Professional Learning Series
The Cook Children's Center for Community Health professional learning series offers structured, expert-led presentations and trainings designed to deepen knowledge and strengthen practice across key health and community topics. Each session features certified or licensed professionals sharing evidence-based insights, emerging best practices, and practical applications to advance professional excellence and community impact.
Available options
The following trainings can be provided in-person upon request, subject to staff availability, to public health professionals. To make a request, contact Jammie.Josephson@cookchildrens.org.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) 101: LIVE
60 mins. (Virtual - Live)
This live training, hosted via Zoom, will define Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and identify key terms related to them. Viewers will understand the long-term impact of ACEs on individuals and the community, and consider strategies to mitigate their effects. Additionally, the trainer will illustrate the difference between ACEs and Positive Childhood Experiences, providing an opportunity for participants to interact and ask questions.
The Asthma in-service consists of a formal training with expert presenters and may offer live and/or enduring CEUs. Participants from various backgrounds are encouraged to attend; most participants are from schools, child care centers, social services agencies, or other health care organizations. The in-service is typically held in-person and may also offer a virtual option for attending. For more information on the asthma in-service, contact Marquietta Jones.
This session will introduce the trauma-informed approach to your work in addressing youth and mental wellness. This can be offered in person or virtual by request. Please reach out to Jammie Josephson to schedule.
This one hour presentation will focus on introducing a trauma-informed approach to your work with families experiencing food insecurity. This can be offered in person or virtual by request. Please reach out to Dora Garcia to schedule.
Parent Cafes are small, intimate settings where caregivers have the opportunity to share parenting successes and challenges. This program is implemented through our community partners that serve children and families. Partners are trained by a licensed professional. If interested, you can reach out to Aaron Oliveras.
QPR gat keeping training is an evidence based training for individual intervention and prevention of suicide. If interested, you can reach out to Jammie Josephson.
Designed to teach individuals how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. If interested, you can reach out to Jammie Josephson.
Our safe baby sleep symposium consists of a formal training with expert presenters and may offer live and/or enduring CEUs. Participants from various backgrounds are encouraged to attend; most participants are from schools, child care centers, social services agencies, or other health care organizations. The symposium is typically held in-person and may also offer a virtual option for attending. For more information on the safe baby sleep symposium, contact Samantha St.John.
Wellness Workshops facilitate educational opportunities for mental health providers and other professionals to increase their knowledge about mental health issues and available services across our eight-county service area. Workshop topics are evidence-based and aim to improve services provided to children and families through interprofessional collaboration.To learn more about Wellness Workshops, email Mandy Ebner.
ADHD: A deep dive into supportive interventions and dispelling myths | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3.25 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Summarize common myths associated with an ADHD diagnosis, recognize symptoms of ADHD, identify medications used to treat ADHD symptoms, discuss the PCP’s role in treatment and medication management of ADHD, and describe at least four intervention strategies to support children with ADHD symptoms at home and school.
Anxiety: Diagnostic criteria and treatment in children | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3.25 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Define the diagnostic criteria for the following anxiety disorders: Generalized anxiety disorder, OCD/phobias, separation anxiety, and social anxiety, describe case studies with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, OCD/phobias, separation anxiety, and social anxiety, and identify at least two interventions to use with the following anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, OCD/phobias, separation anxiety, and social anxiety.
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Media use and access for youth: Navigating the good, bad, and ugly sides of the internet, social media, and gaming | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Describe current trends for children’s use of apps, games, social media, and/or internet use, explain 1-2 research based guidelines for internet safety, identify 1-2 strategies to provide limits and/or support around developmentally appropriate media exposure, identify 1-2 risks associated to children having early pornography exposure and describe signs and symptoms of adolescent pornography addiction.
Disordered eating in youth: signs, symptoms, and support | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3.5 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Describe characteristics of disordered eating behaviors, describe current trends occurring in youth displaying disordered eating, summarize differences between disordered eating and eating disorders, and identify at least two evidence-based interventions to use with children/teens displaying disordered eating behaviors.
Dysregulated youth: Supporting and understanding challenging emotions and behaviors
| Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3.5 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Describe behavioral and emotional characteristics of dysregulation, summarize understanding of diagnosis associated with high levels of dysregulation, identify at least (2) evidence based interventions to use with children/teens displaying dysregulation, describe at least (2) parenting strategies to support parents who have a highly dysregulated child/adolescent, and identify when higher levels of care may be appropriate.
Anxiety: Cultivating supportive strategies for children and youth | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3.5 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Describe current research on anxiety in youth, identify at least three supportive strategies to reduce anxious symptoms in the home and/or school setting, summarize understanding of differential diagnoses and co-occurring issues and challenges in youth presenting with anxiety symptoms, and describe at least 1-2 self-care strategies to aid in reducing burnout for caregivers and professionals.
