Speakers & Sessions
How Learning Motivational Interviewing Can Help Engage and Support Students
Dr. Kristin Dempsey
Kristin Dempsey Ed.D. is a Bay Area psychotherapist, counselor educator and trainer. Kristin has almost a decade’s worth of experience working in public schools K-12 providing mental health and substance use education and treatment services. She currently supports individuals and families in her San Francisco and Burlingame offices as well as through telehealth. Kristin is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), and she currently teaches motivational interviewing to school and other allied professionals. She is an associate professor at the Wright Institute’s Counseling Psychology Program and lecturing faculty at San Francisco State University.
Path to Funding Racially Just, Relationship-Centered Schools
Alex Brisco
Alex Briscoe, Principal, California Children’s Trust. Prior to Alex’s work with CA Children’s Trust, Alex was the director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency in 2009 where he led one of the state’s argest public health systems, overseeing health and hospital systems, public health, behavioral health, and environmental health departments with an annual budget of $700 million and 6,200 FTE contracted and civil service staff. Before joining the county, he was the director of the Chappell Hayes Health Center at McClymonds High School in West Oakland, a satellite outpatient center of Children’s Hospital and Research Center. Mr. Briscoe’s work has helped design the nexus of public health and public education. He has designed and administered a number of mental health and physical health programs and services in child serving systems, including home visiting programs, programs for medically fragile children, and clinical and development programs in child welfare, juvenile justice, and early childhood settings. Mr. Briscoe has served on the Alameda County First Five Commission, The Alameda Alliance, and The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and The Uninsured, as well as a number of other public and private boards and commissions. Mr. Briscoe is a mental health practitioner specializing in adolescent services and youth development. He has advised or collaborated with a number of local and national foundations including The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The California Endowment, and most recently with Tipping Point Community. He has specialized in Medicaid policy and administration, emergency medical services, youth voice and crisis counseling, and safety net design and administration.
Creating a Path to Comprehensive Mental Health Supports in Schools
Dr. Caroline Perry
In this session, participants will receive an overview of the complexities of building comprehensive mental health services in schools with a focus on the role of the school counselor in creating robust structures of support. We'll discuss the importance of a multi-tiered system that addresses the needs of all students and integrates mental health services into the school culture. Participants will learn practical strategies for creating a sustainable and effective mental health program that prioritizes structures of support.Compassionate Grief Work
Rachel Andrews
Managing grief and loss, along with the profound changes that come with it, can be daunting for students trying to manage school work and maintain extracurricular activities. Counselors in schools are on the front lines in ensuring that grieving students receive adequate and compassionate care, connection with resources, and supportive accommodations. Join me as we explore the elements of the grief counseling process, and the behind the scenes logistics that counselors perform, from receiving the initial information on a loss, to supporting students and families as they navigate one of life’s most difficult realities.Advocating for School Counselors: The Journey to Passing Assembly Bill 2508 and Transforming School Counseling in California’s Schools
Dr. Loretta Whitson
CASC and its partners have worked together to educate legislators about the critical role school counselors play in providing mental health services. They have effectively lobbied and have successfully secured funding for scholarships, workforce development and for a wholistic approach to educating students. The workshop will dive into the elements of Assembly Bill 2508 (Educational Counseling) and the complexities for California public schools to provide mental and behavioral health support services to all students. It will highlight the consistent, unwavering, and strategic work of the CASC Board, and the community at-large. New provisions for school counselors as Medi-Cal providers and new professional standards to be released in late 2023 will be discussed. Participants will gain insights on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in ensuring school counseling services maintain relevance for decades to come.Advocating for the Safety and Well-Being of LGBTQ+ Students
Dr. Vincent "Vinnie" Pompei
The increased politicization of LGBTQ+ inclusion and the intensity of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric at school board meetings and state legislatures profoundly impact the mental wellness of LGBTQ+ students and their families. Recently, data trends on school climate and suicidality among LGBTQ+ young people are trending in the wrong direction. At the same time, youth-serving professionals are increasingly more hesitant to address LGBTQ+ inclusion work as they fear pushback or lack of support from district leadership. Our students need adult advocates with the knowledge necessary to advocate for safe and affirming environments and the skills to effectively overcome resistance. This session is for those looking to sharpen their skills. Participants in this session can expect to improve their advocacy skills in creating environments where LGBTQ+ youth can thrive.Dr. Vinnie Pompei is an education consultant and assistant professor in the doctoral program for educational leadership at SDSU. Before joining SDSU, he spent a decade as the National Director of the Youth Well-Being Program for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ equality. He is a Past-President of CASC, author of the LGBTQ Section of the ASCA National Model, and a member of the Equity Working Group for the California Health and Human Services. Pompei’s dedication to creating safe school climates has been acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Education, the NEA, Equality California, and the California PTA.
