Products and Resources Catalog

This is a recording of Workshop 5 of 6 in the "Trauma-Informed, In School Sessions" Workshop Series.  "You Can Talk to Me": A Family Guide to Support Students' Mental Health and Well-Being Trauma Informed Principle to Practice: Trustworthiness & Transparency, Collaboration & Mutuality    How might we partner with parents, caregivers and families through trauma informed approaches to support the mental health and well-being of the children and teens in their lives? In 2023, Project Cal-Well (a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education to promote mental health awareness and wellness among California's K-12 students) designed the Family Guide to Supporting Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being for parents and other caregivers (available in English and Spanish), with input from families, educators, mental health professionals, and youth. By sharing tips for families on how to have conversations about social media use, mental health, anti-LGBTQ experiences, bullying and more, this guide provides parents and other caregivers with information and easy-to-use strategies to support their children’s overall well-being and mental health.   How did the guide’s authors partner with students and their families to create this guide? How might we support students and families to dig into its information and leverage this resource to partner with parents and other caretakers? View this workshop recording to explore these questions, and the guide itself, while learning from several of its authors about how the guide’s development process was trauma informed.   Viewers of this workshop video will: (1) learn about the development and content of the guide; (2) have the opportunity to consider how to get the guide and related local resources into the hands of families; and (3) generate ideas for how to use individual sections of the guide to align with a school’s continuum of trauma-informed approaches and social, emotional, and behavioral supports.

Dear Friends, We want to inform you that the MHTTC School Mental Health supplement will not continue after September 2024. SAMHSA funding has ended without a future opportunity.  For six years, the Northwest MHTTC School Mental Health team has served the school mental health workforce in Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington) by curating timely and regionally-responsive events, developing tools for those in the field, and distributing critical resources. Rest assured that you can continue to access MHTTC school mental health materials, along with a broad array of additional ones, through the NWMHTTC SMH team’s home organization, the University of Washington School Mental Health Assessment, Research and Training (SMART) Center. While the supplement continues through the end of September, we invite you to start connecting with the SMART Center now. Join the UW SMART Center mailing list to continue receiving resource-rich newsletters Follow us on Facebook Engage with us on X/Twitter  Connect with us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our YouTube channel  Bookmark the UW SMART Center website From our team to yours, thank you for your partnership over the past six years. We couldn't have done it without you and credit your engagement, feedback, and support for our collective success.      “Don’t be dismayed at good-bye. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.”    – Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah  Make sure to sign up for the SMART Center newsletter to stay up to date on all things school mental health. If you have additional questions about the transition, please reach out to [email protected]. In gratitude, The NWMHTTC SMH Team Kelcey Schmitz, Eric Bruns, Clynita Grafenreed, Casey Chandler, Jennifer Cohen, Elsa Ferguson, Nathaly Florez, Mari Meador, and Rayann Silva