Suicidal Ideation: Cultivating supportive strategies for children and youth| Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Describe the current research on suicidality, recognize the signs and symptoms of depression and risk factors for suicidality, define the steps to assess risk of harm and identify appropriate levels of treatment, describe at least three interventions for children/adolescents with suicidal ideation, and summarize trauma-informed strategies to build a culture of support.
Substance Use: Cultivating supportive strategies for children and youth | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3.5 hours (Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: Identify at least three reasons children and youth might use substances, describe at least three interventions for children/adolescents experiencing substance use, and explore the various perspectives to build a supportive culture for students and families experiencing substance use.
Autism: A spectrum of support | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
4 hours( Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives include: Gaining an understanding of what autism is and who the diagnosis impacts; identifying and describing definitions and terminology associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder; gaining an understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic criteria; identifying characteristics associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder; identifying presentation of symptoms across settings and defining Neurodiversity; and understanding the Neuro-affirming lens.
Axles of anxiety: Who, What, Why | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
No recording available
Learning objectives: identifying the different types of anxiety experienced and how it presents in children and teens; identifying at least three ways media contributes to anxiety; and describing at least three coping strategies parents and professionals can use to help reduce anxiety in children and teens. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Building resiliency against adverse childhood experiences(ACEs) | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3 hours ( Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: gaining knowledge about ACES and how it affects people in diverse populations; identifying two ways to practice resiliency in everyday life. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Commercially sexually exploited youth, recognizing and responding: Denton County strategy | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
4 hours (Virtual - Zoom)
Learning objectives include: identify at least three stakeholders involved in the Denton County Protocol for Care Coordination of CSEY victims; gain understanding of the CSE-IT tool and training and how it is used to identify victims and refer for services; recognize signs of complex traumas and appropriate interventions; identify risk factors for male victims of sex trafficking; recognize the impact of victimization on CSEY victims. Target audience: professionals
Commercially sexually exploited Youth, recognizing and responding: Empowering youth & families | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
No recording available
Learning objectives: recognizing how developments in social media are affecting youth; identifying ways to support and build resiliency in the LGBTQ+ population; identifying the importance of how effective communication between adults and youth helps prevent early childhood abuse; and describing ways to identify and respond to youth at risk of sexual exploitation. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Commercially sexually exploited youth, recognizing and responding: Texas’s holistic strategy | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
No recording available
Learning objectives: being able to identify specific risk behaviors of Commercially sexually exploited youth (CSEY); learners will review the State’s comprehensive, holistic public health approach to address CSEY; learners will identify specific stakeholders involved in a multi-disciplinary approach to coordinated care for victims of CSEY in Denton County; learners will describe the specialized role of CSEY Advocates; learners will identify specific further opportunities for training and engagement, as well as reporting mechanisms for suspected CSEY. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Compassion and Empathy: A response to bullying | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
No recording available
Learning objectives: recognizing the different types of bullying experienced by children and teens; exploring the perspectives of schools and community organizations as they work to address bullying; describing at least three strategies parents and professionals can use to promote empathy and compassion in youth; and improving services for children and families through collaboration and resource sharing amongst professionals, families, and the community. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Encapsulated: The link between substance use disorders & mental health | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3 hours( Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives include: recognize at least three ways a co-occurrence of mental health illness and a substance use disorder can impact the type of interventions provided to children and families; and describe at least three strategies parents & professionals can use to help children who have parents with a substance use disorder. Target audience: professionals
Flipping Our Lens on Youth Challenges: Real problems, real solutions | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
No recording available
Learning objectives: exploring the intersectionality of technology and pop culture influences on depression, self-harm, and suicide in youth; describe the effects of technology and social media on children and teens' brain, social, and emotional development based on current research; discuss the stressors and challenges today's youth experience from the perspectives of local teens; and describe three strategies to develop positive coping skills to build social and emotional capacity in youth. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Recovery after the chaos: Empowering the community to take back what COVID stole | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3 hours( Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives: recognizing how the power of relationship building can help families with traumatic experiences; describing at least three strategies parents and professionals can use to improve self-regulation and promote resiliency; recognizing the impact of COVID-19 within the family system. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Responding to COVID-19 as a community| Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
3 hours( Virtual-Zoom)
Learning objectives include: explain the benefits, pitfalls, and dangers of the increased utilization of the internet; describe at least three coping skills community members can use to respond to the stresses of COVID-19; and explain how mindfulness can be utilized practically to reduce stress. Target audience: professionals
Together for youth mental health & wellness in Denton County, Part I | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
No recording available
Learning objectives: summarizing the value of collaboration when addressing children’s mental health needs as a community; identifying behavioral health needs at Juvenile Probation and programs available to Denton County youth; explaining at least two wellness strategies mental health providers can employ to practice self-care. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
Together for youth mental health & wellness in Denton county, Part II | Wellness Workshop | Mental Health
No recording available
Learning objectives: identifying what is meant when the term neurodivergence is used; describing how to use de-escalation tools with neurodivergent populations; recognizing the connection between mental health and physical health. The target audience for this presentation is mental health professionals.
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