Products and Resources Catalog

Moving prevention strategies from in-person to a virtual environment requires thoughtful planning and multiple considerations.  The Great Lakes PTTC has created a series of resources to help prevention practitioners through this planning process, from selecting technology to adaptations and fidelity considerations. Below is a guide and two planning tools to use to support the best decision-making for moving prevention strategies into virtual environments. Click "download" above to access:  The Prevention Practitioner's Resource Guide for Virtual Events Moving "The CSAP 6" Strategies to Virtual Settings  Organizational Technology Capacity Assessment Moving Prevention To Virtual Settings Planning Worksheet              

Presented by: PACIFIC SOUTHWEST PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER & PACIFIC SOUTHWEST MENTAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER   DATE: Thursday, May 14, 2020   Description Substance misuse and its relationship to suicide among youth and young adults continues to be of concern to public health practitioners. This panel discussion will highlight real world intersections of substance misuse prevention and mental health best practices to reduce risk of suicide among youth and young adults. Panelists will offer expertise and perspective on how to impact populations who are at risk for substance misuse and suicide. The webinar examines shared risk and protective factors for vulnerable populations, outlines college campus programs for behavioral health, and explores the integration of suicide risk screening and intervention into the substance use early intervention model SBIRT. There will be a focus on effectively supporting youth and young adult populations. By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to: 1.  Identify opportunities to effectively link mental and behavioral health supports to prevent and respond to risks of substance misuse and suicide. 2.  Identify prevention programs that integrate knowledge, skill, and abilities to benefit vulnerable youth and young adults.  3.  Locate real-world examples of successful practices.   Presenters Brett Harris, DrPH, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University at Albany School of Public Health and the Director of Public Health Initiatives at the Suicide Prevention Office of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). Dr. Harris co-developed and is currently teaching the graduate course Suicide as a Public Health Problem.  In her role with the State of New York, Dr. Harris oversees all community-, school-, college-, and university-based suicide prevention initiatives and supports implementation of suicide safer care in multiple clinical service settings. James Mazza, Ph.D, is Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Washington and Director of the School Psychology Program. His work focuses broadly on adolescent mental health issues, particularly internalizing disorders such as depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, exposure to violence and especially suicidal behavior. Dr. Mazza’s research focuses on a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) that emphasizes the need to provide school-based mental health services and SEL programs to all students as part of their education. Debra Cox-Howard, MC, LPC, LISAC, holds dual licenses and is a Mental Health Clinician at The University of Arizona's Counseling & Psych Services department. In addition to her role as clinician with a specialty in substance abuse counseling, Ms. Cox-Howard is a founder and co-Chair of the interdepartmental Substance Abuse Team and founder and co-Faculty Advisor for Wildcats Anonymous-The University of Arizona's Collegiate Recovery Program. Debra's work focuses on substance abuse prevention, assessment and treatment, addictions, adult children of alcoholics, time and stress management, relationships, and general counseling.    Webinar Recording You can view the webinar by completing the form on this link: https://meet60318086.adobeconnect.com/mhttcrecordedwebinarnavigatingriskofsuicide/event/registration.html Once you fill out the form Click View.   Webinar Slides Download Slides - Navigating Risk of Suicide in the Context of Substance Misuse: Best Practices for Supporting Youth and Young Adults

The Role of Prevention During and Following a Disaster What's Happening Around the Region? Epi Corner: Data Collection Considerations During Disasters, Pandemics, and Other Crises

Southeast PTTC May Newsletter 

Presented by: TTC and ORN Representatives  Download the announcement flyer!  

While evidence-based approaches to prevention are being strongly supported by policy makers of late, it isn’t always clear what this means and how it might relate to your own work in the field. This webinar is an overview of prevention science and how it has brought about the development not only of effective prevention programs but also to the planning and implementation of these. Evidence-based programs have been shown through rigorous research to be successful at reducing risky and unhealthy behaviors across the life span. This webinar describes how the science contributes to our understanding of the etiology and prevention of substance use and related behaviors, examples of some of the most effective interventions and policies.

