CHDI Hosts 16th Annual Evidence-Based Practice Conference
The 16th Annual Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Conference was held on June 4th at the Connecticut Convention Center. This year's conference, themed "Cultivating Connections and Equity in Connecticut’s Behavioral Health System," brought together over 460 behavioral health providers, school professionals, state agency staff, and others working with CHDI and the State of Connecticut to strengthen children's behavioral health EBPs.
Attendees were welcomed by Jodi Hill-Lilly, MSW, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), Cathy Foley Geib, MPA, Director at the Connecticut Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division (CSSD), and Jason Lang, PhD, Chief Program Officer at CHDI.
Centering healing for youth exposed to trauma
Following welcoming remarks, attendees heard from Wizdom Powell, PhD, MPH, a national authority on racial trauma and health equity and a CHDI board member. Dr. Powell delivered the keynote address, entitled "When We See Them Whole: Creating Healing-Centered School, Community, and Social Environments for Trauma-Exposed Youth."
"This work works when we do it well," Dr. Powell told the audience, but acknowledged that healing work also takes a toll on the healers. "Fill your own cup so you can give from the overflow," she urged.
Learn more about Dr. Powell and her perspectives on youth mental health and racial trauma in our recent Q&A.
2024 Honorees
Each year, CHDI also recognizes agencies that demonstrated outstanding performance in implementing an EBP model over the previous year (based on program data). 2023-24 honorees for each EBP included:
CHDI applauds all EBP partners across Connecticut for their ongoing work to improve the quality of children's behavioral health care
Breakout sessions
After the morning speakers and awards, participants enjoyed 36 breakout sessions where providers and child-serving professionals enhanced their professional development and earned continuing education credits in a wide variety of topics, including:
- Measurement-based care
- Cultural sensitivity and humility
- Trauma screening
- Managing language differences in the therapy process
- Clinical supervision and leadership
- Screening and care for substance use and co-occurring disorders
- Increasing family/caregiver collaboration and engagement
- Managing and preventing clinician burnout and vicarious trauma
- Creating a welcoming environment for transgender and non-binary clients
- Therapy with young children
- Many other EBP- and condition-specific workshops
The EBP Conference is made possible with funding from DCF and CSSD. For more than seventeen years, CHDI has collaborated with state and federal partners, providers, and families to improve access to effective services for children and youth. As part of this effort, we have hosted the EBP Conference annually since 2008 to provide training, support, and networking opportunities for mental health clinicians disseminating evidence-based practices across the state. Together, we have developed a workforce in Connecticut that now delivers multiple evidence-based treatments and practices to thousands of children and families each year.