Past Events

Transition to Middle School - Best Practices; HHS Region 8 August 10, 2021 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM/MST | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM/CST Registration is free and required. This session is available to individuals residing in HHS Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY). Certificates of Attendance will be available.   Current literature indicates mental health challenges are increasingly prevalent among children and adolescents, with 15% of all individuals experiencing a mental health disorder before the age of 18. Adolescence is a period of time which presents an influx of change and stress to the person; putting the individual at heightened risk of experiencing mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety. Particularly challenging is the academic transition between elementary and middle school which presents increased social, academic, and environmental demands. This presentation provides an overview of challenges experienced by adolescents and best practices to address these challenges during the transition from elementary to middle school. Specifically, detailed information will be provided about middle school advisory as a tool for addressing social and emotional challenges of middle school students.   Attendee learning objectives:   Identify common challenges and needs of adolescent youth transitioning to middle school Identify best practices for addressing adolescent youth transitioning to middle school Describe advisory as a best practice Identify 1-2 strategies for implementing successful advisory programs   Download the free resource, "Facilitating Successful Transition to Middle School: Implementing Effective Advisories."   Trainers Taylor Anderson, MOT Emily Annen, MOT Seira Dick, MOT Sarah Nielsen, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

The Great Lakes MHTTC in partnership with WAFCA offer this training for behavioral health professionals in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, an WI.  This training is offered in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders.   Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a well-established, empirically supported treatment for helping individuals who experience recurrent, complex emotional and behavioral problems with a special emphasis on reducing self-destructive behaviors. DBT provides a comprehensive philosophy, intervention framework, and set of practical skills that youth with various behavioral health difficulties can benefit from. DBT has been adapted for use with adolescents in outpatient, inpatient, and school settings and is known to be effective in reducing a wide range of psychiatric problems. This workshop will provide participants with a foundational understanding of the DBT philosophical principles and framework for approaching one’s work with youth presenting with multiple challenging issues. Participants will practice the core philosophy of balancing change and acceptance while also learning the foundational goals of teaching each of the four skill sets of DBT. In addition to providing an overview of the four skill areas, participants will be engaged in a deeper exploration and application of selected interpersonal and distress tolerance skills deemed to be particularly important to supporting/ treating youth in residential and child welfare/justice system environments. The workshop will use a variety of case examples, small and large group discussions, and application exercises to bring the concepts and skills to life for participants. Participants will leave this workshop with a foundational understanding of how to integrate DBT principles and select skills into their work with youth. It is designed to enhance one’s comfort and skills for supporting youth with a variety of behavioral health problems.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES  explain how acceptance and change are used to effectively treat youth with complex behavioral health problems describe the foundational skills of DBT and their application to treating youth problems teach and support a youth’s use of at least one interpersonal and one distress tolerance skill    WAFCA will provide 4 NBCC continuing education hours to those who attend the entire four-hour training event. Partial credit will be provided to those who choose to attend only part of the event. SPEAKER   Jennifer J. Muehlenkamp, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She received her doctorate from Northern Illinois University after completing her clinical internship within the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry Department at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, specializing in adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Dr. Muehlenkamp is an internationally renowned expert on non-suicidal self-injury and suicide; having published nearly 100 research articles and book chapters on the topics of assessment, treatment, and risk & protective factors. She is a co-author of two books (Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Eating Disorders and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Advances in Psychotherapy) and is a regular consultant to mental and behavioral health professionals in her region. Dr. Muehlenkamp’s scholarly work has been honored with awards from the American Association of Suicidology and Self-Injury Awareness Network. She has received over $2 million dollars in local and federal grants from SAMHSA and the National Institute of Mental Health to support her work. In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Muehlenkamp is the director of her University’s Suicide Prevention and Research Collaborative, she is a board member of her State and County Suicide Prevention Coalitions, and she is Past-President and a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury. She brings her knowledge, expertise, and clinical experiences to life within her workshops to ensure all participants walk away with useful tools they can use in their practice.  

