
PAL is holding a Training
for Law Enforcement Officers, Legal Professionals, and other First Responders!
DATE: January 14, 2009 (Snow Date: January 15, 2009)
TIME: Registration at 9; Training is 9:30am-12:30pm, with continental
breakfast and lunch included
LOCATION: Holyoke Community College, Kittredge Center, 303 Homestead Ave. Holyoke, MA
Click Here to Register!
Have
you ever been in a challenging situation with a youth with mental health needs? This training is based off of our highly
successful Police Pocket Guide, and it is designed to give law enforcement
officers, legal professionals, and other first responders concrete and specific
tools, techniques, and resources on responding to and
working with youth with mental health needs and their families.
We are here to work with you to make your job easier!
For directions and parking
for HCC, please visit: http://www.hcc.edu/about/documents/HCCDirectory06.pdf
For questions or additional
information, contact Stephany Melton, Education and Communications Coordinator,
at 617-542-7860 x202 or smelton@ppal.net.
Background Information on the Guide
In 2001, we created our
widely successful Police Pocket Guide, which is a practical guide for police
and other first responders on how to respond to youth with mental health needs.
This year, with grants from The Boston Foundation and Massachusetts Behavioral
Health Partnership (MBHP), we have updated the guide, and we are now developing
a training to accompany the guide.
For a copy of the Guide,
contact Stephany Melton, Education and Communications Coordinator, at
617-542-7860 x202 or smelton@ppal.net.
“Medications and Choices: The Perspective of Families and Youth” is a ground breaking,
family-driven study of the decision making process families go through when
they choose to use psychotropic medication to treat their child’s mental health
needs. Survey data from 274 parents and
more than 80 youth document many common experiences such as a search for
reliable information, trials of alternative treatments and concerns about
financial costs.
Over the
past several years, there has been a great deal of heated discussion about the
rising use of psychiatric medications to treat children and adolescents. Media coverage has produced mixed reactions
in many parents, who have felt their experiences were not accurately portrayed. Although each family’s experience is unique,
many common elements and key values emerged in this study. Most strikingly,
parents feel caught between their own experience of the effectiveness of
medication and their concerns that medications may be stigmatizing or risky.
To
read the full report, click here