Products and Resources Catalog

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE Leading, managing and supervising in the behavioral health field can be demanding work, requiring attention, organizational skills, quick thinking and creative problem solving. With all of these demands, it can be difficult to remain stable and flexible, while navigating interpersonal relationships, in and out of work. Individuals can often feel discouraged and frustrated, which can affect desired outcomes and add another layer of personal stress. Leading and advocating for change is intense work. All too often, an individual's mental health and wellness will take a back seat, and over time, burnout can occur. In this training a broader picture is revealed as we examine personal responses to life through a Polyvagal lens. With a collection of fresh ideas, plus a bit of tender encouragement, participants can discover new nervous system awareness, resilience and some much needed soul-nurturing to inspire confidence for the challenges of leadership and advocacy. Learning Objectives Understand the foundations of polyvagal theory Self-identify personal nervous system states through a polyvagal lens Cultivate broader awareness and connection with self and others Gain increased skill and confidence for effective leadership and advocacy ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Presentation Resources  Slides Rhythm of Regulation  - Deb Dana Website  Published Works — Rhythm of Regulation - Published works by Deb Dana (i.e. Anchored, Polyvagal Theory in Therapy and Polyvagal Card Deck)  “The Pocket Guide to Polyvagal Theory” - by Dr. Stephen Porges  “Activate Your Vagus Nerve: Unleash your body's natural ability to heal” - by Dr. Navaz Habib  The healing power of music with thisislea FACILITATORS Rebekah Demirel, L.Ac MPCC Rebekah Demirel L.Ac. MPCC, is the founder and director of Trauma Integration Programs, with more than a decade as an ambulance paramedic, twenty-two years as a paramedic trainer, eighteen years of mental health counseling experience, specializing in traumatic stress, and she is a licensed East Asian medicine practitioner and acupuncturist. Rebekah’s unique skill set and experience are informed by her own traumatic childhood and teen years spent on the street and in the foster care system, giving her a special familiarity and empathy for trauma and loss. Terms of use and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) disclosure statement ​

Our third session was a didactic and tangible one, and we encouraged participants to bring in examples from their organizations as presenter Ashley Stewart shared a resource handout that helps guide organizations through the stages of transformation. Attendees spent time in groups discussing essential questions like: What does it look like to acknowledge to engage in accountability and take action? What do we need to acknowledge? Where do we need to take accountability? And what does action look like?

This Summer Region 9 School Mental Health Champions! newsletter edition was released in June, 2023 - for some of our readers, this is a time of break, vacation, and restoration. For others, it might be a time of closing the school year and preparing for a new one - of taking stock and exhaling after what may have been a busy year. Wherever this newsletter finds you, we hope you can take an inhale and exhale and honor the work of this past year. This newsletter provides new programming and products from our center, upcoming school mental health conferences and learning opportunities from the network and field, and recent research and scholarship to support our school mental health practices and policies. We’re happy to share that our region’s school mental health website is up to date and ready to support you: https://mhttcnetwork.org/centers/pacific-southwest-mhttc/school-mental-health Please contact us with specific requests, feedback, or your own resources you’d like us to share with your regional colleagues: [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

This Fall 2023 edition of Region 9 School Mental Health Champions! newsletter was released in October, a time and month that for many school-based leaders and educators is full, often a time and month that yearns for rest and rejuvenation. Our Region 9 team extends our wishes for our readers to feel resourced and supported and we are continually grateful for the opportunity to be a resource and a support to the work that makes your love for school mental health equity visible.    In this quarter’s newsletter, we offer new programming, research, and resources, and so much more. 

