Products and Resources Catalog

This is a recording of Workshop 4 of 6 in the "Trauma-Informed, In School Sessions" Workshop Series.  Counseling with Care: Trauma Informed School Counseling Practices Trauma Informed Principle to Practice: Peer Support, Empowerment   Are you a school counselor, becoming a school counselor, or someone who teams/works with school counselors? Zeyda Garcia, founder of Healing Aguas Wellness Solutions and school counseling professor, joined this series to share how to anchor and apply trauma-informed principles in school counseling practices, programs, and policies. In the workshop video, she discusses a high-level overview of trauma, its impacts on students, and different strategies school mental health providers can implement to support young people in counseling settings.   Utilizing trauma informed school counseling practices, providers can support young people in regulating their own nervous system and support them in accessing their education. Watch this workshop video and join in reflections on our unique school and personal practices, in order to enhance our trauma-informed support of students.   Viewers will walk away with practical tools to use in sessions with students, families, and school-wide. Most importantly, and in Zeyda’s words, this workshop aims to offer school counselors “more creativity, courage and confidence in yourself as a counselor and a commitment to caring for yourself.”

The Comprehensive School Mental Health Case Examples Training Packet was developed to be utilized with multi-disciplinary school teams, including building, district, and/or community professionals, who are tasked with assessing the academic, mental, and behavioral health needs of students.

About this Resource: The Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® is a skills-based wellness and prevention program that provides a biological, non-stigmatizing perspective on human reactions to stress and trauma. The primary focus of this stabilization program is to learn to reset the natural balance of the nervous system, using the body itself. CRM skills help people understand their nervous system and learn to track sensations connected to their own wellbeing. This low-intensity intervention teaches easy-to-learn skills to manage difficult emotions which can be brought on by stressful personal or professional situations. In this 1.5 hour on-demand recording, presenters share their knowledge of concepts to understand their own and others' stress responses and the skills to regain emotional balance when buffeted by strong negative emotions.

This recording is from Workshop 3 of 6 in the "Trauma-Informed, In School Sessions" Workshop Series.  This video recording provides an exploration of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), an evidence-based approach tailored for adults or children, particularly refugees and immigrants, with multiple traumatic experiences. Kids Narrative Exposure Therapy (KIDNET) is a therapy designed for children and adolescents who have experienced trauma, especially in conflict zones. KIDNET therapy focuses on reprocessing traumatic memories by contrasting the memories with the present feelings through narration. It focuses on helping them process their traumatic memories by creating a "lifeline" and uses techniques like storytelling, art, and role-play to aid in healing and recovery.   Led by Dr. Alejandra Acuña, this workshop guided participants towards a comprehensive understanding of NET's principles and techniques, learning how to utilize storytelling to help students process and integrate traumatic memories resulting in reduced PTSD symptoms. Viewers will walk away equipped with practical strategies and insights to provide culturally responsive support to students, fostering resilience and facilitating healing within diverse educational settings (e.g., green lights, yellow lights, and red lights of NET implementation!).   Importantly, Dr. Acuña shared not only about the evidence based approach, but how the implementation of it in itself can and should be trauma-informed and culturally responsive so that students and their families experience their recovery through the trauma-informed principles of empowerment and collaboration.

Northwest MHTTC is proud to present its Year 5 Annual Report Summary, which captures a brief snapshot of the Center's reach from September 2022 - September 2023. This includes the main "core" grant as well as a continued School Mental Health supplement. Every year Northwest MHTTC provides training and technical assistance to the behavioral health workforce in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. In Year 5 of our operations, we reached over 14,000 people through 150 free trainings, webinars, implementations, and other events. The result? Almost 97% of participants would recommend our trainings! Here's just some of what you'll discover in our Annual Report Summary: Core Grant Activities Learn about our work in Evidence-Based Practices for Psychosis, Intensive Training and Technical Assistance, and Responding to Regional Needs & Fostering Diverse Alliances School Mental Health Supplement Activities Discover our work in Building Systems to Support the Mental Health and Well-Being of Educators, our Alaska Workshops, and Trainings. Here are other reports concerning the Northwest MHTTC's recent work: Northwest MHTTC Year 5 Summary Northwest MHTTC School Mental Health Year 1-5 Supplement Summary  

