From Climate Anxiety to Climate Resilience
About You
Are you a coach, educator, health or mental health provider, social worker, healer, or in another helping profession, witnessing painful stress and tension caused by the climate crisis (or “climate anxiety”) in your office or classroom? Are you looking for more effective ways to...?
Navigate complex and emotionally charged conversations about climate change that fall beyond your training and scope of expertise.
Move through grief, anger or despair and create climate conversations that are generative - not overly positive, but safe, realistic and empowering.
Maintain your composure when you share the same overwhelming feelings as those you are trying to help.
About the Course
This 12-week, hands-on intensive course is designed for you.Join a small group of fellow helping professionals to build your own climate resilience and grow your “ecological emotional intelligence” so that you can facilitate long lasting transformation in those you serve.
Make a significant impact in the lives of those you serve!As caring professionals, we are not climate scientists, we don’t need to engage in confrontation or political debates, we don’t need to lecture, tell people what to do, give answers or solutions, fix things, and we don’t have to fall into a spiral of despair with our clients, patients or students when the topic of climate change arises, directly or indirectly. We don’t have to feel responsible for driving fast, major change because of the positions we hold either.
The biggest impact we can have is to create safe spaces, one-on-one or in small groups, to be in genuine conversation. We can learn ways to make others feel seen, validated, and empowered—even within the context of climate change or a polycrisis. With patience, curiosity, new habits of relating and strengths-based approaches, we can serve as guides for deeper personal transformations that not only help people shift out of anxiety and build resilience, but in the long term, lead to growing awareness, responsibility, value-driven and sustainable action, and improved health and wellbeing.
NEW Dates: Sept 11-Dec 4, 2024 (Wednesdays, 7-8pm)
Format: Weekly course material and activities accessible via online learning platform plus weekly live group meeting on Zoom (1 hour)
Cost: normally $1200, discounted rate: $899 (a 25% savings)
Group size: 6 (min) to 10 (max) participants
CEUs: Provided for Allied Mental Health Professions. Social Work/Psychology pending. All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion.
Full Course Description & Syllabus: View here. You may also want to consider one of the following options: 1) Custom individual coaching program, 2) Private group: minimum 8 participants, choose your own dates, or 3) Self-paced course available any time. For more information, contact the Instructor.
Instructor: Alexandra Arnold, MSPsych, ACC, is an ICF-accredited Climate Resilience Coach and Consultant. She has trained with Climate Change Coaches, is a member of the Climate Coaching Alliance, and participates in the She Changes Climate mentoring program. She holds a MS in Organizational Psychology from SNHU and a MS in Human Relations and Positive Organization Development from Champlain College. Learn more about Alma Coaching.
Implicit Bias Workshop with Dr. Quentin Tyler
Workshop Description
In this 4.75 CEU workshop, Dr. Quentin Tyler will provide counseling professionals substantive training regarding the issue of implicit bias and how it relates to their areas of practice. In response to the public health crisis that is racism, the Vermont legislature has required all healthcare professionals to receive training on systematic oppression and anti-oppressive practice (Act 117). Specific areas to be covered include how implicit bias is defined, historical trauma, the manifestation of implicit bias on the micro, mezzo, and macrolevels, intersectionality, the power structures and processes that cultivate a culture of bias, micro-assaults, microaggressions, microinsults, micro-preventions, micro-validations, micro-interventions, strategies for mitigating implicit bias by applying reduction skills to case studies and personal biased experiences, encourage development of an action plan for implementing learning so it's sustainable and transferable to professional counseling, counselor professional identity and practice issues, wellness, and prevention.
Dr. Quentin Tyler will be presenting a 3.25-hour interactive presentation in the morning on “Everyone has a Story,” where participants will be challenged to view the world through an equity lens while also realizing the importance of understanding that everyone they come across, whether in a professional or personal setting, has their own unique story that makes them who they are.
The 1.5-hour afternoon session will consist of a more informal roundtable conversation where Dr. Tyler will help us develop an action plan to identify and address systematic racism within the professional mental health community in Vermont and inaugurate VTMHCA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee which will further develop and implement the ideas generated in this meeting.
Provide information on implicit bias, equitable access to healthcare, serving a diverse population, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and cultural sensitivity.
Learning Objectives
Discuss strategies for the counselor to remedy the negative impact of implicit bias by recognizing and understanding how it impacts perception, judgment, and actions that may result in inequitable decision making, failure to effectively communicate, and result in barriers and disparities in the access to and delivery of counseling related services.
Explore the historical basis of implicit biases based on an individual's characteristics and how present consequences impact client experiences.
Discuss current research on implicit bias in the access to and delivery of counseling psychotherapy services.
Schedule
Morning section (3 ¼ CE):
8:15 – 9:00 am – Registration
9:00 – 10:30 am – Section I – Implicit bias
10:30 – 10:45 am – Break
10:45 – 12:30 pm – Section II – Microaggressions
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – lunch at VSU Campus cafeteria (cost of lunch included in registration fee)
Afternoon section (1 ½ CE):
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Section III – Systemic oppression interactive conversation
Program concludes at 3:00pm.
Biography
Dr. Quentin Tyler was the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) at Michigan State University (MSU) before becoming Director of MSU Extension in 2021.
Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium
The Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium 2024 will be held in-person on Friday, September 13 at the Vermont State University Randolph campus. The day-long conference will include presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities featuring leading voices in the field from Vermont, New England, and beyond. The focus of the event is equitable, sustainable, and comprehensive suicide prevention education with sessions designed for mental health clinicians, peer support workers, advocates & families, individuals with lived experience, healthcare providers, educators, and community members.
Learn more, explore the full program, and register here.
The Symposium is currently sold-out. Join the waitlist here.
