Texas Tech Mental Health Initiative to Host West Texas Regional Mental Health Conference

• By Suzanna Cisneros
• April 27, 2023
• Education

The Texas Tech Mental Health Initiative at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) will host the West Texas Regional Mental Health Conference 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 31 at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, 1501 Mac Davis Lane. This multidisciplinary learning event for providers from across the continuum of care is designed to provide three concurrent tracks which will provide information about mental illness and resources. 

Nancy Treviño, Ph.D., director of the Texas Tech Mental Health Initiative at TTUHSC, said the West Texas Regional Mental Health Conference is a unique, interdisciplinary conference that offers the region an expansive look at mental health topics from passionate subject matter experts from across the continuum of care. These concurrent sessions are designed to apply new strategies to the daily practice of medicine to provide optimal patient care to those patients with mental health challenges or mental illness as part of the health care team.

“The wide-ranging information will be shared with the goal of improving access to mental health services and supports any providers in these roles in a local community in our region,” Treviño said. “Attendees will hear about local and state-wide programs and how to access them where they practice. They also will learn about current trends, ways to implement evidence-based interventions and tips for working with special populations. Holding this conference is vitally important, especially as we live in a part of the nation experiencing a severe workforce shortage of health care providers.”

First track – Child, Adolescent and Maternal Mental Health

All speakers are from TTUHSC unless otherwise denoted.
Speakers include:

• School-Based Treatment,” Jennifer Rojas-McWhinney, Ph.D., and Jeff Carr
• “Suicide Prevention,” Kirsten Christensen, Texas Tech University
• “Adolescent Substance Use Treatment,” Zach Sneed, Ph.D.
• “Assessment and Evidence-Based Practices for Children and Adolescents,” Tarrah Mitchell, Ph.D.
• “Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium,” Sarah Mallard Wakefield, M.D.
• “Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum Period,” Sarah Mallard Wakefield, M.D.

Second track – Mental Health Challenges as They Relate to Special Populations and Considerations 

Speakers include:

• “Trauma-Informed Care,” Natalie Scanlon, Ph.D. 
• “Mental Health Care with LGBT+ Population,” Amy Stark, M.D. 
• “Medication Assisted Treatment,” Poorvi Alag, M.D.
• “Ag Health,” Miquela G. Smith, Texas A&M University
• “Family Systems & Treatment,” Kim Kerksiek, Ph.D.
• “Social Determinants of Health & Mental Health,” Jeff Dennis, Ph.D.

Third track – First Responders and Military Veterans Mental Health

Speakers include:

• “Responding to Mental Health Crisis-Related Calls,” Logan Winkelman, Ph.D.
• “Substance Use Treatment,” Terry Mooney
• “Veteran Supports & Related Policies,” Nikki Rice, Megan Heil and Martha Garza 
• “Stress,” Matt McGinnis, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation Approved Instructor 
• “Resilience & Mental Fortitude,” Rae Brockman
• “Navigating Stigma and Connecting with Mental Health Supports,” Cristy Martinez

In addition to the in-person attendance in Lubbock, this conference will be accessible across the region through a virtual option and satellite in-person viewing sites will be available through partnerships with their local United Way.

Registration may be completed online until May 24 at cmetracker.net/TTUHSC/Publisher?page=pubOpen#/EventID/37227. Walk-in registration for in-person attendance in Lubbock will be available the day of the conference. There will be no walk-in registrations at the satellite locations. 

The TTUHSC Office of Continuing Medical Education will provide CME credit and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission will provide CEU for conference content. Continuing education credit for multiple disciplines will be provided for this event. Nursing Credit (CNE) will not be offered for this conference. For more information, contact the TTUHSC Office of Continuing Medical Education at (806) 743-2934 or email cme@ttuhsc.edu.