This 12-hour course offers recommendations to cultivate a compassionate school community that will buffer against the negative effects of trauma, build resilience for all students, and provide stress-relief and enhanced well-being for teachers and other school personnel as well as students. Participants will learn how to implement the Compassionate School Mental Health model being used to enhance services to schools and districts in the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center's Childhood Trauma-Learning Collaborative. Learn about the neurobiology of trauma and toxic stress, how it affects staff and student well-being, and best practices for preventing, responding to, and alleviating the effects of trauma. Get guidance on developing a vision to transform into a compassionate school community that includes the voices of many stakeholders. Gain an understanding of how a compassionate school mental health support system can help schools create systems, policies, and protocols to prevent, address, and recover from tragedies and crises including staff or student suicide, school violence, natural disasters, and global pandemics. All of these activities, including case studies, will allow for knowledge application and prepare participants to consider implications for schoolwide implementation.   This course was developed by the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center with funding by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).   12-hour CEs available

Summer Extended Learning Invitation: Join the Series' Faculty for a "Supporting (Im)migrant School Mental Health Community of Practice" Open to participants of one, two, or all sessions of the three-part learning series, this community of practice offers us the opportunity to go deeper with our learning. Led by the faculty of the series above (Angela Castellanos, Alicia Arambula, Claudia Rojas, & Claudia Gonzalez), we resource each other and discuss and explore ideas, questions, and teachings of the series, while adding real-life practice stories to work through together.    Please note that we strongly encourage you to register for at least two sessions so that we can build familiarity and relationships with one another.    Let’s get ready for the coming school year together. Join us!   When:   Monday, August 2, 3:15 - 4:30 p.m. PT (view your time zone)  Monday, August 9, 3:15 - 4:30 p.m. PT (view your time zone)   All Sessions:  (Mon.) 6-8 p.m. ET / 3-5 p.m. PT / 12-2 p.m. HT / 11 a.m.-1 p.m. American Samoa (Tues.) 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Marshall Islands / 9-11 a.m. Pohnpei, Kosrae / 8-10 a.m. Guam, Chuuk, Yap, Northern Mariana Islands /  7-9 a.m. Palau

Using a trauma-informed lens that incorporates both “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches, this training offers tools from Expressive Arts Therapy to soothe the nervous system; promote self-awareness; and support agency, empowerment, and well-being through a variety of multi-modal arts practices. Simple bottom-up and top-down exercises from creative writing, visual arts, visualization, movement, music, and theater will be introduced as embodied alternatives to talk therapy, all of which are rooted in attuning to each person's unique constitution and needs. Activities introduced in the training can be used for self-care and/or adapted for work with clients.   Learning Objectives Distinguish between "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches to working with trauma. Identify 2 benefits of Expressive Arts Therapy as a complement to traditional forms of psychotherapy. Identify and practice 3 bottom-up tools from Expressive Arts Therapy. Identify and practice 3 top-down tools from Expressive Arts Therapy. Explain 2 reasons why the integration of top-down and bottom-up approaches through the "side-door" approach can be beneficial.   About the Presenter Suraya Keating, MFT, REAT, RDT is a master trainer in Expressive Arts and Drama Therapy as well as adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. For 25 years, she has facilitated Expressive Arts and Drama Therapy processes with individuals and groups in schools, prisons, and hospitals, with a focus on populations who are marginalized and oppressed, and has also guided others in the creation and performance of therapeutic life-story theater. For 10 years, Suraya co-supervised Contra Costa County’s Expressive Arts Therapy Department, where she trained and supervised MFT associates in the cultivation of a wide variety of tools from Expressive Arts Therapy to support the wellbeing of individuals on the inpatient medical and psychiatric units of a county hospital, in addiction recovery programs at outpatient clinics, and in a variety of other settings. Since 2005, she has worked as Shakespeare for Social Justice Director for Marin Shakespeare’s prison programs, where she has trained hundreds of teaching artists, drama therapy students, and others interested in bringing the arts to carceral settings. Suraya works with therapeutic clients in-person and online, and also offers individual Expressive Arts consultation sessions as well as one-to-one solo performance coaching.

