Home > Articles by: Kayla Bunch

Author: Kayla Bunch

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Luetjen, Chad

As a 14 year veteran of state service and a current member of the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) Organizational Learning Team I have held many positions with DHEWD including Case Manager, Customer and Technical Support Unit, and Office of Apprenticeship and work based learning. In that time I have had first-hand knowledge providing and assisting with providing services offered by our full service Job Centers. In my current roll I create and present training to DHEWD state staff and partner agencies.

Presentation(s):

Missouri Job Center Services

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Brooks, Estelle, MSW

Estelle Brooks is a certified fitness instructor with a master’s degree in Social Work. Estelle has over 35 years of experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Her professional training as a social worker has allowed her to correlate the importance of mental health status. She is an energetic 69-year-old that finds joy in assisting people individually or in large group settings to achieve optimal health and fitness and life-changing goals. She encourages and supports people to take care of themselves spiritually, mentally, physically, and creatively.

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YOU GOT TO DO SOMETHING “Balancing Your Life”

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Sandidge, Isaac, MA

Isaac Sandidge graduated from Eastern Ilinois University with an MA in Gerontology. He has over 7 years of experience as a clinician in community behavioral health centers. Sandidge organized, implemented and conducted New Employee Orientation for all staff within the community behavioral health organizations on topics such as Motivational Interviewing, Recovery Oriented Services, Personal Growth, Life Safety, Corporate Compliance, Trauma-Informed Care and Compassion Fatigue, Enhancing Consumer Engagement, ASAM, Golden Thread, IL Rule 132, DLA-20, PHQ9, and Mental Health First Aid. He is currently an instructor in Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid with certification in Public Safety, Higher Education, and Older Adult modules of the program. Sandidge is also an instructor for CALM (Counseling on Reducing Access to Lethal Means, and Conversations on Reducing Access to Lethal Means).

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Compassion Fatigue

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Rapp, Sherry, AAS

Sherry Rapp is a certified Missouri Recovery Support Specialist. For the past three years she has been employed at Recovery Lighthouse as the Family Advocate for the Family Recovery Program. She co-facilitates recovery workshops, the local family support group, holds community events to reduce stigma, and meets with families as needed to provide support and resources. Prior to this job, Sherry worked for other 15 years in the legal community at the Johnson County Circuit Clerks office and 13 years in a private attorney office. She identifies as a mother in recovery and brings her lived experience along with learned skills as MRSS to the role of the Family Advocate at Recovery Lighthouse.

Presentation(s):

Engaging Families in Services: The Family Recovery Program

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Burgen, Kailey, BS

Kailey Burgen graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Development and a minor in Psychology. She is a graduate student at the University of Central Missouri’s Human Development and Family Science program with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy. Her clinical/research interests include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resilience, addiction in the family, and diversity and social justice. Kailey has multiple years of experience working with children and their families in several professional capacities including being a mentor and social emotional learning specialist at an afterschool program and working in early-childhood education as a preschool teacher.

Presentation(s):

Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences: Risk and Resilience

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Keeton, Zhanna, MBA, MA, LPC, CCTS, BA

Zhanna Keeton, a Doctoral Candidate in Counseling & Care with a specialization in Trauma (Ed.D), is an accomplished executive and clinical professional with extensive experience in trauma-informed care and mental health. She holds an MBA from Webster University and an MA in Counseling from Missouri Baptist University. As the Executive Director of Center for Life Solutions, Zhanna oversees $6M+ in contracts, having significantly increased revenue and operational efficiency while leading the agency to ASAM certification and CARF accreditation. Her previous roles include founding and leading Phoenix Behavioral Health and serving as Chief Operations Officer at Jimmy Keys Fitness & Wellness, where she developed strategies for business growth and program development. In her clinical roles, Zhanna has provided trauma-informed therapy to diverse populations, including victims of human trafficking and individuals with severe mental illness. She is an active member of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence and has presented on trauma and mental health at various conferences. A published author and Licensed Professional Counselor, Zhanna is also certified as a Clinical Trauma Professional and Trauma and Addiction Specialist.

Presentation(s):

Balancing Person-Centered Treatment and Effective Addiction Treatment Interventions 

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Connors, Liz, LCSW, CRADC

Liz Connors is a licensed clinical social worker, certified substance abuse counselor, and clinical program manager with thirteen years of experience in both clinical and research settings addressing substance use, mental health, criminal justice, and the opioid epidemic. Her work primarily focuses on addressing and eliminating barriers to accessing care for people who use drugs, naloxone distribution to high-need populations, and providing harm reduction education and resources to people who use drugs. Her recent work focuses on first responder occupational safety, public health oriented behaviors, and creating collaborative care networks within the scope of the opioid epidemic. Liz has expertise in community coordination, resource collaboration, infrastructure development, and advocacy work across organizational lines. She currently serves as the Director of First Responder and Public Health Programming at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health.

Presentation(s):

Expanding Harm Reduction and Naloxone Access throughout Missouri – Overcoming Objections and Knocking Down Obstacles to Build New Paths Forward

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Green, Lauren, MSW

Lauren Green is the Director of Community Harm Reduction Programming at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri Institute of Mental Health. She has experience working collaboratively with partners across various sectors to reduce overdose mortality and increase access to harm reduction training and resources. Over the past six years, Lauren has worked to create more acceptance of harm reduction as a philosophy and vastly expand access to overdose education and naloxone across the state of Missouri. Lauren’s passion and focus is centered on reducing harm for people who use drugs and addressing stigma and inequalities related to drug use, incarceration, and access to care.

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Expanding Harm Reduction and Naloxone Access throughout Missouri – Overcoming Objections and Knocking Down Obstacles to Build New Paths Forward

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Constantino, John, MD

Dr. John Constantino is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of behavioral and mental health conditions of children and adolescents. Dr. Constantino received his medical education at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed a five-year combined residency in Pediatrics, General Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

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Dual Diagnosis and the Mental Health Parity Problem: Weaving High-Quality Medical, Psychiatric, and Developmental Support into Better Care for Patients and New Standards for Health Systems

 

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Band, Amy, BA

Amy Band has a joint degree in Psychology and Spanish and is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has experience as a crisis counselor in Memphis, TN. Her clinical and research interests are in the provision of mental health services to culturally diverse individuals, with a specific focus on the professional training needs of Latinx clinicians.

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