Equipping our Future with the 'Mental Hygiene Toolkit'
Raghu Appasani, M.D.
Dr. Appasani will discuss the current mental health pandemic and reflect on how we can integrate tools to better equip our youth from an early age. He will also provide insight and the neuroscience backing up a framework, which he refers to as “Mental Hygiene”. Audience members will formulate their own mental hygiene routines through Interactive activities as well in this keynote session.
Dr. Raghu Kiran Appasani is an Integrative Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, and Social Entrepreneur focused on bridging the gap between western and eastern practices to create a wholesome society by taking a proactive approach to health. Currently he is an Addiction Psychiatry Fellow at University of California-San Francisco where is also a member of the TrPR (Translational Psychedelic Research Program) team where he is focusing on the treatment of mental illness using psilocybin. His current interests lie at the intersection of psychodynamic psychotherapy, integrative/nutritional psychiatry, mental health literacy, advocacy, wellness, entrepreneurship, and psychedelics. His alter-ego's life goal is to become a chef integrating farm-to-table experiences in stunning landscapes around the world.
For his contributions he has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, One Young World Delegate Ambassador, StartingBloc Fellow, Nexus Global Delegate, EchoingGreen, MassChallenge, and Kellogg Innovation Network Delegate. Through his extensive scientific research, he has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles and edited five books. He has given over 120 talks on mental health, entrepreneurship, global health, and consciousness in parallel with authorship and features in CNN, Vogue, The Boston Globe, ThriveGlobal, The Better India, The Zoe Report, and The Huffington Post.
Clinically, Dr. Appasani is trained in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), Cognitive Processing Therapy for Trauma, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Group Therapy, Exposure Response Prevention. He also completed the MAPS MDMA Psychotherapy Program as a Health Equity Scholar. His clinical interests lie in psychedelic therapy, mood disorders (depression, bipolar), addiction, anxiety disorders, OCD spectrum, eating disorders, trauma, and personality spectrum conditions.
More Than Self is Needed for Self-Care
Jeremiah Aja, M.A., LPCC
Educators and youth-serving professionals have participated in, and likely led, numerous sessions on "self-care.” Countless resources are pouring into this topic, and this can be helpful to a certain point. This workshop has a different focus- major paradigm shifts with sustainable, equitable practices as we reflect on our own mental health. This workshop will equip you to care for the most important intervention in your school communities- YOU. Attendees will also learn about Wellness Education Lab (WEL), the FREE practical & empowering online mental health training recently launched in partnership with the California Department of Education.
Jeremiah Aja is the Director of Business Development for the national nonprofit organization, Wellness Together School Mental Health, and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. He also serves as the Blue Shield of California BlueSky Liaison, a five-year initiative to increase mental wellness in students across California. Jeremiah has worked with youth and families since 2001 and now helps to lead a team of therapists across the country partnering with school districts and universities to deliver mental health services on school campuses or online. Jeremiah is a member of the California Department of Education State Suicide Postvention Response Team and an original member of the California Department of Education Mental Health Collaborative. He holds a Bachelor's in Leadership from William Jessup University, a Master's Degree from Asbury Theological Seminary, and a Master's Degree in Psychology from Brandman University. Jeremiah lives in the Sacramento, CA area with his wife and two daughters.