The population with schizophrenia has a high rate of obesity and dies 25 years prematurely, most commonly because of cardiovascular disease.  Psychosocial weight control practices are effective in clinical trials, but rarely used in routine care.  These practices need to be tailored to the cognitive deficits found in the population with schizophrenia; to the capacity of the clinic; and to the preferences of the population.  This webinar presents a study that evaluated the implementation and effectiveness of a tailored in-person evidence-based weight management program delivered in four mental health clinics and including over 800 patients.  Results of the implementation of the weight intervention and the patient outcomes will be presented. Implementation of such a tailored weight management program in usual care clinics will be discussed including access to educational tools (for patients and clinicians) to help with uptake of this needed service.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Cite direct ways that mental health care for those with schizophrenia can be improved, and move toward implementation
• Identify why and how weight interventions should be tailored for the population with schizophrenia
• Discuss the role of data in quality improvement and apply these principles in practice

Click the learn more button below to find out more.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is an evidence-based psychotherapeutic intervention for psychotic symptoms that has been studied in more than 50 randomized clinical trials and more than 20 meta-analyses and systematic reviews. The intervention is a recommended psychosocial intervention in national treatment guidelines for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Nevertheless, CBTp has failed to become the standard of care for individuals with psychosis in the United States.

This webinar will provide clinicians and clinicians-in-training with a brief orientation to the application of cognitive behavioral therapy to psychotic symptoms and disorders, its evidence base, and the core principles and techniques of the intervention. Resources for providers to obtain additional education and/or training in CBTp will also be provided.This webinar will provide clinicians and clinicians-in-training with a brief orientation to the application of cognitive behavioral therapy to psychotic symptoms and disorders, its evidence base, and the core principles and techniques of the intervention. Resources for providers to obtain additional education and/or training in CBTp will also be provided.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Articulate the primary goals of a course of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis.
• Describe the theoretical principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis.
• List and describe the stages of CBTp treatment.

Register at SMIadviser.org/cbtbasics

On February 28, 2019, a series of requirements will go into effect as a result of FDA’s modification to the Clozapine Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program. Of note, is a requirement for health care professionals prescribing clozapine, as well as pharmacies dispensing clozapine, to be certified in the clozapine REMS program. This session will discuss these new requirements and address participant questions.

This event is not designated for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM.

Register at SMIadviser.org/REMS

The provision of peer support in behavioral health services has been an effective adjunct service for more than 35 years. In the context of this presentation “peer or peers” is used to describe individuals with personal experience of mental health disorders and their treatment. As peer support has professionalized and grown to meet the increasing needs of the field, so has the substantial body of evidence that details the efficacy of peer support and the wide variety of roles that certified peer specialists can assume in behavioral health. This webinar details the history behind this relatively new professional designation and outlines certification requirements that include training, supervised experience, ongoing education, and strict codes for ethical behavior.

Register at SMIadviser.org/peerprofession

Poor adherence to antipsychotics is a critical prognostic factor for patients with schizophrenia. Good illness insight, while helpful, is neither necessary nor sufficient for good antipsychotic adherence. Psychiatrists need to competently estimate the degree of adherence in order to devise appropriate interventions. A good adherence assessment inquires about attitude (towards drugs), barriers, and (actual) compliance behavior. “Drug attitude” can be viewed as a final common pathway that sums up a patient’s subjective risk-benefit assessment of a medication; it includes medication efficacy, particularly its ability to reduce perceived suffering. Adherence is unlikely if drug attitude is not good. Clinical adherence-enhancing interventions can be grouped into universal (for all patients), selected (for patients at high risk for non-adherence) or indicated interventions (for currently non-adherent patients). Among the various interventions, long-acting injectable antipsychotics are an underused first-line treatment for schizophrenia patients who require maintenance treatment.

This webinar will emphasize how to comprehensively assess adherence using the ABCs of adherence (i.e., drug attitude, barriers, and compliance behavior) and how to optimize adherence based on the reasons for non-adherence. The appropriate use of long-acting injectable antipsychotics will be highlighted.

Register at SMIadviser.org/adherence

This webinar examines peer support, a distinctly non-clinical role, which offers unique strengths that can supplement clinical environments. These specific strengths are part of what differentiates peer roles from clinical ones. Peers are able to build unique relationships with the people they serve because of their personal “lived” experience with mental health disorders. Consequently, peers are often able to activate self-management skills and a willingness in others to work more closely with clinical providers to make informed decisions about involvement in their treatment. The presentation provides concrete examples of effective ways of introducing peer support into clinical environments without compromising the core principles of “peerness” and non-clinical involvement.

Register at SMIadviser.org/peers-clinical

This webinar presents a public health, multilevel approach to addressing the epidemic of those with serious mental illnesses having higher rates of co-morbid medical problems, leading to reduced quality and length of life. It will address specific ways in which mental health clinicians can help improve the lives and lifespans of the individuals that they serve.

Register at SMIadviser.org/mortality

This webinar discusses dimensions of quality health care and explains evidence-based quality improvement methods and tools used to close quality gaps in care. There is considerable variation in the implementation and uptake of evidence-based practices in usual care clinics. Many patients do not receive evidence-based care, and this is especially true for the population with serious mental illness. A recent large-scale study using evidence-based quality improvement methods and tools to improve employment outcomes for those with serious mental illness will be described. Areas in need to quality improvement in the care of those with serious mental illness will be discussed with a focus on usual care clinics.

Register at SMIadviser.org/evbasedquality

This webinar focuses on social media, which is commonly used by billions of people around the world, including those with serious mental illnesses. While some evidence suggests that social media use may be associated with negative outcomes, like worsening mood and anxiety, other evidence claims it can help patients build stronger social networks and feel less isolated. This presentation will explore current evidence around social media and serious mental illness with the goal of providing practical tips to tell patients about use, warning signs of excessive use, and resources for helping patients who want to cut down their use. Positive use cases and support groups will also be covered.

Register at SMIadviser.org/socialmedia

This webinar underscores the subtleties of shared decision making and the important circumstances that must be available for it to succeed. Practitioners using evidence-based approaches to mental health treatment, and the people they serve, face a very real problem of translating medical evidence into a course of action that is best for the person receiving treatment. Experience has shown that it may not be enough to simply provide individuals with information and offer them a choice. What seemed to be missing was individuals and providers conversing and working out solutions, together. This tandem approach activates a need and a desire in the individual to become fully-vested in treatment decisions, making it more likely that they’ll participate fully.

Presenter: Patrick Hendry, Mental Health America

Register at SMIadviser.org/sharedecisions

This webinar will discuss the barriers to the use of clozapine and recommendations of a national workgroup seeking to overcome these barriers. Clozapine is a medication that exhibits unique efficacy and effective for those with serious mental illness. However, the risks of using clozapine, the monitoring required for its use, issues facing prescribers who may wish to employ it and a variety of administrative burdens have all proved to barriers to its more widespread use.

Presenters:

• Deanna Kelly, PharmD, BCPP, University of Maryland, School of Medicine
• Raymond Love, PharmD, BCPP, FASHP, University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy

Register at SMIadviser.org/clozapine-webinar

This webinar will provide participants an opportunity to learn more about the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the national’s largest grassroots mental health organization. NAMI is an association of hundreds of local affiliates, state organizations, and volunteers who work in communities across the United States to provide education and support to people affected by mental illness–the individual with the condition and the people who care about them. The services offered by NAMI are intended to complement the therapeutic services individuals receive from their treatment team. This webinar will provide an overview of the programs and services available through NAMI that can provide support to individuals and families as they cope with having mental illness in their life, and as they navigate the healthcare system to find the right services. It’s important for clinicians to know about all available resources so appropriate recommendations can be made to the individuals on their caseloads.

Presenter: Teri Brister, PhD, LPC, National Alliance on Mental Illness

Register at SMIadviser.org/meetnami

This webinar will explore the latest evidence about SMI, physical activity, and digital technology with the goal of informing learners of the current evidence for what technology can and cannot yet do towards helping patients become more active. Increasing physical activity levels offers many mental health as well as physical health benefits for patients with SMI. With cardiovascular disease as the single highest cause of mortality in patients with schizophrenia between ages 45-74, it is even more imperative to help patients stay active and fit. Recent evidence also suggests some types of physical activity can help improve often challenging to treat cognitive symptoms associated with schizophrenia. But despite these benefits, engaging the SMI community in exercise has traditionally been difficult. The recent rise of fitness trackers and health apps offers one potential solution through presenting patients and clinicians with new tools and resources to increase physical activity. Topics covered will include when to suggest such as part of the treatment plan, what to expect in terms of patient engagement and response, how to safely monitor physical activity, and finally how to incorporate such into treatment plans.

