February 2023

Welcome, February!

This month is a busy one here at the Mid-America MHTTC. We will be observing Black History Month, rolling out a new format for our 30 Days of Mental Health Challenge, and holding our winter cohort for our ARC for Educators: A Training of Trainers!

Take a few moments to see all that we are up to and dive into our resources —and have a fabulous February!

Sincerely,

The Team at the Mid-America MHTTC

In recognition and celebration of Black History Month, we once again are encouraging our Mid-America MHTTC community to listen, lift up, and learn from Black voices.

This month provides many new learning opportunities — both for advancing racial equity within the mental health field and within our own lives, and for developing a deeper understanding of Black history and cultural considerations.

Below we have listed a few upcoming events from across the MHTTC network, as well as some resources from the Racial Equity Resource Packet.

Events:

• Rites & Rituals: Bringing a Cultural Lens to Positive Youth Development for Black Girls | Central East MHTTC | February 14, 3:00 PM ET | Register
• Peer Support Series, Session 2: Setting the Stage for Creating Safe Spaces | Pacific Southwest MHTTC | February 22, 10 AM PT | Register
• Management of Psychotic Disorders in the Black Community | Central East MHTTC | February 23, 12 PM ET | Register

Resources:

• What Does it Mean to be African-American? (For Mental Health Providers) | Southeast ATTC | Read
• Even One Is Too Many - Preventing Suicide among Black American Boys and Girls | Central East MHTTC | Learn more
• Disparities in Healthcare and in Mental Health Affecting the Black Community | Central East | Listen
• Recovery in African American Communities (Podcast) | Great Lakes ATTC | Listen

If you would like to view even more resources and events, please view the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office's Black History Month page below.

You can now get the Mid-America MHTTC's 30 Days of Mental Health Challenge Calendar sent right to your inbox!

By opting into this email list, you will receive daily challenges aimed at building and strengthening your mental well-being and resilience.

What better way to start off a new month? Register below:

The MHTTC Network, SAMHSA and Abt Associates will present on the findings from SAMHSA's new guide, Expanding Access to and Use of Behavioral Health Services for People Experiencing Homelessness, during a webinar on Feb. 2.

"Wait times for placement into permanent housing can range from a few months to several years, and longer periods of homelessness are associated with lower rates of recovery and higher rates of psychiatric distress. The period prior to moving into stable housing is therefore an important window to offer services, and one that requires multi-system coordination. This webinar will provide an overview of the SAMHSA guide and include presentations from four organizations that are currently using the evidence-based practices featured in this guide to support mental health and substance use needs among individuals experiencing homelessness."

The webinar takes place online beginning at 11 a.m. PT. To register, click the button below.

The Mid-America MHTTC is launching a new series, Moving Towards Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) Webinar Series. 

Running March through May 2023, the monthly webinars are intended for internal community care team members, administrators, health providers and primary care teams.

The first webinar is CCBHC Model Overview, Evolution, and What's Ahead. Presented by Angela Schindler-Berg, this presentation will identify the core areas of a CCBHC, describe what makes them different from traditional delivery models, and dissect the most recent national data and outcomes. 

All webinars in the series will qualify for continuing education credit, and are free to take. 

To learn more about the series and register for the webinar, visit the series homepage below.

Our Tele-Behavioral Health Consultation (TBHC) Primary Care Webinar Series returns this March with a new session — Screening for Autism in Pediatric Primary Care. The webinar will take place on March 21 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. CT via Zoom.

Read the course description and objective below:

"This webinar will help the learner identify symptoms of autism in the pediatric population and identify validated and reliable screening tool that may be feasible to use in the primary care setting. The challenges of screening for autism in the primary care setting and solutions to improve screening rates will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, the participants should be better able to:

• Recall the red flags of autism spectrum disorder in the infant and toddler age group.
• Review DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder in the pediatric population. 
• Identify valid and reliable autism spectrum screening tools for infants, toddlers, school age and adolescent age group. 
• Discuss challenges, barriers, and potential strategies to incorporate autism spectrum disorder screening in the primary care setting. 

Presented by: Terri Matthews, PhD, APRN-NP, BCBA-D"

To register for this free webinar, click the link below.

Adult Resilience Curriculum (ARC) for Health Professionals | Full series | Enduring continuing education credits available! 

Watch here

Integrated Pediatric Primary Care: A Primer Series | HealtheKnowledge modules

Learn more

Principle of Trauma-Informed Care for Health Care Organizations | Toolkit

Learn more

Black History Month

Learn more

American Heart Month

Learn more

Groundhog Day - Feb. 2

National Women Physicians Day - Feb. 3

Learn more

National School Counseling Week - Feb. 6-10

Learn more

National Iowa Day - Feb. 8

International Day of Women and Girls in Science - Feb. 11

Learn more

Valentine's Day - Feb. 14

National Caregivers Day - Feb. 17

Random Act of Kindness Day - Feb. 17

Presidents' Day - Feb. 20

Learn more

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week - Feb. 20-26

Learn more

Mardi Gras - Feb. 21