 |
|
As we launch into Spring 2019, we are excited to share several learning events with you. We're hosting upcoming webinars on co-occurring disorder, school crisis, and low-barrier mental health services. We hope you will join us and your peers for communities of practice on cultural and linguistic competence. And we're attending upcoming conferences in the region -- we look forward to the chance to meet you there. See below for more information about all these opportunities.
Help us spread the word
The Pacific Southwest (PS) MHTTC is a SAMHSA-funded center serving Region 9: American Samoa, Arizona, California, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau.
|
|
 Join Our Advisory Board
|
Seeking Volunteers: PS MHTTC Advisory Board
The purpose of the PS MHTTC Advisory Board is to offer our team valuable insights on critical topics in the mental health arena for this region. We will use this information to inform our publications, online learning opportunities, on-site trainings, technical assistance sessions, and other services. The Advisory Board meets by videoconference once a quarter for 90 minutes. Our next meeting is Thursday, July 18, 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET / 3:00-4:30pm PT 12:00-1:30 p.m. HT.
Will you join us in enhancing the capacity of mental health services and support organizations in the Pacific Southwest to provide culturally appropriate and relevant services? Please let us know you are interested by emailing
Suganya Sockalingam:
ssockalingam@changematrix.org
.
|
|
Access Training and Technical Assistance (TTA)
|
Access Our TTA Services and Intensive Learning Experiences
We are excited to share our lineup of state-of-the-science Intensive Learning Experiences: no-cost workshops, trainings, and institutes in accessible locations across the Pacific Southwest. Let us know what opportunities interest you:
contact our team.
|
Upcoming PS MHTTC Webinars
|
New! What We Know and What We Want to Know Regarding Co-Occurring Disorders (COD): A Conversation for Figuring out Real Needs
Thursday, May 9 |
5:30-6:45 p.m. ET / 2:30-3:45 p.m. PT / 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. HT
Are you in a position to guide policies and practice for treatment of Co-occurring Disorders (COD)? Do you have questions or ideas about how to achieve this effectively? Join this interactive, guided discussion intended for director or leadership level staff at mental health service agencies in the Pacific Southwest.
The purpose of this peer learning forum is to build collective awareness regarding the region's needs and opportunities related to effectively identifying and addressing COD. This live, virtual discussion forum is part of a COD learning series offered through the PS MHTTC.
Please join our discussion leader, Dr. Heather Gotham of Stanford University School of Medicine's MHTTC Network Coordinating Office, and be prepared to share your perspectives, queries, recommendations, and examples. Together, we will engage on the following aspects of our work:
- What's the problem we're trying to address? What's the impetus for building capacity?
- Patients are struggling in treatment
- Patients have difficulty accessing services across systems
- What needs to be different?
- Practices
- Policies
- Research
- What training and technical assistance would be helpful to achieve that change?
- Resources
- Training
- Advocacy
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Heather J. Gotham, PhD, is the Director of the SAMHSA-funded MHTTC Network Coordinating Office, and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Gotham's research focuses on implementation of evidence-based substance use and mental health treatments for adolescents and adults, including treatment fidelity for co-occurring disorders. Dr. Gotham assisted in the development of the Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment (DDCAT) index with Mark McGovern, and led the development of the Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment (DDCMHT) index. She co-authored state practice guidelines for co-occurring disorders treatment in Missouri.
|
|
CLC Webinars and Communities of Practice
|
Archived Webinar - Integrating Cultural and Linguistic Competence (CLC): Leading From Where You Are
Health systems are grappling with implementing systemic change to meet the needs of diverse cultural and linguistic groups, and organizations working together in a broader system often do not know where to start. This presentation identifies a conceptual framework for integrating CLC across health care organizational roles. Presented by Dr. Rachele Espiritu, PS MHTTC Co-Director, and Naomi Ortega Tein.