Presenter: John Torous, MD, MBI, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

Register at SMIadviser.org/wearables

This webinar will provide a step-by-step guide to introducing peer support into provider service arrays as well as links to resources that will contribute to a successful transition. It is important that organizations that are not fully familiar with peer support and wish to introduce it into their services, orient their staff to maximize opportunities for success. Part of the process is to examine the culture of the organization. Is it oriented to a recovery or a medical approach? The introduction of peer support into a deeply entrenched medical model culture is problematic and requires important advance work with staff and policies. In order to achieve this goal it is necessary for senior leadership to communicate their commitment to the existing staff, and it is important to solicit the perspective of people in recovery, family members, and staff early in the process.

Presenter: Patrick Hendry, Mental Health America

Register at SMIadviser.org/introduce-peers

This session examines health disparities among individuals with serious mental illnesses and factors that influence wellness, physical health management, and health literacy. Discussion will include: a review of factors influencing physical wellness in this population, identifying opportunities for screening, a description of successful, evidence-informed health interventions specifically designed for people with serious mental illness (e.g., WRAP, NEW-R, health navigators), and examination of strategies to implement and sustain these services within diverse mental health settings. Information from a community-based health study focusing on health literacy, health practices, and recovery also will be presented, and strategies to improve workforce competencies will be described.

Presenter: Lisa Razzano, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago

Register at SMIadviser.org/health-mgmt

During this webinar, you’ll hear an overview of the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders and risky alcohol use. Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a prevalent problem among individuals in the U.S. Approximately 10 percent of the U.S. population is in recovery from a SUD, including those of both drugs and alcohol. Even among those receiving treatment for any SUD, quality of life scores are low and relapse rates are high. Over 25 percent of adults reported engaging in binge drinking in the past month. Those with a serious mental illness are at increased risk for a co-occurring substance use disorder and binge drinking as well as significant negative consequences of this dual-diagnosis. Treatment of these individuals can be challenging. The presentation will also address motivational interviewing techniques, which are particularly efficacious at improving change rate and sustaining change. And, medication management and other treatment strategies for providers from psychiatric specialties and primary care will also be discussed.

Presenters: 

• Donna Rolin, PhD, APRN, University of Texas at Austin
• Amanda Simonton, RN, PMHNP-BC, CARMAhealth

Register at SMIadviser.org/substance-use

This webinar introduces the concept of Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADS), which are legal documents that permit persons with mental illnesses to declare their preferences, instructions and consent for future mental health treatment, or appoint a surrogate decision maker in advance of an incapacitating psychiatric crisis. Twenty-seven states have enacted statutes supporting these directives since the 1990’s and implementation of these laws is a federal requirement for mental health facilities and clinics receiving federal funding. Despite this, education about PADs and resources to assist with implementation have been scarce. The presentation will also present information on their potential use and resources to aid in implementation.

Hosted in collaboration with the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network

Presenters:

• Marvin Swartz, MD, Duke University
• Bebe Smith, MSW, LCSW, Southern Regional AHEC

Register at SMIadviser.org/pads

Clinicians often have extensive experience treating individuals with chronic psychotic disorders but usually have very limited experience with treating individuals with first episode psychosis. This webinar will focus on how first episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorder are similar and also differ from the multi-episode versions of these disorders. Topics reviewed include the results of research studies of individuals with first episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and the clinical implications of the findings.

Presenter: Delbert G. Robinson, MD, Feintstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health

Register at SMIadviser.org/first-episode

Large numbers of patients with serious mental illness (SMI) are not adherent to medications and treatment modalities, not only impacting their overall symptoms management but their also impairing quality of life. Less than 50% of patients with SMI continue to take their medications and adhere to their plan of care after 6 months. Non-adherence increases the risk of hospitalization, decreases recovery efforts, and extends the time in which a person will spend in inpatient facilities. It is estimated that hospitalizations due to non-adherence costs more than $100 billion a year in the United States. It is not unusual for many people with chronic SMI who do seek help to drop out from continued treatment after one or two visits. An estimated 70% of such individual stop receiving treatment due to poor interactions with their providers or lack of understanding about the need for their treatment. It is important that patients with SMI are active participants in their care with providers and the community supports in a process called shared decision making. Engaging patients in their care not only boosts adherence but also improves patients’ overall outcomes. Strategies to improve adherence to medications and treatment plans for patients with SMI will be explored in this webinar, including long-acting injectable medications (when indicated), medication strategies, and adjunctive supports.

Presenters:

• Donna Rolin, PhD, APRN, PMHCNS-BC, PMHNP-BC, University of Texas at Austin
• Amber Hoberg, MSN,  APRN, PMHNP-BC, WellBridge Hospital

Register at SMIadviser.org/success

Completing school or going back to school are common goals for people who might have dropped out or fell behind because of disruption caused by serious mental illness (SMI). Responding to the unique challenges of transition age youth and adults related to serious mental illness and education needs are best targeted through Supported Education.

This webinar will explore opportunities, challenges, and best practices in Supported Education for people with SMI. Researchers at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and an Education Specialist at Mental Health America Los Angeles will share their experiences from research and practice about how supported education can support recovery and help ensure students with SMI can thrive.

During the webinar, individuals will learn:
• How supported education is best used to help people with serious mental illness.
• Guidance about supported education from research
• What supported education looks like in practice.
• Challenges and barriers to consider in supported education.
• Components of successful supported education practices or programs.

Speakers:
Dori Hutchinson, ScD, Director of Services and Associate Clinical Professor, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Services, Boston University
Carey White, Education Specialist at Mental Health America Los Angeles

The effective psychiatric care of older adults, especially those with serious mental illness and dementia remains a predominant challenge in current health care. This webinar will discuss how technology could advance clinical care in this those with serious mental illness and dementia, and explores issues around device ownership and access. Focusing on digital phenotyping in older adults with SMI, the talk will discuss how the latest research findings can be interpreted and applied for these patients. Case examples will focus on diagnostic use of new digital health tools to differentiate serious mental illnesses from dementia, with real world clinical examples. Finally use cases of apps and virtual reality for this population will be discussed.

Presenter: Ipsit Vahia, MD, McLean Hospital and McLean Institute for Technology in Psychiatry

Register at SMIadviser.org/older-adults

People living with serious mental illness (SMI) are at higher risk of dying by suicide, yet there is little research about unique considerations or interventions for treating suicidal thoughts and behaviors in those diagnosed with SMI. A comprehensive, systematic approach to managing suicide risk for patients seen in health and behavioral health (HBH) organizations should include specific clinical decisions, tailored interventions, and enhanced engagement for patients with SMI. This webinar will provide an overview of the relationship between SMI and suicide, highlight some of the resources available to support health and behavioral healthcare organizations in their care for individuals with serious mental illness, as well as how to assist their loved ones.

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to (1) describe the importance of addressing suicide risk for those with SMI in HBH organizations, (2) identify resources that are available to support suicide prevention and care for individuals with SMI and how to access these resources, and (3) list the benefits of taking a patient-centered approach to treating suicide risk and SMI that includes community, peer, family, and other supports.

As Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) services for persons with First Episode Psychosis have expanded and matured, awareness of the challenges surrounding discharge planning and interest in step-down programming have grown substantially.  The webinar will address these issues by first providing an overview of the current findings regarding longer term outcomes for persons being discharged from FEP  programs, (Nev Jones); second a presentation of an important recent randomized trial evaluating alternative discharge strategies (2 year versus extended CSC services) (Ashok Malla); and finally discussion from two CSC programs regarding their experiences with a two year limit on FEP enrollment and the strategies that they have used to address concerns.  (Irene Hurford in Pennsylvania and Jill Dunstan in New York.

Presenters:

Nev Jones PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of South Florida, as well as an affiliate assistant professor in the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.

Ashok Malla MD is a professor and Tier 1 research chair in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University with a cross appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Jill Dunstan LMHC is the program director for BestSelf Behavioral Health which is the OnTrackNY CSC program in Buffalo, NY.