CAMS Advanced Training- Drivers Focused Care
The Center for Health and Learning (CHL) is pleased to announce that we are partnering with the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care (VPQHC) and the Vermont Collaborative for Practice Improvement & Innovation (VCPI) for a pre-Suicide Prevention Symposium advanced CAMS training offering, "CAMS Advanced Training- Drivers Focused Care."
This virtual training will be held on Friday, September 6th, from 9-1pm. For those who have been trained in CAMS, this offering will be both a refresher and also a deeper dive into the concept of drivers in suicide care treatment. This training will not serve as a recertification in CAMS or allow someone to become CAMS-Trained. Course Description: Dr. Kevin Crowley will hold a half-day, didactic workshop. This workshop offers didactic and experiential exercises designed to deepen participants’ knowledge of CAMS (specifically around the identification and use of drivers in CAMS care). It is intended for providers who have completed a CAMS Role Play Training or who have already accessed another CAMS training previously.
Note: 3 CEUs are available for attending the Advanced Drivers Training for psychologists, counselors, and social workers at an additional price. This CEU offering is managed through CAMS-Care directly. "CAMS Advanced Training- Drivers Focused Care" will be free of charge to all CAMS-trained DA/SSA staff, and is being generously funded by the Vermont Department of Mental Health through CHL the Vermont Suicide Prevention Center. Please indicate any accommodations requests in the Questions/Comments box.
Vermont First African Landing Day
Join the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance for Vermont First African Landing Day on Saturday, August 24 from 11am-6pm! There will be ethnic food, music, dancing, speakers, exhibits, drumming and youth activities. Special guests include spoken word artist, author. and activist Maximum Impact and attorney/expert advisor Nkechi Taifa, Esq. Cultural art, the Black Legacy Wall, and the 1619 Traveling Exhibit will be highlighted at the Richard Kemp Center.
Co-sponsored by VCPI.
Free tickets & event info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vermont-first-african-landing-day-tickets-937955930437?aff=oddtdtcreator
Seeing & Disrupting Racism (Mental Health Equity)
VCPI is pleased to welcome the Peace & Justice Center Facilitation Team who are offering a public workshop on Seeing & Disrupting Racism, followed up a week later by a community conversation. Come join us to learn about the Racial Empathy Gap and review some basic & necessary life skills, like making a good apology. Come talk to us about the way racism is showing up in your community and how we can all work together to dismantle it fully. Open to all, especially those who have provided or participated in mental healthcare.
Dates: Part 1 is June 18 from 6:30-8:30pm and Part 2 is June 25, from 6:30-8:30pm.
Location: Former Vermont College of Fine Arts; directions will be emailed to participants.
This free program - part of the Mental Health Equity series - presented by the Peace & Justice Center and hosted by VCPI, is made possible with funding from the Vermont Department of Health.
Learning Objectives
Understand the meaning and impact of racism, white fragility and white supremacy
Explore how you would handle past observations or actions of racism differently
Understand how to take accountability, make a good apology, and begin to repair harm
Explore the ways systemic racism shows up in the Medical Industrial Complex
Facilitator Biographies
Justice Elijah (she/her): I was born and raised in Bainbridge, GA, which I refer to as the Dirty South. I absolutely love being a Southern black woman with churchy roots; it is my foundation. I received my Bachelor of Arts in History from Columbus State University. I moved to Vermont in 2021 to serve as an AmeriCorps member. During my service, I needed additional income, and when I found out about the Peace and Justice Center, I jumped at the chance to make money and meet new people. I’ve always had a love for people and want others to fit comfortably in the spaces they are in. The workshops with PJC are often challenging and very emotional, transformative experiences. I’ve enjoyed my two years and some change as one of the facilitators. I can’t wait to meet you soon.
Bella Fearn (she/her): Her work spans elementary education, non-profit leadership, and community organizing, with a current focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Consulting, and campaign management. She is dedicated to identifying and dismantling systemic mechanisms of oppression by being an active co-conspirator. She strives to live in a society where our systems, actions, and behaviors honor our shared humanity. In her free time, you will find Bella in her garden, on her bicycle, or the ski slopes.
Kalé Camara (they/them): Kalé is a community organizer, facilitator, writer and artist based in Duxbury, VT. They are a black biracial nonbinary neurodivergent fiercely fabulous dreamer. They are the mixed race child of Guinean and Danish immigrants. They have been community organizing, and facilitating for 4 years, initially being radicalized in undergrad around migrant justice work, intersectional organizing, and community care work. They have studied and are informed by black, indigenous and queer resistance movements and liberatory struggles as well as transformative justice and black feminism. Kalé currently works as an antiracist facilitator at the Peace and Justice Center, and organizes with Huntington Open Women's Land Trust. In their free time they love to eat really good food, explore swimming holes around Vermont, or sit at the wood stove with their loved ones sipping a cup of tea and reading a book.
Elián González (they/them): I’m the brand new Director of Programs at the Peace & Justice Center. Since my arrival, I’ve started to build new peace programming, which I hope you will join me for! I got my start at the PJC as a member of the facilitation team. Teaching antiracist curriculum has been deeply transformative for me as a white passing mixed race person. I grew up in an extremely Catholic household with 5 siblings and a white mom and brown dad who didn’t talk about race, despite ongoing racial conflicts within the family (that I found out about later). In college I began to do my own racial unlearning, re-education, and identity formation process on my own. Working as a facilitator has really challenged me to go even deeper. I stay in the work because I truly believe that white people and people of color can live with each other in a way that honors, celebrates, and tends to our differences.
ASIST Training
Learn Suicide First Aid
This free training is hosted by the Vermont Collaborative for Practice Improvement & Innovation with support from the Vermont Department of Mental Health, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Vermont Chapter, Rotary Club of St. Albans, and United Way of Northwest Vermont. There are limited seats available. Priority will be given to applications submitted by April 26.