This guide is a list of suicide prevention applications in virtual stores. This compilation is not an endorsement of any of the virtual applications mentioned. Last updated: 05/13/2020

Webinar: Exploring HOPE - Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences   DATE: April 29, 2020   DESCRIPTION: The Science of the Positive framework is based upon the realization that ‘The Positive’ exists in ourselves, our communities and our cultures. The new language of HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences, utilizes The Cycle of Transformation which includes domains of Spirit – Science – Action -Return. In this webinar, we begin by honoring the Spirit that motivates all of us in all of our work. Through science, we will explore the powerful lifelong effects of positive childhood experiences even in the midst of adversity. We will also explain how the building blocks of HOPE emerged through careful review of evidence. This session will conclude by providing attendees with flexible building blocks to apply HOPE at individual, family, community and societal levels to prevent adversity, support resilience and promote healing and health equity based upon positive childhood experiences (PCEs).   PRESENTERS: Robert Sege, MD, PhD is a pediatrician at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center and a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he directs the new Center for Community-engaged Medicine. Dr. Sege is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, is part of the Leadership Action Team for Massachusetts Essentials for Childhood Team, and serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Children’s Trust and Prevent Child Abuse America. He received the 2019 Ray E. Helfer award from the Alliance of Children’s Trusts and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has served on national committees for the American Academy of Pediatrics and has been lead author on several important AAP policies. His extensive speaking and publication list include contributions to the prevention and treatment of child maltreatment and youth violence. Dina Burstein, MD, MPH, FAAP is the Healthy Outcomes for Positive Experiences (HOPE) Project Director at the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine. Dr. Burstein is an experienced physician, healthcare project designer, and leader with over twenty years of success in scientific research, grant writing, analysis, training, and clinical practice. Previously, Dr. Burstein was an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, directing injury prevention focused community outreach programming and community-based research projects, as well as teaching and mentoring undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. Her aim is to enhance the well-being of individuals and the community by presenting and promoting programs while leveraging proficiency in research, care management, injury prevention and clinical effectiveness. Jeffrey Linkenbach, EdD, MA is the Founding Director & Research Scientist at The Montana Institute, who has developed national award-winning science-based programs to change norms. He is one of the co-developers of HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences, and serves as a Co-Investigator at the HOPE Center in the Tufts University Medical School. He is recognized for his pioneering development of the Science of the Positive Framework and the Positive Community Norms Approach which are being utilized by tribal, federal, state and local organizations to achieve positive change and transformation around challenging issues such as child maltreatment, substance abuse, suicide, traffic safety and community-engaged leadership.    WEBINAR SLIDES: Download Slides - Exploring HOPE (PDF)    OTHER RESOURCES: CDC Resource: Promoting Positive Community Norms (PDF) Balancing Adverse Childhood Experiences with HOPE Executive Summary (PDF)   Comparison of mock screenings (videos): Mock screening with HOPE (external link) Mock screening without HOPE (external link) Interview about the two methods (external link)

The Pacific Southwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) distributed a survey to determine the information, training and resources needed to address the challenges prevention professionals are encountering during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The survey was open from April 3, 2020 to April 24, 2020, receiving 177 responses.

In response to new challenges experienced by the prevention workforce resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pacific Southwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) facilitated four listening sessions over video conference with 111 prevention practitioners joining. Listening sessions were conducted at various times throughout the day on April 15, 16, 21, and 22. Participants represented Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, as well as a few participants from outside of the Pacific Southwest region. The listening sessions opened up a conversation about the specific challenges practitioners are facing with doing their work in prevention; what training and resources the PTTC could provide to address these challenges; and where are they finding new opportunities for their work. During the listening sessions, spontaneous peer-sharing and crowdsourcing of resources naturally occurred. This document briefly summarizes the conversations held across these four sessions and includes various links to resources as they relate to various topics that emerged during these conversations.