|
|
Join the CLC Community of Practice
Join other leaders, change agents, and mental health practitioners to deepen our collective learning about
Integrating CLC: Leading From Where You Are. Register for one or more of the following Community of Practice sessions, held the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT / 12 p.m. HT: May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14.
|
|
Archived Webinar - Building a Diverse Workforce From the Ground Up
|
|
Join the Workforce Diversity Community of Practice
Join other mental and behavioral health organizations as we engage in peer learning around
Building a Diverse Workforce From the Ground Up. Register for one or more of the following Community of Practice sessions, held the 4th Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT / 12 p.m. HT: May 22, June 26, July 24, August 28.
|
|
|
The Why, What, and How: Addressing Social Determinants of Mental Health in Region 9
Next Week: Wednesday, April 24
| 6-7 p.m. ET / 3-4 p.m. PT / 1-2 p.m. HT
Join us to hear how our mental health service providers in the Pacific Southwest are working to address the social determinants of health through social justice collaborations and strategies. This webinar will provide foundational knowledge on the social determinants of health, why they should be assessed, and how providers can leverage them. We will discuss how to identify appropriate partners and collaborate with them on the shared interest of mental health equity. Presented by Dr. Tamu Nolfo. Learn more about the webinar and presenter.
|
New Resource: The Why, What, and How: Addressing the Social Determinants of Mental Health in the Pacific Southwest Region
Why do we, as behavioral health providers, need to be concerned about the social determinants of health? This brief fact sheet examines how mental health is shaped by the social, economic, and physical environments in which people live, and how providers can address the determinants through social justice collaborations. This fact sheet was developed to complement the April 24 webinar.
|
|
School Mental Health Feature
|
|
Special Webinar This Month
|
|
|
Supporting Students and Staff in the Aftermath of Crisis and Loss
Next Week: Tuesday, April 23 |
3:00-4:30 p.m. ET / 12:00-1:30 p.m. PT / 9:00-10:30 a.m. HT
Hosted by the
PS MHTTC and the
MHTTC Network Coordinating Office and presented by David Schonfeld, MD, National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement. This webinar will help school professionals learn basic skills in how to talk with and support individual students or the entire class/school as they struggle to understand and cope with a crisis or loss in their lives.
Note: This webinar is dedicated to schools navigating crisis and loss connected to the two Parkland student deaths by suicide in recent weeks.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
David J Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, established and directs the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (
www.schoolcrisiscenter.org) at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California; the Center coordinates the Coalition to Support Grieving Students (
www.grievingstudents.org), comprised of over 85 organizations.
|
New Resource: After a School Tragedy... Readiness, Response, Recovery, & Resources
This MHTTC Network resource is designed to help schools support students, staff, families and partners in the aftermath of
violence and trauma. We provide strategies to assist schools with readiness, response, and recovery to help a school community support resilience in the event of a tragedy.
|
|
|
2019 School Mental Health Webinar Series
|
Watch Archived Webinars & Register for the Remaining Sessions
We are halfway through our School Mental Health Webinar Series, and it's been a powerful learning journey so far.
Please contact us for webinar handout requests.
On March 21, we looked at how student learning outcomes and mental health literacy are interrelated. We learned how one high school is linking community partnerships, curriculum and instruction, and work-based learning opportunities:
Mental Health Literacy and Student Learning Outcomes.
And we have two more sessions coming up in our series:
Working Together for Wellness - A Mindful Approach to School Site Leader and Teacher Collaboration for Whole School Wellness
Thursday, May 16
Featuring The Teaching Well and their Partners
When There is One School Counselor: Strategies to Reach All Students Nevertheless
Thursday, June 18
Featuring Nevada Project AWARE Project Managers from Douglass and Pershing County school districts
|
|
More School Mental Health Events
|
Join us! 2019 California School-Based Health Conference*
May 9-10 - Redondo Beach, California
The California School-Based Health Alliance (CSHA) and the L.A. Trust for Children's Health are hosting the 2019 California School-Based Health Conference: Advancing Wellness & Best Practices for the Future.