Irene Hurford MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, clinical director of the Psychosis Education, Assessment, Care, and Empowerment (PEACE) Program at Horizon House in Philadelphia, and Director of the Pennsylvania Early Intervention Center (PEIC).

Please join SAMHSA’s Homeless and Housing Resource Network (HHRN) for a 2-day national online conversation about the most effective approaches to ending homelessness for individuals with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders. This 2-day national online event is presented free of charge by HHRN.

No travel required – attend directly from your own internet-connected computer. Join us for the whole summit or drop in to only those sessions that most appeal to you.

The program includes 30+ national experts, policy makers, and providers who will engage you in a variety of plenaries, roundtable discussions, and concurrent sessions.

Continuing education credits are available at no cost to registrants.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and The Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), the designated local mental health and IDD authority for Harris County, are midway through a three phase implementation of their Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation (CORE) program pilot. Their CORE program is a Telehealth Strategy of responding to mental health crisis calls utilizing a tablet and a HIPAA compliant technology platform to connect a law enforcement first responder in the community with a mental health clinician at the time of the 911 dispatch. This proposed webinar will highlight the experience and benefits of this collaborative effort between law enforcement and a large behavioral health system in utilizing technology to address the growing number of mental health calls in the nation’s fourth largest county.

This webinar will provide a discussion of the needs driving this innovative Telehealth approach, the goals of the project, and the recognized challenges and benefits of this strategy. This project has multi-stream funding model from Harris County Sheriff’s Office, The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Additionally, funding for evaluation to be completed by the University of Houston Downtown (UHD) and an implementation guide to be developed by HCSO, with input from UHD and The Harris Center, has been generously provided by Arnold Ventures.

Presenters:

Wayne Young, MBA, LPC, FACHE – Chief Executive Officer of The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD (The Harris Center).

Frank Webb, M.Ed., – Project Manager for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Mental Health and Jail Diversion where he oversees special projects.

This webinar will focus on practical aspects of prescribing clozapine, including initiation and titration, maintenance, management of side effects, and resources for the prescriber.  We will also discuss strategies for navigating clozapine-specific logistical challenges, such as how to streamline communication among the patient, prescriber, pharmacist, and laboratory.  Lastly, we will discuss how providers can increase their confidence and that of their patients with regards to treatment with clozapine.

Presenter: Yvonne Yang, MD, PhD, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

Register at SMIadviser.org/cloz-guide

Behavioral health is undergoing a significant change with a focus on measurement-based care which can assist in better delivering treatments. Community behavioral health practices can apply screening and follow-up plans with treatment targets and then use validated measurement tools, assess treatment response, and adjust treatment according to outcomes. Commonly used tools include the PHQ9 for depression and GAD7 for anxiety and in these settings it will be important to look beyond these tools. Measurement must be applied in a systematic fashion by the care team requiring re-thinking workflows. Data is entered into the registry for tracking and treatment is adjusted to reach preset clinical targets. Advancing this approach in community behavioral health settings is a central tool for enhancing and informing approaches to population health and improving and positioning the field for value-based payment initiatives. This webinar will review measurement-based care approaches for behavioral and physical health in the SMI population as well as review examples of registry tracking and using aggregate data.

Presenter: Lori Raney, MD, Health Management Associates

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/measure-care

This webinar will provide an overview of the importance of including the patient in all levels of the assessment and treatment process, along with their family of choice as well as suggestions on how to incorporate this approach into practice.  The presenters will share the background of the engagement movement and the role that education of the patient and family members about the illness and treatment options plays in active engagement in the treatment process, specifically the importance of shared decision making. Best practices in proactive engagement of the person and the family including methods used in coordinated specialty care programs across the country, as well as peer-led education and support programs will also be discussed.

Presenters:

• Teri Brister, PhD, LPC, National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Ken Duckworth, MD, National Alliance on Mental Illness

For complete details visit:  SMIadviser.org/engage

Telepsychiatry offers the ability to increase access to care for patients with SMI though remote, video, and virtual visits. Today it is increasingly easy to offer your patients telepsychiatry services, and this webinar will offer an introduction focusing on use cases for SMI. Topics covered will include the history and background of telepsychiatry, trainings available today, legal and reimbursement issues, technical considerations, as well as practice and clinical issues. Relevant research at the intersection of SMI and telepsychiatry will also be discussed as relevant to each of the topics.

Presenter: John Torous, MD, MBI, Harvard Medical School

Do the words “evidence-based practice” make you squirm with confusion or irritation? When someone describes their psychiatric rehabilitation services as “evidence-based” are you embarrassed to ask why? This webinar will empower participants to become more confident consumers of evidence. We will demystify the terms evidence-based practice, evidence-based medicine, and look under the hood to see how services are declared evidence-based. We will use real-world examples to help you think critically about evidence and to become more comfortable asking questions. We will also explore how recovery concepts intersect with the principles of evidence-based medicine and promote choice.

Presenter: Sandra Resnick, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine; Department of Veteran Affairs Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC), Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

Many states utilize mobile crisis teams (MCTs), but the inclusion of peer support on teams is a relatively new addition. A MCT is committed to decreasing unnecessary incarceration as a result of a mental health crisis, decreasing unnecessary hospitalizations, providing safe, compassionate and effective responses to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, increasing their participation with mental health providers by problem solving barriers, increasing knowledge of local resources, and increasing public safety. It is frequently difficult to engage individuals living with serious psychiatric conditions in treatment and perhaps even more so during a brief encounter with a MCT. Peer support specialists have proven to be highly effective in providing a sense of safety, respect, and personal agency for people experiencing a crisis in the community. This webinar will review MCT peer support engagement techniques and their outcomes that can result in lowered rates of hospitalization and/or incarceration.

Presenter: Patrick Hendry, Mental Health America

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/crisisteam

The Zero Suicide framework is an evidence-informed comprehensive set of practices and tools that aims to improve care and outcomes for all patients at risk of suicide within health and behavioral health care delivery systems. This webinar will provide an overview of the Zero Suicide framework and describe its core elements. This includes the key clinical, organizational, and continuous quality improvement components that comprise the Zero Suicide framework. Clinical components that are particularly relevant for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), such as special considerations for suicide risk identification and engagement in suicide prevention interventions will be discussed.

Presenters:

• Adam Chu, MPH, Education Development Center
• Kim Walton, MSN, APRN, Education Development Center

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/zero-suicide

A one-day, clinically focused pre-conference on innovative early psychosis care.

APA, NIMH, SAMHSA, and SMI Adviser are partnering with PEPPNET (Psychosis-Risk and Early Psychosis Program Network) to bring the second National Conference on Advancing Early Psychosis Care in the United States to IPS with the theme, “The Complexities of Real-World Care.”

This event will pull together a diverse group of speakers, including national experts in coordinated specialty care implementation comprised of:

• clinical experts,
• mental health policy leaders, and
• people who themselves have experienced psychosis and recovery.

Keynote speakers, workshops and panel presentations will cover a wide range of topics and provide clinicians with quality tools that can be implemented in the care of individuals with clinical high risk (CHR) or early psychosis.

Safe, stable, and affordable housing is increasingly recognized as a vital part of recovery. What role can substance use disorder treatment and recovery programs play in providing this essential need for their clients? Find out the basics of housing and how to get started in this 6-session virtual learning community beginning in August 2019! By the end of session 4, participants will be able to:

• Identify at least three alternative housing types.
• Compare the pros and cons of different alternative housing types.
• Describe how alternative housing types benefit clients and the community.

While medications and psychotherapy are pillars of psychiatric care, they are being joined by modern neuromodulation therapies. These treatments use electrical, magnetic, or other kinds of energy to stimulate brain tissue. An important 21st century neuromodulation technique is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS uses strong, focal magnetic pulses to stimulate specific brain networks, to induce neuroplastic changes that lead to symptom relief, relying on the neuroscience principle that “neurons that fire together, wire together.” As a targeted brain treatment, it does not have the systemic side effects of medication, and most patients’ response is durable. The FDA has permitted its use for over a decade, yet it remains relatively underutilized. This webinar will review the mechanism of action of TMS, principles of administration, the evidence of efficacy and safety, how to select patients for TMS, and areas where research may soon lead to new and expanded clinical uses.

Presenter: Ian A. Cook, MD, Los Angeles TMS Institute Inc.