The National Hispanic and Latino Prevention Technology Transfer Center is please to provide new fact sheets on Prevention Tools for Latino Families During COVID-19 to download and distribute. This fact sheet has been translated from English to both Spanish and Portuguese.  English About 55 million U.S. school children attend schools that have been closed or are being directly affected by the new coronavirus COVID-19 social distancing rules. The isolation, fear, not having enough support, lack of health access and the pressure that Hispanic and Latino parents and caregivers are facing are countless, leaving the children with so many questions, confusion and in many cases leaving them unattended. Substance abuse prevention starts with parents learning how to talk with their children about difficult topics. Download in English Español Alrededor de 55 millones de niños en los Estados Unidos están siendo directamente afectados por las nuevas reglas de distanciamiento social debido al COVID-19 y no están asistiendo a la escuela porque están cerradas como resultado del coronavirus. El aislamiento, el miedo, la falta de apoyo, la falta de acceso a servicios de salud y la presión que enfrentan los padres Hispanos y Latinos son innumerables, dejando a los niños con muchas preguntas, confusión y en muchos casos solos. La prevención del abuso de sustancias comienza cuando los padres aprenden a hablar con sus hijos sobre temas difíciles. Descargar en Español Português Cerca de 55 milhões de crianças em idade escolar nos EUA frequentam escolas que foram fechadas ou estão sendo diretamente afetadas pelas novas regras de distanciamento social do coronavírus COVID-19. O isolamento, o medo, a falta de apoio, a falta de acesso à saúde e a pressão que os pais e cuidadores hispânicos e latinos estão enfrentando são incontáveis, resultando em crianças com dúvidas, confusão e, em muitos casos, sem supervisão. A prevenção do abuso de substâncias começa quando os pais aprendem a conversar com seus filhos sobre tópicos difíceis.  Download em Português

As people stay at home and alcohol sales increase, concerns escalate among prevention professionals and public health officials around the emotional and mental risks of substance misuse amid the outbreak. We understand that economic dislocation, job loss and fear of death by disease can be triggers for substance use, which heightens the risk of other issues like suicide and domestic violence.  This webinar will be a starting point for a regional dialogue as we prepare for recovery and the important role that prevention professionals will play in the response. Transcript Presentation Power Point Speakers: Jennifer Myers, MA Training Development Manager Violence and Trauma Team at EDC   Jennifer Myers, M.A. is a mental health professional, consultant, and trainer who has worked to create trauma-sensitive systems throughout her career. She is currently the Training Development Manager for the Violence and Trauma team at Education Development Center (EDC). Jennifer is a thought leader and content expert developing violence prevention, resiliency, and trauma-informed resources and trainings across the prevention spectrum nationally and internationally. She has advised and guided community, school, and health systems in the areas of violence and suicide prevention, mental health promotion, and resilience. She has over 18 years of mental health, crisis response, and substance misuse counseling experience in a variety of settings working with diverse populations including university students, veterans, and LGBTQ individuals. She is a master trainer for Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk and H.O.P.E. Suicide Prevention for Crime Victims. Prior to joining EDC, she was the Assistant Director of Mental Health Initiatives and the Coordinator of Suicide Prevention at the University of South Carolina. At the University, Jennifer led the mental health response to critical incidents including natural disasters and campus violence. Jennifer holds an MA in Counseling and a BS in Psychology from Ball State University. Chuck Klevgaard, BSW Chuck Klevgaard  delivers training and technical assistance to support substance misuse prevention throughout the Midwest. Klevgaard has supported communities and health agencies as they adopt evidence-based alcohol, opioid, and other substance misuse programs or policies. Klevgaard also serves as a prevention manager to the Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center. Klevgaard earned his BSW from Minnesota State University Moorhead. He is a Certified Senior Prevention Specialist through the Illinois Certification Board, Inc.

As sheltering in place becomes the new normal in many areas of the US, millions are experiencing isolation, financial insecurity, and unprecedented levels of stress—at a time when physical distancing separates people from the support systems they need most.   And as we move into the planning for our response, let’s remember that prevention practitioners have a proven track record of success in coordinating local public health responses to health emergencies. National emergency epidemiologic data demonstrate that state and local prevention efforts work: the overall prevalence of drinking among 12- to 20-year olds has declined by 32.9 percent since 2004, due in part to effective prevention initiatives.   

