QPR is a suicide prevention training for front-line community members (e.g., educators, paraprofessionals, parents/families).  Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.  (1.5 – 2 hours)

Learn more at the QPR Institute

The Trauma Responsive and Resilience Informed Care Training provides foundational knowledge on the effects of toxic stress, trauma, and adversity on health and well-being. Understanding that racism is trauma and should be treated as such in any trauma-responsive care framework is a key component.  This training serves as a standard approach and increases the capacity of individuals and organizations to promote trauma-responsive, equity-based practices that are sustainable and support holistic health across New York. This is a live, interactive training. (7 - 8 hours)

Modules include: Introduction to Trauma and Toxic Stress; Trauma: The mind and the body; Wellness, Resilience, and Healing; Trauma-Informed Approaches; Compassion Resilience; and Action Planning

Youth Mental Health First Aid is an early intervention public education program. It teaches adults how to recognize the signs and symptoms that suggest a potential mental health challenge, how to listen nonjudgmentally and give reassurance to a youth who may be experiencing a mental health challenge, and how to refer a person to appropriate professional support and services. (6.5 or 4.5 hour options)

Participants can expect: 

• Hands-on activities and practice
• Training in how to utilize a 5-step action plan
• Typical adolescent behavior vs. potential warning signs
• Overview of local mental health resources and other supports; 
• Manual packed with information on all topics in the course
• 3 year YMHFA Certification upon completion of training

Geared towards school mental health practitioners, this training will cover theoretical fundamentals and school-based application of evidence-based child mental health practices.  This three-part series will cover best practices in Assessment of Children’s Mental Health needs, and evidence-based interventions including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance-Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Presenters will offer school mental health teams a variety of evidence-based tools, resources, activities, books, and manuals to support implementation of practices in a school setting.  

Session 1: Evidence-Based Assessment & Common Elements of Evidence-Based Practice

Session 2: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Practices in School Mental Health

Session 3: DBT, ACT, and SFBT Practices in School Mental Health

This training will focus on best practices in trauma-focused interventions for implementation in schools. Grounded in principals of Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)/Bounce Back, this session will identify best practices of interventions that can be utilized to support individual children and teens who have experienced trauma, as well as group protocols for implementation in K-12 settings. We will first review trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral techniques (e.g., psychoeducation, relaxation, social problem solving, cognitive restructuring, and exposure), and identify free evidence-based tools to teach young people these techniques.  We will then identify elements of school-based trauma-focused group protocols (e.g., CBITS, Bounce Back) that can be implemented in educational settings and discuss best practices for running such a group in schools.  This seminar will end with a discussion of MH-Staff’s own compassion fatigue and resilience-building strategies.

An advanced practice workshop is offered for school mental health staff.  This training will provide advanced insight into topics covered within the DBT Skills curriculum used in the DBT-A Skills Group.  Topics covered include: 

• Mindfulness: The ability to observe and experience the present moment without judgment. Teens will learn to notice their emotions and to experience them— without always acting upon them. 
• Emotion Regulation: Helping teens and their caregivers learn behavioral and cognitive techniques for reducing their vulnerability to, and enhancing their ability to cope with, overwhelming emotion. 
• Interpersonal Effectiveness: Assertiveness and communications skills are emphasized with the aim of helping individuals achieve their goals, maintain healthy relationships, and maintain their self-respect even after conflicts. 
• Distress Tolerance: Helping teens and their families learn ways to get through difficult moments without making impulsive decisions they may regret. 
• Walking the Middle Path: Learning to live a more balanced life and avoid the emotional and behavioral extremes that frequently lead to stress.

Every 15 minutes someone in the U.S. takes his or her own life. And for every one suicide, there are 25 attempts. This public health issue affects everyone: families, healthcare providers, school personnel, faith communities, friends, government, and others. It’s important that everyone know suicide’s warning signs and how to help a person contemplating suicide. This is particularly true for healthcare providers, especially those who work in integrated health settings, which are primed to make a great difference in the lives of people at-risk of suicide.  The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) is a questionnaire used for suicide assessment. Various professionals can administer this scale, including physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, peer counselors, coordinators, research assistants, high school students, teachers and clergy. Learn more about the C-SSRS and how it can be used to identify kids at risk of suicidality and in need for immediate or urgent intervention.