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE This webinar will highlight key points from the “Supervising Clinical Mental Health Providers” guide published by the University of Washington’s CoLab for Community & Behavioral Health Policy and informed by both the research literature and experiences of community providers, behavioral health leaders, and systems partners. Quality supervision is paramount to quality mental health care. Clinical supervision for behavioral health providers has three primary aims: to develop competent clinicians, to support clinicians in their own experience of the work, and to promote safe and effective therapy, thereby ensuring client welfare. Clinical supervisors are ethically responsible for evaluating and ensuring clinicians are competent and do not pose risk of harm to the clients they are serving. This webinar and the referenced guide lead from the perspective that regardless of one’s supervision style or approach, all aspects of competent and ethical supervision are inherently trauma informed, intersectional, culturally responsive, and rooted in equity. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Presentation Resources  Slides Guide: “Supervising Clinical Mental Health Providers” Behavioral health needs of youth in WA state Black women talk about stereotypical transference enactments in cross-cultural supervision FACILITATORS Minu Ranna-Stewart, LICSW Minu Ranna-Stewart, LICSW has provided leadership and clinical oversight in multiple settings including an educational service district, accredited child advocacy center, community sexual assault program, and crime victim service center. She has provided training to mental health providers across Washington State on evidence based mental health treatment models for children and adults, participated in clinical research projects, delivered trauma and trauma informed trainings to the community, and provided direct clinical therapy services to children and adults. Minu is the co-founder of Milestone Behavioral Health Consulting where she proudly provide consultation to programs and organizations and direct services in the form of therapy services to children, adults, and families with a keen interest in treating race-based traumatic stress and ensuring race and identity are included as essential and necessary aspects of prevention, intervention, and therapeutic services. She is a certified TF-CBT therapist and supervisor. Naomi Leong, LMHC Naomi Leong, LMHC, is a registered yoga instructor, licensed Yoga Calm instructor, and a Certified Member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Naomi also holds certifications in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sports and Fitness Psychology, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and is a Child Mental Health Specialist. Naomi has a long history working in community mental health and is in private practice at Browne's Addition Wellness Center in Spokane, WA. Terms of use and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) disclosure statement ​

The Person-Centered Recovery Planning (PCRP) Consultation Corner is a 6-month learning series featuring a monthly webinar on the “FAQs” of PCRP; offering practical tools and resources to support quality PCRP at the level of both individual service delivery and organizational systems change; and providing follow-up “office hours” through smaller-group technical assistance for webinar participants who wish to take a “deeper dive” on a given topic.   Participants were able to: Define PCRP and its essential elements Increase familiarity with existing and emerging state and federal requirements regarding PCRP Articulate a minimum of three differences between traditional methods of treatment planning and best-practice PCRP Learn more about how the MHTTC PCRP Consultation Corner series can provide tools and resources to support the implementation of PCRP at your organization Presenters: Janis Tondora, Amy Pierce, and Amanda Bowman   Janis Tondora, Psy.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine.  Her work involves supporting the implementation of person-centered practices that help people with behavioral health concerns and other disabilities to get more control over decisions about their services so they can live a good life as they define it. She has provided training and consultation to over 25 states seeking to implement Person-Centered Recovery Planning and has shared her work with the field in dozens of publications, including her 2014 book, Partnering for Recovery in Mental Health: A Practical Guide to Person-Centered Planning. Janis’ consultation and publications have been widely used by both public and private service systems to advance the implementation of recovery-oriented practices in the U.S. and abroad. She is a life-long resident of Connecticut where she lives with her husband and beloved labradoodles after recently becoming an empty-nester with two children in college.   Amy Pierce (she/her) is an international trainer and consultant has been working in the Peer Movement in the State of Texas for over two decades. She currently serves as Recovery Institute Associate Director at Via Hope by serving as a subject matter expert on the implementation of peer services and other recovery-oriented practices. She has extensive experience in the peer support sector, having started the first peer support program in the state hospitals in Texas, working as a peer support worker in a community mental health agency, and working as the Program Coordinator for a transitional peer residential housing project.   Amanda Bowman, LCSW-S, PSS (she/her) is a clinical social worker, certified peer specialist supervisor, and WRAPⓇ facilitator, using her professional and lived experience with mental health challenges to promote person-centered practices in behavioral health care. Coming from direct social work practice and administrative leadership within the public mental health system, she joined Via Hope in 2013, where she served as Recovery Institute Director until 2023. In this role, she oversaw the development and delivery of organizational change programs, which included statewide initiatives to support the implementation of person-centered planning, peer support services, and trauma-responsive work environments. As the owner of Sidecar Consulting, Amanda now facilitates collaborative learning events and serves as a subject matter expert for programs designed to support change within and across agencies. Outside of work, you may find Amanda with her family hiking the Barton Creek Greenbelt or enjoying live music.   This series is co-sponsored by the New England and South Southwest MHTTCs. More information about the series.  

