Washington Council for Behavioral Health

2020 Peer Pathways Conference
2020-08-19 - 2020-08-20
Resiliency lives at the Fifth Annual Peer Pathways Conference. This is a great opportunity for Certified Peer Counselors to enhance their skills. Workforce development workshops and thought-provoking seminars will offer opportunities for networking and shared learning.
The 2020 Peer Pathways Conference is sponsored by the Health Care Authority and hosted by the Peer Workforce Alliance.
Conference details

Wednesday, August 19 to Thursday, August 20
Learn more or register

Foundational Community Supports: Individual Placement and Support(IPS) VIRTUAL Fidelity Reviewer Training - Part 1
2020-08-18 09:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The supported employment benefit under the Foundational Community Supports (FCS) program is based on the evidence-based and research-based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model.
Program staff are committed to training and assisting FCS providers in pursuing strategies that will result in improved services and outcomes for people enrolled in FCS.
Training learning objectives include:

Review the FCS program
Explore key principles of the IPS supported employment model
Understand fidelity goals under FCS
Learn what it is like to participate in fidelity reviews
Develop skills to be a fidelity reviewer
Learn interview and charting techniques for fidelity scoring

Registration
Training will be presented virtually, and will be completed in two sessions.
Please register for both part 1and part 2. You must register for each session separately.

August 18: Reviewer Training Part 1
September 1: Reviewer Training Part 2

Questions?
Contact Dawn Miller at dawn.miller@hca.wa.gov

DBHR landlord outreach learning community call - Crisis management
2020-08-12 09:30 - 11:00
Addressing angry or potentially volatile situations effectively is critical to the wellness and safety of service providers, landlords and tenants in supported housing. In order to reduce the risk of physical or emotional injury and to validate and understand each other, a three-step relational intervention was developed and can be used successfully in a variety of settings. The facilitators in this learning community session will guide participants in understanding and using this simple technique that can be used to deescalate and manage crisis situations. We will explore additional strategies to avoid conflict and maintain positive interactions and healthy relationships between service providers, landlords and tenants.
Webinar details:

Date: Wednesday August 12
Time: 9:30-11 a.m.

Register

Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) Discussion Hour with Kelcey Schmitz & Susan Barrett
2020-08-11 15:30 - 16:30
The Northwest MHTTC and Pacific Southwest MHTTC are excited to bring you a 5-part discussion hour series to deepen your knowledge around Interconnected Systems Framework.

The ISF Discussion Hours are part of a collaboration between the Northwest & Pacific Southwest MHTTC’s to bring you training and technical assistance on the Interconnected Systems Framework. Click here to learn more about our 3-part webinar series and access recordings and presentation materials.

About the Discussion Hours:
Did you register and attend one or more of our ISF Webinar Series and want to learn and discuss more with colleagues? Webinars are the launch of learning, and we know that while our three, 60-minute webinars helped us gain foundational language and hear from leaders in the field, many of you wanted the chance to share with one another, ask questions, and continue the intensive discourse needed to create transformational educational environments through ISF.

Join us for five extension Interconnected Systems Framework Discussion Hours to deepen your knowledge. These sessions are supported by Susan Barrett & our ISF Field Leaders, and made meaningful with your participation. Presenters & participants will share their ISF implementation challenges, celebrations, and lessons learned or learning.

**Learn more and access all presentation materials and recordings after the event here.**

Prerequisites:
We strongly ask that if you are joining one or more of the ISF Discussion hours, please 1) download and read the three ISF Fact Sheets and 2) watch or listen to the three ISF Webinar Series recordings. You can access all fact sheets & webinar recordings here.

Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC’s School Mental Health page and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

Golden Thread of documentation webinar series
2020-08-11 09:30 - 11:30, 2020-08-04 09:30 - 11:30, 2020-07-28 09:30 - 11:30, 2020-07-21 09:30 - 11:30, 2020-07-14 09:30 - 11:30, 2020-07-07 09:30 - 11:30
Join us for a six webinar series intended to provide a comprehensive overview, with practical applications, of Foundational Community Supports (FCS) documentation.
What do the webinars cover?
Each webinar covers a specific type of documentation and addresses Medicaid requirements and the importance of the connection between assessments, service plans, and progress notes, known as the Golden Thread.
Who should attend?
These webinars are for FCS staff responsible for service provision and documentation and emphasize interactive activities with practical applications.
We recommend that participants attend all sessions in the series, as the information presented is cumulative. The training is capped at 100 participants, so please register as soon as possible
Webinar details
Webinars will take place on six consecutive Tuesdays.

Date: Tuesday, July 7 – August 11
Time: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Register for all six events

ACT and COVID-19: Meet Up for ACT Mental Health Authorities, Funders, Trainers, and Fidelity Reviewers
2020-08-04 12:00 - 13:00, 2020-07-07 12:00 - 13:00
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a multidisciplinary, team-based model that provides intensive community-based and outreach-oriented services to people who experience the most severe and persistent mental illness. The vast majority also have a co-occurring substance use disorder and many experience comorbid medical illnesses as well as homelessness. This is a vulnerable population and their providers – ACT teams – are at elevated risk themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are hosting a meet-up for non-provider ACT stakeholders who assume a role of overseeing ACT from a mental health authority perspective, funding ACT, providing ACT training and technical supports, which includes leading ACT fidelity reviews. The intent is to create a unique space to share challenges and solutions related ACT operations and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This meet-up is hosted by Lorna Moser, PhD, of the Institute for Best Practices, UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health and Maria Monroe-DeVita, PhD of the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), the sponsor for these ACT meet-up events.

National ACT Virtual Meetings to Address Impact of COVID-19
2020-07-20 12:00 - 13:00
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a multidisciplinary, team-based model that provides intensive community-based and outreach-oriented services to people who experience the most severe and persistent mental illness. The vast majority also have a co-occurring substance use disorder and many experience comorbid medical illnesses as well as homelessness. This is a vulnerable population and their providers – ACT teams – are at elevated risk themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual Meetings
The Northwest MHTTC is partnering with the Institute for Best Practices at the University of North Carolina to host and facilitate regular meetings for ACT teams and ACT stakeholders.
Goals of the meetings are to:

connect with one other
share strategies and resources for adapting team practices and communications
facilitate connection to the most up-to-date resources during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Virtual Discussion Forum
In addition to the meet-up, we have also created a Virtual Discussion Forum to help organize information, resources, and strategies used across teams. You can participate in the forum as a guest, or sign up as a member. Within the Discussion Forum are specific board topics:

Support for ACT Service Recipients;
Support for ACT Team Staff;
Info and Updates: Federal Sources;
Info and Updates: State and Local Sources; ACT Fidelity and COVID-19 Pandemic; and Words of Encouragement.
Click on a board of interest to read existing threads, react to threads, or post new threads.
Recordings of prior meetings are also posted at this forum.

Guest Speaker
To be announced.

Youth Leadership...more than treatment
2020-07-16 12:00 - 13:00
Peer coaching monthly webinar
Each month Coordinated Care offers a chance for you to connect with expert peers from across Washington State. Sessions will vary around topics such as DBT Skills, Trauma Informed Peer Support, Whole Person Healing and much more!
Webinars will include

An explanation of the topic, why it is important, and how to implement the tools in one-on-one and group peer settings.
Time for live Questions and Answers.

Upcoming sessions

Supervision Strategies for CPC’s: Getting the most out of coaching and supervision

Date: Monday, June 1
Time: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Youth Leadership…more than treatment

Date: Thursday, July 16
Time: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

If you’d like to join this series, please contact Naomi Herrera

July Supported Employment webinar: Foundational Community Supports update
2020-07-16 08:30 - 10:00
Many individuals and agencies work hard to make sure that Foundational Community Supports is operational and successful.
Join us for this opportunity to hear how we are doing and to pat yourself on the back for your part in it.
Register HERE.

