Every year more than 6 million youth are treated for mental, emotional or behavior problems. Yet, much of the time and attention in treating mental health conditions has been devoted to crisis-oriented treatment of existing disorders, leading to needless suffering, as well as excessive and unnecessary costs. After decades of research pointing to the benefits of upstream interventions, national and state programs are beginning to promote the integration of mental health and physical health, as well as new prevention approaches in community settings.

The Advancing Prevention Project uses a public health approach to promote mental health in a variety of community settings through one-on-one coaching, webinars and learning collaboratives, as well as curated events and resources. Highlighted below are some of the successes of our technical assistance:

Implementing a Comprehensive Approach to Suicide Prevention to Support the NYS Prevention Agenda Webinar

“This was one of the most useful webinars I have attended in quite some time. [I am] re-energized to work with our local suicide coalition and hospital on this issue.”

“Helped me sort out what a LHD can do as a member of the local suicide coalition.”

Throughout New York State, and nationally, suicide is a growing concern, particularly among college students.  APP saw an opportunity to address the issue from a population-health level, and reached out to experts from the Suicide Prevention Center of NYS and local practitioners to present a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention.

Participants were introduced to Zero Suicide, a national and statewide model, and learned about several public health interventions carried out in a hospital, including the creation of a multi-disciplinary task force, measures to reduce access to lethal means, and the implementation of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. The webinar also included an overview of the prevalence, risk and protective factors of suicide, and an outline of training resources in New York State.

Building Trauma-Informed, Trauma-Sensitive and Resilient Communities Learning Collaborative

“Great info was presented and [it] has given me new ideas for our community.”

“Relevant information. Presenters were very knowledgeable with extensive experience. Information was relayed in organized fashion.”

Trauma and resiliency experts agree that creating informed and prepared communities is a first step to preventing future trauma or traumatic-triggering.  To address these issues, APP convened representatives from the NYS Office of Mental Health, Coordinated Care Services, Inc., and a developmental primary care physician to describe a variety of trauma-informed interventions in formative settings such as primary care and schools. To further support this work, APP staff authored A Primer for Public Health Practitioners on Trauma-Informed & Resilient Communities. 

Presenters discussed models designed for school transformation, pediatric practice transformation, broader community transformation, and building resiliency. The webinars also include technical assistance resources available for NYS local health departments interested in addressing trauma and resiliency as part of their prevention agenda activities. Click below to view two of the webinars in this series—Fusing Trauma, Trauma-informed Care, Resiliency and Suicide Prevention and Building Trauma-Sensitive, Trauma-informed, and Resilient Communities.