Persons with serious mental illness (SMI) have the potential to live full and successful lives. Yet, unfortunately there is the risk that some will end up with poor outcomes including involvement in the criminal justice system. In fact, persons with SMI are over-represented in the criminal justice system. Two primary models have been espoused to help decrease the population of people with SMI in the criminal justice system. The Sequential Intercept Model examines various points of potential interception as criminal justice system decisions are made, such as at arrest, at court, at incarceration and reentry. The Stepping Up framework asks leaders at a county level to join to make shifts that can reduce the numbers of people with SMI in jails. This webinar will review basics regarding the criminal justice system, provide basic data on the prevalence of people with SMI in the justice system, and offer an overview of models looking at reform to help individual patients and systems.

Presenter: Debra Pinals, MD, University of Michigan

Safe, stable, and affordable housing is increasingly recognized as a vital part of recovery. What role can substance use disorder treatment and recovery programs play in providing this essential need for their clients? Find out the basics of housing and how to get started in this 6-session virtual learning community beginning in August 2019! By the end of session 5, participants will be able to:

• Understand the economic argument for housing as an intervention.
• Describe landlord law and its relevance to housing development.
• Identify the breadth of funding sources available for housing.

This webinar explores the benefits of peer support in combating loneliness and social exclusion, two factors that destroy health and happiness. Research has shown that the lack of “connectedness” to friends and community worsens psychiatric problems and leads to chronic illness and early mortality. Adults with mental health problems are one of the most excluded groups in society. People living with thought disorders, like schizophrenia, have the most difficulties in forming personal relationships of all disabilities. Social inclusion offers opportunities to re-engage with the community and form positive relationships. Mental Health America’s Social Self-Directed Care program and work compiled by the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion emphasize the value of peer support in assisting individuals with serious psychiatric disorders form social connections and personal relationships.

Presenter: Patrick Hendry, Mental Health America

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/endexclusion

Individuals with SMI who have been involved in the criminal justice system face numerous challenges including additional stigma. They may also exhibit behaviors that were adaptive in correctional settings, but become maladaptive in other settings. Many of these persons have histories of trauma and their exposure to criminal justice processes can be further traumatizing. Many will have antisocial personality features that the mental health treatment provider may feel ill-equipped to support and may even not enjoy the work of working with these individuals, which can lead to personal burn out and difficulty with compassion. This can be especially true for patients with histories of aggression or even violence. In addition, individuals with SMI in the criminal justice system often have co-occurring substance use disorders and medical conditions that compound their complexity. The criminal justice system utilizes a rubric called the Risk-Need-Responsivity paradigm to identify individual risk of criminal recidivism. Interventions such as specific cognitive behavioral strategies are often used in criminal justice contexts to address some of the criminogenic thinking associated with such recidivism. This framework has been applied to broad populations even while more research is needed to determine how these methods can best fit for persons with SMI. This webinar will review these various topics to assist mental health professionals in supporting their patients who have had criminal justice involvement.

Presenter: Debra Pinals, MD, University of Michigan

Over 60% of people with serious mental illness express an interest in employment yet less than 20% are employed, and only 2% have access to effective employment services. The evidence-based approach to supported employment, also known as Individual Placement and Support (IPS), includes 27 randomized controlled trials demonstrating that two to three times more people gain employment with IPS support when compared to usual stepwise employment services. In addition, many people and especially young adults want further education or training to advance their work lives. This webinar includes a description of supported employment and supported education principles and practices, a brief overview of the research, and identification of the roles of mental health practitioners, employment and education specialists, Vocational Rehabilitation counselors, family members, employers and educators to support people’s work and school efforts.

Presenter: Deborah Becker, M.Ed, Westat

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/employ-edu

This webinar will discuss treatment considerations for transitional-age youth with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-morbid SMI. It will review the common co-morbid medical conditions in this population that can influence the choice in therapeutic agent, as well as the current evidence and guidelines available to help support clinical decision-making..

Presenter: Rebecca McCloskey, PMHNP-BC, Boston Psychiatric Care

Effective teamwork is the cornerstone of the development and promotion of interprofessional collaboration. When teams come together, their ability to work toward health and wellness for service participants, families, and communities are stronger than any individual efforts. In this webinar strategies to promote interprofessional collaboration and team work will be presented using lessons learned from Assertive Community Treatment in New York.

Presenter: Helle Thorning, PhD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatric Social Work (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University 

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/team

This webinar will offer learners an overview of how to use telemental health and video visits in the changing landscape surrounding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. As clinicians seek to quickly offer remote and video visits, it is important that they be aware of the legal, clinical, cultural, and practical aspects in using technology to deliver care. This webinar will cover topics including assessing which telemental health platform to use, licensure, issues around consent, online prescribing, billing and payments, and special situations.

Presenter: Patrick Yellowlees, MBBS, MD, Chief Wellness Officer, UC Davis Health; Alan Stoudemire Endowed Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, UC Davis.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare (NABH) will host a joint webinar discussion with experts working in inpatient, residential, and other non-ambulatory care settings about how they are assessing the current environment and developing new protocols to care for their patients during the COVID 19 crisis. Hear from experts about how to manage through different types of services, key messages to give to your team leaders, unique challenges for people with SMI, how to approach group therapy, and more. A recording will be made available after the event.

Panelists: 

• Harsh Trivedi, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Sheppard Pratt Health Systems
• Ryan Kimmel, MD, Chief of Inpatient Psychiatry, University of Washington Medical Center
• Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D ABPP, CEO, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care

For complete details visit: apapsy.ch/inpt-webinar

This webinar will introduce the role of peer specialists within the NYS specific CSC team, OnTrackNY. We will share briefly about the OnTrackNY model and it’s evolution to include the role of peer specialists to promote the goal of recovery for those labeled with First Episode Psychosis.

Peer Specialists bring to the teams their own lived experience of mental health services and their skill set complements the clinical, educational & psychiatric work being done by other team members. There are challenges and tensions inherent in the role of a peer specialist on a clinical team, which will be addressed in this discussion along with the suggestion of tactics that can support role clarity, task focused work and integration.

Presented by an OnTrackNY Peer Specialist & the trainer and support staff for Peer Specialists on OnTrackNY teams statewide, this webinar will share an inside perspective of the work of peer specialists and the training and support offered to them. Covering the role responsibilities, collaborative work and support schedule will give webinar participants the opportunity to understand the unique focus of peer specialist staff on CSC teams and how they can be best integrated into multidisciplinary teams.

Presenters: Abbaigeal Duke & Danny Sosa 

For complete details visit: smiadviser.org/peer-specialist

Tobacco causes a staggering 50% of deaths in those who use it, yet there is evidence that behavioral health care professionals don’t do enough to intervene and provide treatment. Tobacco use rates, although declining in the general population, are still two to three times higher in individuals with a behavioral health condition (mental illness or addiction) and this group consumes at least a third of the tobacco sold in the United States. Tobacco use also negatively impacts recovery from other substances and leads to poorer health and mental health. This session will provide updates in treatment and review relevant issues related to poor outcomes including levels of nicotine dependence and lack of access to cessation treatments. It includes practical techniques for assessment as well as evidence based practices for counseling and pharmacotherapy. Techniques for working with lower motivated tobacco users are also reviewed.

Presenter: Jill Williams, MD,  Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University

Arizona has spent the past several decades developing a crisis system that is widely regarded as one of the most advanced in the nation. In this model, a robust continuum of services work together in concert to provide high-quality care in the least-restrictive setting that can safely meet the person’s needs while also ensuring fiscal sustainability and responsible stewardship of community resources. This presentation will describe key features of the Arizona model including:

1. overview of the crisis continuum,
2. governance, financing, and accountability,
3. examples of collaboration with law enforcement and other community partners, and
4. strategies for using data to drive continuous system improvement.

Presenter: Margie Balfour, MD, PhD, Connections Health Solutions

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/crisis

The percentage of individuals with mental health, substance use, or co-occurring disorders in prisons is significantly greater than is found in the general public. This results in a continuation of poor outcomes for the individuals and the system. Upon release they frequently lack access to services and are caught up in a cycle of re-incarceration and release. Outcomes that are focused on recovery and breaking this cycle require continuity of quality services in the transition back to the community. In this webinar we will discuss peer led reentry programs that begin within the institutions in release planning and preparation and then bridge the transition back to the community and continue to provide support that helps break the cycle of re-incarceration. We will discuss a highly successful program, R.E.A.L., provided by the Mental Health Association of Nebraska, and examine how peer outreach workers are able to assist individuals in becoming productive members of their communities.