Research has indicated that youth may experience racism, prejudice, and bias as early as preschool. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their experiences of working within schools and school districts and learn strategies to help students navigate a culturally complex world while decreasing negative physical, emotional, and psychological outcomes. This webinar will also focus on existing policies within school systems and assess how those policies impact access to equitable and high quality mental and behavioral health care for communities of color. Attendees will walk away with strategies for how to discuss these topic areas with their students and how to support students who are coping with complex cultural issues in developmentally appropriate ways.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Define racial stress and trauma and Provide examples of how racial stress and trauma can occur in schools Identify the systems & policies within schools that impact student health and wellness Understanding the role of implicit bias in school systems & policies   CERTIFICATES: Registrants who fully attend this event or training will receive a certificate of attendance via email within two weeks after the event or training.   PRESENTERS: Nicole L. Cammack, PhD Dr. Nicole L. Cammack is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Speaker, Media Contributor, and the Founder, President and CEO of Black Mental Wellness, Corp. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Howard University and her Master’s and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The George Washington University. Lastly, she completed a specialized Postdoctoral Fellowship, with the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine. Dr. Cammack is passionate about mental health awareness, treatment, and reducing the mental health stigma, particularly as it relates to Black communities. This passion is what led to the development of Black Mental Wellness, Corp an organization of clinical psychologists passionate about shifting the narrative of mental health in the Black community. In addition, she is a co-author of, Healing Racial Stress Workbook for Black Teens: Skills to Help You Manage Emotions, Resist Racism, and Feel Empowered. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Essence, People, Thrive Global, Good Housekeeping, Salesforce, and Rally Up Magazine (Cover feature). In addition, she was recognized as a 40 under 40 Honoree with the Leadership Center for Excellence and recognized through her work at Fort Meade and the Department of the Army with an Achievement Medal for Civilian Service. Danielle R. Busby, PhD Dr. Danielle Busby is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Speaker, Author, Educator, and Co-Founder and Vice President of Professional Relations of Black Mental Wellness Corp. She received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and her Master’s and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the George Washington University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship, with a child trauma specialization, at Duke University’s Medical Center and a postdoctoral fellowship at Michigan Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Busby is passionate about decreasing barriers to mental health service use for underserved patient populations and is committed to continuously bridging the gap between research and clinical practice. Her research and clinical work are centered on examining barriers to mental health service use, specifically among Black youth who are at an elevated risk for suicide. She has led and contributed to scholarly articles and research on child trauma, youth suicide prevention, racial discrimination among Black youth, and the psychological effects of neighborhood stressors, such as, community violence exposure among Black adolescents. Dr. Busby and her work has been featured in NBC News, People, Women’s Health, Parents, Rally Up Magazine (Cover feature), PsychAlive, and WJLA news. Additionally, she is an awarded recipient of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research. She is a proud member of the American Psychological Association’s Leadership Development Institute, SelfSea Digital Wellbeing Advisory Board, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she has served for over 15 years. Dr. Busby was born in Detroit, MI and raised in Southfield, MI. She loves early morning yoga, college football Saturdays, and traveling with her close family and friends.   This event is being held in partnership with Black Mental Wellness.   The Great Lakes MHTTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders.

By the end of this webinar, participants were able to describe: The nature of insight and treatment engagement in psychotic disorders An overview of the causes of impaired insight and treatment engagement in psychotic disorders. Approaches to management of impaired insight and treatment engagement/alliance in psychotic disorders.   Presenter: ​​Dr. Keshavan is Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, as well as Academic Head of the department. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Schizophrenia Research (Elsevier) and serves on the editorial board for journals such as Early Intervention in Psychiatry and Asian Journal of Psychiatry. His main areas of research include the neurodevelopmental basis of schizophrenia, neuroimaging, and early intervention. He has an active clinical practice.   This webinar was co-hosted by the Massachusetts Psychosis Network for Early Treatment (MAPNET, www.mapnet.online).

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2024 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more and register for upcoming events in the series here. Bullying Prevention in Elementary and Middle Schools: Foundations and Student Ownership Description: Session attendants will learn about school readiness for bullying prevention, what staff and students can do to create a safe school climate, and how school members and students can teach and reinforce prosocial behaviors.   Objectives Core features of bullying prevention  Increasing student buy-in and ownership  Examples of student ownership from exemplar districts    Presentation Materials Recording Available Here! About the Presenter: Rhonda Nese, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences Scientist, Prevention Science Institute Affiliate Faculty, Prevention Science Program   Rhonda Nese, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon and the Director of the Nese Lab. She is also a Scientist within the Prevention Science Institute, a multidisciplinary research institute at the University of Oregon. Dr. Nese’s research involves equitable intervention delivery within a multi-tiered behavior support framework focused on preventative strategies for improving student outcomes.​ Dr. Nese currently serves as the director of an IES grant to refine and test an intervention to reduce exclusionary discipline practices, improve student-teacher relationships, and increase instructional time for students in secondary settings, and co-principal investigator on additional federally-funded projects to identify factors that predict implementation and sustainability of evidence-based practices, to develop technology to improve online learning for educators, and to develop and validate an automated scoring system for oral reading fluency. Dr. Nese also provides technical assistance to state, district, and school level teams across the nation on preventative practices, including addressing implicit bias in school discipline, effective classroom behavior management strategies, bullying prevention, and alternatives to exclusionary discipline practices through the OSEP-funded National TA-Center on PBIS. Dr. Nese is the recipient of the 2022 Presidential Equity Award from the NorthWest PBIS Network and the 2022 Outstanding Early Career Award from the University of Oregon, the UO’s highest award for early career faculty to recognize and celebrate an emerging and significant record of scholarship and research.      Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