The therapeutic benefits of music have been acknowledged historically across cultures. Neuroscientific studies on understanding neural correlates of music have added scientific evidence and a deeper understanding of the myriad ways in which music impacts our behavior- neurocognitively, psychosocial, and spiritually. In this lecture, I will dwell deeper into the scientific aspect of how engaging in music both actively and passively impacts our overall health and how music can play an important role in enhancing our positive mental health. Dr. Shantala Hegde, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Consultant at the Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Clinical Psychology and Consultant to the Department of Neurorehabilitation, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. She is the Intermediate Fellow of the prestigious Wellcome Trust UK-DBT India Alliance and is a mentee to Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, former Associate Professor of Neurology and Director, Music, Neuroimaging, and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory Chief, Division of Stroke Recovery and Neuro Rehabilitation Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

The Great Lakes MHTTC offers this training for behavioral health professionals in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI.  This training is offered in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders.   The world has endured a lot of shifting and change with the Covid19 Pandemic, which also presented opportunity and strengthened our ability to embrace change. This webinar will examine the vital role leaders play in managing organizational change. It will deepen your understanding of the change process and offer practical tips and tools for preparing for normal responses to change and navigating the potential backlash and resistance of change; including how to prepare and protect those leading change movements.   Learning Objectives Gain a deeper understanding of how to prepare for change. Learn tips and tools to help prepare for the future of change. Gain a deeper understanding of the change process through frameworks of change. Certificates of attendance will be available to participants who attend the event in full.   Presenter Dr. Amelia Franck Meyer is the founder and CEO of the national non-profit, Alia: innovations for people and systems impacted by childhood trauma. Amelia and Team Alia are leading a national movement to keep children safe with, not from, their families. Alia works with child welfare leaders who are innovators and early adapters in jurisdictions around the country and the globe to create transformational change child welfare. The new way of work is referred to as an “UnSystem;” although we don’t know what the new way will eventually be called, we know it’s not this system. Team Alia’s work falls into two categories: Evolutionary—building the capacity for change and Revolutionary—co-designing new ways to keep families safely together. Alia’s Evolutionary work is accomplished through workforce wellbeing, change strategy, preparing and protecting leaders, teaching systems to how to get older youth to permanency and building empathic and trauma-informed care into child welfare practices. Alia’s Revolutionary work is done working in partnership with youth, families, communities and systems leaders to co-create the conditions that obsolete the need for family separation. Alia accomplishes its work using an anti-racist approach and co-designs new ways of work with youth, families and communities using Human Centered Design. Alia’s approach is to live our value of “Doing what love would do.”    

Registration for the Regional Peer Worker Support Circle is closed.   What: The Regional Peer Worker Support Circle (RPWSC) is a virtual gathering of peer workers from several U.S. states and territories that will meet every other week. The RPWSC is a safe and welcoming forum for mutual support, story sharing, discussion, and networking that unites peers from different professional and personal backgrounds. Meetings will focus on a variety of topics and issues central to peers, such as compassion fatigue, role clarity, systemic racism, self-care, and doing peer work amidst the pandemic. When: The Regional Peer Worker Support Circle will meet every other Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 pm ET. The first session will begin on Friday, February 12, 2021, and continue every other Friday through the end of August 2021. Where: The RPWSC will meet virtually via Zoom. Who Can Participate: People serving in peer worker roles are welcome to participate. Priority will be given to peer workers in the Northeast and Caribbean Region (i.e., New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands), but is not limited to individuals within the region. Schedule: 2/12; 2/26; 3/12; 3/26; 4/9; 4/23; 5/7; 5/21; 6/4; 6/18; 7/2; 7/16; 7/30; 8/6; 8/20   Facilitators: Stephanie Colon is a Bilingual Peer Specialist at the Institute for Family Health at the Center for Counseling at Walton, OnTrackNY, in the Bronx. She has been in this position since November 2017. Stephanie works with young people between the ages of 16 and 30 who have first-time altered state experiences. It is one of the most rewarding jobs that she has had in her lifetime. Stephanie is excited about being a co-facilitator of the Regional Peer Worker Support Circle. She says, “It gives me an opportunity to provide a safe/brave environment where peers feel like they are not alone and that their contribution to peer work is valuable.” Michael DeVivo is a Peer Specialist based in Syracuse, New York. He uses his lived experience with psychiatric labels to support young adults with first-episode psychosis. As a non-clinical member of a clinical team, he enjoys the challenge of improving the mental healthcare system “from the inside.” Mike is also passionate about developing the peer profession. To this end, he serves on a peer networking committee in his home region that links peer workers to foster a culture of support and solidarity, which he also hopes to promote as a co-facilitator of the Regional Peer Worker Support Circle. Outside of the peer world Mike teaches philosophy and writes music.

