Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A User-Friendly Tool for Better Mental Health (1 hour)

We are all facing increased stress because of COVID-19 and focus on racial disparity and violence in our country. With increased stress often comes increased difficulty in maintaining our emotional and behavioral health. Access to mental health supports and services, a persistent barrier, is even more pronounced due to social isolation. The good news is that you don't have to be a mental health professional to provide mental health support. This workshops will provide the tools you can use to decrease the negative impact of current stressors using the gold standard of mental health treatment, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. These skills will be present in an easy to learn and effective means to support others and yourself.

Level: All

Track: Older Adults, Persons with Disabilities, Family & Youth, Supervisory/Management, Professional Development

HUD Category: Mental Health Issues

Presenter: Mary Curlew, LICSW, Community Education and Training Specialist for Older Adults at Jewish Family & Children's Service

Presenter Bio: Mary Curlew, LICSW, is the Community Education and Training Specialist for Services for Older Adults at Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Waltham, MA. She is a Mental Health and Housing team member through JF&CS providing training and consultation for staff and residents in independent senior housing and related agencies. Mary has over 20 years’ experience providing mental health services and training in a variety of settings. Her specialties include trauma informed care, older adult behavioral health, caregiver support and holistic approaches to health care. Mary is a graduate of Boston College’s Graduate School of Social Work and has advanced training in EMDR, CBT, DBT and mindfulness.

Objectives

1. Learn and practice basic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy skills to help support mental health in your community and your own life.
2. Brainstorm usage of CBT in these communities especially to assess and respond to increased mental health concerns due to social isolation.
3. Identify at least two interventions or goals that you can bring back to your community that use CBT for better mental health.