  To view the white paper, please click DOWNLOAD above   Description The Mountain Plains Leadership Academy staff and trainers collaborated to produce a white paper, Lessons in Rural Leadership, that summarizes lessons learned from conducting the Mountain Plains MHTTC Leadership Academy for the past four years. Currently, there does not exist a specialized leadership program tailored to the unique needs of individual rural behavioral health leaders.  Lessons in Rural Leadership provides an insightful commentary on the complex nature of leadership in rural communities. The paper presents a treatise on internal and external challenges individuals face when taking on a leadership role and the strategies the Academy staff have developed to address these challenges and support new and emerging leaders in rural communities. The key challenges identified include resources and access to resources, staffing, and “battlefield commissions” or rapid promotion without formal preparation or training. Understanding these challenges was critical to developing a program that delivered needed support rapidly. The paper also includes several program components participants identified as instrumental in supporting their leadership development. The paper concludes with two stories from Leadership Academy participants who have become facilitators at the Leadership Academy. Authors Genevieve Berry Bob Dare Lindsey McCarthy Josh B. Spinney, LPC Ivory Tubbs, PhD

In celebration of the National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health, in partnership with the New England MHTTC, invited people to a listening session about the importance of elevating Lived Experience Leadership among Latine/Latinos/Hispanic Peer Supporters and Latinos/Latine People with Lived Experience to inform the development of the first Hispanic/Latine Yale LET(s)Lead Transformational Leadership Academy, a 9-month FREE transformational leadership development opportunity. 

Download the presentation slides here Are you feeling supported at work? Is there synergy amongst your staff? Is your school on the same page with your community partners and parents? With the importance of focusing on our students’ success, it’s easy to put off attending to ourselves and our colleagues. In this session, we review practical recommendations and resources that put a campus culture of resilience within reach. Creating a climate of respect and compassion and sustaining a culture that values adults as allies in the shared mission of the school does not have to be an after-thought. Together, we will identify practices that are practical, accessible, and impactful for your school community’s well-being.  This is part of a learning series intended to help you reset and restore your own sense of wellness, and to help inform the way districts and schools promote cultures of care that benefit staff and partners. This session is for school and district staff including administrators, coordinators, school mental health and health staff, community partners, and other champions of staff well-being – with a role in influencing the engagement of staff, school community partners, and students' families.

The objectives of this module are: Make the distinction between trauma and ACEs. Continue to grow our understanding of various forms of trauma. Connect the role of resilience in response to trauma and adversity.

This is a recording of Session 4 in the Rising Practices & Policies Revisited series. This panel, "Mental Health & Student Mental Health Workforce: The Woes & Wonders of Recruitment & Retention" took place on August 14, 2023. In this final session of the series, Change Matrix’s Senior Technical Assistance & Training Specialist, Dr. Tonicia Freeman-Foster, moderated a panel and discussion with pre-service and in-service mental health and school mental health leaders on how to address the supply and demand gap, and models of resilience for providers in the field. In this session, we explored the following questions and more: What are the disparities between what the field needs in providers and service systems and what trained professionals are able to provide? What are innovative ways pre-service and in-service graduate school programs are creating, incentivizing, credentialing, and certifying the mental and school mental health workforce? How might we onboard and retain a new wave of providers?

This comprehensive guide is designed to support BIPOC employees, allies, and leadership in fostering a more inclusive and supportive workplace environment. By recognizing and addressing the unique challenges faced by People of Color, promoting allyship, and empowering leadership, we can create a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and able to thrive.   This guide provides practical strategies, exercises, and resources to enhance well-being and promote equity within your organization. View a series of webinars for guidance and support for the use and implementation of the guide: Day 1 recording Day 2 recording Day 3 recording

