“In Search of a Safer World”
Conference Agenda
May 17, 2013
The University Club
(University of Pittsburgh Campus)
8:00 A.M.
REGISTRATION
8:30 A.M.
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
9:00 A.M.
KEYNOTES
In Search of a Safer World: How Can We Protect Our Youth from Gun Violence?
David A. Brent, M.D., Academic Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric
Institute and Clinic, Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics & Epidemiology, University of
Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, and Director, STAR-Center (Services for Teens at Risk)
There will be a brief break between Keynotes
“At Least Do No Harm”---School Safety Practices to Avoid
Mary Margaret Kerr, Ed.D., Professor and Chair, Administrative and Policy Studies, School of
Education, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology in Education, University of Pittsburgh
11:45 A.M.
LUNCH (On Your Own)
12:45 P.M.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS (See following pages)
2:00 P.M.
BREAK
2:15 P.M.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS REPEAT
3:30 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT
STAR-Center is funded by an appropriation from the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The University of
Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.
2/14/13
Keynote Address: In Search of a Safer World: How Can We Protect Our Youth from Gun Violence?
David A. Brent, M.D., Academic Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Director, Services for Teens at Risk
(STAR-Center), UPMC Endowed Chair, Suicide Studies, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
In this keynote, Dr. David Brent will review the relationship between gun storage and availability and violent death
in young people, including: suicide, homicide, and accidental death. The impact of legislation and firearms
counseling on gun mortality and gun storage will also be reviewed. Recommendations for clinical counseling on
method restriction and storage, policy, and further research will be advanced.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
Describe the relationship between method availability and risk for suicide, homicide and accidental death.
Explain the impact of changes in availability on method use and firearms morbidity and mortality.
Discuss implications for clinical care.
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Keynote Address: “At Least Do No Harm” ---School Safety Practices to Avoid
Mary Margaret Kerr, Ed.D., Professor and Chair, Administrative and Policy Studies, University of Pittsburgh,
School of Education
In the wake of recent school violence, communities press for tighter security in K-12 schools. As a result, schools
may hurriedly adopt practices not only inappropriate but harmful. Using the latest research to date on school
safety, this presentation outlines practices to avoid and offers alternatives to improve school safety.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Identify school safety practices that are inappropriate and potentially harmful.
2. Identify more appropriate alternatives to unsafe practices.
3. Locate sources that can offer credible guidance for future school safety planning.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT WORKHSOPS
A. Workshop Title: Hope and Healing for Children with Traumatic Grief (Intermediate)
Judith A. Cohen, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine, Allegheny General
Hospital Department of Psychiatry
This training will present a brief overview of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for
children with traumatic grief and highlight new resources to assist mental health professionals in
implementing TF-CBT for these children, including a family video, books, information sheets and tip sheets for
children, parents and educators.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Describe the core TF-CBT trauma- and grief-focused components
2. Describe three new traumatic grief resources for children and parents
3. Describe a new traumatic grief resource for educators
2/14/13
B. Workshop Title: “What’s in Your Backpack?” (Intermediate)
William Davies, Ed.D., Program Manager, WPIC Child & Adolescent Educational Services
Melissa Guna, M.Ed., Evaluator Clinician Supervisor, WPIC Adolescent Acute Partial Hospitalization Program
Shirley Lyle, B.S.Ed., Developmental Specialist, WPIC Adolescent Acute Partial Hospitalization Program
This program is an interactive session designed to simulate the experience of adolescents with multiple mental
health concerns.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a better understanding and appreciation of the burdens that adolescents bring with
them to school.
2. Discuss how a deeper appreciation for such burdens leads to a safer and more respectful school
environment.
3. Reflect upon their session experience and start the process of changing their approach towards
adolescents with mental health concerns.
C. Workshop Title: Managing Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Teens (Intermediate)**
Please note when registering for this workshop that it is a 2 ½ hour workshop; therefore, you will select only
one workshop on your registration form.