To view resources from this training, click ATTACHMENT links Recording coming soon!   Event Description Reducing access to lethal means, such as firearms, can determine whether a person at risk for suicide lives or dies. This session will provide rationale for lethal means safety, recommendations on who and when should receive lethal means safety information, and an introduction to lethal means counseling for Veterans at risk for suicide. In addition, the session will provide information on basic firearm safety and safe storage practices.  Trainers Chad Pitts & Sarah Kemp-Tabbut   Chad Pitts is a Veteran of the U.S. Army with over 10 years of organization and program management experience. He is currently the Program Manager for ND HOPES, a suicide prevention project in Western ND focused on Veterans, LGBTQIA2S+ youth, and rural residents. Chad has previously held positions within the NDUS focused on equity and diversity initiatives for disproportionately affected populations including LGBTQIA2S+ and Veterans. While in the Army Chad served as the Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge for multiple domestic and global missions with the 82nd Airborne Division.   Sarah Kemp Tabbut is the Community Engagement and Partnerships Coordinator at the Fargo VA.  She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 8 years of hands-on and public health experience in mental health and suicide prevention.  Sarah is well-versed in suicide prevention best practices, including safety planning, lethal means safety, and community-based interventions and is a Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) Trainer.  She also partners throughout North Dakota with communities to create and strengthen community coalition efforts for mental health, suicide prevention, and Veteran/Military issues. 

Description: For those who grew up associating drugs with natural sources like marijuana plants, poppy fields, and cocoa leaves, it can be tough to keep up with the shift to synthetic drugs made of chemicals some people may not know they’re ingesting. This workshop will help participants understand the current drug landscape, including stimulants (e.g. methamphetamine and cocaine), powerful opioids like fentanyl and nitazines, and xylazine, an animal tranquilizer increasingly showing up in the drug supply in some regions. It will also cover drug use trends, such as increasing polysubstance use, higher potency drugs, and the risks of mixing illicit drugs, alcohol, and medications. Participants will learn about factors that have contributed to rising overdose rates—including nonfatal overdoses—strategies to minimize risks, and how to recognize and respond to an overdose, as well as where to obtain naloxone. Goals: Increase participants’ awareness of current drug use patterns, the increasing potency of both plant-based and synthetic drugs, and how to prevent, recognize, and respond to an overdose. Workshop Outline: Discuss drug use trends (increasing polysubstance use, shift to synthetics vs. plant-based drugs, mixing prescription medications & illicit drugs, increasing stimulant use). Present graphics depicting increasing strength and potency of illicit drugs (cannabis, methamphetamine, etc.) and effects of different drugs. Overview of fentanyl and xylazine as well as other drugs like nitazines + kratom. Overdose statistics and definitions (opioid vs stimulant ODs). Risk factors for an overdose (including nonfatal overdoses). Strategies to reduce overdose risks. Signs of an overdose. Naloxone – brief overview and where to get it, plus sources for additional training. Good Samaritan laws protecting people who respond to an overdose. Trainer Bio Susan Stellin, MPH is a writer, educator, and public health consultant focusing on health-centered responses to substance use and addiction. Since earning a master's in public health at Columbia University, she has worked on projects about ways to reduce overdose deaths, reform punitive drug policies, and expand access to harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support. Recent clients include NYU Langone’s Health x Housing Lab, the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Technology Transfer Center, the Opioid Response Network, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Overdose Prevention Program at Vital Strategies, and the Vera Institute of Justice. She regularly leads training workshops for service providers working with people experiencing substance use, mental health, and housing challenges, and has also taught undergraduate courses about media ethics, collaborative storytelling, and the history of journalism.