Welcome to Dreams, Dilemmas and Dialogues, a podcast produced by the Pacific Southwest MHTTC, that explores thought-provoking discussions between educators and school mental health providers on issues that impact our schools, classrooms, and communities.    In this four-part podcast co-hosted by Oriana Ides and Candice Valenzuela, and with guests throughout, we cover a rich tapestry of themes, ranging from fostering a positive school culture that empowers both students and educators, to the importance of centering compassion and empathy in the classroom, and creating spaces where learning and personal growth intertwine.   Join us as we dive into the realm of staff development, uncovering strategies to help educators continuously enhance their skills and ignite their passion for teaching. We also look at cultural shifts in education, examining how societal changes shape our classrooms and influence the way we educate the next generation.   Whether you're a school mental health provider, educator, parent/caregiver, student, or anyone curious about the future of education, these episodes are here to inform, inspire, and ignite conversations to inform our practices and policies. Tune in for fresh insights, and thought-provoking conversations that allow us to question and contemplate. Welcome to Dreams, Dilemmas and Dialogues—where every episode is a journey into our own and collective hope and healing.   Listen to each episode below, or click the "View Resource" button above to subscribe on Spotify!     Episode 1 - What Informs Us and Our Work? Reflection and Action: An Introduction to Liberation Psychology In this opening episode, hosts Candice Valenzuela and Oriana Ides explore their foundational values and formative experiences as healing centered practitioners in education.  Their conversations elevate some of the tenets and practices that have been most transformative in their individual and collective efforts to build school communities rooted in hope, healing and liberation.        Episode 2 - Interrupting Grind Culture; Shifting Professional Development, Pedagogy and Practice to Center Staff and Student Wellness Episode 2 features longtime classroom teacher Giulio Sorro, and co-hosts, Candice Valenzuela and Oriana Ides who steer the dialogue to how educators can uplift frameworks and orientations that support professional development where learning and personal growth intertwine. This episode illuminates the possibilities and practices for fostering a school culture that centers humanity, justice and empathy in the classroom.        Episode 3 - No Missed Steps; Laying the Groundwork for Healing and Restoration in Schools Episode 3 welcomes Stephanie Cariaga, professor of Teacher Education and Tatiana Chaterji, Restorative Justice (RJ) visionary, into an honest conversation that quickly moves beyond the implementation of programs and initiatives towards the possibilities of embodying the principles of RJ and building entire infrastructures rooted in its indigenous, culturally sustaining values. Together we witness, uplift and celebrate one another’s experiences of joy, righteous rage and safety as a pathway towards healing and visioning.        Episode 4 - Honoring Praxis; The Intentional Practice of Reflection and Action In this final episode, Candice Valenzuela and Oriana Ides reflect upon their decades in education and the ways in which they’ve consciously and unconsciously created culture in school sites and beyond. In the spirit of trailblazers and change-makers, this episode celebrates the abolitionists of traditional educational norms. Our podcast invites you to join the conversation on revolutionary approaches to teaching and learning, and to explore the transformative potential of anti-racist pedagogy.         Meet the Podcast Co-Hosts   Oriana Ides, MA, PPS, LPCCI (she/hers) is the School Mental Health Training Specialist at CARS, who approaches healing the wounds of trauma and oppression as core elements of social justice.  She has worked with young people across the life course from elementary school to college, and has served as teacher-leader, school counselor, classroom educator and program director.  She is committed to generating equity within school structures and policies by focusing on evidence-based mental health techniques and institutional design.     Candice Valenzuela MA, MFTI, YT-200 (they/them) is a proud Afro-Latinx native of Watts, California. They have worked at the crossroads of education and healing for 17 years. Candice earned a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and a minor in Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University, earned a secondary teaching credential from Alliant University, and a Master of Arts in East-West Psychology at the California Institute for Integral Studies. Candice is certified as a trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness instructor through the Niroga Institute and has training in mesoamerican indigenous healing practices through Ancestral Apothecary in Oakland, California. Candice is currently training as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Denver, Colorado.  Candice believes that ancestral, community and ecological healing are the most urgent issues of our time. They coach administrators, train teachers and lead professional development at schools throughout the nation in addition to providing gender affirming therapy as an Intern Therapist at Queer Asterisk in Denver, Colorado . When they are not working or studying, Candice enjoys sharing their enthusiasm for nature with their 6 year old child.       Meet the Guests   Giulio Sorro is a father of three as well as a son, brother, uncle, teacher and learner. He is forever in search of balance between the stars above and the concrete streets he walks. The Bronx, Enssogologo, Africa, San Francisco and June Jordan School for Equity serve as his official classes and continue to provide rich opportunities for learning and growth.  Even as a classroom teacher, he believes we must find our way out of these four walls and turn liberation theology into practice.  His bougie tendencies are loose leaf tea.     Stephanie Cariaga has served the wider Los Angeles community for sixteen years as a high school and middle school literacy teacher, founding member of the People’s Education Movement and co-organizer of the People’s Education Conference, and now an assistant professor in teacher education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Rooted in radical feminist ways of knowing that center the body, wholeness, and justice, her teaching and research examines the intersections between trauma/healing-informed pedagogies, critical literacy, and critical teacher sustainability.       Tatiana Chaterjee is an educator, trainer, and restorative justice practitioner working at the borders of criminalization, intergenerational trauma, structural violence and youth empowerment. With over a decade of experience in schools, prisons, re-entry, juvenile justice, and community settings, I bring deep commitment to peacebuilding, violence prevention, and healing. ​Using personal narrative and embodied practice, I deepen conversations across difference and cultivate humanizing relationships. I integrate tools from multiple traditions to recover human connection between people at multiple ends of historical injustice. I seek opportunities for dialogue and accountability regarding systemic oppression and the way it manifests in interpersonal relationships. I mobilize my survivorship from violence for radical love, with an eye toward (dis)ability, disrupting power & hierarchy, and stopping harm.    