The Healing & Power in Peer Support training provides an overview of Healing-Centered Engagement and its principles as ways to deepen and advance the practice of peer support. Participants will explore concepts like holding space, radical acceptance, meaning-making, and power dynamics through deep reflection, experiential activities, and facilitated discussion. This curriculum is helpful for new peer supporters or any peer supporters who are looking to refresh and deepen their skills. This curriculum should be facilitated by experienced peer specialists who are looking to support the peer support workforce in their community. Healing & Power in Peer Support is the prerequisite training for the Virtual Facilitation through a Healing-Centered Lens training, another curriculum created by the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center. Learning Objectives At the end of this training, participants will be able to: Integrate the principles of Healing-Centered Engagement in peer support practice; Practice radical acceptance in relation to self and others; Employ Healing-Centered techniques when facilitating difficult conversations in peer support groups; and Analyze power dynamics within interpersonal and group relationships to promote autonomy and self-determination. This curriculum package includes: a Facilitator Manual, participant handouts, and a training slide deck. For questions about the Healing & Power in Peer Support curriculum or how to implement this training in your community, please contact the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center at [email protected].

The Community Resiliency Model (CRM) is a skill-based wellness and prevention program that provides a biological, non-stigmatizing perspective on normal human reactions to stress and trauma. In this webinar we will apply CRM to schools by teaching skills for educators, administrators, and the school mental health workforce to reduce burnout and promote staff retention. Attendees will gain knowledge of concepts to understand stress responses in themselves and others as well as learn skills to help regain emotional balance after experiencing strong negative emotions. The knowledge and skills gained will help attendees avoid burn-out and promote cultures of resiliency in schools to better support student mental health.   Learning objectives: 1. Describe how stress and trauma affect mental and physical health. 2. Describe how CRM can protect and heal via sensory-motor awareness. 3. Explain the 6 CRM skills. 4. Understand how CRM can help reduce burnout and promote resiliency.

Download Session Slides Here This session is designed for local education agencies/school districts engaged in school mental health initiatives that provide students and families service referrals. The information will also be relevant to state education agencies seeking to advance policies and procedures that ensure a full spectrum of services are accessible to meet student and family wellness needs.   Learning Objectives Participants who join this session will be able to: 1. Understand and articulate the value of ongoing investment in effective school mental health referral pathways. 2. Leverage best practices to build and refine pathways linking schools, providers, students, and families to support student mental health. 3. Select and apply easy-to-implement tools and templates that improve school mental health referral pathways.   Session overview What level of need warrants referral to an outside provider? Does your team have a communication procedure for a student’s supported re-entry to campus? Are the school mental health providers you work with timely in their intake of students after they have received a referral? This session outlines the benefits off effective school mental health referral pathways. After reviewing best practices, you will be able to improve the consistency and efficiency with which your students are connected to appropriate levels of mental health support. Given the dynamic nature of schools and service agencies, establishing and maintaining good methods of contact and tracking requires regular attention. This session will also provide tools and templates to strengthen your referral pathways, and it will explain how these tools and templates can be adapted to the circumstances and culture of your school system.

    Session 1 - March 11 To view resources from this training, please click ATTACHMENT links Click here to view the recording Session 2 - March 25 To view resources from this training, please click ATTACHMENT links Recording coming soon! Session 3 - April 15 Resources coming soon! Recording coming soon! Session 4 - April 22 Resources coming soon! Recording coming soon! Session 5 - May 6 Resources coming soon! Recording coming soon! Session 6 - May 20 Resources coming soon! Recording coming soon! Series Description We are excited to announce that Christina Ruggiero, RP, is returning to lead our first Mindful Monday series, Mindful Monday – Experiential Mental Health Practice, for Spring 2024. Join us as we continue to explore and experience different mindfulness practices related to the topics of creativity, rest, and self-care. This series is for anyone who desires to improve their overall well-being, resilience, and mental health.  The practices that are presented in the training are designed for quick and effective implementation both personally and professionally.  For mental and behavioral health practitioners these techniques can be easily incorporate into their practice.  Mindfulness practices are varied and can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to an hour or more. Vishen Lakhiani, Meditation Expert and CEO of Mindvalley, states “You can take a one- to three-minute dip into peacefulness, and you can see remarkable results. The biggest benefits are going to happen in the first few minutes.” Attendees who have participated in past Mindful Monday series have the following to say about the training: “Incredibly validating experience”, “Love doing this- can we do it indefinitely”, “Thank you for this training. It is hard to recognize we also deserve to be heard, have needs/wants and slow down and breathe for a while.” This is a 30-minute interactive training that begins on March 11th and will run every other week through May 20th, 2024.  Each training will feature exercises from different mindfulness disciplines. At the beginning of each session, participants will spend a few minutes grounding and learning about the practice for that day and then spend approximately 15-20 minutes in experiential practice, leaving a few minutes at the end for reflection and discussion. Trainer Christina Ruggiero Master’s Counselling Psychology  Registered Psychotherapist 