Join the PS MHTTC and CSHA pre-conference institute on funding and policy strategies on May 9: "Leading for School Mental Health: Creating Sustainable & Equitable Funding and Policy Strategies, Structures and Systems." We are also a proud sponsor of the "Building Cultures of Healing in Schools: Transforming the Way Schools and Districts Support Student Success and Wellness" pre-conference.
*Come say hello to us at our booth during the conference.
|
Trauma and Adversity in Early Childhood: How We Can Help &
Heal
May 17 - Yountville, California
This event features Dr. Bruce Perry,
a leading contributor to the emerging body of literature that describes abnormal patterns of brain development associated with early abuse, neglect, trauma, and poverty. Dr. Perry will introduce strategies for assessing which areas of the brain are involved when a child is struggling, and interventions that address both the symptoms and the neurobiological dysfunction.
|
14th Annual Teacher Leadership Institute: Developing School Communities That Thrive
June 18-20 - Tucson, Arizona
Hosted by the Arizona K12 Center via Northern Arizona University, teacher leaders from across the state will come together to ensure their schools are healthy and thriving environments that are fruitful for students, educators, and the community.
|
|
School Mental Health Resources & Opportunities
|
|
Q&A: California's first-ever surgeon general on her plans to tackle toxic stress in children
Congratulations to Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a California pediatrician who specializes in the impacts of trauma and toxic stress on the health of children, as the state's first-ever surgeon general.
|
|
Restorative Justice in U.S. Schools: An Updated Research Review
Are restorative justice practices in schools having positive effects on discipline, attendance, graduation, climate, and culture? This WestEd report summarizes information from a comprehensive review of the literature on restorative justice in U.S. schools. It expands on an earlier (2016) WestEd review on this subject.
|
|
National Quality Initiative to Improve School Health and Mental Health
The National Center for School Mental Health
and the School-Based Health Alliance invite states (in collaboration with local entities) to apply to participate in a 12-month Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN). This CoIIN will focus on making measurable improvements to students' health and mental health. States may elect to focus their quality improvement efforts on one of two delivery tracks: 1) school-based health centers or 2) comprehensive school mental health.
|
Youth & Young Adults (YYA) Feature
|
|
Connect with Our YYA Team: Kristin and Gwen
|
Kristin Thorp and Gwen White are the Co-Leads for the Pacific Southwest MHTTC national specialty area focused on youth and young adults of transition age.
Kristin Thorp, BSW, Youth Engagement Specialist at Youth M.O.V.E. National, has ten years of experience in advocacy, youth leadership, and program development, with a special focus on the mental health and criminal justice systems. Ms. Thorp currently serves as a Youth Engagement Specialist where she is a national technical assistance provider on quality youth programming In addition, she is an advisor on the System of Care Children's Mental Health Initiative and supports national evaluation efforts. Prior to joining Youth M.O.V.E. National, Ms. Thorp was the Continuous Quality Improvement Coordinator for Maine's System of Care. Ms. Thorp has utilized her own lived experience, passion, and expertise in the field of positive youth development to bridge multiple perspectives to promote trauma-informed approaches to recovery.
Gwendolyn White, MSW, is a content expert on transition to independence and successful adaptation of adult roles and responsibilities for YYA with serious mental health conditions and their families. For over 35 years, Gwen has worked on developing innovative approaches to mental health service delivery for children, young adults, and families in multiple settings and systems. She serves as the Co-Lead of the Young Adults of Transition Age initiative at PS MHTTC. Former positions include Healthy Transitions Team Lead for the Healthy Transitions TA Center at the Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS); Senior Policy Associate at Georgetown University, National TA Center for Children's Mental Health; and Project Director for three Systems of Care grants in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
|
|
Drop-In Centers and Low-Barrier Services
|
|
Improved outcomes for young adults transitioning to adulthood depends on creating services and supports that are age appropriate and appealing. You are invited to explore some of the ways this can be done in the following webinar:
|
Webinar - Low-Barrier Access to Mental Health Service for Youth and Young Adults: What Works with What We've Got
Tuesday, April 30 | 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT / 12 p.m. HT
Register
This webinar will explore low-barrier services for young adults of transition age experiencing or at risk for behavioral health challenges. Presenters will discuss how these services can improve engagement and identify strategies for integrating low-barrier policies and practices. Presenters will provide examples of promising local approaches, including drop-in centers and peer-to-peer programs. Presented by Kristin Thorp and guest presenter Caitlin Baird.