Supportive housing supervisor learning community call: Using the normative function of supervision effectively
2020-07-14 14:00 - 15:00
In this month’s learning community session we will talk about the normative or evaluative function of supervision. The presenters will discuss how to develop a cooperative alliance, clarify staff roles and tasks, ensure that work is performed in a manner consistent with agency policy and professional norms and ethics. In addition, we will answer questions and share pertinent experiences and resources.
Register HERE.

Landlord outreach learning community call: Working with older adults - a holistic approach to wellness, engagement, and accessing community resources
2020-07-08 09:30 - 11:00
People who are aging and who have mental health conditions often experience accelerated aging and may experience difficulties engaging with service providers. This learning community will explore knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for working with these residents.
We will:

Identify strategies for engagement with older residents using positive and strengths-based interventions.
Review a multi-dimensional wellness model.
Discuss how this holistic philosophy can be applied to assessment, interventions, programming and access to community resources.

Register HERE

National ACT Virtual Meetings to Address Impact of COVID-19
2020-07-06 12:00 - 13:00
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a multidisciplinary, team-based model that provides intensive community-based and outreach-oriented services to people who experience the most severe and persistent mental illness. The vast majority also have a co-occurring substance use disorder and many experience comorbid medical illnesses as well as homelessness. This is a vulnerable population and their providers – ACT teams – are at elevated risk themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual Meetings
The Northwest MHTTC is partnering with the Institute for Best Practices at the University of North Carolina to host and facilitate regular meetings for ACT teams and ACT stakeholders.
Goals of the meetings are to:

connect with one other
share strategies and resources for adapting team practices and communications
facilitate connection to the most up-to-date resources during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Virtual Discussion Forum
In addition to the meet-up, we have also created a Virtual Discussion Forum to help organize information, resources, and strategies used across teams. You can participate in the forum as a guest, or sign up as a member. Within the Discussion Forum are specific board topics:

Support for ACT Service Recipients;
Support for ACT Team Staff;
Info and Updates: Federal Sources;
Info and Updates: State and Local Sources; ACT Fidelity and COVID-19 Pandemic; and Words of Encouragement.
Click on a board of interest to read existing threads, react to threads, or post new threads.
Recordings of prior meetings are also posted at this forum.

Guest Speaker
On July 6, our guest speaker will be Pat Deegan, presenting “Coming Out of Quarantine Safety Plan.” This worksheet was developed by Pat Deegan and colleagues and it can be used by anyone working with vulnerable populations: clinicians, peer specialists, wellness nurses, employment specialists.

Virtual AWSP & WASA Summer Conference 2020
2020-06-29 08:30 - 2020-06-30 13:00
AWSP and WASA have been working around the clock to pivot the direction of our 2020 Summer Conference to keep you safe, informed, and connected while navigating this unprecedented time. This conference will include: keynote speakers, live & pre-recorded breakout sessions, and networking opportunities. Attendees will connect with fellow educational leaders to renew their focus, clarity, and insight for the upcoming school year.

WHEN:

June 29th (8:45am – 3:30pm) to – June 30th (8:45am – 12:45pm)
See the full agenda here.

Learn more and access presentation materials & recordings after the event here.