Presenters:

• Patrick Hendry, Mental Health America
• Kasey Moyer, Mental Health Association of Nebraska

Digital technologies, including apps, wearable sensors and social network platforms, offer unprecedented opportunities for health research and clinical care. However, this rapidly evolving landscape is outpacing regulatory structures for protecting research participants. Given the plethora of digital health tools and strategies, researchers are often challenged with deciding which tool is appropriate for their particular study. The presenter and colleagues with the Research Center for Optimal Digital Ethics (ReCODE Health) have developed support tools to aid researchers in ethical decision making. The Digital Health Checklist and Framework is now used by researchers to evaluate risks/benefits, access, usability, privacy and data management protocols. This presentation will describe how technologies are being leveraged to capture personal health data for research and draw attention to nuanced technical and ethical aspects that require careful consideration during the study design phase.

Presenter: Camille Nebeker, EdD, University of California, San Diego

Sex and sexuality are very sensitive and private issues for most people, and even more so for those with mental illnesses. Sexuality is often overlooked in the SMI population and many medications used to treat these disorders impact sexual performance and satisfaction. This presentation will discuss the effects of specific medications in this area and potential solutions, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological.

Presenter: Satarria Dilks, DNP, APRN, McNeese State University

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/sexuality

Underlying the goal of recovery for people with SMI, is the concept of self-determination. This is a process of taking back control of lives which have been overwhelmed by the debilitating nature of SMI and the loss of control resulting from reliance on a system that fosters dependence. Self-determination encompasses concepts such as free will, civil and human rights, freedom of choice, independence, self-direction, and individual responsibility. The challenge to the mental health system was to develop a philosophy that places the individual at the center of the system, and specific programs that deliver on it. Self-directed Care provides this, and enables individuals to assess their own needs, determine how and by whom these needs are met, and manage the funds to purchase the services. A support broker can help the individual develop their budget using their plan and a fiscal entity handles the payments. This webinar will take a comprehensive look at Self-Directed Care and its benefits for individuals with SMI.

Presenters:

• Patrick Hendry, Mental Health America
• David Sarchet, FloridaSDC
• Megan Cobb, FloridaSDC

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/self-directed

APA and SMI Adviser are proud to present the Third National Conference on Advancing Early Psychosis Care in the United States: Addressing Inequities – Race, Culture, and COVID. This free, interdisciplinary virtual event takes place November 12-13, 2020.

The agenda includes 20 sessions focused on evidence-based care for individuals who are early in the course of a psychotic illness. This meeting provides continuing education credit and is designated for 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, 1.0 CE credit for psychology per eligible session and 1.0 CE credit for social work per eligible session.

Sessions are scheduled each day between 11:45 am – 5:30 pm ET.

The webinar will cover the science of how cigarette smoking injures personal health, the epidemiology of smoking, what therapies can assist smokers to quit, and special issues regarding smokers with behavioral health conditions. It will also review what is known about the emerging issues of vaping and health and COVID-19 and smoking.

Presenter: Steven Schroeder, MD, Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, UCSF

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/smoking-cessation

Clozapine can be very rewarding to prescribe, since about half of patients with prior poor treatment response get substantially better with clozapine. This medication can result in major improvements in patients’ functioning and quality of life. This 12-week virtual learning collaborative is intended for clinicians who want to prescribe more clozapine or build a clozapine program that they will direct. Through the 12-week activity, participants will increase access to clozapine using the following steps: involve and gain support from members of a clozapine team, assess patient eligibility for clozapine, lead the care team for tracking of side effects and response and delivery of clozapine, ensure provision of education for patients or families, and routinely track panels of clozapine patients. By the end of the course, participants will have increased appropriate access to clozapine among their patient panel or the panels of clinicians who they supervise. And, they will have procedures in place that facilitate clozapine use on an ongoing basis, making clozapine as easy to prescribe as other psychotropic medications.

Instructors:

• Robert O. Cotes, MD, Emory University
• Jonathan Meyer, MD, University of California, San Diego

A peer respite is a short-term voluntary program that provides community-based, non-clinical support to people experiencing a psychiatric/emotional crisis. Peer respites are staffed by peers 24 hours per day and operate in homelike environments. Stays can vary based on the needs of the individual; a typical day can consist of attending peer support groups, receiving one to one and/or group support, resource attainment based on the desired goals of the person, shared meals and activities or quite place to recoup from their current situation. The peer respite model operates as a cost-effective crisis diversion for individuals labeled as living with a mental health challenge and experiencing psychosocial stressors. As a crisis diversion model guest’s report that short term stays at a respite house prevent psychiatric emergency services, mental health urgent cares, hospital admissions, homelessness and/or jail.

Presenter: Guyton Colantuono, Project Return Peer Support Network

This webinar will provide an overview of techniques and skills that can be used when providing care to individuals with SMI involving treatment options that may be less familiar to the patient and family in order to facilitate engagement in treatment. The type of treatment options covered will include TMS, ECT, LAIs and Clozapine. While known to be effective in the treatment of SMI, these treatments can raise concerns for the patient and the family when they are initially introduced as options for the treatment plan. This webinar will highlight the importance of speaking openly and honestly with both the patient and the person they consider important in supporting their recovery to address those concerns in order to make the best treatment decisions.

Presenter: Ken Duckworth, MD, National Alliance on Mental Illness

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/treatment-conversations

Until recently, the mental health field has lacked clearly defined categories of suicidal ideation and behavior. But, with impetus from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more systematic measurement processes are available (e.g., C-SSRS). These tools permit different users to work from a shared set of definitions and classification system. Gaps in providers’ knowledge, barriers of limited time for clinical visits, provider discomfort dealing with children’s mental/behavioral health problems, limited awareness of community resources, and the absence of a uniform, easily accessed process for assessment and documentation contribute to the need for additional training. Moreover, given the increased risk for suicide ideation and behavior in early psychosis population, target treatment on suicide risk management for this population is critical. Participants will develop the skills to administer and interpret an evidence-based risk assessment tool, the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Further, participants will receive training in the Safety Plan Intervention (SPI), an evidence-based approach for managing suicide risk in an outpatient setting. The Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) supports collaboration between the clinician and person with suicidal thoughts to determine cognitive and behavioral strategies to use during suicidal crises. The SPI results in development of a one-page document to use when a suicidal crisis is emerging and can be revised repeatedly over the course of care.

Presenter: Tara Niendam, PhD, University of California, Davis

For complete details visit: www.smiadviser.org/suicide-assessment

The goal of this course is to develop a step–by–step plan for bringing peer support into an existing behavioral health agency or practice, in a manner that enhances services.  This 12-week learning collaborative is intended to help you develop a step-by-step plan for bringing peer support into an existing behavioral health agency or practice, in a manner that enhances services.  

Speakers: Patrick Hendry; Dawniell Zavala; Andrea Cook

This 12-week virtual learning collaborative will introduce participants to telehealth with a focus on starting out, especially around the context of how to continue use assuming face-to-face visits may soon be more feasible.

Speakers: John Torous, MD; Sherin Khan, LCSW

This 12-week virtual learning collaborative will focus on increasing use of LAIs to serve the needs of patients with serious mental illness.  LAIs are associated with decreased risks of relapse, improvements in symptoms, functioning, and patient satisfaction.   

Speaker: Rob Cotes, MD

Addresses how to measure and maintain quality in peer services through the development and implementation of quality improvement standards. Each participant will design a behavioral health project using peer support services and develop fidelity and outcome measures for the peer support component.   

Speakers: Patrick Hendry; Lisa-Sun Gresham; Eric Henriquez

This 12-week learning collaborative will serve as a virtual community for participants to gain knowledge of evidence-based monitoring parameters for efficacy and side effects for patients with serious mental illness (SMI) prescribed clozapine. 

Speakers: Rob Cotes, MD; Joseph Ventura, PhD

To increase appropriate use of clozapine, this 12-week virtual learning collaborative will focus on increasing use of clozapine to serve the needs of patients with serious mental illness. Clozapine can be very rewarding to prescribe, since about half of patients with prior poor treatment response get substantially better with clozapine. This medication can result in major improvements in patients’ functioning and quality of life.  

