Introduction to the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
A continuing education training for mental health professionals with Dr. Kelley Posner Gerstenhaber

An introduction and overview of the most widespread standardized suicide assessment tool (C-SSRS), a science-driven screening model to accurately assess suicidality, determine the risk level, and offer appropriate support.

Learn directly from the developer of the tool herself, Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber, Ph.D., clinical professor of medical psychology at Columbia University. She is the director of The Columbia Lighthouse Project, a nonprofit with a mission to teach the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to therapists and clinicians.

Learning Objectives:
Describe the benefit of regular suicide screening.
Discuss the steps in suicide screening using the C-SSRS.

Presenter Bio

Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber, PhD is a Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University. She is the Director of The Columbia Lighthouse Project. The project’s goal is to disseminate the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), a tool to assess risk for suicide, the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauge the level of support that the person needs.

Accreditation Statement:
CE Credits: 1.5
The Wellness Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. TWI maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
The New York State Education Department recognizes the Wellness Institute as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed Psychologists, LMSWs, LCSWs, LMHCs and LMFTs.
Social Workers, LMFTs, and LPC/LMHC in many states can satisfy their continuing education requirements at this event. Contact [email protected] for more information.
For beginner, intermediate, and advanced professionals.
The Wellness Institute, the event planners, and the presenters receive no commercial support for this program.

About this event
Being a parent and a caregiver of a neurodivergent child can be challenging and overwhelming. They display many “abnormal behaviors,” may struggle to communicate their emotions, needs, and wants, and have difficulty relating to others and understanding the world around them.

Many people approach Neurodivergent children by trying to fix and eliminate their “abnormal behavior.” Dr. Barry Prizant thinks otherwise.

Uniquely Human: Understanding and supporting neurodivergent children (ASD, ADHD, OCD, Tourette Syndrome, and others)
with a leading authority in Autism and Neurodivergence, Dr. Barry Prizant.
Dr. Barry M. Prizant, Ph.D., has over 50 years of experience in autism and neurodivergence and has developed the SCERTS model and the Uniquely Human approach. He believes that understanding how neurodivergent children brains’ function and why they do the things they do can guide parents and caregivers be there for them in the best way possible.

Parents and Teachers will learn a new perspective and vital insights on how to support neurodivergent children and discover strategies for school and home environments that will help neurodivergent children succeed.

Educational Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to identify three behavioral patterns in autism that have been inaccurately identified as “deviant” rather than “unique”, and will apply treatment implications of this new perspective.

2. Participants will identify and apply strategies to support students and parents in schools and at home that emphasize a uniquely human perspective.

Produced by the Wellness Institute, a division of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI)

Speaker Bio

Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP, is among the world’s leading authorities on autism, and is recognized as an innovator of respectful, person- and family-centered approaches for individuals with autism and neurodevelopmental disabilities. With close to fifty years of experience as a scholar, researcher, and international consultant, he is an adjunct professor of communication disorders at the University of Rhode Island, a certified speech-language pathologist and director of Childhood Communication Services, a private practice. Barry is coauthor of The SCERTS Model: A Comprehensive Educational Approach, now being implemented in more than a dozen countries.

He has published four books, more than 130 articles and chapters and has received many awards, including the Honors of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (their highest recognition), the Princeton University Eden Foundation career award in autism and the “Divine Neurotypical Award” of GRASP, the world’s largest autistic self-advocacy organization. He has been a two time featured presenter at the United Nations on World Autism Awareness Day.

Barry lives in Cranston, Rhode Island, with his wife, Dr. Elaine Meyer, a clinical psychologist and nurse, and Associate Professor in the Harvard Medical School. Barry is a performing percussionist and has a specific interest in the impact of the arts on enhancing quality of life for individuals with disabilities and their families. He sits on the boards of two inclusive theatre companies co-founded by and including autistic actors.

Voices of Resilience: Finding Hope and Strength in the Face of Mental Health Challenges.

Hear the moving stories of an educator, therapist and consultant, whose families faced mental health challenges with strength and resilience.

What supported them through their ordeal? Which resources did they turn to? How did they and their children heal and grow?

Witness firsthand their journey of healing and growth, each having navigated through their own crises and offering unique perspectives.

This event is moderated by Christina Pascucci, an Emmy Award-Winning Reporter & Anchor.

The event is geared toward parents/guardians, and youth-serving professionals.

This event is produced by The Wellness Institute, a division of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) and The Blue Dove Foundation.

The Explosive Child: Collaborative & Proactive Solutions to Out-of-Control Behavior
with Dr. Ross Greene, originator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model.

Dr. Greene’s collaborative, non-punitive, non-adversarial approach helps parents reduce conflict, enhance parent-child communication, and forge a partnership with their kids, and also helps foster skills on the more positive side of human nature: empathy, appreciating how one’s behavior is affecting others, resolving disagreements in ways that do not involve conflict, taking another’s perspective, and honesty.

Learning Objectives:
– Describe the five paradigm shifts/key themes of the CPS model, and how the model focuses on problems (and solving them) rather than on the behaviors that are being caused by those problems (and modifying them); the advantages of collaborative (rather than unilateral) problem solving; and the importance of proactive (rather than reactive) intervention.
– Describe the three basic mechanisms by which adults handle unsolved problems and unmet expectations in kids (Plans A, B, and C) and what is accomplished by each

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Ross Greene is the New York Times bestselling author of the influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Raising Human Beings, and Lost & Found.