ABOUT THE GUEST PRESENTER
Caitlin Baird is a program manager and trainer with Pathways Research and Training Institute. Prior to Pathways, Caitlin served as peer services manager for one of the largest youth peer support organizations in the state and oversaw the operation of YA-run peer drop-in centers. She also worked as a youth wraparound partner and served YYA who were multi-system involved. Caitlin has lived experience as a young adult who experienced mental health challenges.
Caitlin is a member of Youth MOVE National's Best Practices Committee and Youth Peer Support Committee.
|
|
|
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
|
Youth MOVE National has an opportunity for young adults to be a part of Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. See below and share with your young adult partners.
Youth MOVE National is looking for mental health memes that bring awareness, educate, discuss youth voice in the workplace, and reduce stigma. As part of their annual MOVE It Forward campaign, they're asking for youth (29 and under) to submit their best original memes. Their favorites will be published on their social media in May, and the best meme will win a $25 Amazon gift card.
|
|
More Upcoming YYA Webinars
|
|
Ethical Considerations and Strategies for Improving Shared Decision Making in Civil Commitment and Involuntary Hospitalization
Tuesday, May 28 |
6:00-7:15 p.m. ET / 3:00-4:15 p.m. PT / 12:00-1:15 p.m. HT
This webinar will explore civil commitment law through the lens of civil liberties for young adults of transition age. We will consider the ethical tensions between a provider or family member's desire to help a young person experiencing serious mental illness and the young person's autonomy. Presenters will discuss the importance of shared decision making and provide strategies for improving the process for youth and their families. Learn more about the webinar and presenters.
|
|
Understanding and Advancing Mental Health Equity for Young Adults
Tuesday, July 9 |
6:00-7:15 p.m. ET / 3:00-4:15 p.m. PT / 12:00-1:15 p.m. HT
Young adults of transition age have elevated rates of mental health challenges, yet they often do not receive services. This puts young adults of transition age at greater risk for homelessness, justice involvement, and education and employment challenges. This webinar will focus on strategic practices that health departments and mental health agencies can take to advance mental health equity. Learn more about the webinar and presenter.
|
More Conferences and Webinars
|
|
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Monday, April 22 - Las Vegas, Nevada
This workshop will help attendees understand how patients are impacted by prior trauma, learn the gender discrepancies in trauma, outline service needs, explore program examples, and review ethical considerations.
|
Webinar - Exploring the Crossroads Between Obstetrics and Mental Health in Perinatal Care
Friday, May 3 |
3-4 p.m. ET / 12-1 p.m. PT / 9-10 a.m. HT
This webinar will explore the risks of untreated mood disorders in pregnancy, including the association between Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and adverse perinatal outcomes. They will discuss options for psychotropic medications.
|
|
National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day 2019
Monday, May 6
Join SAMHSA in Washington, DC, or online via a live webcast to commemorate the 14th annual National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. TED Talk-style presentations will focus on the theme "Suicide Prevention: Strategies that Work."
|
Join Us! 39th Annual CMHACY Conference*
May 15-17- Pacific Grove, California
The CMHACY conference is California's premier event for those interested in learning about, advocating for, and promoting policies and practices that enhance the well-being of vulnerable children, youth, and families. The PS MHTTC is proud to sponsor the Education Pre-Conference and Transition Aged Youth Pre-Conference.
