Youth mental health is a critical community issue affecting families, schools, healthcare providers, social workers, and law enforcement alike. Open dialogue reduces stigma, encourages early intervention, and builds resilience among young people. This course unites community partners to improve youth mental wellness by discussing topics on trauma response and building resilience, the impact of the digital experience on youth mental health, suicide trends and addiction.
The goal of this series is to strengthen the capacity of Wisconsin's health and human services workforce to effectively support teen mental health by addressing critical and timely issues: trauma, digital stressors, suicide risk, and substance use. Through evidence-informed sessions participants will gain practical tools to recognize warning signs, apply early interventions, and provide trauma-informed care. By increasing workforce knowledge and confidence in responding to these issues. the training promotes earlier. more effective engagement with at risk youth, reduces the long-term burden of untreated mental health conditions, and helps interrupt cycles that contribute to poor health outcomes.
Attend both sessions, or just one at our NTC Wausau campus.
Session 1: August 21, 2025
9:30am - 11:30am "Bouncing Back - Teens, Trauma and Resilience", Scott Webb
Scott Webb is a trauma survivor himself who has worked in the behavioral health field for 39 years. His career has included clinical, administrative, and consultative work. Most recently Scott was the Trauma-Informed Care Coordinator at the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services. He retired from that role in October 2024. He holds a Master of Science in Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
11:30am - 12:00pm Lunch provided
12:00pm - 2:00pm "Wired for Risk: Addiction and the Teenage Brain", Dr. Sion Kim Harris (Virtual speaker)
Sion Kim Harris, PhD, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC, CPH, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, a Nurse Practitioner in the Boston Children’s Hospital Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Co-Director of the Center for Adolescent Behavioral Health Research (CABHRe). Previously, she served as Director of the Center for Adolescent Substance use and Addiction Research (CeASAR), founded in 1999 by Dr. John Rogers Knight, MD.
She has conducted pioneering research in adolescent substance use screening and brief intervention strategies for use in medical offices, including validating the CRAFFT screen, which has become the most widely studied and recommended screening tool for problematic adolescent substance use.
Session 2: August 28, 2025
9:30am - 11:30am "More Than Sad: Suicide & Teens", Dr. Sara Kohlbeck
Dr. Sara Kohlbeck is the Director of the Division of Suicide Research and Healing in the Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Kohlbeck is also the Assistant Director of the PhD program in Public and Community Health at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Sara received her PhD in Public and Community Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2022, her Master of Public Health from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2015, and her Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2000. Sara’s research interests focus on understanding suicide from a public health perspective. Specifically, she is conducting research that focuses on better understanding suicide among disproportionately affected populations, including farmers, veterans, and youth of color, to facilitate the development of appropriate prevention strategies. She is also engaged in community-based research with communities across Wisconsin who are implementing suicide prevention activities.
11:30am-12:00pm Lunch Provided
12:00pm - 2:00pm "Likes, Follows & Feels: Teens in a Digital World", Dr. Jim Harris (Virtual Speaker)
Dr. Jim Harris is the owner of Opportunities Consulting Services. He also serves as the Director of Marshall University’s Interdisciplinary Behavioral Health Center and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work. He has had several roles in health and human services as an early interventionist, parent educator, educational consultant, university instructor, and behavioral health therapist. Dr. Harris has presented at various conferences from the local to the international level on behavioral intervention, parenting, positive behavior support, trauma-informed practices, organizational change, and more. He has also worked with multiple public and private entities, including the Fred Rogers Company, the United States Department of Education, and the United States Department of Justice. Dr. Harris uses his practice approach to complex topics to help people better understand themselves and the people they support in their lives.
Registration
$30/session - 4 CEUs
Lunch Included