Enrollment is now closed
for the School for Transformative Mental Health

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO JOINED US!

LIVE, VIRTUAL TRAININGS

OFFERED FEBRUARY-APRIL 2020

At the Institute for the Development of Human Arts, we educate people on rights-based, peer-centered, and holistic mental health practices. How? By ditching the “medicate and separate” paradigm, applying a critical lens to what we consider mental illness, and teaching the most supportive, liberatory, and transformative practices out there.

If you work in the mental health field, you’re probably aware that current mental health practices are driven by a reductionistic and outdated model that reduces emotional distress to mere disorders of the brain. Leading researchers, psychiatrists, activists, and even representatives of the United Nations have spoken out about the re-traumatizing treatment, inefficacy of medical intervention, subjectivity and arbitrary nature of diagnosis, and pathologization of emotional distress, ushering in a new wave of resistance from those within and outside the field. 

We are now at an exciting juncture, with the potential for humane, holistic, and transformative models of mental health to saturate the way we work, live, and support those in need. But to do this, we need all hands on deck!

This LIVE, online-only series will introduce participants to a set of transformative frameworks, collaborative strategies, and radical practices for understanding mental health. Firmly grounded in the voices and expertise of those with lived experience, we are advancing a new narrative that breaks down power asymmetries, creates space for critical dialogue, and acknowledges the societal and structural factors that contribute to inequity, trauma, and mental health. 

We will cover a variety of alternative perspectives from experts, authors, leaders, and individuals with first-hand experience. Participants will learn how to incorporate these frameworks into their practice, transforming them into powerful agents of change.

OUR COMPREHENSIVE SERIES WILL ENABLE YOU TO:

✓ Explore frameworks that combine human rights perspectives, peer support strategies, and holistic practices that liberate rather than separate

✓ Integrate skills and practices from experts, authors, leaders, and individuals with first-hand experience about how to practice transformative mental health care

✓ Challenge systemic and institutional power

✓ Reconsider personal biases, perspectives, and practices that hinder personal and collective transformation 

✓ Connect with others in the movement, becoming part of a growing community of mental health workers and activists

✓ Become a change-maker in their field

WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT OUR APPROACH?

At IDHA, we value lived experience as highly as professional training, so each course will be led by both a mental health clinician as well as a someone who identifies as a survivor, a mental health service user, and/or someone who has experienced a mental health crisis. This means participants receive holistic and nuanced perspectives from experts by trade and experts by experience.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

This course is for mental health professionals, including but not limited to: clinicians, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, peer specialists, recovery support specialists, housing specialists, nurse practitioners and medical professionals, students. and anyone who works or plans to work with and around people who experience mental health-related issues

Time:

12pm - 2Pm EST

Location:

vritual / ZOOM

Classes:

From Trauma-Informed to Healing-Centered: Relational Approaches for Building Resilience and Advancing Social Justice

FEBRUARY 2, 2020 

Our Struggles are Intertwined: Intersections of Mental Health and Oppression

MARCH 14, 2020

Peer Specialists AT Work: Advocacy and Supervision Strategies

APRIL 4, 2020

Our early family dynamics and peer relationships shape our view of self, others, and community. Any effective healing modality must appreciate the relational impacts of developmental trauma and adversity. This class will focus on the relational impact of trauma as it pertains to relationships, perceptual frameworks, attachment, and healing. This class will also include a social justice framework, exploring the ways in which the relational impacts of trauma show up in mental health and social service workplace settings.

After this class, you will be able to:

• Understand the relational impacts of trauma

• Know how to identify how trauma alters perceptions, world views, and a sense of community

• Understand the relationship between structural oppression and trauma

• Incorporate a social justice framework into clinical interventions

• Understand how the mental health and social service systems replicate trauma, and how to change that dynamic

• Understand how early relational frameworks impact the clinical setting and therapist/client relationship

The beginnings of the mad movement drew inspiration from other liberation movements of the time period, including the civil rights, women’s liberation, gay rights, and disability rights movements. This class will provide a historical analysis of how systems of oppression have impacted different marginalized groups’ interaction with the mental health system. Today, activism has take an intersectional approach to building a movement, with all points of oppression and identities being taken into consideration. This approach will be critical for the radical mental health movement and how we operate as change agents in the mental health system.  “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” – Lilla Watson.

After this class, you will be able to:

• Locate yourself within social and political contexts through a discussion of identities

• Identify the various systems of oppression present in the United States

• Understand the importance of an intersectional approach to making change in the mental health system

• Apply a structural lens to mental health and the medical system

The peer specialist role has gained a lot of ground in the mental health system over the past 20 years. What used to be a volunteer position has grown to offer competitive employment both part time and full-time positions – oftentimes with benefits. But this growth has been accompanied by a set of challenges.

Because the profession hasn’t been overseen by one entity, peer work has been interpreted in ways that leave peer workers unclear about their role, and management unclear about how to best supervise them.

This class will discuss:

• The social service landscape and cultural factors that affect the efficacy of peer support

• The peer "role" verses the peer "job"

• Hiring and supervision for peer positions

• Trauma-informed values and the key role they play in (peer) employee satisfaction and accountability

Participants will acquire the following:

• Tools to align the peer role with services provided in order to create a contributive peer job

• Trauma-informed workplace practices, from hiring to accountability

• Strategies and conversations to help close the gap between what should be happening and what is actually happening

Where are the classes held?

Classes will be held virtually via Zoom. Be sure to download the Zoom software onto your computer in advance of the training!

Can I join if I'm outside the country? 

Yes! We are pleased to expand our online trainings to reach more people around the country and world.

Do you offer CE credits?

Yes! CE credits are available to psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, counselors and marriage and family therapists, creative arts therapists, chemical dependency counselors, educators, and nurses. For more information about CE credits, click here.

Are scholarships available?

IDHA awards scholarship positions to mental health providers, peers, current and prior users of mental health services, and/or activists and advocates who are passionate about transformative mental health practices. POC, LGBTQI, transgender, low-income, disabled persons, and other marginalized groups are given priority. Scholarship positions for the School for Transformative Mental Health are now filled. Join our mailing list to be the first to know about future scholarship opportunities.

Do I have to show up online at 12pm ET to take the class?

Yes, this is a live training so please be sure you are available at that time.

Will I be able to ask questions or interact with faculty? 

Yes, each live training will provide the opportunity to interact with the faculty.

Terms & Conditions

All course payments must be made before attending the class session. Full or partial refunds will processed only if requested at least 7 days in advance of the class session. All classes missed or not cancelled within this time frame will be charged in full. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.