Trainings

Awareness about behavioral health services is the first step to creating a community of trust, understanding, and camaraderie. We provide multiple trainings throughout the year to help individuals within the community learn about mental health topics, such as first aid, trauma, and systems of care, and more. See our list of trainings below and register for any you’d like to attend. Please note that some may require a cost to attend.

Please check out our New/Events page for any upcoming trainings we are hosting.

Trauma 101 & Recovery Trainings

Trauma informed care is an approach to engaging people with histories of trauma that recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma has played in their lives. Participants will learn what trauma informed care is, how to create safe environments for persons served and ways to avoid re-traumatizing practices. The “Trauma 101 & Recovery” training is a 3 hour training and is a pre-requisite to becoming a Trauma Trainer.

(2 Hours Webinar, 3 Hours In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Define trauma and the effects of trauma on children and adults.
  2. Review the intent and process for trauma screening.
  3. Review the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) study and the impact of trauma through the life span.
  4. Identify the stages of recovery using Dr. Judith Herman’s model of recovery.

Trauma 101 & Recovery Train-The-Trainer Workshop

To establish a collective network approach to staff development, organizations are asked to send one individual to attend the Training of Trainers workshop. Individuals attending this 7 hour Training of Trainers Workshop will be prepared to provide “Trauma 101 & Recovery” trainings two times a year to current and new staff within their agency. These trainers will be provided with a curriculum designed to offer basic knowledge, skills, and values of trauma informed care to all staff. Participants will also review and practice methods of delivering the training information. Participants will receive training materials including a manual and flash drive with the training content.

(7 Hours In-Person Only with Working Lunch)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Understand how to prepare and present the “Trauma 101 & Recovery” training to other staff and/or community members.
  2. Review methods of delivering training information, facilitating discussion and answering difficult questions.
  3. Practice presentation of training materials.

Calmer Classrooms: Working with Traumatized Students Training

13 of every 30 students in a classroom will have toxic stress from 3 or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s).* Toxic stress or trauma can involve events such as physical or emotional abuse, divorce, bullying, domestic violence, death in the family and medical trauma. Teen suicides doubled in Nebraska last year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth ages 15-24, and the third leading cause for those 10-14 years old. Trauma can impact student learning, social interactions and self-regulation.

Teachers are not therapists but it is important to use a universal classroom management approach since we do not always know which students have trauma. This 3 hour training will discuss how trauma affects students, the ACE’s study, how to create a safe environment for all students and ways to avoid re-traumatizing practices. Specific classroom tools and strategies will be discussed to help staff engage all students in the learning process and support emotional self-regulation.
*Source: Washington State Family Policy Council

(2 Hours Webinar, 3 Hours In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Understand how students affected by trauma experience the learning environment
  2. Learn classroom strategies that support students affected by trauma to engage in the learning process
  3. Learn strategies to support student emotional self-regulation
Effective Strategies for Working with Traumatized Youth Training

Trauma informed care is an approach to engaging people with histories of trauma that recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma has played in their lives. Staff will receive education about how trauma affects youth, how to create a safe environment for youth in our care, and ways to avoid re-traumatizing practices through this 3 hour training. Specific tools and strategies will be discussed to help staff engage youth and support emotional self-regulation. Trauma specific interventions and recovery resources will be shared.

(2 Hours Webinar, 3 Hours In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Understand how youth are affected by trauma.
  2. Learn strategies to support healthy coping and emotional self-regulation for youth and staff.
  3. Receive knowledge of recovery and trauma specific treatment interventions and resources.
Walking the Walk: Creative Tools for Transforming Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma

You pay an emotional price for doing the work that you do. Some of us hear difficult stories daily and are frequently exposed to traumatic details from the individuals and families we are working with. We are not always able to help everyone who comes to us for help—the demands often outweigh what we can offer. This 4 hour training will help participants with identifying their signs and symptoms, understand the differences and definitions of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout, learn about a low impact peer de-briefing tool and share resources and tips for on-going self-care.

