Conference on Child & Adolescent Mental Health

 

The Concentration on Children and Families of Adversity and Resilience and the Department of Clinical Psychology Presents

 

 Lessons in Resilience:  Global and Local Perspectives

 

 Co-Sponsors: Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; Parent Professional Advocacy League; Boston Youth Sanctuary, Newton Health and Human Services, Center of Excellence for Children, Families and the Law; Freedman Center for Child and Family Development, School Psychology Program, and the Boston Institute for the Development of Infants and Parents at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

 

 Friday, May 8, 2015 | 9:00 am – 4:30 pm at MSPP

 

 Conference Coordinators: Bruce Ecker PhD, Gemima St. Louis, PhD, Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD, and Margaret Hannah, MEd

 

 Plenary Speaker: Michael Ungar, PhD, family therapist and a Killam Professor of Social Work at Dalhousie University where he founded and co-directs the Resilience Research Centre.

 

This second annual multi-disciplinary conference on youth resilience will be held in celebra­tion of National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. The conference will provide a unique forum for considering what has been learned about youth resilience from around the globe and then applying that knowledge to local needs and programs. Looking broadly at children and adolescents as well as their families, schools and communities, the focus will be on identifying powerful strengths that counteract the adversities faced by far too many. Nine resilience factors identified in global studies will be presented as they serve to offset youth psy­chiatric disorders as well as the effects of family violence, natural disasters, forced migration, poverty, racism and other types of social marginalization. The connections between research and practice will be stressed throughout. The plenary speaker, Michael Ungar, Ph.D., co-founder of the Resilience Research Centre, is both a clinician and a world leader in resilience studies, as he coordinates funded research in over a dozen countries. His work will be comple­mented by that of local leaders who will describe how strength-based programs are making important contributions to youth and family adjustment. Such programs are relevant across a broad developmental range, from early childhood to youth transitioning to adulthood. Concrete examples of successful practices and programs will be presented. Representatives from schools and Commonwealth agencies will be present to foster collaboration in meeting the growing mental health needs of children and their families. The day will be divided between plenary sessions, panel presentations, and concurrent sessions, all in an attempt to foster engagement and sharing. The conference will be relevant for clinicians, educators, policy makers, consumers, and community support personnel.

 

Specific learning objectives:

• Describe the impact of selected adverse childhood experiences such as family violence, poverty, forced immigration, and racism
• Describe nine resilience factors found in global studies that offset the impact of youth, family, and community adversities
• Describe the social-ecological model of adversity and resilience
• Provide examples of strength-based local programs that use resilience factors as powerful tools to offset youth adversities

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day Conference, 2015

8:00     Breakfast and Registration

8:30     Convene

8:45     Welcome and Introductions

            Bruce Ecker Ph.D., Conference Convener

            Nicholas Covino, President, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

9:00     Plenary Presentation: Advancing the Behavioral Health of Children and Adolescents: Linking Policy, Research and Practice; A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed., Regional Director, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

10:00   Break

10:15   Plenary Presentation: “Diagnosing” Resilience Across Cultures and Contexts: Seeing The Positive in Young People Even When There are Serious Problems"; Michael Ungar, PhD,  Killam Professor of Social Work, Dalhousie University; Founder and Co-Director, Resilience Research Centre; Network Director, Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts Network

12:00   Lunch

1:00     Break-Out Presentations: Hearing from Consumers

• Connecting with Youth: The Do's and Don'ts; Youth/MOVE Massachusetts and the Parent/Professional Advocacy League

• Parents with a Purpose; Project LAUNCH and MYCHILD Parents Talk about Wellness. Boston Public Health Commission

• City of Newton Health and Human Services; Panel of Teen Youth Services Commissioners facilitated by Linda Walsh, Interim Commissioner, Health and Human Services, City of Newton and Heather Byrns, LMHC, Clinical Supervisor and MSPP and Advisory Board Member, Newton Youth Commission

2:00     Break

2:15     Break Out Sessions: Hearing from Providers

• The Development of Global Health Initiatives; Patricia Ibeziako, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Co-Director, Children's Hospital Global Partnerships in Psychiatry and Director, Psychiatry Consultation Service, Boston Children's Hospital

• Weaving resiliency into the Fabric of School communities; Arlene Silva, Chair and Elana Wolkoff, Core Faculty, Department of School Psychology, MSPP

• Contextual Disaster Relief & Resiliency Services: Working with Children, Families and Communities; Shamaila Khan, Director Of Behavioral Health, The Resiliency Center, Boston Medical Center. Core Faculty, Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology, Boston Medical Center; Ellen Nieman, MSW, Victim Services Navigator; Stacey Corin, MTS, Victim Services Navigator

• Advocacy and Mental Health: Rules of the Road; Lisa Lambert and Parent/Professional Advocacy League

• Working with Families in the Treatment of High Risk Children and Adolescents: Useful Frameworks and Creative Strategies. Monica Roizner, Director of Clinical Services
  Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; Amanda Kennedy Hemp LICSW, Stephanie Gabriel, LCSW, Sheila Gomez, LICSW, Jennifer Trites, LMHC

3:45      Integrative Panel

4:30     Adjourn

Program Code: GL15
6 CE Credits
Location: at MSPP, Newton