Speaker: Rob Cotes, MD

This 12-week learning collaborative will help SMI clinicians use telehealth in more safely and efficiently and improve care outcomes through offering new aspects of remote monitoring and interventions. 

Speaker: John Torous, MD; Sherin Khan, LCSW

The Clozapine & LAI Virtual Forum features a new peer-to-peer discussion each month! Drop in and be part of an interactive dialogue between psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and other prescribing clinicians. It is informal — just join our Zoom call and share your challenges and questions on the month’s trending topic around either clozapine or LAIs.

Topic: Interpreting Plasma Levels for Patients on LAIs

Discussion Facilitators: Robert Cotes, MD, SMI Adviser Physician Expert; Donna Rolin, PhD, APRN, SMI Adviser Nursing Expert; Oliver Freudenreich, MD, SMI Adviser LAI Expert

Approximately 37% of the U.S. population and 42% of veterans own a firearm. With recent mass shootings at schools and workplaces, important questions have been raised about how to curb these seemingly senseless shootings. In contrast to beliefs that persons with SMI play a significant role in gun violence, individuals with SMI account for less than 5% of all violence in the United States and only very small proportion of violence committed with a firearm. Persons with SMI are more likely to commit suicide with a gun as opposed to committing a homicide. In this webinar, the instructors review the relevant literature on firearms and mental illness as well as how to appropriately screen persons with SMI for a potential firearm-related risk of harm to them self or someone else. Important elements of care related to gun risk assessments in persons with SMI are highlighted. Specific information is provided about risk-based gun removal laws and in requests by patients to have their right to have firearms returned once removed.

Presenters: Deb Pinals, MD; Charles Scott, MD

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item?id=6510045

Depression is common among the elderly but is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. At the same time, there is an inappropriate use of antidepressants within the same elderly population. Inappropriate prescribing of antidepressants can increase the risk for poor outcomes offsetting any benefit to their use. Unfortunately, clinical trials of the use of antidepressants in the elderly are underrepresented with confusing outcomes on the long-term effects. The emergence and/or treatment of dementia associated with elders’ antidepressant treatment is central to providing care. This program examines the myths, traditional practices, and evidence on the use of all antidepressants prescribed to the elderly. This program reviews the evidence drawn from systematic reviews and the evidence-based practice standards. Included is a review of dosing, adverse events, and preventative best practices on the use of all antidepressants being given to those over age 65.

Presenter: Michael Rice, PhD, APRN, FAAN

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item?id=6513209

There is growing interest in the role of inflammation in psychiatric disorders. Trials of anti-inflammatory treatments have yielded mixed results at best. Growing research implicates inflammatory cytokines as not only being increased in patients with severe mental illness, but suggest that they directly impact specific areas and circuits within the brain. More specifically, inflammation appears to be associated with alterations in signaling from circuits involving the basal ganglia and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Decreased connectivity in these circuits is associated with specific symptoms, namely anhedonia and psychomotor slowing, which are known to be present in many psychiatric illnesses. Moreover, increasing data implicates interactions between inflammation and metabolic disturbances on these circuits and subsequent symptoms This poses important opportunities for the field to consider novel mechanisms and treatments that may target both inflammatory and/or metabolic pathways.

Presenter: David Goldsmith, MD

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item?id=6482431

Measurement-based care (MBC) is a clinical strategy involving regular symptom measurement and assessment, and using those finding to inform clinical decision-making. MBC is effective and commonly used in treatment of individuals with major depression, though less is known about use of MBC in treatment of individuals with bipolar disorder. This webinar will review MBC principles, specific measures for potential use in bipolar disorder care, and strategies for MBC in bipolar disorder.

Presenter: Joseph Cerimele, MD, MPH

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item?id=6597872

The webinar will introduce EPINET, discuss how the EPINET learning health care model was developed, and show how it can improve care and the lives of individuals with early psychosis. The audience will learn about the Core Assessment Battery (CAB), which provides a standard set of client-level assessment measures that will be collected by over 100 early psychosis clinics nationally. Presenters will discuss the benefits of collecting CAB data, such as the enhanced ability to set up quality improvement initiatives and methods to benchmark local clinic outcome data with national norms on domains such as demographics of client populations, symptoms, recovery, and more. Finally, presenters will describe opportunities for non-EPINET clinics to partner with EPINET in CAB data collection efforts.

Presenter: Tara Niendam, PhD; Howard Goldman, MD; Abram Rosenblatt, PhD; Monica Calkins, PhD

For complete details visit: https://med.stanford.edu/peppnet/education/upcoming-webinars.html

This presentation will provide an overview of treatment-resistant depression, with a focus on management strategies including transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroconvulsive therapy, and esketamine. Strategies for implementing these interventions into clinical practice will be discussed, with a focus on best practices to assure optimum outcomes for patients impacted by refractory depressive symptoms.

Presenter: Brayden Kameg, DNP, PMHNP-BC

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item?id=6599763

Many clinicians are frequently exposed to and empathically engage with the firsthand accounts of others’ traumatic experiences (Kiley at al., 2018). A clinician’s indirect exposure to trauma can result in emotional responses and symptoms that parallel PTSD (Kanno & Giddings, 2017). Possible reactions to a survivor’s recounting of trauma will be identified along with signs of compassion fatigue, specifically in those working with SMI and other vulnerable populations.  Resilience can buffer the impact of compassion fatigue in clinicians and one of the psychological factors associated with cultivating resilience is mindfulness (Harker et al., 2016). Self-care strategies can also mitigate the impact of the secondary trauma (Owens-King, 2019). Tools and resources at the individual and organizational level for addressing compassion fatigue will be reviewed including EAP and other evidence based tools that can translate to working with clients.

Presenter: Jasmine Watkins, LCPC, AIM  Clinics

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item/eid/S3214301

Positive Living is a manualized intervention aimed at increasing the experience of positive emotions for people with schizophrenia. This presentation will provide an overview of the intervention and how it has been adapted from positive psychotherapy. We will discuss the goals of the group, provide a description and example of the activities included in Positive Living, and discuss the logistics of delivering the intervention. Results will be presented from a small pilot study aimed at exploring the implementation of the group in a clinical setting. There will also be updates about a virtual adaptation of the Positive Living intervention aimed at improving the well-being of family members in an early psychosis program.

Presenter: Piper Meyer-Kalos, PhD, Recovery After Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) project

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item?id=6444592

Since it’s inception over 80 years ago, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been the gold standard of treatment for catatonia, psychotic depression, and treatment resistant depression, as well as a non-pharmacologic option for other psychiatric illnesses and syndromes. This presentation will be an evidence-based review of all aspects of ECT, including the history, indications, efficacy, side effects, procedural details and advances, maintenance treatment, myths surrounding treatment, and possible mechanisms of actions. By the end of this webinar, you should understand when referral for ECT is appropriate and be up to date on the recent advances in this life-saving treatment. 

Presenter: John B. Roseman, MD

For complete details visit: https://education.smiadviser.org/diweb/catalog/item?id=6670997

Few, if any, evidence based practices have been intentional about incorporating cultural competence into the model. When culture is unaddressed, therapeutic walls instead of therapeutic bridges can be built, leading to tension in the clinical relationship. This can render the evidence-based practice ineffective. Topics covered in this skill-building presentation include: the 10 things that culturally competent counselors do; building trust in the cross cultural helping relationship; and integrating cultural competence into evidence based practices with individuals with co-occurring disorders.

Presenter: Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, On The Mark Consulting

For complete details visit: SMIadviser.org/cultural-competency

Clozapine is the only medication approved by the US FDA for treatment-resistant schizophrenia and remains highly underutilized for many reasons, including its unique side effect profile and required hematologic monitoring. This presentation will help build prescriber knowledge and confidence by taking a deep dive into clozapine’s pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Clozapine’s mechanism of action is not fully understood, but its receptor binding affinity differentiates it from other antipsychotics and may provide insights into the complex etiology of schizophrenia. We will review the proposed mechanism of clozapine side effects including neutropenia, myocarditis, sedation, orthostatic hypotension, constipation, and sialorrhea will discuss evidence-based management strategies.  Clozapine has the potential to cause clinically relevant drug-drug interactions, which will be highlighted.  Finally, we will discuss the value of obtaining clozapine levels and how to interpret them.