  What is Telehealth? A delivery of health care, health education, and health information services via remote technologies.   What we are offering: A presentation on August 6 introducing the initiative One month of intensive training for behavioral health counselors, nurses, and others providing behavioral health services in Native communities Opportunity to learn and utilize telehealth for one year Access to a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform for one year   Eligibility: You must be a behavioral health counselor, nurse, or other provider working with American Indian/Alaska Native individuals   August 6th, 2021 8:00-9:00 AM AKT, 9:00-10:00 AM PT, 10:00-11:00 AM MT, 11:00-12:00 PM CT, 12:00-1:00 PM ET

Region 6 Peer Specialists and Family Partners working in First Episode Psychosis (FEP) and Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) teams! The South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), in collaboration with PEPPNET, invites you to participate in our newly established monthly networking meetings. These no-cost, virtual meetings offer you the opportunity to collaborate with other FEP/CSC Team Peer Specialists and Family Partners in a supportive, mentoring environment. The goal is provide 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! For more information on how to join us for this call, please email us at [email protected].

Virtual series via Zoom hosted by subject experts David Sullivan and Melissa Isaac with guest speakers on Reopening Strategies, Social-Emotional Learning, and Self-Care for Professionals. Sessions will consist of research and experience based knowledge from mental health and education professionals and provide a platform for open discussion and questions from the audience. Learning Objectives: Identify considerations of reopening Strategically plan and evaluate reopening environment Connect with other professionals in school mental health Support self-care in school professionals and their students Adapt Strategies to accommodate backslides and foster social emotional learning in K-12 Sessions held on August 5, 12, 19 and 20 at the times below:  3-4:30 ET . 2-3:30 CT . 1-2:30 MT . 12-1:30 PT . 11-12:30 AKT

This webinar will review human trafficking risk factors. Dr. Contreras will provide an overview of human trafficking in the United States and include issues related to international and domestic trafficking. Using examples from her work with victims and survivors of trafficking, she will explain how the risk of exploitation increases with contextual stressors, such as the current COVID health crisis. The presentation will close with a review of practice recommendations drawing from her experience of developing programs to attend survivors of human trafficking.   Learning objectives: 1. Identify at least two differences and one overlap between domestic and international human trafficking. 2. Learn about individual vulnerabilities to human trafficking. 3. Describe traffickers’ methods of coercion that are challenging for the providers and the public to identify.   Who should attend? This webinar is designed for mental health providers including psychologists, clinical social workers, mental health counselors, and graduate level students in the mental health field who are interested in learning about the vulnerabilities and uniqueness of this period.   About the speaker: Paola M. Contreras, PsyD - is an Associate Professor at William James College and a practicing psychologist and psychoanalyst. For over a decade, Dr. Contreras has trained legal, health, and mental health providers on the psychological consequences of human trafficking. At William James College, she teaches classes on trauma, psychotherapy, and research. Dr. Contreras is also the lead researcher of William James College’s Human Trafficking Community Research Hub, where she is the principal investigator on studies related to human trafficking in The United States. Dr. Contreras has also worked with Massachusetts-based organizations to develop effective programming to address the consequences of trafficking. She has received several awards for her work with human trafficking and published widely.   Please read the following before registering: • The National Hispanic and Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center use GoToWebinar as our online event system. • Audio for the event is accessible via the internet. To receive audio, attendees must join the event by using computers equipped with speakers or dial in via telephone. • After registration, a confirmation email will be generated with instructions for joining the event. To avoid problems with log-in, please use the confirmation email to join the event.

