PREPaRE Workshop 1, Third Edition, Comprehensive School Safety Planning: Prevention Through Recovery

In this 1-day (6.5 hour) workshop participants will learn how to establish and sustain comprehensive school safety efforts that attend to both physical and psychological safety. The workshop addresses critical components needed to develop, exercise, and evaluate safety and crisis teams and plans and conduct building vulnerability assessments. The model also integrates school personnel and community provider roles in providing school-based crisis preparedness and response activities. Additional topics addressed also include media/social media, communication, reunification, students with special needs, culture, and memorials. After this workshop, participants will be better prepared to improve their school’s climate, student resilience, and crisis response capabilities of school personnel. With updated research and strategies, this workshop makes a clear connection between ongoing crisis prevention, mitigation, protection, response, and recovery.

Who Should Receive Workshop 1 Training?
PREPaRE Workshop 1 is appropriate for all school personnel who need to understand how the comprehensive school crisis team is organized and functions. This can include but is not limited to school mental health professionals, administrators, teachers, other pupil services personnel, security officers, front office staff, transportation directors, and before and after school activities coordinators.

PREPaRE Workshop 2, Third Edition, Mental Health Crisis Interventions: Responding to an Acute Traumatic Stressor in Schools

This 2-day (13 hours) workshop develops the knowledge and skill required to provide immediate mental health crisis interventions to the students, staff, and school community members who have been simultaneously exposed to an acute traumatic stressor. The knowledge and skill developed within this session also help to build a bridge to the psychotherapeutic and trauma-informed mental health response sometimes required to address challenges associated with trauma exposure. This workshop is an excellent course for all mental health professionals in your district who provide mental health crisis intervention services.

Who Should Receive Workshop 2 Training?

PREPaRE Workshop 2 is appropriate for any individual filling the role of crisis intervention specialist. This includes school mental health staff (school psychologists, social workers, counselors, and nurses), administrators, and other individuals whom the team has identified as appropriate providers of psychological first aid. Additionally, this workshop can be very helpful for community-based mental health practitioners who may work with the school crisis team and/or may be brought into the school to assist in response to a crisis. 

PREPaRE Refresher

This session is intended for crisis responders previously trained in Workshop 2 of the PREPaRE curriclum.  Participants will receive an overview of the basic characteristics of crisis response, including best practice prevention and intervention for students and staff.  The session will conclude with a tabletop exercise to practice learned procedures.  

Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.