Speaker: Rob Cotes, MD

Bipolar Disorder has the highest rates of Alcohol and Other Substance Use Disorders among all the entities that constitute the Severe Mental Illness category. Different epidemiological studies have shown a lifetime prevalence of between 30 to even more than 50% of Alcohol Use Disorder in the Bipolar Spectrum category. It is still unclear the reasons for such an alarming comorbidity but different studies emphasize the adverse outcomes of this association with an increase in suicide attempts, low adherence to treatment, poorer functioning, more severe health problems and effects in the trajectory of the Bipolar Disorder. Despite the existence of FDA-approved pharmacological interventions and evidence based psychotherapeutic modalities for Alcohol Use Disorder, only a minority of this population gets any treatment.

Presenter: Javier Ballester-Gonzalez, MD

As persons with SMI live longer, they will likely face unique challenges of aging, including changes in social networks, finances, and cognition. Simultaneously, the population of aging adults grows increasingly diverse – racially, ethnically, linguistically, faith-wise, and regarding sexual orientation and identity. Hence, it is key that providers across the spectrum understand the role of aging, family, and diversity for persons living with SMI. This webinar will identify unique challenges of aging across diverse populations, discuss potential cognitive changes in aging, and strategize with audience members to provide culturally competent and aging-friendly care to persons with SMI. 

Presenter: Crystal M. Glover, PhD, Rush University Medical Center

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are characterized by significant impairments in functioning, which impacts quality of life and impedes independent living and employment. Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) offers a highly valid strategy to assess daily functioning, and functional determinants (e.g., cognition, symptoms), among people with severe mental illness (SMI). Self-reports of symptoms and functioning in this population are known to be prone to bias, and questions have been raised regarding whether EMA, a real-time self-report assessment technique, can bypass traditional self-report bias. Dr. Moore will present findings from a large, diverse, multi-site EMA study of introspective accuracy, bias, and everyday functioning in people with SMI. Inter- and intra-individual variability in introspective accuracy, symptoms and mobile cognitive testing performance in each diagnostic construct, as well as design considerations for future work, will be explored. 

Presenter: Raeanne C. Moore, PhD, University of California San Diego

Peer support is built around the principles of self-determination and empowerment. When a system of care becomes too prescriptive or negates an individual’s right to self-determination it can create a chasm between the person and the system. At its best, some subset of people experiencing mental health problems will find their way through such a system and will eventually become empowered to participate fully in their own treatment. At its worst, people are traumatized and alienated by the very system they might wish to trust during a crisis. When trust is lost, many people withdraw from services and do not participate even when services are forced upon them. Peer support addresses this inequity on many levels. Because of their own experiences, peer support workers understand the importance of trust and participating in one’s own care. They offer honesty and transparency to individuals who are otherwise reluctant to engage. They are listeners, advocates, navigators and mentors. This webinar will discuss peer support approaches for engaging individuals who have lost trust in, or are fearful of, the formal system of care, and methods for building self-management skills. 

This 12-week learning collaborative focuses on training the clinician to use the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Role Functioning Scale (RFS) as structured assessment tools to improve the quality of care for patients with serious mental illness. Clinicians will gain the expertise needed to administer the BPRS to assess symptoms by rating actual BPRS patient interviews and discussing their ratings in comparison to the “gold standard” consensus ratings. Participants will learn to use the RFS to assess daily functioning and use both symptom ratings and assessments of functioning as part of an evidence-based treatment approach for improving patient outcomes. Special attention will be placed on how to conduct these assessments remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this course will help clinicians to develop and implement a Measurement-Based Care (MBC) model that can be incorporated into an agency’s clinical flow through the use of a data tracking system, be useful to multiple clinical disciplines, and help improve short-term and long-term patient outcomes. Course content will be provided that addresses the importance of equity and diversity in conducting symptom and functional assessments and in the delivery of MBC. Research will be presented regarding racial disparities in symptom severity, assessment of functioning, and treatment outcomes. By the end of this course, enrolled clinicians will have learned how to use two structured assessments in treatment planning and how to address barriers to the routine use of these objective measurements in a MBC approach to improve mental health care decisions.

Speaker: Joseph Ventura, PhD

This 12-week virtual learning collaborative is designed to give participants advanced skills and knowledge to develop and implement comprehensive psychiatric mental health nursing assessments in a variety of health care and community settings.  Content will include a review of psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms along with comorbid medical conditions and complications of patients with serious mental illnesses. Discussion of assessment and monitoring strategies for medical and psychiatric diagnoses will enhance the understanding and skills of participants.  The applied skills and knowledge obtained in this course will provide a basis for establishing effective care that will identify and address a variety of health care problems and risks encountered in patients with serious mental illnesses and support patients in recovery.  

Speaker: Donna Rolin, PhD, APRN

This 12-week learning collaborative will serve as a virtual community for participants to gain knowledge of evidence-based models of care and receive support and feedback on how to implement those models to effectively improve physical outcomes in patients with Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI).    

Speaker: Ben Druss, MD

The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach to supported employment for adults diagnosed with serious mental illness has existed for over three decades and is considered the gold standard evidence-based practice. This webinar will begin with a review of the IPS approach – including its principles, practices, and importance- and discuss its implementation across New York State over the course of the past decade. The focus will then shift to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IPS implementation, examining data including employment outcomes and fidelity. Survey results provided by 88 NYS implementation sites will be shared, focusing on adaptations and innovations reported. Participants will also review information reported by the IPS WORKS international learning community, focusing on changes made with IPS implementation by its member sites. This will lead to a discussion about the lasting impact of these adaptations on IPS implementation in the post-pandemic era.

Over the last two decades, suicide-related deaths in the U.S. have generally increased each year, and young adults (those ages 18-25) are especially vulnerable. Young adults are the age group with the greatest prevalence of suicidal ideation as well as past-year suicide attempts. Suicide-specific interventions such as safety planning, cognitive behavior therapy for suicide prevention (CBT-SP), and among others, the collaborative assessment and management of suicide (CAMS) can be effective at reducing suicidal ideation, behavior and hospitalization. However, many young adults are not interested in, or cannot access, traditional forms of treatment, which limits the number who will receive in-person suicide care. Digital mental health interventions can be used to reach and engage individuals who are unable to, or uninterested in, receiving traditional in-person mental health services. Fortunately, young adults appear to be interested in using self-directed digital technologies to help manage their mental health symptoms and thus, digital mental health interventions may help close the treatment gap. This presentation will review the safety, acceptability, and emerging efficacy and effectiveness of existing digital mental health interventions for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Additionally, this presentation will review the dissemination and implementation of these tools in different settings across the country.

Many communities lack a robust mental health crisis infrastructure, resulting in people in psychiatric crisis cycling in and out of jails and prisons, emergency departments, and homelessness. The impending 2022 implementation of 988, a nationwide number for mental health and suicidal crises, provides a unique opportunity to reimagine our nation’s crisis response system. In this webinar, learn about the current status of 988 implementation, how 988 fits into a larger mental health crisis system, and ongoing efforts to make sure 988 is more than a number. Hear how NAMI and other mental health organizations are working with policymakers at the federal, state, and local level to amplify the need for a crisis standard of care, and what is needed to make it a reality.

This presentation will illustrate how stories from clinical practice have called attention to the importance of bridging medication adherence and prescribing disparities, enabling a culturally sensitive practice-based psychopharmacology foundation for patients with mood disorders.

The diversity of our communities is increasing dramatically. Unfortunately, culturally sensitive practice has lagged behind the escalating pace of population diversity, contributing to mental health disparities. Clinicians are uniquely positioned to address sociocultural considerations when prescribing to diverse populations in their care, promising potential for bridging disparities.

By approaching the concept of “brave spaces” as a practice that can guide the development of shared decision and trust, opportunities emerge for clinicians on the front lines witnessing medication prescribing and adherence challenges to provide guidance by considering sociocultural factors. Brave spaces also allow clinicians to bring voice to patients’ sociocultural concerns.

Psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, clinicians, counselors, peers, and other staff who work in mental health settings are in an optimal position to treat co-occurring opioid use and mental health disorders. People with mood and anxiety disorders are twice as likely to use opioid medications as people without mental health problems and are more than three times as likely to use them nonmedically. Clients with co-occurring disorders are far more likely to receive mental health care than substance use treatment. Substantial evidence documents the impact of untreated opioid use disorder (OUD) on clients’ mental health, functioning, and quality of life. This webinar will review the principles of identifying and treating OUD for clients served by within mental health settings specifically including the use of medications for opioid use disorder. The presenter will also review the treatment planning, documentation, privacy regulation, and billing implications.

