2023 Conference Schedule

2023 Conference Schedule

Mental Health America Conference | Next Gen Prevention | Washington, DC and Online | June 6, 2023 Policy Institute | June 7, 2023 Affiliate Day | June 8-10, 2023 Main Conference

Tentative Agenda

Agenda is subject to change. All times listed are Eastern Time.

Registered attendees can earn up to 45 CEUs through NASW-VA by watching live and recorded sessions.

Tweens, Teens, and Technology

In 2023, MHA's policy institute will discuss supporting youth mental health through policy to promote internet-based technology designs and guidelines that facilitate age-appropriate content, support, and other positive activity online while eliminating exploitation of brain development stages and human behavior in algorithms designed for social media, gaming, and virtual reality platforms. We will explore research and discuss both the risk factors and protective factors of internet technology use and offer suggestions for policymakers and industry to equip youth for health and wealth. We are again excited to include the voices of young advocates who have been leading efforts locally and nationally to eliminate harmful internet technology practices and will award one young person the 2023 Youth Advocacy Award.

See agenda and learn more about the 2023 Policy Institute

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Registration

8 - 8:30 a.m.
Affiliate Day Kick-Off & Networking Breakfast (in-person only)

8:30 - 8:45 a.m.
Break

8:45 - 9:45 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Linguistic Responsiveness in Direct Care
  • Breaking the Barriers with New Approaches in Mental Health Care

10 - 11 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Hope Has a New Number: The Transition to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and What is Next
  • 101 and Beyond: Empathy and Equity in LGBTQ+ Peer Support

11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Intensive and Sustained Engagement and Treatment (INSET)
  • Capitalizing on American Rescue Plan Funds to Care for Communities of Color

12:30 - 1:15 p.m.
Networking Lunch (in-person only)

1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Redefining Black Masculinities: Centering Wellness to Create Affirming Care
  • Driving Toward Resilience Behavioral Health Units: Innovative Ways to Serve the Underserved

2:45 - 3:45 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Innovations Toward a Career Path in Peer Support among Justice-Involved Individuals
  • Facilitating Student Access to Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent Care

4 - 5 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Mental Healthcare Access and Engagement Among the Hispanic Population: A Collaborative Effort of the Lowcountry
  • Making Housing Attainable, Affordable, and Generational

5:15 - 6:15 p.m.
Delegate Assembly

7 - 8:30 p.m.
Affiliate Reception (in-person only)

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Registration, MHA Store, and Networking Lounge Open

12 - 12:45 p.m.
Luncheon (in-person only)

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.
Opening remarks and ceremony

2 - 3 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Building the MHA Screening Website and Digital Tool Engagement Through Data Science and Human AI Collaboration
  • The Fear of No Future: Youth Mental Health Implications of the Climate Crisis
  • National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts' Response to Mental Illness: Leading Change
  • The Intersection of Mental Health and Disability (virtual only)

3:15 - 4:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • A Roadmap to the National Suicide Prevention Line (NSPL) / 988 National Strategy Presented by Vibrant and Accenture
  • Youth Lived Experiences Translating into Intersectional Mental Health Advocacy
  • Social Determinants of Health from a Social Work Perspective: Prevention and Intervention Strategies
  • Reimagining Preventative Mental Health Care and the Role of Technology in the Future

4:30 - 6 p.m.
Clifford W. Beers Award Presentation

Keynote

  • Carmela Wallace, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and the mother of Juice WRLD, who upon Juice WRLD's passing, established Live Free 999 to help those who suffer in silence and normalize the conversation about mental health and addiction
  • Facilitated by Mahmoud Khedr, former MHA Youth Mental Health Leadership Council member

6 - 7 p.m.
Welcome Reception (in-person only)

8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Registration, MHA Store, and Networking Lounge open

8 - 9 a.m.
Breakfast (in-person only)

9 - 9:30 a.m.
Keynote: Next Gen Prevention and the Importance of Youth Mental Health

  • Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

9:30 - 10:20 a.m.
MHA's Young Mental Health Leaders Panel

mPower Award Presentation

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Utilizing Virtual Reality in Youth Mental Health
  • The Workplace Meeting: A Hotbed for Oppression – An Opportunity for Social Change
  • Ética, Disparidades Raciales, y Justicia Social en los Servicios de Salud Mental para Inmigrantes y Refugiados (Spanish language session)
  • Taming the Anxious Brain with Nature in Mind: The Power of Nature-Informed Mental Health
  • Deflect Early, Deflect Often (virtual only)

11:30 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Luncheon (in-person only)

12:10 - 1 p.m.
Media Awards Presentation

1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Creating the Best Growing Conditions for You: Refining Storytelling with Lived Experiences
  • The Importance of Providing Culturally Relevant and Affirming Care to Members of the LGBTQ+ Community
  • The Art of De-escalation During Law Enforcement Encounters
  • Core Elements of Psychedelic-assisted Therapy (virtual only)
  • The Grieving Therapist (virtual only)

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • More Than an Event: Funding a Crisis-response Ecosystem
  • Unheard Stories: Unique Voices of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander People with Lived Experience
  • Cross System Collaborative Efforts Addressing Social Determinants of Health: Economic Stability, Food, Technology, and Transportation
  • Preventative Approaches for Health Care: Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep, Hormones, and Substances (virtual only)
  • The New "Silent Killer": Racial Trauma in the Workplace and the Impact on Mental Health and Emotional Well-being (virtual only)

3:45 - 4:45 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Supporting Youth Substance Use and Addiction Recovery from a Peer Perspective
  • Developing Resilience in Correctional Settings: Promoting Lasting Change in a Challenging Environment
  • Mental Health in the Digital Space: Key Learnings from a Cross-sector Approach
  • How to Advocate for Your Child with a Mental Health Disorder in the Public School System (virtual only)
  • Students Organizing for Mental Health Disability Justice

5 - 6:15 p.m.
Conversation with Rachel Aviv, Author and Staff Writer at the New Yorker

Awards Presentation

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.
Reception (in-person only)

8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Registration, MHA Store, and Networking Lounge Open

8:30 - 9:15 a.m.
Breakfast (in-person only)

9:15 - 10:15 a.m.
Mental Health in the Black LGBTQ+ Community. A Conversation with Dr. David J. Johns

  • Dr. David J. Johns, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition
  • Facilitated by Caren Howard, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Mental Health America

10:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Break

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

  • Crisis Recovery after a Hate-based Event
  • Emerging Trends in the Development and Uptake of Digital Peer Support Technologies
  • Developing a Framework for Public Health's Role in Suicide Prevention and Mental Health
  • School Mental Health: Youth Priorities for Change
  • Family Peer Support: A Holistic Approach to Recovery and Resiliency (virtual only)

11:30 - 11:45 a.m.
Break

11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Keynote: Self Love and Healing through Indigenous Tradition followed by Closing Ceremony