(Can be requested from 1 hour to all day)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Understand the definition of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout.
  2. Identify the signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout.
  3. Learn a peer low impact debriefing tool.
  4. Receive tools and resources for self-care.

Trauma Trainer Booster

An annual refresher training held with individuals who are currently providing Trauma 101 & Recovery training in the field to share new research, resources and changes to the Trauma 101 training/curriculum.

(2 Hours Webinar or In-Person)

Introduction to Mindfulness Skills

Research shows that mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment and accepting it without judgment. Mindfulness has been found to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness with the added benefits of improvement in memory, organizational skills, self-confidence, and interpersonal skills which boosts overall performance. Attendees will receive tools and practical resources for handling toxic stress that can be applied at work or at home.

(1-2 Hour Upon Request, Webinar or In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Define mindfulness and ways to incorporate it into your daily life. 
  2. Review the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness. 
  3. Practice mindfulness skills including meditation, movement and grounding.

Effective Strategies for Children with Developmental Trauma

Professionals who work with children, parents and foster parents can benefit from education about how trauma affects children in their care and how to create safe environments. This training will discuss how trauma impacts children, the Adverse Childhood Survey (ACE’s), how to create a safe environment, self-regulation tools, and ways to avoid re-traumatizing practices. Specific tools and resources will be discussed to help professionals and parents begin the healing process for children. 

(2 Hours Webinar, 3 Hours In-Person)

Tips for Improving Communication and Interaction

Why is everyone so tense? Coming out of a pandemic we may need some new ideas for improving our communication and interaction with the people we serve. This training will review ideas for dealing with difficult people, tips for improving communication and interaction and discuss common everyday scenarios when working with individuals.

(2 Hours Webinar or In-Person)

Resilience for the Responders: Creative Tools for Compassion Fatigue & Secondary Trauma for Disaster Relief Workers

There is now over two decades of research proving that working in high stress, trauma-exposed professions, such as disaster relief, carries elements of risk to staff and volunteers. This interactive, evidence-based and trauma-informed presentation will explore assumptions about compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and burnout and offer new and creative tools and approaches for maintaining healthy and resilient staff and volunteers.

(Can be requested from 1 hour to all day)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. List key factors that increase risks for compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and burnout.
  2. Apply early intervention strategies at home and at work for increasing health and resiliency. 
  3. Utilize grounding and debriefing skills for managing exposure to difficult images and stories.

Compassion Fatigue for Supervisors: How to Support Staff and Yourself

The pandemic took a toll on all of us. Many staff who work in trauma-exposed professions were tired and depleted before COVID-19. Supervisors will improve their understanding of compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, burnout, and moral distress and will be given new and practical supervision take away tools, resources and strategies for increasing you and your staff’s resiliency.

(Can be requested from 1 hour to all day)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Understand the definition of compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, burnout and moral distress.
  2. List the signs and symptoms that increase the risk of compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, burnout, and moral distress. 
  3. Learn skills such as mindfulness, grounding, and debriefing tools to increase health and resilience.
  4. Learn supervision tools for supporting and building staff resiliency.

Helping Adults Coping with Grief

This training addresses the myths about the grieving process, what to say and not to saying to a grieving person, ideas for coping skills and rituals and looking at cultural differences in death and dying. Hands on tools and resources will be shared for helping adults coping with grief either personally and/or for the people they serve

(2 Hours Webinar or In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. List common grief reactions.
  2. Identify coping skills, rituals and resources.
  3. Understand cultural customs and differences.

Life Hacks for Reducing Stress and Building Resiliency

Taking the most popular tools from the “Coping with COVID” webinar series, we will review these hacks for stress management to boost resiliency and how to put these practices into a daily practice.

(1 Hour Webinar or In-Person)

The Impact of the Pandemic and Disasters on Children and Teens

This training will review the impact the Pandemic and disasters have on children and teens. Emotional regulation skills and techniques will be shared along with other hands-on tools and resources for building resiliency.

