together to discuss and share the losses and grief related to surviving COVID and being a long-hauler.    While this conversation will focus on young people and the context of schools, we welcome all to join us.  This program is led by MHTTC Regions 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and U.S. Pacific Islands of American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau) & 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington).  We strongly encourage members of the school mental health workforce from our regional areas to attend; outside workforce is welcome as well.  Certificates of attendance and Washington state clock hours are available for this event. Further information will be provided during the event on November 22nd.    Resources  Recording of the special discussion from November November 22, 2021 (Part II) Slide deck of panel discussion (PDF) from November 22, 2021 (Part II) Mentimeter results (PDF) from November 22, 2021 (Part II) Slide deck of panel discussion (PDF) from June 25, 2021 (Part I)  Support resources (PDF) Both graphic recordings (general and detailed) by Rio Holaday    Faculty Derek Canty is the CEO and founder of Winning Edge, Inc., a training and facilitation company based in Las Vegas.  Winning Edge provides training, consulting and coaching solutions to help individuals and organizations achieve maximum personal and organizational effectiveness.  Derek is also the co-founder of College Summit now PeerForward, Inc., a national social non-profit organization that is based in Washington, DC, with seven regional offices. He has also developed in-school youth development tools for PeerForward that are used in classrooms around the country. Derek spearheaded the initial Diversity & Inclusion initiative and department, where he served as Chief Diversity Officer for two years.    Derek has worked with over 15,000 youth in 30 major cities across the United States and internationally in three countries and was honored by his selection as one of the lead program facilitators for President Clinton's First Annual Young Adult Symposium at Georgetown University.  Today, Derek serves as a coach, facilitator, and trainer for select non-profit organizations and corporations, assisting them in team building, leadership development, and defining/strengthening their organizational culture. Derek and his entire family of five contracted COVID in July 2020. He was hospitalized for 10 days, and continues to manage the after effects on his overall health.    Karla Monterroso is currently a coach, strategist, and advisor for several organizations and people doing work impacted by the changing dynamics of the demographic shift--supporting both: 1) Their ability to distribute power strategically and contend with bridging the new divide between the social experience and institutional experience of power; 2) Working on the eradication of anti-Blackness in non-Black Latinx people through coaching, culture, and strategy.     Karla has spent two decades focused on growing the people and program functions of rapidly scaling social enterprises driving youth advocacy and leadership. Most recently as the CEO of Code2040 she stewarded the shift from Code2040 as a pipeline organization to an organization committed to dismantling the structural barriers to entry, retention, and promotion of Black and Latinx people in tech. She built the tools and ran the systems that supported the scale of healthcare non-profit Health Leads. Karla did similar work in college access for low-income communities with national organizations College Summit, and College Track. She is currently a board member for Alluma, a tech non-profit enabling the creation of pivotal technology necessary to build a path out of poverty. Karla is an alumnus of the University of Southern California.  Karla got sick with Covid-19 on March 13th of 2020, the first day of California’s shelter in place orders. She experienced two months of acute Covid and has now been navigating Long Haul Covid for over a year. She’s been outspoken and in national press outlets about healthcare inequities in Latinx and Black communities. She is still managing chronic tachycardia, fatigue, and assorted other symptoms due to Long Covid.     Mieka Tennant (she/her) is a communications strategist and producer. Her work is focused on accountability, inclusivity and intentional initiatives that build a stronger foundation for her clients to stand on. For over a decade she has been developing and implementing holistic communications strategies for individuals and companies. She has produced campaigns, events, and projects with various organizations--from conceptualizing a public arts initiative for incarcerated sexual assault survivors, to curating an event series for a charter school that brings together community leaders and creatives. Her love of storytelling and amplifying the voices of others led her to develop and facilitate a weekly writing group with New Village Girls Academy, where she has volunteered for the past seven years.   Mieka contracted COVID-19 the week of May 19, 2020, and for the following seven months endured the extreme effects of the virus on her body and life.   Jessica Gonzalez, MSW, is the School Mental Health Coordinator for the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network Coordinating Office (NCO) at Stanford University School of Medicine. Jessica is coordinating the work of 12 centers that provide training and technical assistance to the mental health and school mental health workforce to increase the use of evidence-based mental health prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for students across the United States. Jessica has worked in the community as a social worker providing mental health services in school and outpatient clinic settings to children and adolescents of diverse socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. In addition, she has experience in project management support and coordination for research and evaluation in the areas of early childhood learning and development, special education, post-secondary education attainment, and delivery of school mental health services. Jessica has also worked for numerous high school and college programs in the Bay Area seeking to improve educational outcomes for first-generation, low-income students of color.   Jessica contracted COVID-19 the first week of March 2020 and was hospitalized due to severe symptoms and complications. To this day, Jessica continues managing the effects on her mental health and well-being resulting from the virus.     Dr. Kira Mauseth is a practicing clinical psychologist who sees patients at Snohomish Psychology Associates, teaches as a Senior Instructor at Seattle University and serves as a co-lead for the Behavioral Health Strike Team for the WA State Department of Health. Her work and research interests focus on resilience, trauma and disaster behavioral health. She has worked extensively in Haiti with earthquake survivors, in Jordan with Syrian refugees and with first responders and health care workers throughout Puget Sound the United States. Dr. Mauseth also conducts trainings with organizations and educational groups about disaster preparedness and resilience building within local communities.       Questions? Contact your MHTTC Center   Northwest MHTTC  Email: [email protected]  Phone: (206) 744-9327             Pacific Southwest MHTTC  Email:  [email protected]  Phone: (844) 856-1749

In this presentation, I will provide an overview of three questions: how the brain processes art and how art impacts the brain. I then discuss the relation between art and mental health, and how art can be therapeutic. Presenter(s): Dr. Keshavan is Stanley Cobb Professor and Academic Head of the Harvard Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He has conducted early psychosis intervention and research for nearly three decades. He founded one of the first early psychosis clinical programs in the nation, services for treatment in early psychoses in Pittsburgh in 1990. He has published over 600 papers and 4 books on psychotic and related disorders including early psychosis neurobiology and intervention and organized educational conferences focused on early intervention in psychosis, biannually in Pittsburgh in Detroit and annually in Boston. He has been developing, efficacy-testing, and implementing cognitive enhancement therapy (CET), listed as an evidence-based intervention for schizophrenia by SAMHSA in the early course of schizophrenia over the past decade. He edits the Elsevier journal Schizophrenia Research, and is on the editorial board of several other journals, including the Journal of Early Intervention in Psychiatry, and is the recipient of the 2019 Research Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

  The New Epidemic: Treating Emergent Mental Health Needs in the Age of COVID-19     Studies show health care professionals and their clients alike are experiencing new or worsening mental health conditions since the outbreak of COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression increased from 11% in 2019 to 42% in December 2020. To get through these challenging times, both populations will benefit from special tools and considerations in order to endure the remainder of the pandemic and thrive in a post-pandemic world. This free two-part series will provide guidance for responding to novel mental health needs in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. Certificates of completion will be provided to viewers of 50% or more of the live webinar.     Upcoming Webinars   Supporting Health Care Professionals Through and After COVID-19 12-1 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 19 In this webinar, Mid-America MHTTC trainers will discuss strategies for addressing the mental health needs of health care professionals, including types of supports employers and organizations can implement to help those who are tasked with helping others.     Helping our Communities Thrive in the Face of COVID-19 12-1 p.m. CT Friday, Jan. 21 In this webinar, Mid-America MHTTC trainers will offer solutions and insights for supporting clients’ needs in a post-pandemic world. Trainers will discuss both strategies for both adults and youths.     Register Here for Both Sessions   NOTE: Zoom links will be emailed 1 week prior to each session