New and Noteworthy

Rural Mental Health Symposium

We are excited to announce the 2010 Rural Behavioral Health Symposium. This symposium is sponsored by the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health at Georgetown University, and the Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health.

This two-and-a-half day symposium will focus on practical strategies to address the behavioral health needs of children and families in rural America.

For additional information about the symposium, please visit http://gucchdtacenter.georgetown.edu/Activities/Rural_BH_Symposium_2010.html

 

Higher Education for Military and Veteran Students

Recently, WICHE in collaboration with Colorado First Lady Jeannie Ritter and Mental Health America-Colorado hosted a two-day summit focused on supporting success in higher education for military and veteran students. The enhanced G.I. Bill affords educational opportunities more robust than seen in decades. The goal of the summit was to focus campus life staff and others on the opportunities and well as the challenges facing many individuals returning to post-secondary study. The summit was participated in by teams from 29 Colorado higher education institutions.

 

Challenge Grant

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded $1 million to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) to test a college mental health intervention over the next two years. The grant will fund a groundbreaking study to test whether a community mental health intervention program reduces some of the barriers that keep college students from seeking mental health services. WICHE’s award is funded through a Challenge Grant from the National Institutes of Health. The Challenge Grants are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. READ MORE...

 

Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Rural Primary Care

This Web-based Toolkit contains information and tools to implement state of the art suicide prevention practices and overcome the significant hurdles this life-saving work faces in primary care practices. The Toolkit offers the support necessary to establish the primary care provider as one member of a team, fully equipped to reduce suicide risk among their patients.

The Toolkit is a collaborative project of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education (WICHE), Mental Health Program. Although the tools are designed with the rural practice in mind, most are quite suitable for use in non-rural settings, as well. The materials offered may be reproduced for use within your practice. Further distribution without the express consent of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center is prohibited.

To download a free copy, visit SPRC's website.

You can order a hard copy of the toolkit by following this link, or email the details of your order to Jenny Shaw. PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS AT THIS TIME. Toolkits are $25 each (including shipping). An invoice will be included with your shipment.

For more information, please contact Jenny Shaw at jshaw@wiche.edu.