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
Date & Time: May 8 & 9, 2024 from 8:30am-4:30pm (in-person)
Location: United Way of Northwest Vermont Offices at 412 Farrell St # 200, South Burlington, VT 05403
Note: CEUs available for licensed professionals.
About ASIST
LivingWorks ASIST is a two-day in-person workshop featuring powerful audiovisuals, discussions, and simulations. At a LivingWorks ASIST workshop, you’ll learn how to recognize when someone may be thinking about suicide, and how to provide a skilled intervention and develop a safety plan with the person to connect them to further support. You will also consider how personal and community attitudes about suicide affect someone’s openness to seek help and your ability to provide it. This workshop will increase your willingness, confidence, and capacity to provide suicide first aid.Two knowledgeable, supportive trainers will guide you through the course, ensuring a comfortable and safe learning environment. For more information, visit the LivingWorks website.
From Climate Anxiety to Climate Resilience
If you are an educator, healer, mental health provider, or in another helping profession, climate anxiety has most likely entered your office or classroom.
How do you face these complex and emotionally charged conversations about climate change that fall beyond your training and scope of expertise?
How do you create climate conversations that are generative - not overly positive, but realistic and empowering?
How do you maintain your composure when you share the same overwhelming feelings as those you are trying to help?
As caring professionals, we are not climate scientists, we don’t need to engage in confrontation or political debates, we don’t need to tell people what to do, give answers or solutions, and we don’t have to fall into a spiral of despair with our clients, patients or students when discussions of catastrophic scenarios arise. We don’t have to drive major change. The biggest impact we can have is to be in genuine conversations, one-on-one or in small groups, and to serve as guides for deeper personal transformation, because inner and outer work are undeniably connected.
In this free workshop, we will explore tools to better equip practitioners to handle climate conversations. You will learn practices that can not only help the audience you serve, but also support you with your own experience. Join us on April 25 from 10-11am via Zoom.
Developing emotional intelligence, reframing, harnessing the power of language, embracing a prototyping mindset, building on strengths and exploring values, flow, mindfulness and intuition… These are a few of the tools that you will learn to use to help transform climate anxiety into climate resilience.
Learning Objectives
To raise awareness about climate anxiety, eco grief, and solastalgia
To highlight Positive Psychology, Appreciative Inquiry, Positive Intelligence, and other strengths-based approaches and how they can be applied to environmental mental health
To bring together various helping professions to learn from and support one another
To demonstrate some tools to shift from climate anxiety to climate resilience
To review a more in-depth 12-week program
About the Facilitator
Alexandra Arnold, MSPsych, ACC, is an ICF-accredited Climate Resilience Coach and Consultant. She has trained with Climate Change Coaches, is a member of the Climate Coaching Alliance, and participates in the She Changes Climate mentoring program. She holds a MS in Organizational Psychology from SNHU and a MS in Human Relations and Positive Organization Development from Champlain College. She has been a regular contributor and sits on the Editorial Board of the The International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry. She is also the Executive Consultant of the Taos Institute, a nonprofit educational organization promoting social constructionist, relational, and appreciative theory and practices. She is particularly drawn to helping people with High Sensory Sensitivity (HSPs), introverts and empaths navigate climate change. She lives in Montpelier, VT with her teen son and dog and loves biking, swimming in rivers, cross-country skiing, painting and spending time with horses. Find out more at www.almacoaching.org or email almacoachingusa@gmail.com.
How to Work with Interpreters?: Navigating Effective Interpreter Engagement
VCPI, with support from a grant through the Vermont Department of Health, is pleased to announce a new virtual asynchronous training as part of our mental health equity series:
How to Work with Interpreters?: Navigating Effective Interpreter Engagement
Uncover the nuances of working effectively with interpreters in various settings. From understanding their vital role to exploring strategies for building strong relationships, this presentation delves into the essentials of interpreter engagement. Gain insights into cultural competency, collaboration, and video scenarios that showcase the impact of effective interpreter services on diverse outcomes.
Cost: Free
EXTENDED Dates: Available online from April 8 - August 31, 2024.
Enrollment Instructions: Please be aware, once you press the "Enroll" button on this page, you will be asked to set up a username (your email address) and a unique private password for your Canvas account. Click here to register. (Learn more about VCPI’s Canvas learning management system here.)
Learning Objectives
Understand the crucial role of interpreters in promoting effective communication
Understand the role of interpreters in healthcare and community settings.
Explore strategies for promoting cultural competency and social justice and their significance in interpreter services.
Learn about the challenges faced by interpreters and ways where collaboration can help overcome them.
Gain insights into the impact of effective interpreter engagement on mental health and community well-being.
About the Instructor
Ana Cristina Saam completed her graduate studies in the field of student affairs at the University of Vermont. She is currently researching the quality of patient experience in Vermont healthcare settings and providing education to both healthcare providers and patients to understand best practices. Ana brings a wealth of experience in interpreting, cultural competency, and community outreach. With a background in health equity and restorative justice, Ana is passionate about ensuring effective communication in diverse settings. Her expertise in bridging language gaps and promoting cultural understanding has positively impacted healthcare, education, and community programs. As a certified legal and medical Spanish interpreter, Ana is dedicated to facilitating meaningful communication and advocating for the needs of diverse communities. Her commitment to social justice and well-being is evident in her multifaceted career, making her a valuable resource for anyone seeking to enhance interpreter engagement and language services.
If you have any questions, please contact Ana. This program was made possible with funding from the Vermont Department of Mental Health.
Mental Health First Aid for New Americans
In this customized Mental Health First Aid course, participants will learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help. This program, specifically for New Americans living in Chittenden County, is designed to offer basic information about mental health concepts, including education on what local mental health agencies are available and how they themselves or others may connect to these resources. This in-person series will take place over 3 consecutive weeks. The full curriculum can be found here. Funding for this program is provided by the Vermont Department of Health.