This is the third session in Day 1 of Organizational Well-Being in Health Care: A National Symposium. Dr. Lauren Peccoralo, MD, MPH and Dr. Colin West, MD, PhD, will provide two special topics presentations on novel ways organizations can approach supporting provider well-being through growing internal leadership skills and better understanding provider distress. Dr. Peccoralo will present on programs she has created that utilize leadership development to enhance appreciation, coaching, and mentorship skills in medical providers to enhance provider well-being within organizations. Dr. West will present on his work related to understanding both provider well-being and provider distress and how his team has worked to address both concerns.

Join us for 3 interactive coaching sessions to help you plan and implement a manualized wellness program for yourself and your colleagues at work. During these unprecedented times when stress, anxiety, and pressures are high it’s critical to take care of yourself in order to take care of others. But this can be challenging. To support you in this effort, we’ve created a simple, manualized wellness program that you can do with your colleagues at work. Our Facilitation Manual for Self-Care in the Workplace outlines 5, 30-minute sessions. The Manual includes information for facilitating each session (i.e., a session plan for each session, a detailed outline of what the facilitator will say and do during each session, and video guidance for self-care activities). You can access the manual on our website. Each coaching session will walk you through the critical steps in planning to implement this program in your work setting. The sessions build on each other so please plan to attend all three sessions. Session 1: Assessing Motivation, Audience, Comfort, and Supports | Thursday, July 8,12:00-1:00 pm ET Session 2: Planning Considerations | Thursday, July 22, 12:00-1:00 pm ET Session 3: Action Steps for Implementation | Thursday, August 5,12:00-1:00 pm ET Presenters: Peggy Swarbrick, Ph.D., FAOTA, Associate Director of the Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies and a Research Professor, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey.  Michelle Zechner, Ph.D., MSW, LSW, CPRP, Assistant Professor at Rutgers, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Programs.

Intended Audience: This session is designed for SEA and LEA team members who need to navigate the complexities of school mental health with educators and administrators. It is ideal for those with a role in developing communications content about school mental health for audiences who do not have a mental health background, such as educators, school staff, and school administrators.  Note that this session does not focus on modes of communication (e.g., social media), but rather on how to develop content that effectively communicates school mental health concepts and issues to lay stakeholders.  Learning Objectives Participants who join this session will be able to: Recognize the utility and limitations of existing school mental health graphic designs. Strategically integrate graphic designs to support communication about school mental health. Adopt a graphic toolkit designed to illustrate the role of teachers and supporting adults in school mental health in the classroom and around campus. Session overview Why are there so many shapes, colors, and, levels of school mental health? Where do I fit into the model? What does this have to do with me (a teacher, vice principal, campus monitor)? This topical learning forum is dedicated to building capacity for Project AWARE teams invested in a shared understanding of our collective role in supporting student mental health and wellness at school. In this virtual learning session, we explore many styles of visual aides and graphic designs that illustrate key aspects of school mental health. We will review tools for using the collaboratively designed graphic that illustrates the role of teachers in school mental health, a resource to help you show adults on campus where they fit in the landscape student wellness. Together we will advance our ability effectively portray the facets of school mental health as independent but interconnected dimensions.  

