MENTAL HEALTH AND THE EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE — a 4 hour symposium on mental health, resilience, substance use disorder and suicide prevention

Overview and Goals

Mental Fitness, SC Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative and The Forrester Center for Behavioral Health are launching a 4 hour symposium for educators that includes:

• 1.25 hour training — “Managing and Preventing Serious Mental Illnesses in Schools”
  • Mental Fitness
    • Facts about co-morbidity (anxiety disorders, depression, suicide ideation, SUD, ED, and other co-occurring issues)
    • Best practices for managing mental health issues in schools (who to refer to, how to get conversation started)
    • Focus on prevention and resilience – with access to prevention resources for educators
    • Talk back panel with local mental health providers and specialists (including DMH, TFC and SCYSPI leaders)
• 1.25 hour training on Suicide Prevention
  • SC Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative
    • Leadership
      leading to cultural transformation – build a culture that strives to make suicide a “never event.”
    • Identify
      ones role and the need for prevention, intervention, and postvention training
    • Comprehensive
      suicide prevention best practice model
    • Overview
      of Columbia Screener tool and data
• 1 hour training on Trends and Fads
  • The Forrester Center for Behavioral Health
    • Learn about the latest substance use trends and fads placing teens at risk
    • Identify ways to change the social norms that promote substance use
    • Receive guidance on local treatment resources and additional prevention education opportunities

History of Project

Capitalizing on the momentum started in 2017 with the “Mental Health and Educator Experience Summit” whereby over 80 educators participated in a 16 hour symposium to learn best practices for managing mental health challenges in the school setting.

Based on post-program survey feedback, the most commonly requested programs were: SMI training, Suicide Prevention and Substance Use Disorder prevention trainings.

Registration and CEU’s

Our goal is to bring the program to your district. We will soon have a registration form available. In addition, we will offer training dates in Spartanburg County. Participating educators will receive 4 contact hours of CEUs offered through their districts. In addition, Emerge Family Therapy Institute will offer CEUs for any licensed psychotherapist (master’s level) in the state of SC.  Cost for CEU for licensed clinicians are $35 each.

Contact

Please contact Lee Shirley, Program Director for Mental Fitness,
School Counselor for Spartanburg District 7 Schools.
email: lee@mentalfitnessinc.org.