The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC. The April 2024 issue spotlights content celebrating National Minority Health Month and Alcohol Awareness Month. It also features links to upcoming trainings focused on supporting Black students experiencing racial trauma, harnessing AI for substance misuse prevention, and process improvement. 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!

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.

In this learning session, we: Provided an overview of the School Mental Health (SMH) Implementation Guidance Modules (including related learning extension materials, such as the SHAPE System, SMH Best Practices ‘Always and Now” Learning Series, and SMH Quality Guides), and shared how the modules are intended to be utilized by states, districts, and schools in their SMH implementation efforts. Provided specific examples of training and technical assistance that the Mid-America and South Southwest MHTTCs have provided/are providing utilizing the modules as a foundation, to support states, districts, and schools in their SMH implementation efforts. The session included a 10-minute question & answer portion with the presenters. Please note: This session was open to Project AWARE grantees only. It was developed with the new 2023 AWARE cohort in mind, but AWARE grantees from all cohorts were welcomed to attend.

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.

The South Southwest MHTTC hosted this presentation on April 8, 2024. The program, facilitated by Dr. Heather Curry and Dr. Marianne Thomas, provided the foundations of identifying human trafficking, exploring trauma-informed and trauma-responsive interventions with victims and survivors, as well as techniques used when providing healing-centered care. About the Facilitators Dr. Heather Curry, PhD  Dr. Heather Curry has over a decade of experience through her scholarship, practice, and professional commitments with many of the most impactful systems of care for victims of human trafficking. She has served as Director for the Hillsborough County Commission on Human Trafficking, during which time she and the Commission, at the behest of the NFL, developed and executed the County’s plan to address Human Trafficking before, during, and over the Super Bowl. However, her approach to the phenomenon of human trafficking is always focused on what happens before, during, and after big events. She was also the Chief Liaison for Hillsborough County’s Juvenile Justice and Equity work. She holds her Doctorate. in Communication Theory from the University of South Florida. She has had teaching and research positions at the University of South Florida, Arizona State University, and Full Sail University during which she focused on social policy and homelessness, and community responses to matters of equity and vulnerability.  Dr. Curry also works with corporations, public sector clients, and non-profit organizations to address diversity, equity and inclusion. Her commitments, personally and professionally, have always been driven toward creating healthier, more responsive communities, in which issues such as human trafficking, can be prevented. Dr. Curry lives in Tampa, Florida with her two sons and two cats in an old, sometimes-lovely moneypit of a bungalow. She has made Tampa home since 2002.   Dr. Marianne Thomas, PhD  Marianne Thomas has an MA in Mental Health Counseling and a PhD in Behavioral Psychology.  As a survivor of human trafficking, Dr. Thomas used education as a way out of the life and has devoted her career to bringing awareness about the true problem of human trafficking in the United States, educating communities on the human trafficking problem in their area, and helping organizations to create or grow their own anti-trafficking program.     Early in her career, Dr. Thomas worked with women and children who experienced homelessness and with men and women within the incarceration system who also struggled with addictions.   She noticed a common thread of women who would trade their bodies for their, and their children’s, basic needs.   This recognition propelled her into the anti-trafficking movement.  Dr. Thomas began her work in the movement with the women she met within the world of homelessness.  Since then, she has worked with trafficking survivors across numerous populations. 

To view resources from this training, click ATTACHMENT links Recording coming soon!   Event Description Statistics reveal a concerning trend: a significant number of men who have died by suicide had visited a healthcare provider within 30 days prior to their death. This alarming fact underscores the urgent need for more effective mental health interventions and support systems within rural settings. This session aims to shed light on the critical intersection of masculinity, mental health, and rural life, and explore how everyday places—such as doctors' offices, churches, workplaces, and community gatherings—can become gateways to meaningful conversations and interventions. Key topics will include: Understanding the barriers to mental health support for rural men, including stigma, limited resources, and cultural norms. Strategies for healthcare providers to initiate mental health conversations and recognize warning signs during routine visits. The role of churches and faith-based organizations in providing support and breaking down the stigma associated with mental health issues. Integrating mental health awareness and support into workplaces, especially in industries predominant in rural areas. The importance of Integrated Behavioral Health positions in creating a holistic approach to health care in rural settings. Trainer Andrew Jordan Thayer, PhD, LP