About the Event:  How are you and your organization holding up through this pandemic? Do you and your colleagues have the resources and support needed to overcome today's challenges in providing mental health care? Join us for this 3-hour interactive virtual workshop focusing on how to build and maintain a resilient workplace that helps employees be at their best. Dr. Michelle Salyers and Dr. Angela Rollins will co-facilitate this event with a mix of didactic material, reflection, and small group discussion. Participants will identify factors that can help support resilience at work as well as identify specific steps to take to feel empowered and enhance one's wellbeing in the workplace. Review of our BREATHE 3-module series is recommended but not required.    Learning Objectives 1. Identify factors that support resilience at work.   2. Develop a framework to enhance resilience.  3. Feel empowered to take specific steps to enhance wellbeing in one's workplace.     About the Presenters:  Michelle P. Salyers, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). She directs the ACT Center of Indiana, a collaboration of academic and community partners, including researchers, administrators, clinicians, consumers, and family members who share an interest in recovery-oriented, evidence-based practices. The overarching goal of her work is to help adults with severe mental illness live meaningful lives in the community. Her research addresses both consumers of mental health services and the providers of those services. She is increasingly targeting the interaction of consumers and providers, looking for the best way to support relationships that promote recovery and well-being. Her current work involves developing effective ways to reduce staff burnout and to increase shared decision-making in mental health care.       Angela Rollins, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist at Regenstrief Institute and Associate Research Professor of Psychology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Dr. Rollins' research interests are primarily in studying methods for improving implementation of evidence-based mental health practices for people with severe mental illness. Recent topics include the measurement of program fidelity, improving clinical knowledge and skills, and reducing staff burnout. Clinical populations of interest include those experiencing homelessness, mental illness and/or co-occurring substance use disorders, as well as populations that might best be served by mental health and substance abuse services integrated within primary care settings. Dr. Rollins has particular expertise in the implementation of assertive community treatment, illness management and recovery, supported employment, and integrated dual disorders treatment. 

This is the second session in Day 1 of Organizational Well-Being in Health Care: A National Symposium. Ashley Stewart, PhD, MSW, LSW is an Adjunct Expert, Trainer & Curriculum Development Specialist at C4 Innovations. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, College of Social Work and her Master’s at Columbia University. She is an Assistant Professor at Temple University, College of Public Health, School of Social Work, training interdisciplinary students about social justice theories and frameworks and translational skills for anti-oppressive practice. Ashley provides racial equity training, consultation, and support and understands and respects the intricacies inherent in equity-centered work. Her research includes assessing the intersections of identity, structural oppression, health and mental health, and policy. In addition to the advanced study of the consequence and causes of identity-based oppression, Ashley supports the implementation of antioppressive practices at organizational, structural, programmatic, and clinical interventions.  

About the Session: In this sixth 90-minute session of the Culturally Responsive Evidence-Based and Community-Defined Practices for Mental Health Series, we will: Discuss how Preventing Long-Term Anger and Aggression in Youth (PLAAY) is being implemented with various cultural groups in different regions. Highlight culturally responsive “PLAAY practices” being utilized in different regions. Share lessons learned during the implementation of PLAAY (i.e. Balancing PLAAY and the cultural needs of the people served). Certificate of Completion: This session will be recorded and available on the series landing page here within a week of each live event. CEUs are not available for these sessions; however, certificates of completion for each learning session are available to viewers of 50% (45 minutes) or more of the live session. Questions? Contact Jessica Gonzalez, MHTTC School Mental Health Coordinator, at [email protected]. Session Facilitators and Panelists: Brendan Turner, LMSW is a Certified Master Level PLAAY Trainer and the PLAAY at CfR Program Coordinator at the Center for Resilience (CfR), a therapeutic day treatment center that works with children with significant emotional and behavioral challenges. Additionally, Brendan is a Racial Literacy Trainer with the Lion’s Story, an organization that supports nonprofits, small and large businesses, government entities and community organizations across the nation to learn, develop and use the skills to have productive conversations about race. He began his work in PLAAY (Preventing Long Term Anger and Aggression in Youth) at the Racial Empowerment Collaborative (REC) 2017 workshop with Dr. Howard Stevenson at the University of Pennsylvania. Brendan went on to facilitate PLAAY groups for children and train CfR staff for the past four years as the Senior Counselor at CfR. Brendan recognized the children’s positive emotional and behavioral response to PLAAY and spearheaded the effort to create PLAAY at CfR in 2019, the sister organization to Dr. Stevenson’s REC and Lion’s Story. PLAAY at CfR’s mission is to maximize opportunities for the youth of the New Orleans region to experience PLAAY and to add to Dr. Stevenson’s existing base of evidence in support of PLAAY.   