Tina Goldstein, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Kimberly Poling, LCSW, Clinical Program Manager, STAR-Center
This two and a half hour workshop will provide tools to help clinicians understand the motivations underlying
self-injurious behavior. Next we will discuss important clinician characteristics that help engage youth to
effectively work on changing behavior. Additionally, we will review and practice assessment and treatment
interventions.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Describe common motivations underlying non-suicidal self-injurious behavior in teens.
2. Identify clinician characteristics that impact treatment outcomes for self-injurious behaviors in teens.
3. Implement strategies for assessing non-suicidal self-injurious behavior in teens.
D. Workshop Title: “What Keeps our Kids Up at Night”—Tips for Handling Anxiety in School
(Introductory)
Holly Harmon, LCSW, Clinician, STAR-Center
This workshop discusses the various ways that anxiety presents in schools for teenagers and children, and how
school staff can respond.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Identify several types of anxiety and how it manifests in the school.
2. Develop basic skills to use with anxious children.
3. Identify ways to intervene with children in crisis.
2/14/13
E. Workshop Title: Cyberbullying and Social Media Awareness for Professionals Working with
Children and Teens (Introductory)
Ryan Klingensmith, LPC, NCC, MA, Addiction Medicine Services, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Cyberbullying is affecting many youths. With the increasing availability of social media sites and the advances
in Smartphone technology, youths are subjected to cyberbullying wherever they carry their phones. This
presentation will identify ways youth are being bullied and unsafe practices they are sharing related to mental
health and addiction.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Define cyberbullying based upon the Web 2.0 generation.
2. Identify areas of the Web 2.0 that may be hidden from adults but that are actively being used by
youths such as sharing images of eating disorders, addiction, self harm, their body and suicide.
3. Describe current prevention and intervention programs and best practices related to cyberbullying.
F. Workshop Title: Mental Health Disparities Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth: Research
Findings and Implications for Prevention and Treatment (Introductory)
Michael P. Marshal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Licensed Clinical Psychologist,
University of Pittsburgh
This introductory workshop will provide clinicians with information regarding: (1) common definitions of
sexual orientation, (2) current scientific evidence for mental health disparities among sexual minority youth,
(3) minority stress theory, and central mechanisms of risk for sexual minority youth, (4) and how to
conceptualize problems and approaches to treatment using the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy framework.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Describe in general terms the degree and types of mental health disparities among sexual minority
youth.
2. Describe Minority Stress Theory and the central mechanisms of risk for mental health disparities
among sexual minority youth.
3. Describe how research and theory informs the conceptualization of risk for sexual minority youth in
the context of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy framework.
G. Workshop Title: Safety Planning with Self-Injurious Youth in a Clinical and School Setting: Best
Practice Recommendations and Cautions (Intermediate)
Paula S. McCommons, Ed.D., Director, STAR-Center Outreach
Brian W. McKain, RN, MSN, CNS, Clinician, STAR-Center
This interactive workshop will explore the purpose of safety planning for self-injurious youth in a clinical and
school setting. The components and process of developing a safety plan will be described and demonstrated.
The importance of involving and educating parents and/or caregivers in the implementation of the safety pan
will be addressed. Also discussed, will be the appropriateness and limitations of safety plans.
2/14/13
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Identify and explain the components of a safety plan for suicidal and self-injurious youth.
2. Distinguish when a safety plan may or may not be appropriate for self-injurious youth.
3. Describe how to collaborate with parents and caregivers in the implementation of the safety plan.
H. Workshop Title: Treating Sleep to Improve Emotional Health and Functioning in Teens
Dana L. McMakin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine,
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Melissa Milbert, MS, NCC, LPC, Psychiatric Specialty Counselor, Research Coordinator
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Many adolescents receive insufficient sleep, which can interfere with health and development. Teens with
emotional difficulties are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of sleep loss, and sleep problems have
been shown to lead to escalating psychiatric symptoms. We present emerging research and clinical
opportunities for targeting sleep as a strategy for improving emotional functioning and development.
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Identify common causes and consequences of adolescent sleep loss; and consider how improving sleep
could improve emotional health and development.
2. Identify and assess for problems with sleep that are common in adolescents with anxious or depressive
tendencies
3. Use basic behavioral interventions to address problems with sleep among teens experiencing
anxiety/depression and difficulties with sleep.
2/14/13