(1.5 Hours Webinar or In-Person)

Trauma: Healing and Recovery 2.0

SAMHSA defines recovery as a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential. This training follows “Trauma 101 & Recovery” and provides participants with the journey of healing and recovery and choosing the right helper and pathways to interventions/tools for a healthy, happy life.

(2 Hours Webinar, 3 Hours In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Review the goals, pathways, and interventions for recovery.
  2. Understand how to choose the right helper.
  3. Utilize hands-on tools and resources for recovery including practicing resilience promoting exercises.

5 Essential Skills for Transforming Stress and Anxiety for Kids and Teens

This training will address a child or teen’s struggle with worry, anger, stress and anxiety. We will discuss 5 faulty beliefs about anxiety and 5 skills that parents, professionals and kids can use to understand and control their anxiety.

(1.5 Hours Webinar, 2 Hours In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Review 5 faulty beliefs about anxiety. 
  2. Review 5 skills that parents, professionals and kids can use to understand and control their anxiety.
  3. Provide hands on tools and activities for emotional regulation.

Grounding Skills

Grounding techniques are based in mindfulness and help to create space from distressing feelings. Grounding anchors you, gives you the chance to calm down and allows you to eventually return and address the problem that was triggering the unpleasant emotion to begin with. Grounding is also helpful for trauma survivors who are dissociating by bringing them back into the present moment.

(1 Hour Webinar or In-Person)

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Identify the definition and benefits of grounding techniques.
  2. Practice grounding skills.
  3. Identify mental, soothing, and physical grounding activities.

Helping Children with Grief—New

There is a wide variation in the ways children of the same age understand death based on what they have experienced and what they already know about it. More than 140,000 U.S. children under the age of 18 lost a parent or grandparent due to the pandemic. Loss of a parent is among the adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) linked to mental health issues, shorter schooling, lower self-esteem and increased risk of substance abuse. This training will address the best ways to talk about death with children and how to address the loss and grief children have experienced.

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Identify how to talk with children about grief and loss.
  2. Understand the roles of remembering and rituals for children.
  3. Identify ways to assist and support children coping with grief.
  4. Provide resources for children about grief.

Life Hacks for Stress Free Holidays

Taking the most popular tools from the COVID webinar series we will review these hacks for stress management to boost resiliency and discuss how participants can use these tips to tackle this Holiday Season. Training is offered October-December.

(1.5 Hours Webinar or In-Person)

 

Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

A public adult education program that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. MHFA is offered in the form of an interactive 8 hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Mental Health First Aid is designed for audiences who are at least 18 years of age. 

For more information about Mental Health First Aid:  www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org

Youth Mental Health First Aid

Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis.  Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people.  The 8 hour course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations.  Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.

For more information about Youth Mental Health First Aid:  www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org 

Behavioral Health Threat Assessment (BETA) Training for Law Enforcement

BETA is a three day law enforcement training regarding risk/threat assessment and mental health/addiction issues facing law enforcement officers brining together national and local recognized trainers to instruct the class.

QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer-3 simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. People training in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. QPR is a two hour training that is listed in the National Registry for Evidence based Practices and Policies.

For more information about QPR: 

www.qprinstitute.com

Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk: Core Competencies for Mental Health Professionals (AMSR)

In this one day workshop participants of any field will increase their knowledge of eight core competencies for effectively assessing suicide risk, planning treatment, and managing the ongoing care of the at-risk patient, experience a shift in perspective in working with individuals at risk for suicide, build fundamental skills in assessing suicide risk and identify specific changes to make in your practice regarding the assessment and management of individuals at risk for suicide.

For more information visit:  www.SPRC.org

Jill Schubauer will arrange the training provided by a certified clinician.

Systems of Care/Wraparound Training

The systems of care model is an organizational philosophy and framework that involves collaboration across agencies, families, and youths for the purpose of improving access and expanding the array of coordinated community based, culturally and linguistically competent services and supports for children and youth with a serious emotional disturbance and their families.

The wraparound process is an intensive, individualized care management process for youths with serious complex needs.

Learn more: