6th Annual RC SELPA Mental Health Symposium: Mental Health Matters

Providing Mental health support to students with intellectual disabilities comes with a lot of stigma and misconceptions. Providing the audience with a brief overview of ID and co-occurring disorders, address communication and accessibility, while preserving the rights and dignity of the students, and discuss what mental health support can look like at a school setting. Explore out of the box interventions to support individuals with ID.

Outcome is for the audience to recognize their own potential biases and learn practical ways to support those students who are often forgotten or get less than. That they will feel inspired and confident to work with individuals with ID.

Last summer 10 SBMH therapists from DSUSD were offered an opportunity to become Yoga instructors and incorporate in daily practices across all school aged children. We will share how this looks like in group and individual sessions. The different positive impact of building a supportive culture around Yoga practices and guiding principles of focus, discipline, respect, mindfulness, and how it assists with negative behaviors. We will address what it looks like in elementary and secondary grades. We can also incorporate movement opportunities to have audience engagement. 

Exploring the mission and vision of the TVUSD SEAL program. Telling the story of our strength, longevity and good work. Focusing on the systemic identify of the Program while spotlighting how therapist are a part of the environment.

Sharing with others how our unique approach has created a therapeutic environment within our "ED" classrooms. Taking them from classrooms to programs. Creating a team and a relational environment in order to best serve the mental health needs of our students.

Complex student cases often feel like a tangled ball of yarn. Is it Social Maladjustment or Emotional Disturbance? Is it substance abuse or a coping mechanism for underlying trauma? When the lines are blurred, a single perspective isn't always enough.

Join a School Psychologist, a Clinical Therapist, and a District Coordinator as we unpack the "Joint Assessment Model." We will demonstrate how combining the educational eligibility lens (School Psych) with the clinical treatment lens (Therapist) creates a 3D picture of the student that neither professional could capture alone.

Through a deep dive into our most complex "mystery cases"—involving adoption dynamics, dual diagnoses, and murky distinctives—we will show you how to layer standardized rating scales with clinical therapeutic measures. Attendees will leave with a blueprint for collaboration that not only clarifies eligibility but paves the way for effective treatment.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, attendees will be able to:

1. Establish Defensible Best Practices: formulate a legally defensible and practically effective framework for conducting joint mental health assessments.
2. Synthesize the Lenses: Demonstrate how merging the educational (IDEA) and clinical perspectives leads to more accurate eligibility determinations and highly targeted social-emotional IEP goals.
3. Toolbox Integration: Identify specific intersections where standardized psychologist rating scales and therapist clinical measures complement each other to rule out (or rule in) Behavior Disorders/Social Maladjustment
4. Collaborative Workflow: Apply a framework for joint testing sessions and parent interviews that reduces redundancy and increases diagnostic accuracy in complex cases.

In education, support services, and mental health work, relationships are everything. Before students buy into strategies, interventions, or accountability, they first need to feel safe, seen, heard, and valued. The same applies to staff teams, leadership, and family partnerships.
In this powerful and interactive 90-minute workshop, Coach BE blends storytelling, practical strategies, humor, and real-life experience to explore the delicate balance between truth and trust in today’s schools and support systems. Participants will learn how to communicate honestly without damaging relationships, build trust while maintaining accountability, and create environments where students, families, and staff feel connected instead of corrected.
Drawing from over 25 years of experience in special education, juvenile probation, youth development, recreation, coaching, and behavioral support, Coach BE provides practical tools that professionals can immediately apply in classrooms, counseling spaces, IEP meetings, staff culture, and everyday interactions.
This session goes beyond motivation. It challenges participants to reflect on how their communication, consistency, energy, and leadership impact the people they serve.
Participants will leave with:

• Practical strategies for building trust with students, families, and co-workers
• Tools for navigating difficult conversations with empathy and accountability
• Techniques for improving staff culture, communication, and emotional safety
• A deeper understanding of how connection influences behavior, engagement, and outcomes
• Actionable ways to lead with honesty while still protecting relationships

This workshop is ideal for:

• Educators
• School counselors
• Mental health therapists
• Administrators
• Paraeducators
• Support staff
• School psychologists
• Youth-serving professionals

Real conversations. Real strategies. Real connection.
Because people grow best in environments where truth is spoken with care and trust is built with consistency.