SMI Adviser is a 6-year initiative funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and administered by the American Psychiatric Association. SMI Adviser’s vision is to transform care for people who have serious mental illness so that they can live their best lives. To date, the website has been accessed over 1.9 million times and has been a resource for over 70,000 interdisciplinary learners.  In this presentation, we will provide clinicians a guide to the resources at SMI Adviser, with a focus on resources for working with individuals with early psychosis. We will also highlight resources that are found in our Centers of Excellence section, focusing on tools in the Clozapine and Long-Acting Injectable areas. We will also guide clinicians through our consultation service and share insights from the types of questions our users most commonly ask.   At the end of this presentation, participants were able to: Demonstrate knowledge of the available resources on SMI Adviser’s educational catalog and knowledge base. List and describe three tools in SMI Adviser’s Clozapine or Long-Acting Injectable Center of Excellence. Outline the process of accessing SMI Adviser’s consultation service, demonstrating the ability to effectively seek guidance to help make evidence-based treatment decisions. Presenters: Robert O. Cotes, MD, is an Associate Professor at Emory University School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He serves as Physician Expert for SMI Adviser (www.smiadviser.org), which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and administered by the American Psychiatric Association. SMI Adviser provides evidence-based resources to clinicians, individuals with serious mental illness, and their families. Sherin Khan, LCSW is Vice President of Operations and Strategy for Thresholds, Illinois’ oldest and largest provider of mental health services. Sherin also serves as the social work consultant as part of SMI Adviser, a SAMHSA funded clinical support system for people living with serious mental illness. She has over 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector with a focus on serving those who are disempowered. This webinar was co-hosted by the Massachusetts Psychosis Network for Early Treatment (MAPNET, www.mapnet.online).

Description: How did you learn about substance use, addiction, treatment and recovery? What are the sources of information that shaped your views? This workshop will discuss how news, entertainment, and social media, as well as personal experience, influence how people understand substance use disorders and different pathways to recovery. It will also address common beliefs like, “You have to hit rock bottom” and “Recovery is rare,” and explain how attitudes, practices, and data collection have evolved. Information from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and other sources will be presented, including prevalence of illicit substance use, substance use disorders, and co-occurring mental health challenges. Goals: Encourage participants to examine the sources of their attitudes and beliefs about substance use, addiction, treatment and recovery, reconsider any misperceptions, and expand their understanding of these topics by presenting current research and statistics. Workshop Outline: Discuss where participants learned about addiction, treatment and recovery (personal experience, news and entertainment media, etc.). Highlight themes that often appear in films, TV shows, books, music, and social media, including overview of research findings. Discuss critiques of media coverage of these topics. Address common beliefs and whether they’re supported by evidence (hitting rock bottom, enabling and co-dependency, tough love). Discuss how personal experience influences attitudes and beliefs. Present graphics illustrating types of substance use (experimental, social, risky, etc.). Discuss different reasons people use drugs, and how that varies for different substances over time. Present substance use and mental health statistics, using sources such as the 2022 NSDUH. Discuss criteria for diagnosing a substance use disorder (mild, moderate or severe). Trainer Bio: Susan Stellin, MPH is a writer, educator, and public health consultant focusing on health-centered responses to substance use and addiction. Since earning a master's in public health at Columbia University, she has worked on projects about ways to reduce overdose deaths, reform punitive drug policies, and expand access to harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support. Recent clients include NYU Langone’s Health x Housing Lab, the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Technology Transfer Center, the Opioid Response Network, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Overdose Prevention Program at Vital Strategies, and the Vera Institute of Justice. She regularly leads training workshops for service providers working with people experiencing substance use, mental health, and housing challenges, and has also taught undergraduate courses about media ethics, collaborative storytelling, and the history of journalism. Session Recording:

Raúl Condemarín shares culturally responsive strategies that he uses as a psychiatrist with host Lola Nedic. This podcast episode is sponsored by the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC).