School refusal describes the disorder of a child who refuses to go to school on a regular basis or has problems staying in school. Children with school refusal often complain of physical symptoms shortly before it is time to leave for school or repeatedly ask to visit the school nurse. In this training, MH Practitioners will develop a clearer understanding of what constitutes school anxiety, avoidance, and refusal, and more clearly identify why a child is avoiding school. Practitioners will also learn strategies to develop initial school-based behavioral plans to help reduce school anxiety and address school avoidance and non-attendance, and increase their knowledge in how to both identify and refer complex/severe situations to appropriate resources.  

Do you have students who continue to struggle despite making numerous attempts to help them?  This workshop will focus on strategies to solve problems collaboratively and proactively, and teaching skills. We will first start with a close look at beliefs about why a child is exhibiting challenging behavior.  We’ll practice identifying the skills that a behaviorally challenging student is lacking and the expectations a child is not meeting related to those lagging skills. We will then discuss & practice three ways of handling a problem with a behaviorally challenging student: Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.  This is an experiential training that will be fun and engaging!

In addressing the full array of student needs, schools have access to a wide variety of national-, state-, district-, and school-run programs and resources that can begin to help address the wide array of individual and family needs that can interfere with optimal learning.  Ideally, the types of supports and resources that are available offer a compliment of educational and social/emotional/behavioral resources. Yet, with the many demands within a school setting, it is common for these resources to fall through the cracks.   Over time, it becomes easy to lose track of all the supports and resources that are available, who can access them, how they can be accessed, and the reasons that they are offered.  This workshop will focus on identifying what these resources are, who each resource is most appropriate for, and how these resources can be accessed and evaluated for quality.  

Bounce Back is a school-based group intervention for elementary students exposed to stressful and traumatic events. With 20-50% of American children experiencing trauma within their families, at their schools, and in their communities, it's essential to help children heal. Bounce Back teaches students ways to cope with and recover from traumatic experiences, including the COVID-19 Pandemic, so they can get back to doing what they want to do and need to do.  Designed to be administered by clinicians, Bounce Back is based on the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS). The Bounce Back program includes 10 group sessions, 1-3 group parent sessions, and 2-3 individual student sessions.

The Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) program is a school-based, group and individual intervention.  It is designed to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and behavioral problems, and to improve functioning, grades and attendance, peer and parent support, and coping skills.   CBITS has been used with students from 5th grade through 12th grade who have witnessed or experienced traumatic life events such as community and school violence, accidents and injuries, physical abuse and domestic violence, and natural and man-made disasters. CBITS uses cognitive-behavioral techniques (e.g., psychoeducation, relaxation, social problem solving, cognitive restructuring, and exposure).  The CBITS program includes 1- group sessions, 1 – 3 individual sessions hosted by school-based staff, 2 parent psychoeducational sessions, and 1 teacher educational session.

DBT in Schools: Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (STEPS-A) is a universal social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum designed for middle and high school students in educational settings. The DBT STEPS-A curriculum is designed to help adolescents develop coping strategies and decision-making abilities, especially under emotional distress. The DBT STEPS-A curriculum is based on the skills component of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) that has been shown to be effective with both adults and adolescents experiencing mild to severe levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties. The primary population for DBT STEPS-A is Tier I of a multi-tier or RTI system, however, it has been effective at all levels of MTSS implementation.   

A CBT-based group for LGBTQ+ teens designed to provide a safe, inclusive and affirming environment for LGBTQ+ youth to foster relationships, explore the evolution of gender and sexual identity, and develop effective coping, communication, and interpersonal skills.

This workshop will cover signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout as well as preventative strategies and interventions. The importance of self-care and various methods of implementing techniques to enhance and encourage self-care on a personal and organizational level will also be addressed.

Mental health disorders are the most common child health concern in the United States; Nearly 1 in 5 students will have a diagnosable mental health concern.   Our mental health trainings are designed to teach educators and community members how to recognize, discuss, and support youth with behavioral health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and other concerns.  This training also provides participants with local and national resources that can help, and direct instruction for how to refer children to these resources. 

This training series provides teachers, student support specialists, and other school staff with hands-on knowledge on the nature of self-regulation and strategies for improving self-regulation and emotional control in individuals of all ages. A variety of tools (sensory supports, calming techniques, classroom activities, and thinking strategies) will be provided to help students recognize their internal emotions, sensory needs, and thinking patterns.  Tips, skills, and tools will be provided to help children/teens learn to self-regulate and to apply self-regulatory skills when needed.