  Self-care among those who help trauma-affected individuals is a critical part of their success and the success of their clients. To view resources from this presentation, please click DOWNLOAD above Click here to watch the recording Event Description This webinar will discuss elements of trauma informed leadership with a particular focus on how to promote self-care among those who help trauma-affected individuals. Whether you are a teacher, counselor, administrator or community member, we all have a unique role to play in promoting wellness in our teams. This presentation will discuss elements of healthy work environments, potential red flags and signs of burnout, nuances of dual relationships and bias in tribal settings. The presentation will end with ideas and strategies on how to promote self-care all year long.  Trainer Cynthia Guzman Dr. Cynthia E. Guzmán is a licensed psychologist who has devoted her career to addressing health disparities in underserved communities, primarily in Indian Country for the past 12 years. She has experience with program design, development, and implementation of programs that address co-occurring disorders as well as primary care/mental health integration. Aside from clinical work and the supervision of other trainees, Dr. Guzmán considers herself a servant leader and enjoys developing community assessments, policy and procedure writing, as well as implementing culturally safe interventions at the community level. Dr. Guzmán is a proud member of the American Psychological Association, Society for Indian Psychologists and currently serves as the 2022 National Latinx Psychological Association Past President.

Learn more about innovative approaches to supporting better outcomes for those who provide care as well as those seeking and receiving behavioral health care in communities of color in New England!   Presenters--including clinicians, researchers, faith and community leaders, and people with lived expertise--will explore strategies for: Delivering culturally competent care Creating recovery-ready workplaces Integrating peer support in the workforce Building career ladders for existing staff and retaining early career staff Day two's theme was "Building Community and Developing Pathways in Prevention." View a recording of this 2/14/23 session here. 

Learn more about innovative approaches to supporting better outcomes for those who provide care as well as those seeking and receiving behavioral health care in communities of color in New England!   Presenters--including clinicians, researchers, faith and community leaders, and people with lived expertise--will explore strategies for: Delivering culturally competent care Creating recovery-ready workplaces Integrating peer support in the workforce Building career ladders for existing staff and retaining early career staff Day one's theme was "Defining the Workforce and Visioning for the Future" View a recording of this 2/13/23 session here. 

Learn more about innovative approaches to supporting better outcomes for those who provide care as well as those seeking and receiving behavioral health care in communities of color in New England!   Presenters--including clinicians, researchers, faith and community leaders, and people with lived expertise--will explore strategies for: Delivering culturally competent care Creating recovery-ready workplaces Integrating peer support in the workforce Building career ladders for existing staff and retaining early career staff Day four's theme was "Innovations for a Sustainable Workforce" View a recording of this 2/16/23 session here.