Interested in how new applications of technology could support work with serious mental illness (SMI)? For the past three decades, Extended Reality (XR), which includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), has been used to treat a variety of behavioral and mental health conditions. The recent technological advances in immersive technology brought about by mobile and gaming devices are offering more access to XR and potential uses. For example, XR can be used to deliver telehealth, enhance learning and psychotherapy, or change implicit biases/stigma. Embodied VR is a newer form of XR that is being explored and uses avatar body transfer experiences. It may offer many uses in behavioral health such as role-playing opportunities for skills acquisition or help with many problems including maladaptive body image/satisfaction, social skills deficits, avoidance behaviors, chronic pain, and somatic symptoms. Join Dr. Kim Bullock, Stanford Professor, neuropsychiatrist, and clinical XR researcher, for this webinar on the theory, evidence, application, challenges, and potential applications of XR for treating SMI. 

Clozapine is the only medication approved by the FDA for treatment resistant schizophrenia, and is widely underutilized in the US (Olfson et al. 2016). One serious possible side effect of clozapine is severe neutropenia, which is defined as an absolute neutrophil count of <500/µL.  A recent meta-analysis found the incidence of clozapine-induced severe neutropenia was 0.9%, with 1/7700 people exposed to clozapine dying from severe neutropenia (Myles et al. 2018).  To help manage the risk of neutropenia, clozapine has a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) mandated by the FDA.  Currently there are 61 available REMS programs (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), and changes or updates to REMS systems can have important implications.  For example, after the FDA approved a new benign ethnic neutropenia treatment algorithm (Clozapine REMS 2014), a study found that patients with schizophrenia on clozapine would be less likely to need treatment interruption after the new guidelines were released (Sultan et al. 2017).  Effective November 15, 2021, a new clozapine REMS system will replace the existing system.  The new system will require all prescribers and pharmacists to re-certify, and additionally, all patients must be re-enrolled.  Failure to re-enroll or re-certify may lead to clozapine interruption, which could result in significant consequences and negative outcomes for individuals stabilized on clozapine.  This webinar will provide an update on clozapine-induced neutropenia, an overview of the changes coming to clozapine REMS (from the prescriber and pharmacist perspectives), and will discuss strategies for how prescribers may navigate these changes successfully.  The presenters will also have an open discussion with participants to listen to their concerns and brainstorm potential solutions on the new program. 

This intermediate session focuses on identification and implementation of evidence-based mental health services for individuals who describe themselves as gender non-binary, transgender, or with other gender fluid identities. This session will include case presentations and describe treatment planning for clients in this vulnerable population, including considerations related to implementing services and models that are culturally mindful and promote community engagement. Information also will highlight coordinated care related to social determinants of physical and mental health, including the impact of stigma, poverty, healthcare access, and exposure to trauma. 

Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs) are a legal method for persons at risk of loss of decisional capacity during a behavioral health crisis to plan in advance and direct care during such a crisis. PADs permit persons while in a competent state to consent or refuse future treatment and appoint a proxy decision maker to speak for the incapacitated person to reinforce those preferences during a crisis. Over half of US states have passed PAD legislation, but in the remaining states such advance or planning can be written into a general health care advance care planning process. Implementation of PADs has been slow for a variety of reasons, including: their legal complexity, the lack of available resources to help draft them, and lack of implementation efforts by health systems. In addition, many physicians have concerns about their legal standing and/or fail to activate them by identifying incapacity in their patients. This webinar will discuss implementation of PADs and legal barriers to their use. 

Individuals with serious mental illness are over-represented in criminal legal contexts. In particular, their prevalence rates in jails and prisons are higher than the general population. Practitioners working to treat individuals with serious mental illness may have patients who are incarcerated. Yet the practitioners may not know the availability and challenges of mental health services within these correctional settings. Jails and prisons are environments where safety considerations are primary, yet there is case law and evolving standards that are pushing improved mental health services, including access to medications and certain therapies. At the same time, constraints within correctional environments and the challenges of the populations served may limit access to a full continuum of psychiatric care. Data is alarming regarding suicide rates in these facilities, which has risen despite advances in mental health service standards in corrections. For individuals with serious mental illness there may be opportunities for coordinating care between mental health service providers within correctional settings and community-based providers. This webinar will provide an overview of mental health services within correctional systems and the importance of linkages with community providers.

This 12-week virtual learning collaborative is designed to give participants advanced skills and knowledge to develop and implement comprehensive psychiatric mental health nursing assessments in a variety of health care and community settings. Content will include a review of psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms along with comorbid medical conditions and complications of patients with serious mental illnesses. Discussion of assessment and monitoring strategies for medical and psychiatric diagnoses will enhance the understanding and skills of participants. The applied skills and knowledge obtained in this course will provide a basis for establishing effective care that will identify and address a variety of health care problems and risks encountered in patients with serious mental illnesses and support patients in recovery.

This free town hall-style event is for all professions in mental health. It offers guidance to help you provide the best possible care to people who have both serious mental illness (SMI) and COVID and are located in inpatient and residential settings.

This topic has a high level of interest across professions. The event features a 30-minute interactive discussion that follows a 30-minute presentation on these topics:

• Effective models to handle COVID-positive individuals who need inpatient mental health care
• The impact of isolation on individuals who are in in the hospital and experiencing a mental health crisis
• Workforce stress that mental health clinicians experience when working in COVID isolation with individuals who have inpatient mental health needs

This event is the first in a two-part series. The next event takes place in March 2022.

This free webinar will focus on successful models and protocols for treating patients who have both serious mental illness (SMI) and COVID in inpatient and residential settings. This training is suitable for all mental health professionals, particularly hospital and clinic administrators. The event features a 45-minute panel discussion, followed by 15 minutes of audience Q&A.  

The discussion will address: 

• How has the workforce been rearranged to support the models, and in turn what support is provided to sustain the workforce?  
• What are considerations for treating symptomatic vs. asymptomatic patients? 
• What are best practices for handling patients in day treatment programs?  
• What protocols or models have not been successful, and why?  

Leveraging mobile-first technologies and adopting a consumer mentality approach to healthcare will be the deciding factor in creating health interventions this century. Recent advances in digital health have yielded novel means to manage and treat medical conditions across multiple health specialties. Widespread adoption of technology in daily lives coupled with health analytics will also yield new pathways to develop mental health insights based on behavior and actions from real-world evidence. This, in turn, will spur creative methods of treatment across both traditional biopharma and novel startups in disease treatment innovation. Such examples currently under development include smart combination medications, digital biomarkers, and digital therapeutics. This presentation will evaluate the current adoption and utilization of such devices and technology and identify other technologies currently under investigation. 

Nutritional psychiatry is the use of healthy whole foods and nutrients, using evidence-based research, to improve and support mental well-being. Nutritional psychiatry is a nascent field that emerged in the last decade alongside the understanding of the gut microbiome in relation to how food and nutrients can impact mental health. Physicians who studied prior to around 2006 may not have learned much about the microbiome, yet this field of research has burgeoned to the point that it is astounding. The premise of nutritional psychiatry is that a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues from ADHD to anxiety, depression, brain fog, and others. Nutritional Psychiatry complements other treatments like medications and different forms of therapy, and is a low–hanging fruit given that eating is something we all do every single day. 

Peer support specialists are a critical part of the behavioral health workforce, but they remain an underutilized and misunderstood profession within mental health care. The implementation of peer support services can seem challenging to many professionals. We will review the challenges associated with hiring peer support specialists and the successful integration of peers into mental health teams. 

While significant research exists demonstrating the benefit of spirituality in mental health treatment and the value placed on spirituality by mental health consumers, many services, supports, and treatment environments lack any meaningful inclusion of spirituality. The exclusion may be due to historical roots dating back to Freud’s writings framing religion/spirituality as a sign of neurosis or due to a lack of understanding about the complex ways people connect with spirituality within contemporary society and mental health contexts. 

This webinar will discuss the benefits of spirituality in mental health recovery. It will also provide learners with strategies and skills to discuss spirituality with mental health consumers. A spiritual health framework tool will be discussed to support implementation of the learning in the professional environment.