Sarah Glass is a Deputy Director with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency in the Child and Family Well-Being Department. Ms. Glass oversees the Office of Child and Family Strengthening. She has been with the Child and Family Well-Being Department since 2007 in a variety of positions. She has experience as a case carrying social worker in various programs and has experience managing the Placement, Intensive Family Preservation, Voluntary Services, and Fostering Academic Success in Education programs in every regional child welfare office. As a policy analyst and policy manager she focused on the expansion of the Continuous Quality Improvement program to focus on improving practice and engagement with families within the department. In her current role as Deputy Director in the Office of Child and Family Strengthening she oversees the San Diego County Childcare Blueprint and the San Diego County Comprehensive Prevention Plan to support the implementation of “no wrong door” prevention supports to families. She is also a lecturer at San Diego State University in the Social Work department.
Friday April 26
- 07:00 AM - 08:00 AM PDT
Registration and Breakfast with Exhibitors
- 08:00 AM - 08:30 AM PDT
Welcome Remarks by the Co-Chairs with guests Yael Koenig and USD
- 08:30AM - 10:00 AM PDT
Session Details
KN1 – Examining the Impact of Social Media on Children and Adolescents: A Balanced Approach
Description:
In this rapidly evolving era of social media, a thorough overview of its impact is imperative. To fully comprehend its role
in society, we must adopt a balanced perspective that takes into account both its advantages and drawbacks for the children and teens who use it. This comprehensive inquiry can aid in identifying the benefits and risks of social media, while also providing valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms that drive it. This topic will be explored in depth including appropriate social media guidelines, the epidemic of loneliness, and real-life personal and professional examples of the joys and struggles of social media.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify at least 5 benefits and risks of social media presence and use for children and teens.
- Explain appropriate, healthy, and realistic guidelines around social media for children and teens.
- Describe 3 practical and engaging ways to use social media as a professional.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Ann-Louise T. Lockhart, PsyD, ABPP
Speaker Bio:
She is a pediatric psychologist and parent and has over 17 years of experience in her field. Dr. Lockhart is frequently interviewed for articles in various print publications, podcasts, and television broadcasts. She presents to agencies, corporations, schools, and school districts on multiple topics. She serves as a Review Board member for Verywell Family and Parents.
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
- 10:00AM - 10:30 AM PDT
Break
- 10:30AM - 12:00 PM PDT
Session Details
A1 – Providing LGBTQI+ and Gender Diverse- affirming parent support: Practical Tools and Research
Hybrid Session
Speaker:
Description:
This course will review current diagnostic nuances of eating disorders as they relate to presentations in children and adolescents (Anorexia, Bulimia, ARFID, USFED, BED). Presenters will identify historical myths associated with eating disorder diagnoses, review how known neurobiological underpinnings and temperament traits impact the presentation of eating disorders in clinical practice, and discuss how to effectively evaluate symptom severity. Presenters will identify associated psychiatric comorbidities, evidence-based interventions including Family Based Therapy (FBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), as well as review levels of care available in the community to consider when evaluating a child/adolescent for an eating disorder diagnosis. Attendees will review clinical assessment techniques and complete breakout group exercises during the course of the presentation.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe a minimum two differential eating disorder diagnoses and their associated temperament traits.
- Identify two assessment techniques when evaluating severity of eating disorder symptoms.
- Identify two evidence-based treatment modalities for children and adolescents with eating disorders.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Abi Weissman, PsyD
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Abigail
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
Session Details
A2 – Eating Disorder: Temperament Traits and Treatment
Hybrid Session
Speaker:
Description:
Dr. Weissman will define common vocabulary used in working with the LGBTQI+ populations, including gender dysphoria and gender euphoria. They will provide examples of mental health concerns seen in the LGBTQI+ population. They will describe typical gender identity and sexual orientation developmental stages and stages of coming out as LGBTQI+. Dr. Weissman will discuss LGBTQI+ affirming parent/caregiver and patient support. They will share how to acknowledge burgeoning adolescent sexual orientation and gender identity while addressing parent or familial concerns. The training includes information about practical strategies, tools, current research, and resources.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify three common terms that are used to describe gender identity.
- Explain two parent or familial concerns as related to gender diversity and sexual orientation.
- Describe three ways to assist parents in supporting their gender diverse and/or LGBTQI+ teens.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Andi Drouin, LPCC
Speaker Bio:
Andi Drouin, LPCC is the Admissions Manager for Pediatric and Adolescent programs at UC San Diego Health Eating Disorder Center. She graduated with her BA in Psychology from Arizona State University and went on to obtain her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of San Diego. Andi works with children, families and their providers to assess eating disorder symptom severity and support families through their admission to evidence-based treatment. Andi is trained in Family Based Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing as they related to eating disorder treatment in children and adolescents.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Karlee McGlone, LMFT
Speaker Bio:
Karlee McGlone, LMFT is the Sr. Manager of Admissions and Outreach at UC San Diego Health Eating Disorders Center. With expertise in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, Karlee works closely with patients, families, and providers to work through treatment-ambivalence inherent in eating disorders. She is a passionate advocate, helping everyone to have access to the evidence-based care they deserve. Karlee graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a B.A. in Psychology and earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Azusa Pacific University. She has clinical experience treating eating disorders in residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient and private practice settings.