To view resources from this training, click ATTACHMENT links Recording coming soon! Event Description We are excited to welcome back Alison Malmon, Founder and Executive Director of Active Minds, the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults, for a training that presents new insights about college mental health in 2024. While many people view the pandemic as something that has come and gone, college campuses across the country, particularly community colleges, are continuing to grapple with the ongoing, and in some cases accelerating, student mental health needs. Recent studies conducted on college campuses found that of the students interviewed, 60% of college students meet the criteria for at least one mental health condition, and 81% of students indicate that their mental health negatively impacted their academic performance in the past four weeks. Alison will present insights gathered from activities Active Minds hosts and coordinates with students on college campuses. These insights don’t necessarily dispute the statistics presented in the last paragraph but instead provide a clear picture of how effective mental health education, advocacy, and awareness are in changing the conversation around mental health, which in turn can positively impact statistics. In addition to the data Active Minds has collected, Alison will share some of the most innovative and effective approaches that Active Minds chapters use to support young adult well-being, particularly on college campuses. This training is for anyone who works with young adults and college-age youth. Trainer Alison Malmon Active Minds Founder & Executive Director

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.

By adopting trauma-informed practices, schools can create environments that empower students, support healing, and break the cycle of bullying. This infographic illustrates the different approaches to address bullying in schools.

To view resources from this training, click ATTACHMENT links Click here to watch the recording Event Description Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or ADHD often experience areas of significant executive dysfunction, which can adversely impact their educational performance. In order for these students to meet with more success in school, they will likely require evidence-based intervention, specific to their areas of executive dysfunction, to be implemented. This presentation will help participants to gain a broad understanding of what executive functions are, and how areas of executive dysfunction can negatively impact a student in school if interventions are not in place to assist them. It will take a deeper look at the areas of executive dysfunction commonly associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, and finally, it will discuss best practices (evidence-based interventions) to assist with the specific areas of executive dysfunction often found in students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD. After attending this session, participants will be able to: 1. Obtain a general understanding of what executive functions (EFs) are. 2. Be able to identify specific areas of executive dysfunction commonly associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, and understand how they may adversely impact a student’s educational performance. 3. Gain an understanding of best practices (evidence-based interventions) to implement to assist students with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD, specific to their areas of executive dysfunction. Trainer Amanda Garrett, Psy.D., NCSP Dr. Amanda Garrett is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist who has practiced School Psychology for the Department of Education (DOE) for over 16 years across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Hawaiʻi. After earning her Ed.S. in School Psychology at Rider University (NJ), she continued on to obtain her doctorate in School Psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PA). Dr. Garrett’s doctoral program had an emphasis in School Neuropsychology, which became an area of passion for her. In addition to working for the DOE, Dr. Garrett spent three years as the Southeast Delegate on the executive board of the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania (ASPP), and she is currently in her sixth year as an executive board member of the Hawaiʻi Association of School Psychologists (HASP), where she has served multiple positions, including Past President.

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2024 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more and register for upcoming events in the series here. Becoming - The Journey of a Change Agent  Description: In part II of the series, participants will describe the value of belonging in their own self-awareness journey to creating transformative educational systems. What role will they play in the work of creating belonging for every learner? How will they create spaces in their roles to disrupt disproportionate outcomes for students and improve school climate? Ultimately, how can we create and support change agents in education? Objective: This session will offer strategies and considerations for ensuring newly recruited and current staff have empowerment to shift their climates.   About the Presenter: Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D. Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Midwest PBIS Network Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D.,is the senior educational consultant & strategist for Hollins-Sims Consultation. She formerly served as a technical assistance coordinator for the Midwest PBIS network and is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Dr. Hollins-Sims has been awarded as a Moral and Courageous Leader for Education by Cabrini University in 2021, the 2021 American Psychology Association (APA) Anti-Racism School Psychology Emerging Professional Award and was named the 2021 Pennsylvania School Psychologist of the Year. One of her career highlights is serving as the lead author of the book titled: Creating Equitable Practices in PBIS.     Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

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.

Hosts Joey Rodriguez and Lola Nedic discuss culturally responsive strategies and the future of culturally responsive care. This podcast episode is sponsored by the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC).

    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