Trainers
Kya Adetoro
Aline Niyonzima-Mukiza
Registration is now closed. Please contact VCPI for information about future MHFA offerings.
OVX-VKAT Rally at the State House
VCPI is proud to co-coordinate this event with the Vermont Tobacco Control Program on February 13, 2024. Advisors can find the full schedule and logistical details on the TCP Basecamp.
For over twenty years, the TCP, with coordination and funding from the Agency of Education, has supported local high school chapters of Our Voices Xposed (OVX) and middle school chapters of Vermont Kids Against Tobacco (VKAT) . These programs strive to engage youth concerned about the impacts of the tobacco industry’s web of misinformation and deception. Education and information is a powerful strategy to help teens break free from tobacco and nicotine’s influence.
The Annual OVX/VKAT Youth State House Rally in Montpelier provides youth from around the state a platform to educate and inform key decision makers and fellow Vermonters about tobacco and nicotine related issues, as seen and experienced firsthand.
802 Youth Leadership Summit
We look forward to seeing OVX & VKAT Chapters (and aligned groups) for the 802 Youth Leadership Summit on Thursday, November 9 at VTSU Randolph, featuring learning & action opportunities around the harm caused by commercial tobacco and how we can expose the industry.
Registration is free; both a light breakfast and lunch are included. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/802youthsummit
Agenda & Workshop Descriptions
Youth/student participants will have the opportunity to attend workshops in the morning and afternoon along one of three tracks:
Storytelling & Communications (focused on storytelling and expressive empowered youth voice)
Social & Environmental Justice (focused on addressing commercial nicotine use as a social & environmental justice issue)
Leadership & Policy Development (focused on authentic voice in youth leadership and policy engagement)
8:15-9am: Arrival & Registration (light breakfast options & free swag!)
9am-10:15am: Welcome & Warm-Up Presentation
10:30-12pm: Workshop Session AM
12:15-1pm: Lunch (in campus dining hall)
1:15-2:45pm: Workshop Session PM
2:45pm: Departure
VCPI & Friends Rewilding (In-Person Fall)
Take some time outside just for you. Connect to what's within by going outdoors and connecting mindfully to the more-than-human world! Rewilding is a pathway to rediscover your deep connection to nature. It rekindles your bond and reminds you, you belong to an expansive community of beings. Rewilding reignites your primal vitality, your senses, and awareness, and research has shown positive effects on health, state of being, attention, and more. Slow down. Reach out to reach in. Be seen and heard by a community of individuals who share similar lived experiences, challenges, goals, and values.
This workshop is in person. Location details will be emailed to participants shortly before the workshop date. Please dress according to the weather, have bug spray or sunscreen as appropriate, and have a water bottle handy. There will be opportunities to sit down on the ground or find a stump or rock and participants may choose to bring a foam pad or blanket to sit on depending on their individual needs or preferences.Please dress according to the weather, have bug spray or sunscreen as appropriate, and have a water bottle handy. There will be opportunities to sit down on the ground or find a stump or rock and participants may choose to bring a foam pad or blanket to sit on depending on their individual needs or preferences. Hosted by Christine at OGGI BE.
Register here.
VCPI’s Environmental Mental Health Initiative was created due to the growing fears and concerns of climate change and its impacts on humans and the natural world. Our main goals of the initiative is to raise awareness regarding the issue of climate anxiety, as well as encouraging others to believe in and pursue a hopeful future. Utilizing resources and collaborative partnerships, VCPI Members can begin their environmental mental health journey by reconnecting themselves to their natural environment and taking action (in ways big or small) to help make a positive sustainable impact to themselves and the world we live in.
Navigating Climate Anxiety Workshop & VCPI Annual Meeting
Join us on Thursday, October 5 at the Langevin House at VTSU Randolph for an interactive workshop as part of VCPI's Annual Meeting featuring Dr. Suparna Choudhury and Dr. Joshua Moses.
Many people feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis and other social and environmental challenges. Finding resources and community connection to cope with increasing levels of uncertainty can be difficult. This workshop provides an overview of climate anxiety and other climate emotions while offering tools for working with clients, organizations, and communities experiencing climate-related distress. Participants will engage with each other to increase awareness of the different ways in which people experience climate anxiety. Topics include social and cultural context of climate anxiety, experiences throughout the lifecourse, how the mind/brain processes uncertainty, and developing collective capacity for working with climate anxiety. Participants will increase their ability to work with anxiety and grief around the climate crisis in clinical as well as community and organizational contexts.
"People are aware that they cannot continue in the same old way but are immobilized because they cannot imagine an alternative. We need a vision that recognizes that we are at one of the great turning points in human history when the survival of our planet and the restoration of our humanity require a great sea change in our ecological, economic, political, and spiritual values."
(Grace Lee Boggs)
Registration is free, required, and open to VCPI members and mental health practitioners, advocates, or graduate students. Breakfast & lunch are included. Seating is limited - please rsvp here.
Agenda
9:30am: Coffee & Welcoming
10am - 2pm: Workshop (with 1-hour break for lunch & networking)
Learning Goals
1. Deepen knowledge of ecoanxiety in adults and adolescents in clinical and educational contexts
2. Increase knowledge of working with climate anxiety in community and organizational contexts
3. Identify existing resources and strengthen coping skills for working with uncertainty
4. Acquire a set of ecoanxiety resources and tools for both practitioners and clients
Note: CEUs for allied mental health professionals and social work are pending.