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
Session Details
A3 – Healing Interpersonal & Racial Trauma: The Power of Racial Socialization in Evidence-Based Practices
Hybrid Session
Speaker:
Description:
Community-based organizations and services including behavioral health programs, Children’s Advocacy Centers, hospitals, schools, social services exist to help youth and families prevent and treat the negative consequences of abuse and trauma. However, current services do not systematically consider both interpersonal and racial stress and trauma in their understanding of youth, which impacts mental health and academic outcomes, to name a few. In addition, diverse youth and families rely on strengths and values to reduce negative mental and behavioral health outcomes that can result from interpersonal and race-related stressors. Racial socialization is the protective process of transmitting cultural behaviors, attitudes, and values to prepare diverse youth to cope with racial stressors, and is associated with positive outcomes including increased resilience, coping abilities, and decreased anxiety and delinquency. This breakout will highlight efficacious evidence-based trauma informed treatment strategies that utilize racial socialization to improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes for clients who experience trauma.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe 1 protective and promotive role of racial socialization on behavioral and mental health outcomes for Black youth.
- Demonstrate the ability to integrate racial socialization into 2 PRAC (psychoeducation, relaxation, affect identification and modulation, cognitive restructuring) strategies in clinical care with diverse youth and families.
- Demonstrate the ability to utilize 2 TICE (trauma narrative, in-vivo exposure, conjoint parent-child sessions, enhancing safety) strategies in clinical care with diverse youth and families.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Isha W. Metzger, PhD, LCP
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Isha Metzger is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Georgia State University, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, and Visiting Research Faculty at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS’ at Yale University. Dr. Metzger is Owner of Cultural Concepts, LLC, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, and a certified clinician in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Dr. Metzger’s work includes training practitioners in the delivery of evidence-based treatments aimed at healing interpersonal and racial trauma through utilizing racial socialization to improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, racial trauma, PTSD) for Black youth and families.
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
- 12:00PM - 01:00 PM PDT
Lunch
- 01:00PM - 2:30 PM PDT
Session Details
B1 – Improving Mental Health Care is Within Our Reach: Translating Knowledge into Action
Hybrid Session
Description:
Heightened public awareness of the current youth mental health crisis provides a critical opportunity to advocate for improved access to care and effectiveness of care. One of the many frustrations about this crisis is that we actually have significant collective knowledge about how to improve care, but we have not done a good job of translating this knowledge into action through policy and practice. The goal of this session is to help bridge this gap by identifying some of the evidence-based ways in which mental health care could be improved, and to discuss strategies to overcome barriers in implementation.
A public health framework, including concepts such as primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, will be used to highlight existing knowledge about effective interventions. Participants will be encouraged to explore how they can integrate such interventions into their own practice and advocate for essential improvements in the broader system.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how a public health model of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention could be applied to reduce mental health challenges among children and families.
- Identify three evidence-based approaches to improving access to mental health care.
- Identify three evidence-based approaches to improving the effectiveness of community-based care.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Ann Garland, PhD
Speaker Bio:
Ann Garland, PhD. was the 2022-23 Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Mental Health. She has been a Professor and Chair of Counseling & MFT at USD and of Psychiatry at UCSD, where she currently teaches part-time. She also has a private practice. Ann’s scholarly work aims to improve mental health care by strengthening the integration of scientifically and practically derived knowledge, addressing challenges such as race/ethnic disparities in care and flexible training in evidence-based practices. In addition to over 120 scholarly articles, she published the book, Pursuing a Career in Mental Health: A Comprehensive Guide for Aspiring Professionals.
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
Session Details
B2 – Reimagining a Child and Family Well-Being System of Care
Hybrid Session
Speaker:
Description:
In July 2023, San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency embarked on a journey of redesigning child safety and family strengthening work in San Diego County. This presentation provides an overview from local leadership of the process of reimagining what is now the Child and Family Well-Being Department and how all community partners can be part of this transformation. We will focus on the shift from mandated reporting to community supporting, the integration of First 5 San Diego and Child Welfare Services to establish the Child and Family Well-Being Department, and the creation of the new Office of Child and Family Strengthening to support prevention work in San Diego County.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe one technique involving community partners and those with lived experiences that is utilized to support family strengthening work.
- Identify one shift from mandated reporting to community supporting locally and statewide.
