Nancy Lever, PhD
Co-Director, National Center for School Mental Health
Are you a school mental health provider or do you know school mental health providers interested in building their skills to better help students cope with trauma and adversities that they have experienced prior to the pandemic and/or within the pandemic? If your answer is YES, then we have a training opportunity for you! As we begin the 2021-2022 school year, many school mental health providers have been reaching out to the NCS3 Center with requests related to wanting to enroll in evidence-based Tier II trainings to better support their students. For many school districts, access to high quality, evidence-based trainings that include follow-up learning and implementation support are non-existent or quite limited.
For the second year, the NCS3 Team is pleased to be able to offer school mental health providers FREE evidence-based training and implementation support. Now is the time to apply -- applications are due September 10th. Here are some of the key things that you need to know about this training opportunity focused on school-based group interventions for students who have experienced stress or trauma.
Who: 2-6 clinicians from each site (school or district)
What: Be trained in one of three evidence-based trainings and deliver the group intervention during the school year with at least 4-6 students in a group (6-8 if co-leading). Participate in at least 4 of 7 Implementation Support Virtual Meetings between November 2021 – May 2022. All trainings are free of charge and manuals are available to download.
Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) is an evidence-based, 10-session group intervention for middle and high school students who are exhibiting symptoms of traumatic stress. CBITS uses cognitive-behavioral techniques, such as psycho-education, relaxation, cognitive restructuring, exposure, and social problem solving and includes individual trauma narrative sessions with students.
Bounce Back is an evidence-based adaptation of CBITS for elementary school students (K-5th). The skills-based group intervention has been developed to relieve symptoms of anxiety, stress, depression, and post-traumatic stress among young students exposed to stressful events. Children learn a range of skills including relaxation exercises, ways to challenge upsetting thoughts, and social problem solving. The Bounce Back program includes 10 student group sessions and 2-3 individual student sessions with some parent participation.
Supporting Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups (STRONG) is an evidence-informed, school-based intervention for newcomer (refugee/immigrant) youth (K-12th grades) to support their transition to a new school and community. STRONG is intended for students experiencing psychological distress or difficulties functioning at home, school or in their community, often related to the adversities and trauma experienced during the transitions of migration and settlement. STRONG is delivered by school mental health clinicians and is comprised of 10 group sessions, one individual student session, and teacher and parent education sessions. Elementary (K-5th grade) and Secondary (6th-12th grade) versions are available.
When: Application to participate is due on September 10th, notifications of acceptance by September 17th, Virtual Training: CBITS and STRONG trainings will be held on Thursday, October 18th and Friday, October 19th 11am-5:00pm ET. The Bounce Back training will be held October 18th and 19th , 11:00am-3:30pm ET.
Where: Trainings and support meetings will be hosted virtually using Zoom.
Why: By joining the NCS3 Leaders and providers from across the country, you will gain knowledge, skills, resources, and a valuable network to more effectively support youth who have experienced stress or trauma.
For more information and to apply for the opportunity, https://www.ncs3.org/school-mental-health-clinicians. For questions, please contact Maddie Keleher at mkeleher@som.umaryland.edu.