Facilitator Biographies
Suparna Choudhury is an interdisciplinary researcher and writer, trained in cognitive neuroscience, transcultural psychiatry and creative writing. In her research, she examines the implications of the new brain sciences for health and society with a special interest in youth mental health and climate emotions. In her current role as Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Culture, Mind & Brain Program at McGill University in Montreal, she is focused on youth-led research on adolescent mental health, dignity and mental health, cities and psychosis and eco-anxiety.
www.suparnachoudhury.com
Joshua Moses is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Environmental studies at Haverford College and Visiting Faculty in the Department of Anthropology at University of Vermont. He has over 20 years of experience working on disaster mental health, climate-related distress, and community response to socio-ecological change. He is author of the book, Anxious Experts: Disaster Response and Spiritual Care from 9/11 to the Climate Crisis (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022), as well many articles on the social and environmental context of mental health.
https://www.haverford.edu/users/jmoses
VCPI & Friends Group Yoga Therapy (In-Person Fall)
This is something just for you. Try something new to connect deeply to you. Quiet the cognitive mind and tune into the body. Replenish the well within. Be seen and heard by a community of individuals who share similar lived experiences, challenges, goals, and values. This 90-minute workshop will begin with introductions and an explanation of the yoga therapy process and practice, and the power and possibilities of becoming profoundly present. Then, there will be 45 minutes of an embodied experience followed by a reflection/deepening practice (such as journaling). The group will close with a circle and integration. If you'd like, be prepared with your favorite journal!
Participants will:
learn about the yoga therapy process and why it works
explore the embodied practice in a safe and supportive environment
engage in a deepening activity, and
share and learn from one another in community.
This workshop is offered online and can be done from the safety and comfort of your personal space. The movement offering is tailored to the individuals who show up for the session and can be done seated if needed or desired. It's not necessary to purchase any equipment for this practice. Gathering a few pillows and blankets from around your home would be beneficial and supportive. If you think you may want to stand for portions of the practice, check first to ensure that you're not likely to slip on the carpet or flooring in your space (yoga mats can be used for this purpose if available). You should wear comfortable clothing in which you can move freely. While the embodiment experience is not intended to be vigorous, it's a good practice to be prepared with a bottle or glass of water. Hosted by Christine of OGGI BE and VCPI. Register here. Location details will be emailed to participants.
VCPI & Friends Rewilding (Online Summer)
Take some time outside just for you. Connect to what's within by going outdoors and connecting mindfully to the more-than-human world! Rewilding is a pathway to rediscover your deep connection to nature. It rekindles your bond and reminds you, you belong to an expansive community of beings. Rewilding reignites your primal vitality, your senses, and awareness, and research has shown positive effects on health, state of being, attention, and more. Slow down. Reach out to reach in. Be seen and heard by a community of individuals who share similar lived experiences, challenges, goals, and values.
In order to participate in this online workshop participants will need a cell phone or tablet and headphones. Participants must choose an outdoor location in which they are confident they will have cell phone reception. This rewilding experience be done in your backyard, in a nearby park, or on a favorite trail. A high-traffic location is not suggested. Please dress according to the weather, have bug spray or sunscreen as appropriate, and have a water bottle handy. There will be opportunities to sit down on the ground or find a stump or rock and participants may choose to bring a foam pad or blanket to sit on depending on their individual needs or preferences. Hosted by Christine at OGGI BE.
Register here.
VCPI’s Environmental Mental Health Initiative was created due to the growing fears and concerns of climate change and its impacts on humans and the natural world. Our main goals of the initiative is to raise awareness regarding the issue of climate anxiety, as well as encouraging others to believe in and pursue a hopeful future. Utilizing resources and collaborative partnerships, VCPI Members can begin their environmental mental health journey by reconnecting themselves to their natural environment and taking action (in ways big or small) to help make a positive sustainable impact to themselves and the world we live in.
VCPI & Friends Group Yoga Therapy (Online Spring)
This is something just for you. Try something new to connect deeply to you. Quiet the cognitive mind and tune into the body. Replenish the well within. Be seen and heard by a community of individuals who share similar lived experiences, challenges, goals, and values. This 90-minute workshop will begin with introductions and an explanation of the yoga therapy process and practice, and the power and possibilities of becoming profoundly present. Then, there will be 45 minutes of an embodied experience followed by a reflection/deepening practice (such as journaling). The group will close with a circle and integration. If you'd like, be prepared with your favorite journal!
Participants will:
learn about the yoga therapy process and why it works
explore the embodied practice in a safe and supportive environment
engage in a deepening activity, and
share and learn from one another in community.
This workshop is offered online and can be done from the safety and comfort of your personal space. The movement offering is tailored to the individuals who show up for the session and can be done seated if needed or desired. It's not necessary to purchase any equipment for this practice. Gathering a few pillows and blankets from around your home would be beneficial and supportive. If you think you may want to stand for portions of the practice, check first to ensure that you're not likely to slip on the carpet or flooring in your space (yoga mats can be used for this purpose if available). You should wear comfortable clothing in which you can move freely. While the embodiment experience is not intended to be vigorous, it's a good practice to be prepared with a bottle or glass of water. Hosted by Christine of OGGI BE and VCPI. Register here.
Tree Planting Day
You are invited to get your hands dirty for a good cause: VCPI is partnering with the Vermont Land Trust to help plant 1,000 trees! We know direct action is one of the most effective and engaging responses to eco-anxiety.
While many Vermont farms raise cows, sheep, or goats, LedgEnd Farm is unique in that it raises fallow deer. This conserved farm is in Middlebury along the Muddy Branch. Planting trees along the water will increase wildlife habitat, reduce invasive species presence, and support clean water.
In celebration of Green Up Day, VCPI and friends are volunteering on May 10 from 9 AM – 1 PM. We will have some extra shovels and gloves there, but if you have your own, please bring them. Also, consider bringing sturdy waterproof shoes, a sunhat, water, bug repellant, and snacks. Be sure to dress for the weather. We’ll bring the trees, provide lunch, and of course share lots of gratitude! Learn more and register here.