Provider Wellness in Telehealth during the Covid PHE - Keri Waterland and Diana Cockrell
2020-06-26 11:00 - 12:00
An overview on how trauma informed approaches and self-care tips can be used to help support those who are providing behavioral health services during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing societal unrest.
Presenters:
Keri Waterland: Keri Waterland started working for the state eleven years ago as an intern at Western State Hospital, and started her newest role at the Washington State Health Care Authority as the Director of the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery on May 1, 2019. Prior to that, she was with the Washington State Senate for two legislative sessions working with the Human Services, Reentry and Rehabilitation Committee. Prior to her work with the Senate, Keri served in a variety of clinical and executive administrator positions with the Department of Social and Health Services, and the Department of Corrections. Keri holds a Doctorate in Forensic Psychology with an emphasis in public policy and law, as well as Master’s degrees in Counseling, Forensic Psychology, and Organizational Behavior.
Diana Cockrell: Diana Cockrell worked in the field with youth, young adults and their families in substance use treatment services and later co-occurring substance use and mental health for over a decade before moving to county, and then the state government. Her work is driven by experiences of the youth and families she served who needed trauma informed, whole person, whole family care and were unable to access this care in the system as it was configured. Today Diana works in the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery at the Health Care Authority. She recognizes that while there are miles and many roads left to go to actualize whole person care, the work of shifting to models of care that intentionally incorporate trauma informed approaches and work across professional lines and teams is a step in that direction. In her down time Diana can be found in nature, her garden, making random acts of art, or hanging out with family and friends.
Hope to see you all there!
Register HERE.

June supported employment webinar: Implementing IPS within a Substance Use Disorder program
2020-06-18 08:30 - 10:00
This webinar will include:

Brief history of how Cascade got involved with supported employment
Logistics of where to house employment staff
How we were able to get by-off on the process

Success and trials of integrating into SUD services
Register

Hope & Cope 2020: A free webinar for youth age 14 - 21
2020-06-17 13:00 - 15:00
This event is brought to you by Forefront Suicide Prevention, The 5000 Days Project, Cities Rise, SMART Center & Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center.

Hope & Cope 2020 is part of The Well-Being Series – Connections During COVID-19: Mental Wellness Webinars for Families and Educators. Click here to learn more about our series of webinars for kids, parents, and educators, focusing on mental wellness and suicide prevention.

LEARN MORE AND ACCESS MATERIALS AFTER THE EVENT HERE.

Hope & Cope 2020
A free webinar for youth age 14 – 21
Wednesday June 17th
1 – 3pm (PST)
Join Forefront Suicide Prevention & Filmmaker Rick Stevenson to experience the power of connection through storytelling with Musician Nate Nzanga and Conscious Movement & Meditation teacher J.Ivan Figueroa.
Join college and high school students for Hope & Cope 2020, a virtual event that invites you to reflect on the impact the world-changing events of 2020 have had on your life, through storytelling and connection with others. By choosing to attend this virtual event and the story-telling you do immediately thereafter, it may change you – and the rest of your life. By choosing to attend this virtual event and the storytelling you do immediately thereafter, it may change you – and the rest of your life.
As part of this event, attendees will be able to:
• Tell and hear stories of the most authentic, personal kind.
• Build resilience as you explore and articulate your values, fears, and dreams.
• Help others cope if you decide to share your story.

>> Register for this event here.

Tell Your Story:
After this event you will be invited to submit your video story, to the Hope & Cope story platform. Your story will be compiled and returned to you as your own personal story capsule of your experiences.
If you give permission for Forefront and 5000 days staff to review it, your story may be among those selected to help others. Selected clips will appear on social media, the Forefront website and perhaps even in the newspaper and on TV. Together, the stories will anchor a youth-powered campaign on coping with the challenges we face.

June Supported Employment webinar: Wellness Strategies for Career Service Providers.
2020-06-17 10:00 - 11:00
A public health crisis causes distress for all involved, including career service providers. Attending to our personal wellbeing during this time is just as important as supporting individuals receiving services. This webinar highlights specific tools, strategies, and resources that promote provider wellbeing.
Click here to Register

DBT STEPS-A Q&A Session #2 with Jim and Lizz Mazza
2020-06-16 10:00 - 11:00
Have you been watching the Mazza’s live or online videos as they support their kids and your kids in developing DBT, otherwise known as, critical life skills? Do you have any questions about their lessons might translate into your own home? A school setting? Have you read their book or attended their past training on DBT in schools? Well, don’t miss the opportunity to ask whatever questions you may have of them when they do live Q&A sessions on May 19th and June 16th, 2020.