The New England MHTTC’s area of focus is the resilience and recovery of persons (and their loved ones) at risk for, living with or recovering from mental health challenges. During the reporting period, we continued to support and enhance the region’s capacity to provide equity-focused, recovery-oriented care across several dimensions. Our training and technical assistance (T/TA) explicitly aim to help promote recovery-oriented behavioral health systems of care and to move these systems beyond an acute care model to better meet the needs of persons with prolonged mental illness or substance use disorders (Davidson et al., 2021). A central aspect of recovery-oriented systems of care is the inclusion of people with lived experience at all levels of partnership–from service users, families, and direct peer support service providers to clinicians, managers, and administrators. Our T/TA aims to honor and promote those with lived experience in all our activities. The content and process of our work is grounded in our Guiding Principles on Resilience and Recovery. Consistent with these principles, we take an equity-minded approach to recovery-oriented care which recognizes that even the most progressive treatment systems exist within a social context where people of color and other historically marginalized groups often experience—both individually and collectively—an additional layer of trauma that has devastating consequences on their health and well-being. We are committed to proactively advancing social justice and racial equity as an essential component of recovery-oriented systems transformation across the New England region.

About this Resource: This is the on-demand recording from part 1 of our 4-part series that introduces participants to the tenets of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and guides them from the introductory stage to applied practice with different mental health conditions and scenarios. Participants learn and practice strategies from each tenet of ACT ranging from brief interventions to more in-depth processes. The first session introduces the complete ACT framework and ACT hexaflex and provides an overarching discussion of the goals of this psychotherapy orientation. Similarities and differences with other orientations are discussed to contextualize the ACT perspective. This session also introduces the area of Creative Hopelessness and begins the discussion around case conceptualization. Resources for ongoing learning are shared.

Job Development is an important component of 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 training will provide attendees with the tools to approach employers and market their employment services confidently.

  The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The February 2024 issue features content from the Great Lakes ATTC celebrating Black History Month, including our upcoming 2024 Black History Month Panel Presentation. It also features a new educational brief on health equity in crisis systems, upcoming prevention trainings on drug trends in the region, and updates to the Classroom WISE curriculum for 2024. As always, you will also find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!   Make sure you're subscribed to our email contact list so you never miss a month of The Great Lakes Current newsletter, and thank you for reading!

Changing the Conversation is the official C4 Innovations podcast, where hosts and guests discuss critical and timely topics focused on equity, substance use, mental health, homelessness, and trauma. The New England MHTTC has sponsored episodes of the podcast that explore a variety of specific topics, including reaching and engaging Native youth, the importance, and benefits of fostering an authentic and inclusive environment in the workplace, and honoring lived experience. Podcast host Ashley Stewart shared behind-the-scenes discoveries and lessons learned from fascinating conversations. Ashley was joined by Ronitia Hodges, C4 Innovations Program Manager.

At the end of this event, participants will be able to: · Summarize the clinical significance of new information regarding the neurobiology and treatment of mental illness and comorbid chronic medical conditions, and integrate such data into their patient care. · Assess practice patterns relative to current best practices and modify their practice as appropriate and feasible. · Apply new developments in treatment methods to patients. Presenter: M. Mookie C. Manalili is a psychotherapist, professor, and researcher with particular interest in suffering, embodiment, meaning-making, narratives, memory, and ethics. He is a psychotherapist in a private group practice, utilizing narrative therapy, psychoanalytic approaches, mindfulness traditions, and neuroscience psychoeducation.   View a recording of this event here.   

  The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The January 2024 issue features the third installment of the Counselor's Corner blog series: Integrating Spirituality and Counseling with African American Clients, information on the Opioid Response Network's 2022-2023 regional summits, and a call for applications for the upcoming HEART (Healing Ethno And Racial Trauma) Training for Behavioral Health Providers Serving Hispanic & Latinx Communities intensive training series. As always, you will also find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!   Make sure you're subscribed to our email contact list so you never miss a month of The Great Lakes Current newsletter, and thank you for reading!

