Product Development
The Center for Family and Community Well-Being's product development projects focus on translating research, clinical expertise and community engagement into practical, evidence-informed tools and trainings that address mental health, well-being and equity across diverse populations. CFCWB partners with researchers, public health agencies and community organizations to create scalable mental health products, including professional trainings, organizational care models, prevention programs and digital resources. These offerings are delivered through trainings, curricula and web-based content for a variety of audiences such as clinicians, educators, leaders, students, families and marginalized communities.
Curriculum Development Projects
A grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) supports UofL’s suicide prevention initiative, Cards SPEAK (Suicide Prevention, Education, Awareness and Knowledge). With this initiative, UofL is able to develop and offer evidence-based and evidence-informed programming for students and faculty/staff. Trainings include:
- How to support student mental health
- Stress resiliency for higher education professionals
- Students stress resiliency workshops
A partnership with DCBS to develop training content and facilitate evidence-informed training programs to child welfare and family support staff to reduce client barriers, increase access to services and support staff professional development. These include:
- The impact of the social determinants of health on child welfare
- Field training specialist supervisor training (FTS)
A contract to training court and DCBS staff, community partners and judges on a variety of topics. Trainings that were previously developed were tailored to the audience. Trainings include:
- Collaborative approaches to boundaries and engagement
- Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT)
- Motivational interviewing: key concepts and skills
A program within CFCWB that develops and offers continuing education workshops to meet professional development needs of mental health professionals in the state of Kentucky.
- Understanding and preventing pediatric abusive head trauma
- Domestic violence and elder abuse: KBSW requirements and beyond
- Effective communication: barriers and strategies
- Telehealth best practices
A partnership to develop trainings on general trauma principles, as well as trauma informed leadership/supervision and trauma informed practice with youth. Trainings that were previously developed were tailored to the agency's audience. Trainings included:
- General trauma training: the impact of trauma on clients and professionals
- Supportive supervision
- Trauma-informed leadership: understanding and managing the impact of stress and promoting the well-being of leaders and organizations
A contract with LMPHW to develop a training series for staff to support mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Managing stress within and outside the pandemic: coping and resiliency needs and strategies
A partnership to develop evidence-based training programs for Maryhurst staff to improve the overall quality of care and effectiveness of programming for youth. These trainings provided the information and tools for staff to train other staff and clients at Maryhurst. These trainings include:
- Motivational interviewing: key concepts and skills
- Motivational interviewing: booster sessions
- Family centered prevention and support for opioid use in teens
A contract with the University of Louisville's Athletic Department to develop evidence-informed mental health programs for student athletes, parents, coaches and support staff. These include:
- Strategies for thriving and resilient student-athletes (STARS)
- How to engage, assess and recommend training (HEART)
- Training to engage, assess and manage student support needs for parents of college athletes (T.E.A.M)
- Stress resiliency for sports professionals
A contract with the University of Louisville Employee Success Center to develop multiple programs for UofL faculty and staff to meet mental health needs and support professional development. Trainings that were previously developed were tailored to the agency's audience. Trainings included:
- Transitioning back to in-person work: what just happened, where are we going now and what do we do?
- Coping in the time of COVID-19
- Anti-racism workshop
- Supportive supervision
A contract to develop training for University of Louisville Physicians to become more trauma-informed healthcare leaders:
- Trauma-informed health care leadership: understanding and managing the impact of stress and promoting the well-being of leaders and organizations
A contract to develop a training for UofL Surgery supervisors and residents to build supportive work relationships and a healthy work environment:
- Building supportive supervisory and peer relationships: how to facilitate autonomy, connection and well-being in surgery
Manual Development Projects
A partnership between CFCWB and two agencies serving homeless families to develop the program, Creating Resiliency Among Families in Transition (CRAFT), to meet the social, emotional and developmental needs of parents and children who are unhoused. CRAFT focused on six topics:
- Self-soothing skills
- Developmentally appropriate discipline skills
- Parenting in adversity skills
- Resiliency skills
- Collaboration skills
- Intentionality skills
A partnership between the University of Louisville Human Trafficking Research Initiative (HTRI) and CFCWB to manualize and deliver evidence-based professional training on six total specialized topics, as requested by the National Children’s Alliance. Training topics include:
- Mitigating compassion fatigue: theory and practice forself preservation and team care
- Adversity-informed identification and screening of victims of CP and human trafficking
- Stress-informed response and adversity-specific services for sufferers of CP
- Working with adolescents suffering in cases of youth-produced sexual image(s)
- Specialized forensic training for interviewing sufferers of CP and human trafficking
- Developing an adversity-informed community response to CP and human trafficking
CFCWB partnered with leading suicidologist and Kent faculty member, Dr. Laura Frey, to develop an evidence-informed training curriculum on family navigation of suicide risk called Navigate. This curriculum is the culmination of much of Dr. Frey’s research, clinical expertise and theoretical work in this important area and is offered to professionals as a three-day training with certification as a Navigate provider. Day one and day two have also been offered through the Kent Continuing Education Program to meet the Kentucky Board of Social Work's suicide prevention continuing education requirement. Topics for each day include:
- Day 1: Suicide risk and assessment overview
- Day 2: Understanding family factors
- Day 3: Guidelines for moving forward
A partnership with the Center for Trauma Resilient Communities (TRC) to develop a Trauma Resilient Communities Model (TRC) participant workbook spanning nearly 200 pages to accompany their 8-module TRC training series. Training modules include:
- Module 1: The Trauma Resilient Communities Model (TRC) and the seven commitments
- Module 2: Adverse childhood experiences and safety plans
- Module 3: Trauma science part 1
- Module 4: Trauma science part 2
- Module 5: Organizational chronic stress
- Module 6: S.E.L.F. and all hands meeting
- Module 7: Structural violence, race-based trauma and cultural humility
- Module 8: Professional quality of life
Advancing the behavioral health of Louisville and Kentucky’s youth by centering youth voice and lived experience in advocacy, research and sustainable funding efforts.
The executive committee of professional leaders, in partnership with youth representatives, is committed to understanding and addressing the behavioral health needs of youth in the community. In addition to understanding the types and prevalence of needs, there is also a commitment to assessing available services and gaps in care in the community, and centering youth voice to ensure lived experiences help shape priorities and solutions. These efforts aim to advance the behavioral health of Louisville and Kentucky’s youth through advocacy for policy change, sustainable funding, and rigorous research supported by external grants.
Dissemination products include infographics, social media toolkit, surveys, tip sheets and abbreviated slide decks, all of which can be used by the team and partners to advance community/provider understanding of youth mental health and advocate for system change to advance youth well-being.
Technology Development Projects
CFCWB partnered with Dr. Maurice Gattis and the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health to develop a web-based resource directory for the LGBTQ community in Louisville. This multi-stage research driven resource development project included a community needs assessment survey, focus groups with clients/parents/providers and provider survey of LGBTQ supportive criteria.
A contract with Moxie Inc to develop evidence-based online mental health content for Moxie Girls. Content covered general concepts of anxiety and cognitive behavioral strategies to manage anxiety. These topics included:
- Managing runaway thoughts
- Cognitive distortions and strategies to combat distortions
- Behavioral management strategies for anxiety, including breathing exercises, physical relaxation exercises, vagus nerve exercises and mindfulness techniques
- Fear ladder to address social anxiety and other specific fears