This is the first session in Day 1 of Organizational Well-Being in Health Care: A National Symposium. Dr. Grace Gengoux, PhD, BCBA-D, will provide a keynote address on evidence-based practices organizations can implement to better support the well-being of behavioral health providers in a post-pandemic world and beyond. Systemic approaches are needed to mitigate risk of burnout for healthcare professionals and to enhance professional fulfillment and meaningful career impact. This address will describe practical strategies for enhancing connection, flexibility, and professional growth, using a systematic approach grounded in the Stanford’s WellMD model of professional fulfillment, and identify best practices for sustaining healthy teams and building an organizational culture of wellness.

SERIES DESCRIPTION The Central East MHTTC in collaboration with the National Center for School Mental Health is pleased to offer a school mental health webinar series with a focus on advancing high quality, sustainable school mental health from a multi-tiered system of support, trauma sensitive, and culturally responsive and equitable lens. To familiarize yourself with the foundations of school mental health, please review the school mental health guidance document. Download the Series flyer here.   OBJECTIVES Gain increased awareness of high quality, sustainable multi-tiered system of school mental health supports and services Support trauma-informed systems in schools Discover the impacts of social determinants of health on student academic and social-emotional-behavioral success Learn to provide more culturally responsive and equitable services and supports Hear perspectives on school mental health from school, district and state levels Obtain insight into how youth, families, schools and communities can best work together to address student mental health needs   WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Educators, Administrators, Health and Behavioral Health Care Professionals, Child-Serving Agency Staff, Policymakers and Advocates    Scheduled Webinars for January – August 2021 Wednesday, January 6, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Trauma Responsive Care for Younger Students Slides   Recording Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Addressing Systemic Racism: Creating Safe and Equitable Schools Slides   Recording Wednesday, March 3, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Creating Safe and Equitable Schools: Tier II Interventions and Considerations Slides   Recording Wednesday, April 7, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET National Association of School Psychologists: School-Community Partnerships Slides   Recording Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Youth MOVE: Leveraging Youth Advocacy Slides   Recording Wednesday, June 2, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Supporting Students Impacted by Racial Stress and Trauma Slides   Recording Wednesday, July 7, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Supporting Native and Indigenous Youth in Schools Slides   Recording Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 3:00-4:00 PM ET Supporting Newcomer Youth (Immigrant and Refugee) in Schools Slides   Recording    

Identifying and Addressing Youth Anxiety in School-based Settings; HHS Region 8 August 4, 2021 2:00 - 3:30 PM/MST | 3:00 - 4:30 PM/CST Registration is free and required. This session is available to individuals residing in HHS Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY). Certificates of Attendance will be available.   Experts estimate that one in five youths will suffer from a mental health disorder by age 18. Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders, affecting 31.9% of youth (Merikangas, 2010). This training will provide free resources designed to assist school professionals in identifying anxiety in young people and provide strategies that address these anxieties and underlying worries. A significant focus of this presentation will be on culturally adaptive-anxiety, and the mental health practices used to help youth address those issues.   Attendee Learning Objectives:   Identify signs of anxiety in students Provide practical tips for assessing and addressing anxiety Distinguish clinical anxiety from worry Address development and cultural adaptations to anxiety treatment   Trainer Dr. Kelsie Okamura Dr. Kelsie H. Okamura is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and an Assistant Professor at Hawai’i Pacific University in the Department of Psychology. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. She completed her predoctoral internship at I Ola Lāhui Rural Hawai’i Behavioral Health and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Mental Health. Dr. Okamura’s research focuses on disseminating and implementing evidence-based innovations in youth behavioral health, psychometrics and measurement development, and youth internalizing psychopathology. 

This 90-minute live webinar on harm reduction is hosted by the Northwest MHTTC in partnership with the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon and Outside In.     FACILITATOR Haven Wheelock, MPH Haven Wheelock has been advocating for the health and safety of people who use drugs since 2002. Currently she is the Drug Users Health Services Program Coordinator at Outside In in Portland Oregon. She provides in direct service with people who use drugs and has also been involved in creating policy that improves the health in Oregon. She completed Master of Public Health (MPH) as a Fellow at Johns Hopkins as part of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative focusing on Overdose and Addiction Policy. She was also a Chief Petitioner for ballot measure 110, which was a first in the nation initiative to decriminalize drugs in the state of Oregon.