Southeast PTTC April Newsletter

The Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and the Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center collaborated to host a six-part webinar series, Suicide Prevention Across the Educational Continuum. Throughout the series, participants are provided with information related to suicide prevention and intervention for youth, young adults, and college students. School-Based Suicide Prevention Interventions for K-12 Population Participants in this webinar will learn the youth suicide prevalence nationally and the implications to schools. They will also be able to familiarize themselves with multi-tiered systems of positive behavior and social emotional learning. In addition, how the multi-tiered systems support the prevention of suicide. Finally, the webinar will discuss ways to build capacity and sustainability of these services in K-12 schools. Presented by: Aaron Fischer, PhD   Webinar Recording Presentation Slides in .PDF Presentation Transcript  

  Webinar: Selecting and Implementing Evidence-Based Practices to Address Substance Misuse Among Young Adults: SAMHSA’s Resource Guide Presented by: THE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTERS   DATE: Wednesday, April 15, 2020   DESCRIPTION In this webinar, participants will learn about the findings and resources available in the recently released SAMHSA resource guide Substance Misuse Prevention for Young Adults.  This guide was developed to support health care providers, systems, and communities seeking to prevent substance misuse among young adults. Dr. Kim Dash, who co-authored the guide, will describe relevant research findings; examine emerging and best practices; discuss knowledge gaps and implementation challenges; and offer useful resources.  By the end of the webinar, participants will: 1. Identify the most recent data on young adults and substance misuse. 2. Understand the guidebook content and how it was developed. 3. Identify evidence-based practices that will make a difference for young adults.   PRESENTERS Kim Dash, PhD, MPH, is Senior Research Scientist with the Education Development Center (EDC). Dr. Dash develops, evaluates, and promotes the use of evidence-informed public health interventions. A thought leader in behavioral and social health and published author, she possesses expertise in prevention and implementation sciences and program and policy evaluation. Dr. Dash has led over 15 projects addressing mental health, substance misuse, violence, and trauma. She leads the evaluation of a citywide initiative that fosters community resilience to address stress and trauma and is creating a tool to help colleges reduce drug misuse.   WEBINAR SLIDES Download Slides - Selecting and Implementing Evidence-Based Practices to Address Substance Misuse Among Young Adults: SAMHSA’s Resource Guide   OTHER RESOURCES SAMHSA Resource Guide Young Adults Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Homepage Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) Homepage

The Great Lakes PTTC developed this webpage to provide an overview of regional and national initiatives and resources dedicated to preventing and reducing stigma associated with having, treating, or being in recovery from a substance use or mental health disorder.  Visit the Preventing and Reducing Stigma web page. 