  View the slides: Implementing Peer Support Specialists in a First Episode Psychosis Program   Learn more about this Learning Community: First Episode Psychosis Learning Community     Author: Marla Smith, MS, LMHP, LMHC    

This event discussed the New England MHTTC's work assisting organizations with racial equity and efforts to make web-based content reflective of the mission & values of the organization. With intersectionality in mind, Ashley Stewart, Director of the Center for Health Equity informed attendees about the methods used to ensure inclusivity, cultural awareness, and attunement via a web auditing process.   The second part of the webinar series on December 12, 2023 covered: Assessment of the general tone and essence of a website related to engagement around equity, inclusion, and diversity. In addition to the use of intentional terminology, there is the need to assess how the terms are used, the stories they tell, the messages they imply, the depth or superficiality of the use of narrative or terms, and the broader impact on community engagement.

The Embracing Authenticity: A Guide to Authenticity and Cultural Awareness at Work webinar series provided guidance and support for the use and implementation of the accompanying workbook, which is intended to be used as a guide for deeper levels of processing and to support healthier conversations in the workplace around identity and wellness. This resource can be used as a tool to address the unique experiences of work-related stress compounded with being a person of color and also as a resource for folks seeking to be more accountable for reducing harm and creating a more equitable work environment. This comprehensive guide is designed to support you in cultivating authenticity, promoting inclusion, and prioritizing wellness in the workplace. Whether you're an organizational leader, a colleague, or an individual who has experienced marginalization, this workbook provides practical insights, exercises, and resources to make meaningful progress. Presenters: Ashley Stewart, PhD, MSSW, LSW, Director of the Center for Health Equity, C4 Innovations Ronitia Hodges, Senior Project Manager, C4 Innovations

This event discussed the New England MHTTC's work assisting organizations with racial equity and efforts to make web-based content reflective of the mission & values of the organization. With intersectionality in mind, Ashley Stewart, Director of the Center for Health Equity informed attendees about the methods used to ensure inclusivity, cultural awareness, and attunement via a web auditing process. The first part of the webinar series on December 5, 2023 covered: The inclusion of language addressing, responding to, and advocating around equity-related topics. C4 equity audits also assess for all forms of identity-based oppression, including, but not limited to, sexism, ageism, ableism, heterosexism, and linguistic and religious-based oppression.  

  The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The December 2023 issue shares recorded content on wound care and xylazine, social media basics for preventionists, an infographic on providing behavioral healthcare to people living with HIV, and SAMHSA's tips for supporting your mental health through the holidays. As always, you will also find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!   Make sure you're subscribed to our email contact list, so you never miss a month of The Great Lakes Current newsletter and thank you for reading!

Series Description We are excited to announce that Christina Ruggiero, RP is returning to lead our fall Mindful Monday series entitled, Mindful Monday – Experiential Mental Health Practice. The Mindful Monday series continues to be extremely popular as we explore different mindfulness practices, related to overall well-being, resilience, and mental health. According to studies conducted by the National Institute of Health (NIH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, mindfulness practices may help people manage stress, cope better with serious illness, and reduce anxiety and depression.  Many people who practice mindfulness report an increased ability to relax, a greater enthusiasm for life and improved self-esteem. Mindfulness practices are varied and can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to an hour or more. Vishen Lakhiani, Meditation Expert and CEO of Mindvalley, states “You can take a one- to three-minute dip into peacefulness, and you can see remarkable results. The biggest benefits are going to happen in the first few minutes.” This is a 30-minute interactive training that begins on October 9th and will run every other week through December 4th, 2023. This series of Mindful Monday sessions features a wide range of evidence-based practices from different disciplines and topics, including, sound healing, self-compassion, creativity, and setting boundaries. Each training will feature exercises from different mindfulness disciplines. At the beginning of each session, participants will spend a few minutes grounding and learning about the practice for that day and then spend approximately 15-20 minutes in experiential practice, leaving a few minutes at the end for reflection and discussion. Dates October 9th - Sound Healing To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording October 23th - Grounding To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording November 6 - Creativity and the Inner Critic To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording November 20 - Self-Compassion HEAL Acronym To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording December 4 - Boundary Meditation To view resources from this session, click DOWNLOAD Click here to watch the recording Trainer Christina Ruggiero, RP