Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems by improving understanding and providing an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and address a potential mental illness or substance use disorder. This training for WJCS staff will teach learners how to be a support to colleagues who may be struggling.
This training will provide an overview of these various substances comprising this category of drugs, their intoxication and withdrawal symptoms, and co-occurring mental health and physical health concerns. Participants will also gain an understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying stimulant use, the clinical presentation of stimulant use disorders, and effective evidence-based treatment approaches to address stimulant use disorders.
Looking to learn more about how to support the wellbeing of military service members and veterans in your life? In partnership with SAMHSA, The City of Mount Vernon, VA Caregiver Support, and Mental Health First Aid USA, WJCS offers this FREE Mental Health First Aid Training.
Participants will learn about the essential components of OST and how to use the published treatment manual to address their clients’ organizational difficulties.
Behavioral addictions include gambling, sex addiction, internet gaming disorder, shopping addiction and food addictions, however the DSM-5-TR only recognizes gambling and internet gaming addiction within this category.
Mental Health in Older Adults Unique Needs, Evolving Approaches
October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Relationship violence affects millions of people, both children and adults, and can leave long-lasting physical, emotional, and psychological scars. WJCS is proud to partner with the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation in our Margaret's Place program, which provides safe spaces within Westchester public schools where middle school and high school students can share their experience with relationship violence, get counseling, and find hope and healing. Margaret Place educates youth and school communities about violence prevention and engages peer leaders in public awareness programs. While most people recognize how dangerous domestic violence is, both ...
Novel drugs are synthetic illicit drugs sometimes referred to as designer drugs and are often sold as legal, safe, nondrug products, frequently escaping regulation, resulting in delays in professionals and legislators recognizing their use and impacts.
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a yearly reminder of the staggering rates of suicide and the importance of identifying and helping people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States with over 49,000 people having died by suicide in the U.S. in 2022 and 13.2 million seriously contemplating suicide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS), the largest provider of licensed community-based mental health services in Westchester County, is closely collaborating with the NYS Office of Mental Health ...
It is estimated that 2%-6% of the population suffers from hoarding disorder. Across two sessions, this course will review the common mechanisms associated with the development of hoarding disorder as well as how to recognize, assess, and treat hoarding disorder. The course will also provide an overview of a newly developed eight-week specialty treatment program for hoarding disorder that can be effectively delivered both in office or via telehealth in standard length psychotherapy sessions.
This training will help providers to be more prepared for the challenges associated with providing treatment to such individuals. Providers will learn how to conduct an assessment of substance use, how to decide what level of treatment is appropriate for specific individuals, assess individuals’ readiness for change, apply evidenced-based approaches to increasing individuals’ motivation for change, assess the functional purposes and impacts of substance use, select and utilize appropriate treatments for individuals with co-occurring conditions, and help individuals reduce the impacts of relapse.
This session will provide an overview of various substances comprising the category of hallucinogens, their intoxication and withdrawal symptoms, and co-occurring mental health and physical health concerns.
Dates: 7/30/24 & 8/6/24 Time: 9-10:30am Contact hrs: 5 CEU’s: 5 Enrollment Limit: 20 Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment originally designed for individuals with suicidal or self-harm behaviors. It has come to be an evidence-based treatment for borderline personality (BPD). However, many other clients and disorders have been shown to benefit from DBT, such as depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or alcohol and drug use disorders. It can be applied as a behavioral therapy to any target behavior that the client would want to ...
Smoking cigarettes remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and causes more than 440,000 deaths each year. In addition, vaping continues to grow in popularity and is the most common delivery method of nicotine among teenagers and young adults. Nicotine is the main addictive chemical in both smoking cigarettes and vaping.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s because of kind, caring people like you that WJCS can provide vital, evidence-based services to people in Westchester who are struggling with mental health challenges and trauma. Meet Tiffany, one of many people who faced what seemed like overwhelming obstacles until she came to WJCS: I experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. In high school I dropped out. I was pregnant and thought that was going to be my life, working as a cashier, trying to take care of my baby. I was so depressed when my first ...
WJCS observes Mental Health Awareness Month.
Join team #WJCSProud for the 2024 NAMI Walk this Mental Health Awareness Month!
More and more clinicians are receiving referrals for grieving clients asking for support in their bereavement process. The current course aims to provide clinicians with a grounding in psychoeducation and theory behind grief responses in order to increase clinician confidence in working with clients who are experiencing bereavement.
Drug overdose now causes more deaths than car accidents and is the leading cause of injury death in the United States. The overwhelming majority of these deaths are due to opioids. This session will give an overview of opioids, including their various types and main intoxication symptoms. Important trends in opioid addiction will be reviewed, including the rise of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.
Dates: 4/30/24 & 5/7/24 Time: 9:00 – 10:30 Contact Hrs: 3 CEUs: 3 It has been determined that WJCS staff would benefit from access to a general training specific to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The cognitive behavioral paradigm provides a unique way to conceptualize pathology and to plan therapeutic intervention. The majority of clinicians practicing today identify that some part of their work is informed by CBT. Research consistently indicates the efficacy of CBT with many psychological disorders and with a diverse range of clients. CBT is often embedded in frequently used interventions at WJCS such as dialectical behavior therapy ...
The number of people suffering from both mental health and substance use disorders is skyrocketing, with approximately 21.5 million adults in the United States experiencing these co-occurring conditions, according to SAMHSA’s 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Unfortunately, the result of experiencing both disorders can be tragic. Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS), the largest provider of licensed outpatient mental health services in Westchester, is now providing comprehensive integrative, evidence-based treatment for county residents experiencing substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. “People suffering from co-occurring mental health and substance use problems often experience severe and chronic challenges regarding ...
Date: 4/9/24 & 4/16/24 Time: 9-10:30am Contact Hrs: 3 CEU’s: 3 Enrollment Limited to: 20 Trauma is becoming more prominently identified in clinical and mainstream rhetoric. Even if clinicians do not work as “trauma therapists,” they will more than likely encounter survivors of trauma in their practice. The DSM-5-TR diagnoses of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders are complex in their criteria and differentials. Beyond that, the clinical picture is further complicated by the different presentations of survivors of complex ...
Non-Violent Resistance Therapy (NVR) is an approach that helps parents to manage the violent, destructive, and/or controlling behavior of their children. NVR encourages parents to make a stand against violent or destructive behavior from their child, without using physical or verbal aggression.
Alcohol Awareness Month