If you want to submit your questions beforehand, there will be an opportunity to do so on the registration site.
Registration is required for the live Q&A event, unlike the live and recorded Youtube lessons. See registration links below
Audience: Parents & educators.

Join us for 1-hour, interactive Q&A sessions with Doctors Jim & Lizz Mazza about their online, live-streamed 16-lesson DBT STEPS-A curriculum to teach the basics of emotional regulation and specific skills such as mindfulness, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness—essential skills at any time, but even more critical during COVID-19.

Learn more about the 16-lesson curriculum & access recordings here.

The Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center is partnering with Forefront Suicide Prevention Center & DBT in Schools to bring you a 16-lesson online curriculum for DBT STEPS-A and 2 Q&A sessions with the trainers.

This series is part of The Well-Being Series – Connections During COVID-19: Mental Wellness Webinars for Families and Educators. Click here to learn more about our series of webinars for kids, parents, and educators, focusing on mental wellness and suicide prevention.

National ACT Virtual Meetings to Address Impact of COVID-19
2020-06-15 12:00 - 13:00
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a multidisciplinary, team-based model that provides intensive community-based and outreach-oriented services to people who experience the most severe and persistent mental illness. The vast majority also have a co-occurring substance use disorder and many experience comorbid medical illnesses as well as homelessness. This is a vulnerable population and their providers – ACT teams – are at elevated risk themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual Meetings
The Northwest MHTTC is partnering with the Institute for Best Practices at the University of North Carolina to host and facilitate regular meetings for ACT teams and ACT stakeholders.
Goals of the meetings are to:

connect with one other
share strategies and resources for adapting team practices and communications
facilitate connection to the most up-to-date resources during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Virtual Discussion Forum
In addition to the meet-up, we have also created a Virtual Discussion Forum to help organize information, resources, and strategies used across teams. You can participate in the forum as a guest, or sign up as a member. Within the Discussion Forum are specific board topics:

Support for ACT Service Recipients;
Support for ACT Team Staff;
Info and Updates: Federal Sources;
Info and Updates: State and Local Sources; ACT Fidelity and COVID-19 Pandemic; and Words of Encouragement.
Click on a board of interest to read existing threads, react to threads, or post new threads.
Recordings of prior meetings are also posted at this forum.

Guest Speaker
On June 15, our guest speaker will be John Torous, MD, presenting “Evaluating digital technologies and mobile apps for people with serious mental illness.” Dr. Torous is a clinical psychiatrist and researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. His research focuses on smartphone apps and schizophrenia, and he runs a digital clinic where he use mobile technologies to augment to care for his patients. He is the web editor for JAMA Psychiatry and clinical adviser to SMI Adviser, a joint initiative with SAMHSA and the American Psychiatric Association.

Prescribing mHealth Apps in Mental Health Treatment
2020-06-12 11:00 - 12:30
Presenter: Dr. Kristen Perry, Program Manager and clinical psychologist in Primary Care Mental Health Integration at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Clinical Associate Professor with the School of Medicine at the University of Washington
​ Learning objectives:

Familiarity with available tools for rating mHealth apps
Understanding of informed consent elements specific to recommendation of mHealth apps
Awareness of best practices when introducing and utilizing mHealth apps in treatment​

We invite you to attend our next session on Friday, June 12, 2020 at 11:00AM!
REGISTRATION LINK

Resources for Supporting the Mental Health and Well-being of Children and Families During COVID-19
2020-06-11 11:00 - 12:30
The Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center and the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center present a joint webinar, “Resources for Supporting the Mental Health and Well-being of Children and Families During COVID-19.”

About the Event:
These are difficult times for many families struggling to cope with job losses or working from home while managing the added responsibility of child care and home schooling. This webinar will focus on the mental health and well-being of children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic and the early data that provides insight into the challenges and opportunities for substance misuse prevention practitioners to support families and communities during this time. The webinar will also highlight many of the resources available from Child Trends, the nation’s leading research organization focused exclusively on improving the lives of children and youth, especially those who are most vulnerable. The webinar will also discuss how these resources can be applied in your agency and community setting.