Climate Cafe (online)
As part of our Environmental Mental Health Initiative, VCPI is hosting a private climate café via Zoom on Wednesday, April 19, 6-7:30pm. You’re invited to join us and host Alexandra Arnold - a climate resilience coach (almacoaching.org) - who utilizes techniques rooted in positive psychology to help individuals shift from climate anxiety to inspired action. We’re going to be talking about eco-anxiety and climate distress.
This program is free and open to all - register here.
What is a climate café?
An informal, open, respectful, supportive, and confidential space (a “container”) to safely share emotions, responses, and reactions related to the current climate and environmental emergency.
A time for exploration of thoughts, feelings and experiences - rather than what we are DOING about the climate crisis.
A space for listening to one another and for a quiet, reflective experience - a haven from our usual busyness and fast-pace activities.
For a taste of what inspired this climate cafe, you may watch this 13-min TEDTalk: How to turn climate anxiety into action
Our goal is to create a relaxed atmosphere without judgment, shame, guilt or pressure, and to build climate resilience by reducing feelings of isolation and providing a sense of engagement, solidarity and support to our fellow community members. Come join us virtually – light a candle, bring some blankets, enjoy a hot beverage (tea, cocoa, coffee, etc.) – and settle in for a cozy & informal conversation worth having. Hope to see you there!
EnvironMENTAL Health Meetup
On March 30 at 3pm, join VCPI’s Emalee Garboski (Environmental Mental Health Education & Outreach Coordinator/ECO Americorps Member) and Gabriela Heermans (Policy & Programming Fellow) for an interactive conversation highlighting new efforts in two of our focus areas: eco-anxiety and mental health equity.
After the Q&A, join us for a gentle embodied mindfulness session.
This digital meetup to support your personal & professional well-being is free and open to all VCPI members and helpers!
Introduction to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (Adolescent)
Join us for an online introduction to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) workshop. This session on February 22 will focus on working with adolescent populations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will develop a deeper understanding of Dialectical Behavior Therapy theory and practice. This training will provide exposure to the history of DBT, the philosophical traditions it is grounded in and the structure of delivering the DBT treatment. Training objectives include providing an understanding of DBT principles, components of the therapy, DBT skills training (mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance & emotion regulation), change strategies, acceptance strategies, dialectical strategies, commitment strategies and behaviorism. The training will assist participants in conceptualizing cases through a DBT framework and implementing DBT strategies into practice.
TOPICS
- The development of DBT and its theoretical framework
- Dialectics
- Change Strategies
- Acceptance Strategies
- Modes of Treatment
- The structure of DBT including stages of treatment, the layout of individual sessions, an overview of consultation team meetings and the types of DBT skills taught in groups.
- The use of diary cards and chain analysis
- Treatment targets and hierarchy
- Dialectical Dilemmas
- Recent DBT developments and future directions
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Register online for this workshop. Please be sure you have the latest version of Zoom.
This training is hosted by the Vermont Cooperative for Practice Improvement & Innovation with support from the Department of Mental Health. CEUs will be avaliable for Allied Mental Health (OPR) as well as Psychology and Social Work.
TRAINERS
Megan Johnson Dunston, MS, LCMHC, is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, adjunct faculty member at the University of Vermont and co-founder of Meridian DBT Psychotherapy, PLC, a private practice that provides research-based outpatient psychotherapy services, including DBT coping skills groups, individual therapy, and consultation and supervision services. From 2006 until 2017, Megan was a clinician in the Crossroads program treatment team, providing partial hospital, intensive outpatient and outpatient services to adults using the Dialectical Behavior Therapy modality. In this capacity, she also served as the clinical site supervisor for master’s level interns. In addition to clinical work, Megan has led workshops for staff at Matrix Health Systems, the Howard Center, and the Northeastern Family Institute, as well as trainings for PESI, focusing on aspects of DBT (dialectics, contingency management, self-harm behavior, etc). Other areas of clinical interest pertain to conflict resolution, body image, self-efficacy beliefs, grief, parenting/pregnancy issues, intimate partner abuse and aging.
Kristina Syverson, MS, LCMHC is a licensed clinical mental health counselor specializing in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to provide outpatient treatment to adults and groups, particularly those experiencing borderline personality disorder, complex trauma, and treatment-resistant depression. Additionally, she currently serves as the consultant for the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Intensive Supervision & Consultation pilot project, initiated by the Department of Mental Health and facilitated by Vermont Cooperative for Practice Improvement & Innovation (VCPI). She earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Vermont (2017) and subsequently trained as an intern at the Crossroads Intensive Outpatient Program. Following her internship, Kristina was hired as a clinical mental health therapist for Crossroads before launching her private practice as part of the Meridian DBT & Psychotherapy Services group in 2018, where she continues to practice and actively participate in the comprehensive DBT treatment team.
Introduction to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (Adult)
Join us for an online introduction to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) workshop. This session on January 25 will focus on working with adult populations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will develop a deeper understanding of Dialectical Behavior Therapy theory and practice. This training will provide exposure to the history of DBT, the philosophical traditions it is grounded in and the structure of delivering the DBT treatment. Training objectives include providing an understanding of DBT principles, components of the therapy, DBT skills training (mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance & emotion regulation), change strategies, acceptance strategies, dialectical strategies, commitment strategies and behaviorism. The training will assist participants in conceptualizing cases through a DBT framework and implementing DBT strategies into practice.
TOPICS
- The development of DBT and its theoretical framework
- Dialectics
- Change Strategies
- Acceptance Strategies
- Modes of Treatment
- The structure of DBT including stages of treatment, the layout of individual sessions, an overview of consultation team meetings and the types of DBT skills taught in groups.
- The use of diary cards and chain analysis
- Treatment targets and hierarchy
- Dialectical Dilemmas
- Recent DBT developments and future directions
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Register online for this workshop. Please be sure you have the latest version of Zoom.
