|
Region 9 School Mental Health Champions!
Welcome Fall
| |
|
“Work is love made visible.”
― Kahlil Gibran
| |
|
Dear Region 9 School Mental Health Champions,
Here we are in October, a time and month that for many school-based leaders and educators is full, often a time and month that yearns for rest and rejuvenation. We hope that this newsletter finds you feeling resourced and supported and are continually grateful for the opportunity to be a resource and a support to the work that makes your love for school mental health equity visible.
In this quarter’s newsletter, we offer new programming, research, and resources, and so much more.
| |
|
Please contact us with specific requests, feedback, or your own resources you’d like us to share with your regional colleagues: pacificsouthwest@mhttcnetwork.org.
With deep admiration and in wellness,
The Pacific Southwest MHTTC School Mental Health team
Interested in accessing the resources below, archived webinars, and more? Visit our website!
| |
The Pacific Southwest MHTTC is a SAMHSA-funded center serving American Samoa, Arizona, California, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau.
| |
GET IN TOUCH:
SPREAD THE WORD:
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
@PSMHTTC
| |
|
New & Upcoming Programming & Products: In the works from our center...
| |
|
Program Series
» Rising Practices & Policies in our Workforce: Interrupting Bullying & Fostering Belonging
October 24-26, 2023
How might we—as the mental health and school mental health workforce—evolve our own practices and policies to meet the evolving needs of the people and systems we serve?
The Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network team is collaborating with SAMHSA's Region 9 Office to continue our programming on emerging practices and policies that impact mental health and school mental health services and systems, and this October (in honor of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month), we are zooming in on the topic of bullying and belonging.
On October 24th, 25th, & 26th, we’re offering a series of learning sessions to augment mental health providers and systems leaders’ knowledge, skills, and approaches for effectively responding to and preventing bullying while also fostering belonging.
You can check out all three sessions here (and register!), and we hope to see you for the school mental health session on October 26th!
| |
|
MHTTC National Conference
The 2023 Grief Sensitivity Virtual Learning Institute (GSVLI)
November 1 & 2, 2023
Join us for a two-day, no-cost, virtual training experience for the mental health and school mental health workforce.
The theme for our 2023 GSVLI is Working with Grief in the Context of Violence: Strengthening our Skills to Strengthen Ourselves
Day 1 - Wednesday, November 1, 2023
General Mental Health Workforce Sessions
With a special focus on gender-based violence, institutional violence, community violence, and grief.
• • • • •
Day 2 - Thursday, November 2, 2023
School Mental Health Workforce Sessions
With a special focus on school violence prevention, intervention, postvention, and grief.
• • • • •
Each day will begin with a grounding keynote, will offer two panels to deepen our learning, and a workshop session.
| |
|
PS MHTTC's Very Own Podcast
Dreams, Dilemmas, & Dialogues Podcast
Welcome to Dreams, Dilemmas and Dialogues, a podcast produced by the Pacific Southwest MHTTC, that explores thought-provoking discussions between educators and school mental health providers on issues that impact our schools, classrooms, and communities.
In this four-part podcast, co-hosted by Oriana Ides and Candice Valenzuela and with guests throughout, we cover a rich tapestry of themes, ranging from fostering a positive school culture that empowers both students and educators, to the importance of centering compassion and empathy in the classroom, and creating spaces where learning and personal growth intertwine.
| |
Tools to Resource Your School Mental Health Championship from the PS MHTTC | |
|
» Identity Support Plans - Tools to Support Schools in Planning, Safety, and Educational Equity for Gender Diverse Students
All public schools in California are required to offer Identity Support Plans (IDSP) for LGBTQ+ students in elementary, middle, and high school. In accordance with this policy, the Pacific Southwest Center collaborated with a group of school mental health specialists to develop a set of tools to aid districts in making educational spaces safe and supportive for ALL students, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.
Compiled in this new webpage are a listing of the two sets of Identity Support Plan tools that are available for school personnel use. Visit this page to see the IDSP tool and accompanying “Explainer” document for elementary schools, and an IDSP and associated “Explainer” document for middle and high schools.
| |
|
» Social Media & Youth: Perils, Powers, and Pathways to Resilience
A resource compendium to assist social media and mental health literacy
This resource is a part of our Pacific Southwest MHTTC’s suite of programming, aimed to enhance the mental and school mental health workforce’s skills, knowledge, and awareness of how the positive and negative psychological impact of social media on youth and young adults.
| |
Archived Programming (In Case You Missed It) from Our Center | |
|
» Back to School Sessions: A Series of Workshops on Trauma-Informed Approaches & Practices to Steer Into and Through This School Year
A huge thank you to the 206 participants in our network who joined us for some or all of the 5-session series. We only recorded select sessions as appropriate for the outcomes of each session; here are the links to the ones we did record.
» Back to School Sessions Workshop 1 Recording:
Study Session: A Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach
August 9, 2023
In this kickoff session, PS MHTTC School Mental Health Field Director Leora Wolf-Prusan and Trauma Informed Educator Network founder Mathew Portell facilitated an interactive study session to familiarize participants with SAMHSA’s June 2023 release of the updated and expanded practical guide from the 2014 Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach Resource.
Viewers of this video can benefit from the following learning objectives: 1) Defining trauma, trauma-informed care, and connected terminology; Identifying resources to support our work; and 3) Exploring the guide’s case study of Fall-Hamilton Elementary School in Nashville, TN (at which Mathew used to be the principal!).
View Workshop 1 Recording >
» Back to School Sessions Workshop 2 Recording:
Giving Voice to Youth Psychological Strengths: A Photovoice Partnership Project
August 16, 2023
In the second workshop session, the incoming Editor-In-Chief of the academic journal Contemporary School Psychology Meagan O’Malley and Licensed Educational Psychologist Jeremy Greene were joined by faculty from California State University, Sacramento’s School Psychology Program and staff and students from Natomas Pacific Pathways Preparatory (NP3) High School to discuss the “Giving Voice to Youth Psychological Strengths,” project.
This session was designed for educators, school site leaders, school mental health professionals, youth advocates, trauma-informed professionals, and anyone interested in photovoice and more!
View Workshop 2 Recording >
» Back to School Sessions Workshop 4 Recording:
Trauma-Informed Suicide Prevention for Administrators
September 13, 2023
In the penultimate workshop session, former School Site and District Administrators Tina Rocha and Angela Castellanos discussed how to build an understanding of suicide prevention policy, the prevalence and impact of traumatic stress and its relation to suicide, and resources available to schools.
This session was designed for system leaders, prevention specialists, educators, administrators, school site leadership, district and state administrative leadership, and anyone interested in growing their knowledge, skills, and approaches to suicide prevention in their practice.
View Workshop 4 Recording >
• • • • •
| |
|
» Social Media & Youth: Perils, Powers, & Pathways to Resilience
Archived Recording from August 1, 2023
The Pacific Southwest MHTTC gathered a group of leaders in the fields of social science research, mental health, and youth advocacy, including Senior Research Scientist and Director of Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab at Wellesley College, Linda Charmaraman; Founder/CEO of Log OFF Movement, Emma Lembke; Assistant Professor of Equity, Diversity and Justice in Education at University of Colorado, Boulder, Tiera Tanksley; and Outpatient Therapist, Skyler Blankenship. Together, they presented and discussed the risk factors and benefits of social media for young people.
The session focused on strategies for fostering a more empowered, healthier relationship with digital technology and provided a nuanced view of both the perils and powers of social media use for youth.
Check out the recording here >
| |
Learning Opportunities from the Field... | |
What we're reading, listening to, and learning from. | |
|
Reports & Research to Grow our School Mental Health Championship
» The MHTTC Network Coordinating Office developed a report, Behavioral Threat Assessment in Schools: Evidence, Fit, and Appropriateness, on behavioral threat assessment and its intersection with youth mental health. The report aims to:
-
Describe the problem of school violence and how BTA became a widely implemented school violence prevention strategy.
-
Report on the current state of BTA implementation and its effectiveness.
-
Discuss considerations for the fit and appropriateness of using BTA in schools.
-
Offer recommendations for schools, policymakers, funders, researchers, and SAMHSA on addressing BTA use in schools.
• • • • •
» The American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica offer the report, Mental Health and Our Changing Climate Children and Youth Report 2023, bringing forward recent and respected research on the impacts of climate change on children and youth, and guidance for response.
A key quote from the report: “Support from schools, teachers, caregivers, and peers is essential. Many schools serve as sites for interventions after a disaster, but their capacity to prevent and address the mental health impacts of climate change could expand. This includes involving students and parents in ensuring accessible green space, upgrading to resilient and protective infrastructures, and modeling sustainability…Empowering children with information on their own actions can make a difference.” (p.6).
• • • • •
» This new piece, “Review: School-based interventions to improve mental health literacy and reduce mental health stigma – a systematic review" (2023) identifies and synthesizes evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions designed to improve mental health literacy and reduce mental health stigma.
| |
|
Resources for Students & Staff Well-being
» Healthy & Ready: Back-to-School Support for Student & Staff Well-Being is now live on the Thriving Schools blog. The Healthy & Ready Campaign supports schools because we know they can and do play a critical role in supporting health and wellness. Find a collection of existing and new resources as a Back-to-School Guide to Support Student & Staff Well-Being such as:
• • • • •
» The National Center for Safe & Supportive Learning Environments recently released their “Working Well Resource Directory” designed to help districts and schools promote well-being among administrators, teachers, and other staff. The resources into seven general approaches, each of which is supported by evidence: 1) Creating or Expanding Well-Being Supports; 2) Elevating the Profession; 3) Encouraging Self-Care; 4) Enhancing Professional Development; 5) Fostering Connectedness and Supportive Relationships; 6) Improving School Facilities; and 7) Innovating in the Classroom.
• • • • •
» This new piece, “Review: School-based interventions to improve mental health literacy and reduce mental health stigma – a systematic review" (2023) identifies and synthesizes evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions designed to improve mental health literacy and reduce mental health stigma.
| |
|
Toolkits, Articles, & Podcasts for our Work
» Community Conversation: Grief Through the Lens of LGBTQ+ Youth & Communities: In this Grief Through the Lens series from the Eluna Network, panelists expand the definition of grief by honoring intergenerational activism, intersectionality, and collective grief experiences within queer & trans communities and explored unique barriers to grief support and actionable steps to build brave and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and communities.
• • • • •
» The School Crisis Recovery & Renewal project (SCRR) just released two new blog pieces, “Naming A Thing: A Case For Feeling” by Dr. Noor Jones-Bey and “Beyond Youth Resistance: Telling the Whole Story” by Dr. Meagan Corrado.
• • • • •
» Selfies, Social, And Screens: Navigating Virtual Spaces For Youth
Mental Health America’s 2023 toolkit provides information, tips, and resources for young people, caregivers, and school personnel on how to protect youth mental health in a digital world.
| |
|
Resources from "Grief Leadership Recovery & Renewal Considerations After Wildfire - A Place to Process for Educators, School Mental Health Providers & Youth/Young Adult Leaders and Allies"
A special event on September 14, 2023 that we co-held with the School Crisis Recovery & Renewal project
» Community Conversation: Grief Through the Lens of LGBTQ+ Youth & Communities: In this Grief Through the Lens series from the Eluna Network, panelists expand the definition of grief by honoring intergenerational activism, intersectionality, and collective grief experiences within queer & trans communities and explored unique barriers to grief support and actionable steps to build brave and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and communities.
Resources from / Related to our Speakers from the Event
Additional Resources Related to Wildfire Distress & Healing
| |
|
We close this newsletter with a poem we read at the “Grief Leadership Recovery & Renewal Considerations After Wildfire” space:
Healing does not happen in isolation. Our culture over-prioritizes the self with the expectation that you will meet all your needs on your own, and if you don’t, then it is a personal failure.
However, true healing does not happen alone. Even when a meditation practice may outwardly seem like a solitary practice, we are practicing connection– to our breath, to the earth, to our ancestors and guides, and to each other.
We are practicing coming home, to ourselves and to each other. Healing happens when we are able to pause and check in with what’s present internally, giving love and kindness to the woundedness we carry.
And, healing happens when that vulnerability is witnessed by the community.
― Lama Rod Owens
| |
Contact the Pacific Southwest MHTTC
| |
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and content expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
| | | | |