Southeast PTTC February Newsletter

Southeast PTTC March Newsletter 

  WEBINAR - The Positive Exists: Framing Communications Using Hope and Concern  Presented by: THE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST AND NORTHWEST PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTERS   DATE: Wednesday, March 25, 2020   DESCRIPTION This webinar will help prevention practitioners improve communications around substance use prevention in their communities with the Science of the Positive, a framework that promotes protective factors, increases healthy norms, and positively transforms community cultures.  This webinar will provide attendees with a new communication skill that can be used immediately to address the very challenging issues of substance misuse prevention. After completion of the webinar, participants will: understand the Science of the Positive Framework; identify ways to use the Positive Community Norms Approach to correct misperceptions and impact behavior; and identify how to balance both hope and concern in communications.   PRESENTERS Dr. Jeffrey Linkenbach is the Founding Director and Research Scientist at The Montana Institute, who has developed national award-winning science-based programs to change norms.  He is one of the co-developers of Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) and serves as a Co-Investigator at the HOPE Center in the Tufts University Medical School. Jeff is an affiliate faculty member with the University of Montana – Mansfield Center and a Fellow with UM-Mansfield Academy for Global Leadership.  He is recognized for his pioneering development of the Science of the Positive Framework and the Positive Community Norms Approach which are being utilized by tribal, federal, state, and local organizations to achieve positive change and transformation around challenging issues such as child maltreatment, substance abuse, suicide, traffic safety, and community-engaged leadership.  Sara Thompson is a Senior Trainer with The Montana Institute who specializes in training and technical assistance with Positive Community Norms communications. She brings experience as a strategic marketing consultant who also serves large and small companies, non-profit organizations, cooperatives, festivals, and community events. Ms. Thompson was Introduced to Dr. Linkenbach’s work with the Science of the Positive and Positive Community Norms (PCN) frameworks in 2006 and these transformative new approaches challenged her perceptions, reignited her passion for prevention leadership, and renewed her energy for her work. She owns her own marketing firm specializing in working with community coalitions focused on positive prevention messaging and she has been privileged to work at The Montana Institute and collaborate with some of the most experienced prevention specialists, innovative thought leaders, and social science researchers in the country.   WEBINAR SLIDES Download Slides - The Positive Exists   OTHER RESOURCES Applying SOTP to Health & Safety Integrating Hope and Concern into your Communications Introduction to Positive Community Norms    

Evaluation is one area where it often makes sense to bring in outside expertise. It will save you considerable time and effort, as well as increase your probability of success. In fact, the assistance of an evaluator attuned to and practiced in the art and science of theory-based evaluation is often the key to getting evaluation results that are useful and credible. This toolkit is designed to help you select an evaluator whose skills match your programmatic needs—assuming, of course, that you don’t already have an evaluator on staff.

Quarterly Newsletter - March 2020 - Northwest PTTC   Find out about upcoming events, resources, past and future webinars, and read our Northwest Community In Action article highlighting YouthThink of The Dalles, OR. Read it all here: Quarterly Newsletter - March 2020 - Northwest PTTC

This Slide Deck for You can be used as a stand-alone overview of the Social Development Strategy or incorporated into other presentations or materials. The Social Development Strategy (SDS) is a tool for enhancing five factors proven to build protection and organizes these protective factors into a strategy for action that anyone can use in their daily interactions with young people. The SDS is as simple as five fingers on one hand.        

Presented by: Michael Nader, Ph.D. Description: This presentation will describe key brain regions affected by drug misuse and how experimental paradigms model prevention strategies. Learning Objectives: 1. Identify the brain regions associated with reward, impulsivity, and learning 2. Convey a basic understanding of how major classes of drugs interact with these brain regions 3. Explore several models of laboratory research on drug misuse and examine how key findings from laboratory research provide evidence for major prevention and treatment effort About Michael Nader, Ph.D. Michael A. Nader, Ph.D. is a behavioral neuropharmacologist with research interest in the areas of substance abuse, impulsivity, brain dopamine receptor function and animal models of human disease. His research examines individual differences in drug effects, highlighting sex differences, social rank and drug history as important organismal variables that influence outcome. He studies cocaine, nicotine, THC, oxycodone and methamphetamine in models of drug reinforcement, cognition and the study of physiological consequences to chronic drug treatment using telemetry devices. For nearly 30 years, his laboratory has utilized an extremely novel animal model involving nonhuman primate social behavior and intravenous drug self-administration; the original studies involving socially housed male monkeys was recognized with a MERIT Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Nader has served on the Board of Directors for College on Problems of Drug Dependence, is the past-chair of the Behavioral Pharmacology Division at the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and is a past member of NIDA Council. He has been at Wake Forest School of Medicine since 1992 and has mentored 4 post-doctoral fellows, 11 Ph.D. students, 2 M.S. students and served on 26 dissertation committees. Dr. Nader is past Director of the Graduate Program in Physiology and Pharmacology, past Chair of the Dean’s Research Advisory Committee at Wake Forest School of Medicine and has had over 60 graduate and undergraduate students participate in laboratory rotations. In 2013 he gave a TEDx talk on US drug policy and the benefits of animal research. He was also the recipient of the 2015 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Mentorship Award.