This training is hosted by the Vermont Cooperative for Practice Improvement & Innovation with support from the Department of Mental Health. CEUs will be avaliable for Allied Mental Health (OPR) as well as Psychology and Social Work.
TRAINERS
Megan Johnson Dunston, MS, LCMHC, is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, adjunct faculty member at the University of Vermont and co-founder of Meridian DBT Psychotherapy, PLC, a private practice that provides research-based outpatient psychotherapy services, including DBT coping skills groups, individual therapy, and consultation and supervision services. From 2006 until 2017, Megan was a clinician in the Crossroads program treatment team, providing partial hospital, intensive outpatient and outpatient services to adults using the Dialectical Behavior Therapy modality. In this capacity, she also served as the clinical site supervisor for master’s level interns. In addition to clinical work, Megan has led workshops for staff at Matrix Health Systems, the Howard Center, and the Northeastern Family Institute, as well as trainings for PESI, focusing on aspects of DBT (dialectics, contingency management, self-harm behavior, etc). Other areas of clinical interest pertain to conflict resolution, body image, self-efficacy beliefs, grief, parenting/pregnancy issues, intimate partner abuse and aging.
Kristina Syverson, MS, LCMHC is a licensed clinical mental health counselor specializing in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to provide outpatient treatment to adults and groups, particularly those experiencing borderline personality disorder, complex trauma, and treatment-resistant depression. Additionally, she currently serves as the consultant for the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Intensive Supervision & Consultation pilot project, initiated by the Department of Mental Health and facilitated by Vermont Cooperative for Practice Improvement & Innovation (VCPI). She earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Vermont (2017) and subsequently trained as an intern at the Crossroads Intensive Outpatient Program. Following her internship, Kristina was hired as a clinical mental health therapist for Crossroads before launching her private practice as part of the Meridian DBT & Psychotherapy Services group in 2018, where she continues to practice and actively participate in the comprehensive DBT treatment team.
Six Core Strategies Training (Session 3 online)
The Six Core Strategies training series is an evidence-based clinical model designed for use by institutions providing mental health treatment to individuals admitted to inpatient or residential settings. This program supports the implementation of a practice improvement initiative focused on prevention and reduction of coercive interventions, especially restraint and seclusion, as well as the promotion of trauma-informed care, recovery, person-driven care, and resiliency. A full course description is available here.
Dates: October 4; November 4; January 13 (9am-12pm) online via Zoom
Registration is free for Designated Hospital staff and CEUs are available. This program is sponsored by a grant from the Vermont Department of Mental Health.
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/6CS_Advanced_Registration_2022
Trainers: Kevin Huckshorn, PhD MSN, RN, ICRC & Janice LeBel, PhD, ABPP
In addition to these workshops, the trainers will be available to schedule customized technical assistance and consultation sessions with individual hospital units/teams and will be hosting open office hours as well. VCPI is also developing a series of on-demand virtual onboarding 6CS modules for new staff which will be available in 2023.
Mental Health & the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Signing Communities
This free virtual workshop for behavioral health providers & peers is hosted by VCPI and Vancro Integrated Interpreting Services. This training is designed for hearing/non-signing practitioners to learn more about best practices for working with the DHHDB community utilizing a health equity framework. Topics will include:
- Deaf culture
- Roles/responsibilities of ASL interpreters in a mental health setting
- Partnering with the therapist and supporting therapeutic goals and relationship between therapist and client (engagement and inclusion, session pre- and debriefing)
- Impact of mediated communication in therapeutic settings
- Requesting an interpreter
and more!
VIIS is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business led by interpreters. VCPI is an independent nonprofit cooperative with a mission to impact professional & workforce development across Vermont's system of care.
This program has been approved for CEUs for Allied Mental Health Professionals.
Six Core Strategies Training (Session 2 online)
The Six Core Strategies training series is an evidence-based clinical model designed for use by institutions providing mental health treatment to individuals admitted to inpatient or residential settings. This program supports the implementation of a practice improvement initiative focused on prevention and reduction of coercive interventions, especially restraint and seclusion, as well as the promotion of trauma-informed care, recovery, person-driven care, and resiliency. A full course description is available here.
Dates: October 4; November 4; January 13 (9am-12pm) online via Zoom
Registration is free for Designated Hospital staff and CEUs are available. This program is sponsored by a grant from the Vermont Department of Mental Health.
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/6CS_Advanced_Registration_2022
Trainers: Kevin Huckshorn, PhD MSN, RN, ICRC & Janice LeBel, PhD, ABPP
In addition to these workshops, the trainers will be available to schedule customized technical assistance and consultation sessions with individual hospital units/teams and will be hosting open office hours as well. VCPI is also developing a series of on-demand virtual onboarding 6CS modules for new staff which will be available in 2023.
One Green Thing: A Conversation on Eco-Anxiety (online)
Growing anxieties around the climate crisis must be acknowledged and addressed in order to create a positive change for the future of environmental policy – but where do we start? Heather White, author and founder of One Green Thing, says, “It starts with YOU.”
Join the Vermont Cooperative for Practice Improvement & Innovation as we host White for our inaugural Fall Conversation on Wednesday, October 19 at 7pm (online via Zoom). This talk/Q&A is free and open to all.
Taking on an issue as consequential as environmental mental health can feel less overwhelming when you have meaningful support. White provides a framework for impactful action on eco-anxiety through her book, events, resources, and blog. In addition to sharing a safe space safe space for her audience to cope with climate anxiety - her writing and personal assessment tools also offer the means to do something about it. The takeaway? Getting involved in eco-justice is one of the strongest coping mechanisms one can have against eco-anxiety.
Learn how to identify and harness your service super power - an empowering way to start your eco-justice journey. If you would like to learn more about the ideas and perspectives White has to offer, join us on October 19 at 7pm and check out her website at www.onegreenthing.org.