Continuing Education Certificate
Participants will receive a continuing education certificate of 1.5 hours for this live webinar event.

Objectives

Learn about Child Trends’ resources on supporting the mental health and well-being of children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Understand how these resources can be applied to direct service work and program leadership.
Become familiar with additional Child Trends resources designed to support the well-being of children and families.

Audience
Community and state-level prevention practitioners, allied health partners and community members, and treatment professionals working to prevent substance misuse.

DBT STEPS-A: Summary Q&A for Students - Putting It All Together & Preparing for Summer
2020-06-11 10:00 - 23:30
Click here to tune into the DBT STEPS-A YouTube Channel every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10am for their live lessons.
Registration is not required.

DBT STEPS-A: Summary Q&A for Students – Putting It All Together & Preparing for Summer
Student Life Skills to Survive & Thrive During COVID-19 & Beyond
About:
Join Doctors Jim & Lizz Mazza & family in their living room as they teach kids the basics of emotional regulation and specific skills such as mindfulness, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness—essential skills at any time, but even more critical during COVID-19. Our kids — all of us — are upended emotionally right now. Tune in with your kids to help you reduce conflict and to keep this pandemic in perspective.

Tune in to YouTube live for the Tuesday and Thursday morning sessions here.
It is not necessary to watch these lessons in order. You can join in the series at anytime and catch up with the recorded videos!
Audience: Parents, students, educators, and more!

>> Access recordings for all 16 live lessons after the event here. <<

The Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center is partnering with Forefront Suicide Prevention Center & DBT in Schools to bring you a 16-lesson online curriculum for DBT STEPS-A and 2 Q&A sessions with the trainers.

This series is part of The Well-Being Series – Connections During COVID-19: Mental Wellness Webinars for Families and Educators. Click here to learn more about our series of webinars for kids, parents, and educators, focusing on mental wellness and suicide prevention.

Job Developers Community of Practice call
2020-06-11 09:00 - 10:00
This month’s job developer’s call will continue our discussion on remote strategies for providing effective job development and employment supports.
Additionally, we will address concerns, challenges, and possible solutions as the potential for transitioning, in whatever timeline is deemed appropriate by the state and by the county in which you work, begins to take place.
Webinar details

Date: June 11
Time: 9 to 10 a.m.
Register

The Job Developers Community of Practice educates job developers and coordinates resources for individuals with mental health and substance use issues who need employment services, resources, and supports.
Job development-related training topics are the focus of the first portion of the call. The remainder is for questions, success stories, sharing best practices, lessons learned, and advice.

Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) Discussion Hour with Leora Wolf-Prusan & Natalie Sedano
2020-06-02 15:30 - 16:30
The Northwest MHTTC and Pacific Southwest MHTTC are excited to bring you a 5-part discussion hour series to deepen your knowledge around Interconnected Systems Framework.

The ISF Discussion Hours are part of a collaboration between the Northwest & Pacific Southwest MHTTC’s to bring you training and technical assistance on the Interconnected Systems Framework. Click here to learn more about our 3-part webinar series and access recordings and presentation materials.

About the Discussion Hours:
Did you register and attend one or more of our ISF Webinar Series and want to learn and discuss more with colleagues? Webinars are the launch of learning, and we know that while our three, 60-minute webinars helped us gain foundational language and hear from leaders in the field, many of you wanted the chance to share with one another, ask questions, and continue the intensive discourse needed to create transformational educational environments through ISF.

Join us for five extension Interconnected Systems Framework Discussion Hours to deepen your knowledge. These sessions are supported by Susan Barrett & our ISF Field Leaders, and made meaningful with your participation. Presenters & participants will share their ISF implementation challenges, celebrations, and lessons learned or learning.

**Learn more and access all presentation materials and recordings after the event here.**
