NYATCP PRECONFERENCE:
Digging Deeper: Complex Issues in Mental Health
MARCH 5, 2025
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
AGENDA

Title: Digging Deeper: Complex Issues in Mental Health

Preconference description:

The preconference will explore some of the complex issues in mental health that we are seeing in our courts, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and intervening with high acuity participants. We will discuss how assisting those with complex mental health conditions is challenging current practices in the public health and court systems.  Attendees will be presented information to support a greater understanding of mental health conditions and be provided with tools to help them better assist individuals struggling with mental health and substance use challenges.

1:00-2:00- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder- a discussion of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and its impact on justice-involved individuals: what to know, what to look for, and resources to help. Speakers: Dr. Julianne Myers, PhD; Dr. Catherine Cerulli, JD, PhD

2:00-3:00- Practical Applications in Mental Health- This session will explore strategies for interacting with, and supporting justice involved individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. Attendees will gain practical information to help navigate these challenges effectively and empathetically from the bench and within the treatment courts.  An emphasis will be placed on building skills to foster effective trauma informed interactions with justice-involved individuals, while addressing their unique needs in ways that promote recovery, reduce stigma, and encourage positive outcomes.  Attendees will be provided with actionable strategies that can be applied to their daily work with individuals experiencing mental health and substance use challenges in justice settings. Speaker: Dr. Kimberly Butler, PhD, LCSW, MS

3:00-3:10- Break

3:10-4:00- Complex Issues in Mental Health- this session will focus on complex issues in mental health and the barriers that those working in problem-solving courts are facing in assisting their participants. An overview of the OMH court-based navigator program will also be discussed.  Speaker: Dr. Li-Wen G. Lee, MD

Preconference committee:
Hon. Marcia Hirsch, Acting Justice, Supreme Court, and NYATCP President
Laurie A. Michelman, Esq., Associate Court Attorney, Auburn City Court
Kimberly VanCamp, MA, Statewide Mental Health Court Project Director, NY Unified Court System, Division of Policy and Planning