He is the originator of the innovative, evidence-based approach called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) described in these books. The CPS model provides a compassionate, accurate understanding of kids with concerning behaviors and a non-punitive, non-adversarial approach for reducing those behaviors, solving problems, enhancing skills, improving communication, and repairing relationships. Dr. Greene also developed and executive produced the award-winning feature-length documentary The Kids We Lose, a film about the counterproductive, often inhumane ways in which kids with concerning behaviors are treated — treatment that often pushes them into the pipeline to prison — and the difficulties and frustrations often faced by their parents, educators, and other caregivers (learn more at www.thekidswelose.com).

Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now founding director of the non-profit Lives in the Balance (www.livesinthebalance.org), which provides free, web-based resources on the CPS approach and advocates on behalf of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges and their caregivers. He is also adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.

Dr. Greene and his colleagues consult extensively to families, schools, and treatment facilities, and lecture widely throughout the world. He has been featured in a wide range of media, including The Oprah Show, Good Morning America, The Morning Show, National Public Radio, The Atlantic, Mother Jones magazine, and various professional journals. He lives in Freeport, Maine.

The Summit is a live two-day virtual training featuring eight of the world’s leading experts in suicide prevention. It is designed to strengthen clinicians’ skills and help them provide caring and effective services to individuals at risk for suicide and their families. The event is hosted by The Wellness Institute (TWI) in collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the Zero Suicide Institute, and the Jed Foundation.

Learning Objectives
Discuss the factors that lead to suicidal thoughts and behavior and the interventions that are proven to reduce suicidal behavior.
Explain the Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model of Suicidal Behaviour
Discuss evidence-based interventions and protective factors for suicidal behavior in Teens.
Describe how to use a chain analysis to develop a safety plan and treatment plan.
Participants will be able to articulate the potential effects of digital media use on neural development.
Participants will be able to list up to 10 different ways that technology use may influence psychological adaptation.
Describe the relationship between insomnia and suicide and the value of treating insomnia in persons at risk for suicide.
Describe how 988 and crisis centers can support practitioners’ work and their patients.
Describe the research, findings, and clinical methods of family-focused therapy, an outpatient program for adolescents and adults with or at risk for bipolar disorder.
Explain cultural awareness, cultural competence, and cultural humility and how they differ.
Describe how a cultural humility approach can be used to reduce interactional barriers in clinical settings.
Provide a case example of how to assess for suicidal ideation, behavior, and risk.
Describe how to engage family in clinical work with a person with suicide risk factors.

More info at www.wellnessinstitute.org/clinicaltraining

Left to Their Own Devices
Helping Children use Social Media Responsibly

About this event
A live conversation with Dr. Devorah Heitner, Ph.D., social media and technology expert.

Dr. Heitner, an internationally recognized speaker, will guide parents through the challenges of cultivating responsible social media habits in youth through her mentoring vs. monitoring model. In an era dominated by digital influence, this workshop is crucial for understanding and addressing the impact of social media on our children.

Produced by the Wellness Institute, a division of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI)

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text the new three-digit, 24-hour hotline of the US Government and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 to be connected to a trained suicide crisis counselor.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Devorah Heitner earned her Ph.D. in social media and technology from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern. Dr. Heitner is an international speaker appearing in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN Opinion. She is the author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive in their Digital World and Growing up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World.

BeWell Together
Uniting The South Florida Jewish Community for Our Youth’s Mental Wellbeing

About this event
Welcome to The Wellness Institute and Greater Miami Jewish Federation Be Well Initiative’s inaugural Be Well Together Summit, a transformative event uniting the Greater Miami community to champion the mental wellness of our youth. Delve into cutting-edge research on spirituality and mental health, resilience, and healthy attachments. Gain insights from practitioners shaping youth mental health and be inspired by those who conquered challenges.

This Summit isn’t just about knowledge; it’s a gateway to practical solutions. Discover actionable tools for a more meaningful and stress-free life. A dedicated track for teens and young adults ensures these tools reach those who need them most, shaping a future where mental wellness is paramount.

Elevate your well-being, empower our youth, and be part of a movement transforming lives in the heart of Greater Miami.

Our Goal:
At the Summit, we hope to decrease the stigma surrounding mental illness, draw awareness to mental wellbeing, and encourage the implementation of evidence-based practices to promote mental health and wellness. The summit will encourage community leaders to play a more active role in the wellness and recovery of their community members, parents and educators to incorporate more evidence-based interventions into their classrooms and homes, and teens to take an active role in their own and their peer’s wellbeing.

Accreditation Statement:
CE Credits: 3.0
The Wellness Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. TWI maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
The APA is a Florida Board Approved provider of CE for Psychologists, Social Workers, LMFTs, and Professional Counselors.
Attendees must participate in the entire program to be eligible for CE credit.
For beginner, intermediate, and advanced professionals.
The Wellness Institute, the event planners, and the presenters receive no commercial support for this program.