*Come say hello to us at our booth during the conference.
|
May 31-June 1 - Newport Beach, CA
The PS MHTTC is proud to host Lacy Dicharry and Martin Rafferty for a plenary breakout: "
Youth Engagement and Youth Leadership: An Authentic Early Intervention and Prevention Strategy." They
will discuss key steps to building a successful foundation for peer support, such as agency culture, curricula selection, youth peer workforce support, and financing considerations (including Medicaid).
|
Webinar - Minority Mental Health: The Disconnect
Tuesday, June 4 | 1-4 p.m. ET / 10 a.m.-1 p.m. PT / 7-10 a.m. HT
This webinar will discuss the disconnect between African Americans and mental health services, and describe strategies to bridge the gap to better serve them.
|
17th Annual Western Region Flex Conference
June 19-21 - Marana, Arizona
This event is an opportunity for critical access hospital (CAH) administrators and staff, state Flex program staff, and rural health care leaders to share information and best practices and to learn about state and national health policy developments.
|
More Resources
|
|
Behind the Asterisk*: Perspectives on Young Adult Mental Health from "Small and Hard-to-Reach" Communities
This CLASP report describes findings from focus groups in "small and hard-to-reach" communities: white rural; Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI); urban Native American; and young adults experiencing homelessness. These communities are often relegated to an "asterisk" because their numbers are small or they are hard to reach using typical research methods. This report brings these often-overlooked young people to the forefront of policy discussions.
|
|
Special Issue of American Psychologist - Racial Trauma: Theory, Research, and Healing
|
|
Guiding Caregivers: How to Talk to a Child about Deportation or Separation / Una Guía para los Cuidadores: Cómo hablarle a un niño a sobre la deportació o Separación
News reports and adult discussions about deportation can worry children. Caretakers often wonder if it is better to keep silent, but an open conversation is typically the best approach. This 2-page handout from National Child Traumatic Stress Network gives examples of developmentally appropriate ways to discuss it.
|
|
New SAMHSA Publication: Guidance on Strategies to Promote Best Practice in Antipsychotic Prescribing for Children and Adolescents
SAMHSA partnered with national experts to develop a "bird's eye view" of best practices around treatment that includes antipsychotic medications. Topics include engaging youth and families in shared-decision making, trauma-informed and evidence-based services, coordinating across systems, and more.
|
|
Prevention in Practice: Care Transitions at New Hampshire Hospital
This success story from Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) details how the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire (NAMI NH) and New Hampshire Hospital established a care transitions program for youth inpatients. To improve patient safety and reduce readmissions, the program helps patients transition between the hospital, other health care, and community.
|
News in the Pacific Southwest
|
Several bills are in development to support mental health efforts in our region.
Arizona SB 1011
Information and Referral Service appropriates $1.5 million for a statewide information and referral service for health care services, community services, human services and governmental services.
California SB 582 establishes partnerships between schools and local county mental health plans to provide comprehensive, sustainable multi-tiered interventions.
Nevada AB 66 Crisis Stabilization Centers provides for the establishment of crisis stabilization centers in certain highly populated counties.
Hawaii HB 1448 establishes a working group to evaluate current system gaps and determine steps to promote effective systems integration to address the impacts of substance abuse, mental health conditions, and homelessness.
Hawaii HB 2278 establishes a suicide prevention task force to reduce suicides in Hawaii by twenty-five per cent by year 2025 (resolution approved and adopted).
Rural Mental Health in Palau
Three bills to help address mental health issues among farm families were discussed:
- HF84 would supply $150,000 in Fiscal Year 2019 for rural mental health counseling support.
- HF82 would increase funding for rural mental health counseling to $330,000 yearly in fiscal years 2020 and 2021.
- HF232 would provide an additional $30,000 for the Farm Advocates program and $217,000 for mental health counseling in 2019.
|
Share Your Insights with Our Team
|
Please Complete Our Needs Assessment
As YOUR Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, we are eager to hear about your organization's mental health services, challenges, and priorities. We deeply appreciate your responses to our online query. It will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Your answers will help inform the supports we develop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