Our region, the Pacific Southwest MHTTC, is committed to supporting Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) identifying school mental health leaders and their allies with leadership development sessions to facilitate well-being and career support. We also know that the school and mental health professional pipeline struggles with recruiting and retaining representative professionals with diverse identities. As such, we are thrilled to have partnered with Untapped Leaders in this recorded workshop that offers frameworks and tools to school mental health leaders and professionals in Region 9 (and beyond). In this introductory recorded session, presenter Jenny Vasquez-Newsom led participants through the exclusionary history of traditional leadership frameworks. Further, viewers may examine how those outdated definitions persist in organizations today, and how to incorporate contextual understanding and agility to lead organizations (education agencies, departments, school boards, school districts, school sites, school mental health associations) inclusively and effectively from any seat to ensure optimal wellness for ourselves, colleagues, and our staff.

Download the presentation slides here   Session Overview: How school administrators show up to lead school mental health initiatives is key to these initiatives’ impact and sustainability. Ensuring wellness for students in support of their learning and development is the responsibility of all adults on campus. School leadership may set the tone for how school mental health is prioritized and integrated. Whether you are in an administrative role, or in a position to inform or partner with school leaders, this session applies a school leadership lens to universal components of school mental health. It reviews core dimensions of school mental health and connects you to relevant resources. Participants will be able to communicate about the importance of student mental health in academic achievement, core concepts related to school and student mental health, and funding considerations, and they will be able to reference examples of school mental health strategies. We will discuss common questions, issues, and opportunities facing leadership who are starting or continuing efforts to advance school wellness.   Intended Audience:  This session is designed for state and school team members who want school mental health communication messaging and tools relevant to school leadership. It is ideal for those with a role in developing communications content about school mental health or for school administrators. Note that this session does not focus on modes of communication (e.g., social media), but rather content that effectively communicates school mental health concepts and issues from the point of view of administrators.   Learning Objectives:  Communicate about the importance of student mental health in academic achievement, core concepts related to school and student mental health, and funding considerations. Describe examples of school mental health strategies. Discuss common questions, issues, and opportunities facing leadership who are starting or continuing efforts to advance school wellness, including mental wellness.   Speaker:              Christina Borbely PhD [“borbay”], is a developmental psychologist (Columbia University, 2004) in Aptos, CA. She is coordinator of professional development for Santa Cruz County California Behavioral Health Services and leads her own consulting firm specialized in translating research science into developmentally relevant and culturally competent practices. She strives to support thriving youth in healthy families within safe communities based on connecting evidence of what works to the people and systems serving them (e.g., teachers, social workers, administrators, or volunteers). 

Part 1 of 2 in the Pacific Southwest and Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC training series: Peer Wellness Supports for Healthcare Providers   Professionals across the health care continuum are trained to support, educate, and care for others. Sometimes this care comes at their own expense, and they may have difficulty tending to their own well-being. Burnout and compassion fatigue can lead to poor job performance which can negatively impact colleagues, patients/clients, and students, as well as family and friends. Attention to self-care and simple daily practices can build resilience and increase a person’s overall wellness.   This recorded training will help professionals in a range of disciplines and settings facilitate brief self-care sessions with their peers and colleagues. Part 1 of the training includes an overview of the program and self-care practices for participants.   The training is led by Drs. Margaret (Peggy) Swarbrick and Michelle Zechner and is based on their co-authored manual, "Self-Care in the Workplace." Please access the Facilitator Manual here.

Part 2 of 2 in the Pacific Southwest and Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC training series: Peer Wellness Supports for Healthcare Providers This recorded training will help professionals in a range of disciplines and settings facilitate brief self-care sessions with their peers and colleagues. Each two-hour recorded webinar includes didactic, experiential, and implementation planning components (e.g. brief overview of practice, doing a self-care practice, resources and challenges to using materials at their location, and discussion).  This Part 2 recording features peer strategies and how to implement a colleague-to-colleague program as well as developing a customized plan (identifying strengths, possible challenges, and strategies to overcome possible challenges). At the end of this two-part training, viewers will be able to lead wellness groups for their small teams within their workplace.   The training is led by Drs. Margaret (Peggy) Swarbrick and Michelle Zechner and is based on their co-authored manual “Self-Care in the Workplace.” Please access the Facilitator Manual here.