Topics in Emotional Regulation Training Series: 

Session 1: Emotional Regulation 101 – Understanding the Cycle of Regulation

Session 2: Teaching Emotional Regulation Through Play 

Session 3: Teaching Emotional Regulation to Youth with Challenging Behavior

Session 4: Classroom-Based Emotional Regulation Intervention: The Good Behavior Game

This workshop will review challenging behaviors related to aggression, non-compliance and attention-seeking, and will provide a framework for intervening with these behaviors. Participants will analyze the effectiveness of their current approach and develop insights into what is happening when attempts at intervention do not work. They will gain a clear understanding of how to structure interactions for positive outcomes and will be coached in strategies to bring out the best in youth who exhibit challenging behaviors.

The workshop will build important skills that can prevent challenging behaviors that often lead to crisis, and De-Escalation strategies to prompt individuals to use skills developed during prevention activities. We will also discuss post-crisis intervention strategies to reintegrate the individual back into educational programming.  Participants will also learn how to conduct retrospective analysis which includes ways of improving future interactions in a crisis situation.

Do you have students who continue to struggle despite making numerous attempts to help them?  This workshop will focus on strategies to solve problems collaboratively and proactively, and teaching skills. We will first start with a close look at beliefs about why a child is exhibiting challenging behavior.  We’ll practice identifying the skills that a behaviorally challenging student is lacking and the expectations a child is not meeting related to those lagging skills. We will then discuss & practice three ways of handling a problem with a behaviorally challenging student: Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.  This is an experiential training that will be fun and engaging!

This is a vital component of working with challenging youth. Empathy helps connect youth and adults, and really helps kids and adults develop positive relationships between each other. “Drilling Down” to the heart of a child’s concerns helps adults understand more about a child’s challenges, and begins to teach children how to reflect on their own behavior as well.  Children also come to believe that an adult understands them and cares, and the child becomes more open to discussion over time. 

Sometimes, teens feel invincible – and yet there are other times when they struggle with anger, sadness, self-esteem, and even substance abuse.   This is an evidence-based training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents at Schools to help individuals between the ages of 12 and 18 handle stress, improve relationships, and manage emotions. This training teaches educators the 'basics' in DBT 101 - including mindfulness, acceptance, and cognitive-behavioral skills – and how to apply them in real-life situations with your students.

This training will focus on strategies for teaching critical social and emotional skills to students, recognizing trauma as significant to a child's overall wellbeing, and creating and maintaining a safe, connected learning environment. Social and emotional learning focuses on developing an individual’s self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Learning to recognize, understand, manage and express emotions is seen as key to building healthy relationships and achieving academic, career and life goals.  In turn, a growing body of research clearly demonstrates that climates of connectedness in school buildings, trauma-informed teaching, and the promotion of social and emotional competencies and skills are integral to learning and academic success. 

• Nurse-focused workshops can include, but are not limited to:
• Introduction to School Mental Health 
• Mental Health Services & Instruction: What a School Nurse Can Do 
• Internalizing Disorders 
• Externalizing Disorders 
• Best Practices in Approaching and Referring Students 
• Data-Driven Decision-Making 
• Cultural Competence 
• Collaboration with parents and mental health professionals
• Common Psychopharmacological Interventions for Mental Health 
• Working with Others to Enhance Programs and Resources

Schools have access to a wide variety of services and resources that can help address a wide array of individual and family needs related to child health and mental health.  This parent-focused training will identify important resources available to students and families, including in-school counseling, school-based consultation and behavioral health visits from our partners at UR Medicine, and out-of-school resources for those looking for more.  This training will also provide parents and family members with hands-on knowledge on the nature of children’s mental health needs, and strategies for promoting mental health in youth of all ages. 

Presenters will offer insights into teen relationships with both peers and romantic partners, and how parents can guide teens towards safe and healthy relationships.  Parents will gain knowledge and skill in identifying healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors, strategies for helping youth set healthy boundaries, and how to recognize and address warning signs of social conflict and dating violence.  Parents will also learn to facilitate discussions with their teen about conflict, consent, dating, and coping with feelings of regret or heartbreak.

Mental health disorders are the most common child health concern in the United States; Nearly 1 in 5 students will have a diagnosable mental health concern.   Our mental health trainings are designed to teach parents and community members how to recognize, discuss, and support youth with behavioral health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and other concerns.  This training also provides participants with local and national resources that can help, and direct instruction for how to refer children to these resources. 

A member of our team will attend a Family Resource Night or event and distribute information about services and supports available at the University of Rochester Medical Center.