- Identify two changes in San Diego’s child and family well-being system of care.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Alfredo Guardado
Assistant Director of Child and Family Well-Being Department
Speaker Bio:
Alfredo Guardado has worked for the County of San Diego for over 24 years with 21 years being in Child Welfare Services. Alfredo has worked in multiple programs and promoted through the ranks within Child Welfare Services. Alfredo has served as the Assistant Director for Child Welfare Services for the last four years. During that time, Alfredo has helped lead the change from the traditional approach to child safety by focusing on prevention and upstream services. Alfredo also helped lead the department’s Innovation in Foster Care: Cash Transfer for At Risk Families program and Community Response Guide (CRG). In addition, Alfredo led the department’s response to the pandemic. Most recently, Alfredo has focused his efforts on modernizing and transitioning the Child Abuse Hotline to a Helpline. He is a graduate of San Diego State University where he received his Master of Social Work degree.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Sarah Glass
Deputy Director – Child and Family Well-Being Department
Speaker Bio:
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
Session Details
B3 – Sparking Joy in Telehealth: Making Virtual Mental Healthcare Fun and Engaging
Hybrid Session
Description:
As virtual sessions have become a more normalized method of mental health service delivery post-COVID, this course seeks to inform participants on how to best navigate clinical, legal, and ethical issues that may arise when providing psychiatry and psychotherapy services to minors via telehealth. This breakout session focuses on how we can provide effective, engaging evidence-based psychotherapy and psychiatry services to clients ages 6 to 18 via telehealth. We will review factors to consider when determining the appropriateness of telehealth as a platform of care, strategies for enhancing engagement, and methods for effectively delivering treatment interventions from common evidence-based practices and theoretical perspectives. Benefits and risks of using telehealth as well as developmentally appropriate strategies to help increase engagement and reduce resistance with both younger children and adolescents will be reviewed. Possible obstacles that may arise when providing psychiatry and/or psychotherapy to minors via telehealth will be explored and troubleshooted. Lastly, the role of parental involvement and how that may shift as a result of telehealth service delivery will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe 2 risks and 2 benefits of providing mental health services to youth via telehealth
- Identify 2 strategies to enhance client engagement and enjoyment and address client resistance when providing psychotherapy to children and teens via telehealth
- Describe 2 legal and ethical issues that may arise when providing psychiatry or psychotherapy via telehealth
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Divya Krishnamoorthy, MD, FAPA
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Divya Krishnamoorthy, is dual board-certified in Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry. She is a pioneer in telepsychiatry for the past 12 years delivering services across community clinics, private practice through PsychMD Services and Chadwick Center at Rady Children’s Hospital. Her journey illustrates the history and evolution of this emerging field, bridging technology and compassionate care while shaping the future landscape of mental health services. She shares her insights in the post COVID era with focus on the laws and ethics surrounding the practice of telepsychiatry, practical tools for success and the complexities involved with prescribing controlled substances via telehealth.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Kelly McCullough, LCSW
Speaker Bio:
Kelly McCullough, LCSW (#80807) is a licensed therapist who treats children, adolescents, and adults. She enjoys integrating evidence-based practices with the development of an empathic relationship. She specializes in treating anxiety, depression, trauma, and behavioral problems. Kelly obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with an emphasis in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego. She went on to graduate with honors with a Master of Social Work degree from San Diego State University. Kelly has received extensive psychotherapy training by the psychiatry departments at UCSD, Rady Children’s Hospital, and University of San Diego.
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Julia Allen, LCSW
Speaker Bio:
Julia Allen is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in telehealth-based treatment of pediatric mental health. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech and a Masters of Social Work from San Diego State University. She has over 10 years of experience working with children, teens, and families in various clinical settings, including Rady Children’s Hospital Outpatient Psychiatry and Vista Hill Learning Assistance Center. Julia currently provides outpatient therapy to children, teens and adults across California through her exclusively telehealth private practice, Julia Allen Therapy. She is passionate about infusing creativity, compassion, and collaboration into individualized evidence-based care to promote healing, growth, and resilience in an ever-changing landscape of mental health needs.
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
- 02:30PM - 03:00PM PDT
Break
- 03:00PM - 04:30PM PDT
Session Details
KN2 – Healing Interpersonal and Racial Trauma with Diverse Youth and Families
Hybrid Session
Speaker:
Description:
The negative consequences of trauma take a disproportionate toll on diverse youth due to the compounding stress of unique race related stressors including microaggressions, witnessing police brutality in the media. This keynote will provide an overview of interpersonal and racial trauma, present research on organizational barriers and facilitators to treatment and service utilization at community mental health facilities, and discuss strategies for fostering resilience for diverse youth and families. The keynote will conclude with a call to action to encourage conference attendees to increase their utility in responding to and treating interpersonal trauma, integrate and address cultural factors such as system mistrust, implicit bias that are likely to influence diverse clients’ ability to navigate the system, and to utilize existing strategies and supports for diverse youth and families.
Learning Objectives:
Speaker Details
Full Name:
Isha W. Metzger, PhD, LCP
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Isha Metzger is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Georgia State University, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, and Visiting Research Faculty at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS’ at Yale University. Dr. Metzger is Owner of Cultural Concepts, LLC, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, and a certified clinician in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Dr. Metzger’s work includes training practitioners in the delivery of evidence-based treatments aimed at healing interpersonal and racial trauma through utilizing racial socialization to improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, racial trauma, PTSD) for Black youth and families.
CE Credit Hours: 1.50
Hybrid Session
- 04:30PM - 04:45PM PDT
Closing Remarks: Charmi & Carrie