View the presentation slides:       Lumina practitioners will share how our personality aspects influence our leadership traits. Participants will be guided through an interactive experience to create a unique picture of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and overextensions that will lead to improving team communication and collaboration. Additionally, participants will learn the 5 thinking styles and uncover how to quickly build rapport with each. Finally, this session will guide the participants through an exercise that helps them identify what helps them be at their best and identify barriers that keep them from being their best.    Learning Objectives: Examine individuals' own multi-faceted personality, strengths and growth opportunities to improve team communication and collaboration. Recognize the diversity and strengths of each individual team member and what they bring to the table. Identify individuals’ overextensions and examine strategies for personal growth. Describe the 5 thinking styles and strategies to quickly build rapport with each.   Presented By: Dave Closson Dave Closson is the owner of DJC Solutions, LLC, a modern-day consulting company with a combined focus of serving substance misuse prevention professionals, law enforcement officers, and military veterans. DJC Solutions connects others to sustainable habits, aligned experiences, and next-level excellence. Dave is the author of “Motivational Interviewing for Campus Police” and was chosen as one of the few Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) #StillServing Heroes nationwide. Dave was most recently the Co-Director of the Mid-America Prevention Technology Transfer Center which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. His PTTC served as a prevention catalyst, empowering individuals and fostering partnerships to promote safe, healthy, and drug-free communities across Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. He was previously a Training/Technical Assistance Specialist for SAMHSA’s Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT). Before joining CAPT, Dave was Assistant Director of the Illinois Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Other Drug, and Violence Prevention. Dave brings a unique experience to substance misuse prevention, having served as a university police officer at Eastern Illinois University. Dave was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While spending a year in Iraq with his infantry battalion and his recon team, he earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and was awarded two Army Commendation Medals (one for valor and one for meritorious service). Training, coaching, and helping others is what he does best!   Learn more about the series: Leadership Institute Community of Practice    

  View the presentation slides:       Mitigating bias in hiring and promoting practices in the behavioral health field is a priority.  Behavioral health practitioners are required now more than ever to pay closer attention to these challenges in the workplace. Join us for a discussion around increasing awareness, effectively navigating challenges, and moving towards action.   Learning Objectives:  Define what professionalism means to your organization and the origins of that definition. Identify strategies to make hiring practices more inclusive.   Presented by:  Dr. Anitra Warrior is the owner of Morningstar Counseling and Consultation in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is from the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma. She earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology in 2015 and has operated her clinic since 2012. Since receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Warrior has established four additional clinics that are now located throughout eastern Nebraska. Morningstar offers counseling on two college campuses, as well as in schools, communities, and other integrated care locations with the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. Clinic sites are based on reservations and in rural and urban settings. Dr. Warrior specializes in treating trauma in children through the utilization of evidenced based practices that have been adapted to the American Indian population. Most recently, Morningstar has become a training site for doctoral candidates with the Munroe-Meyer Institute. This track will focus on integrated care on the reservation as well as provide additional clinical training opportunities in schools, colleges, and in the tribal communities.   Belinda Hinojos, Ph.D., received her bachelor's degree in psychology and master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Kansas. She completed her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a staff psychologist and training director with Morningstar. In this role, she provides mental health services to American Indian communities in Nebraska. This includes outreach and services to the Little Priest Tribal College and the Nebraska Indian Community College. Dr. Hinojos previously held the position of training director at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s (UNL) Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Throughout her career, Dr. Hinojos has focused on increasing access to quality mental health services for people of color. She began her work at UNL-CAPS as the Diversity Coordinator and Latinx Outreach Specialist. Prior to starting her doctoral program, Dr. Hinojos worked at a community mental health agency in Kansas City providing mental health services to the Latinx community. She is an active member of the National Latinx Psychological Association. She currently serves on the Standing Committee on Diversity through the Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies, in addition to the Training Advisory Committee for the Minority Fellowship Program through the American Psychological Association.   Learn more about the series: Leadership Institute Community of Practice                 