Current Northern Vermont University/Vermont State Colleges students are eligible to receive a free copy of "One Green Thing."
Register here: https://form.jotform.com/vtcpi/one-green-thing
Hosted by VCPI with support from the Vermont Department of Health, Phoenix Books, and Northern Vermont University.
Six Core Strategies Training (Session 1 online)
The Six Core Strategies training series is an evidence-based clinical model designed for use by institutions providing mental health treatment to individuals admitted to inpatient or residential settings. This program supports the implementation of a practice improvement initiative focused on prevention and reduction of coercive interventions, especially restraint and seclusion, as well as the promotion of trauma-informed care, recovery, person-driven care, and resiliency. A full course description is available here.
Dates: October 4; November 4; January 13 (9am-12pm) online via Zoom
Registration is free for Designated Hospital staff and CEUs are available. This program is sponsored by a grant from the Vermont Department of Mental Health.
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/6CS_Advanced_Registration_2022
Trainers: Kevin Huckshorn, PhD MSN, RN, ICRC & Janice LeBel, PhD, ABPP
In addition to these workshops, the trainers will be available to schedule customized technical assistance and consultation sessions with individual hospital units/teams and will be hosting open office hours as well. VCPI is also developing a series of on-demand virtual onboarding 6CS modules for new staff which will be available in 2023.
VCPI Annual Meeting (online)
Please save the date for VCPI's annual meeting, to be held on Thursday, September 22. We've shifted from our original plan to gather at Northern Vermont University-Johnson to an online format, with three virtual sessions (including breaks in-between). Please see the full agenda below:
Conversations About Nicotine Cessation & Prevention: Strategies for Behavioral Health Providers
10:30-11:30am via Zoom.
This presentation will provide an overview Vermont Tobacco Control Program, both the prevention and cessation work being done by this team. A deeper look at cessation, especially in the behavioral health population in Vermont, will also be provided in this presentation. The goal is to provide some resources and information, and then open the floor for a robust discussion.
Dana Bourne, MPH is the Tobacco Treatment Specialist with the Tobacco Control Program in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department at the Vermont Department of Health. She has been in this role since July 2020. She received her MPH from The University of Vermont in 2018, and her undergraduate Biochemistry degree from Saint Michael's College in 2014. She previously worked at The University of Vermont doing both biochemistry research on blood coagulation, as well as clinic research on Type 2 Diabetes. Dana is a life-long Vermonter who loves to be spend time in nature.
Mindfulness: The History, Practice, and Use of Cultivating Mindful Awareness
12:00-1:00pm via Zoom.
What is mindfulness? Where does it come from? And how has it appeared in so many contemporary Western institutions, from schools and prisons to corporate meetings and military training? How is mindfulness studied by contemporary neuroscientists and social psychologists, and what are their findings? Marlboro College professor William Edelglass traces the history of various forms of mindfulness from multiple traditions, starting with early Buddhist texts and ending with the secularization of mindfulness in contemporary American society.
Self-Care for Helpers: A Workshop
1:15-2:00pm
Join VCPI ED Alex Lehning, MA for an engaging exploration of mindful self-care designed specifically for folks involved in helping work in all forms. Learn more about how you can plan to sustain your own well-being, and in turn, support your essential work in mental health and healthcare. The session will include a brief meditation practice. No previous experience is required.
You can register for all three sessions utilizing the same meeting link via Zoom. VCPI’s annual meeting is free & open to all.
Note: Current members will receive an emailed ballot for elections to our Leadership Team.
Leadership & Learning (online)
We're discussing "Leadership & Learning" for VCPI's next Co-Op Cafe on Tuesday, August 30 at 12pm. Join us for a conversation with our ED Alex Lehning as we explore the connections between leadership, curiosity, and mindfulness. Bring your questions and ideas (as well as your lunch) for an engaging and thoughtful digital discussion around new definitions for leadership in mental health/healthcare. A one-hour certificate of attendance will be available for all participants.
This program will be hosted via Zoom and is free & open to all. RSVP here.
Vermont Mad Pride 2022
Vermont Mad Pride is a march and celebration organized by psychiatric survivors, consumers, mad people and folks the world has labeled "mentally ill." Mad Pride is about challenging discrimination, advocating for rights, affirming mad identities, remembering and participating in mad history, and having fun. Our lives and contributions are valuable and need celebration!
VCPI is pleased to co-sponsor this event.
Schedule
The march run will run from 12:00 to 1:00pm beginning at Church St. & Main St (meet at noon) and ending at Battery Park, with additional programming from 1:00 to 3:00pm.
Accommodations
ASL interpreters will be provided, other accommodations available on request. Please fill out this form to indicate any additional accommodation requests including (and not limited to) transportation, food allergies, language access, etc.
Tickets
For registration information, click here; to get involved please email Ericka Reil: ericka@anotherwayvt.org
Mindful Practice Meetup (hybrid event)
VCPI members and educational/community partners are invited to join us for a summer session on "Mindful Practice" as we explore ways to integrate reflection and intention into our personal and professional lives. Planned activities include a gentle yoga session, an introductory workshop on meditation, and time for networking and sharing resources and activities to support your essential work in mental health.
Since our founding in 2013, VCPI has hosted a series of membership meetings each year to explore topics in workforce & professional development. We paused those in-person gatherings to help ensure the safety of our members and in accordance with public health guidelines in response to COVID-19.
We're so pleased to announce that we are resuming this programming in a hybrid format for 2022. There are two options for attendance on Friday, July 15:
1) Join us IN-PERSON at Cohen Park on Lake Champlain in St. Albans from 9am-12pm (limited to 25 participants); light snacks are included
2) Join us online for a VIRTUAL session from 2-4pm via Zoom
This program is free of charge. Register here.