To access resources used during this event, please click DOWNLOAD above Recording coming soon! Event Description Change is a constant in the work setting – developing new services, adapting to new requirements, responding to environmental issues like COVID, and conducting ongoing program improvement all create pressures to adapt. In this training, you will learn how to prepare yourself and your team for change. We’ll also talk about attitudes towards change, leadership qualities that facilitate change, crucial needs for effective transformation, strategic planning, and tools to support the change processes.    Ms. Gina Brimner and Mr. Robert Dare led this seminar. Ms. Brimner and Mr. Dare have extensive leadership experience in their respective fields, Behavioral Health, and the United States military.  They have facilitated the Mountain Plains MHTTC Leadership Academy for the past two years. Trainers Gina Brimner Robert Dare

  Access the presentation slides below:      Learning Objectives: Discuss equity versus equality and how it is changing organizations Discuss advocacy in workplace culture and what organizations need to consider Discuss restorative justice and how it fits into workplace culture     Description:  Current political environment around equity and inclusion in the workplace has made it challenging for practitioners to provide effective evidence-based practices towards prevention, treatment, and recovery.  Behavioral health practitioners are required now more than ever to pay closer attention to these challenges in the workplace.  Join us for a discussion around increasing awareness, effectively navigating challenges, and moving towards action.   Equity versus equality  Treatment courts  Advocacy for those harmed   Restorative Justice      Presented by: Shawn Sorrell currently serves as the Hennepin County Diversity Equity and Inclusion Department manager and Race Equity Advisory Council strategic liaison.  His prior Hennepin County service was as the Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation Diversity and Equal Justice Unit Manager, former Lead Safety trainer and prior position as a Senior Human Resources Representative. HueLife consultant, providing training, professional development and other facilitation services to communities and organizations. His experiences includes consultation and collaboration with public and private entities to design and implement organizational change strategies and training programs. Current responsibilities include coordinating and overseeing county-wide strategic initiatives, develop and track metrics of progress of change and research best practices, benchmarks, and tools for summary reports and recommendations. He’s a Certified Technology of Participation Methods (ToPs) Facilitator/Trainer and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator. His community and non-profit board participation consists of Avenues for Youth Board of Directors Vice-President, Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) Board of Directors member, Woodbury YMCA community board chair, Woodbury Public Safety Multicultural Advisory Committee member, Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council member, Metro Urban Indian Directors Public Safety committee member, 4th District Courts Equal Justice Committee member and Nexus Community Partners Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) 2020-2021 Fellow.   Learn more about the series: Leadership Institute Community of Practice                   

This podcast was produced as part of promotions for the upcoming webinar, Community of Practice: Equity and Inclusion in Behavioral Health Work hosted by Shawn Sorrell.   Webinar description:  Current political environment around equity and inclusion in the workplace has made it challenging for practitioners to provide effective evidence-based practices towards prevention, treatment, and recovery.  Behavioral health practitioners are required now more than ever to pay closer attention to these challenges in the workplace.  Join us for a discussion around increasing awareness, effectively navigating challenges, and moving towards action.   Equity versus equality  Treatment courts  Advocacy for those harmed   Restorative Justice    About Shawn: Shawn Sorrell currently serves as the Hennepin County Diversity Equity and Inclusion Department manager and Race Equity Advisory Council strategic liaison.  His prior Hennepin County service was as the Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation Diversity and Equal Justice Unit Manager, former Lead Safety trainer and prior position as a Senior Human Resources Representative. HueLife consultant, providing training, professional development and other facilitation services to communities and organizations. His experiences includes consultation and collaboration with public and private entities to design and implement organizational change strategies and training programs. Current responsibilities include coordinating and overseeing county-wide strategic initiatives, develop and track metrics of progress of change and research best practices, benchmarks, and tools for summary reports and recommendations. He’s a Certified Technology of Participation Methods (ToPs) Facilitator/Trainer and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator. HIs community and non-profit board participation consists of Avenues for Youth Board of Directors Vice-President, Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) Board of Directors member, Woodbury YMCA community board chair, Woodbury Public Safety Multicultural Advisory Committee member, Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council member, Metro Urban Indian Directors Public Safety committee member, 4th District Courts Equal Justice Committee member and Nexus Community Partners Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) 2020-2021 Fellow.   Learn more about the Leadership Institute Community of Practice