Shenita Williams presenting at national conference about school-based mental health
Shenita Williams, Ph.D., LCSW, director of field education at the VCU School of Social Work, will be making two presentations in March 2024 at the School Social Work Association of America’s national conference in Baltimore.
Dr. Williams, who also serves as an assistant professor in teaching, will be presenting the following:
School-Based Mental Health: One Size Does Not Fit All
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
This session introduces participants to a school-based mental health framework specifically designed for Black students. During this session, participants will gain a heightened awareness of the importance of taking factors such as race, class, and culture into account when working with Black students on mental health-related issues. Participants will leave with practical measures to support the mental health of Black students that can be easily implemented within their school divisions.
Learning objectives:
- Participants will examine what Black students need in order to have their mental health needs adequately addressed and supported.
- Participants will identify culturally relevant factors that school-based mental health practitioners need to acknowledge (and/or understand) regarding their work with Black students.
- Participants will demonstrate strategies school-based mental health practitioners should use when they are working with Black students. Specifically, participants will create 2-3 individual action items that they will implement in their practice with the Black students they serve.
Research Informed School-Based Mental Health Practice
Friday, March 15, 2024
This session introduces participants to a research design using a conventional Delphi approach that centers the expertise of Black scholars and researchers in the production of knowledge that informs the practice of school-based mental health practitioners. The use of the Delphi method amplifies the belief that Black researchers and Black scholars exist. The Delphi method further validates Black people as expert participants who are significant contributors to research-informed practice and practice-informed research focused on providing adequate and appropriate school-based mental health support to Black students.
Learning objectives:
- Participants will identify three basic features of a conventional Delphi method approach to research.
- Participants will define the word “expert” within the context of cultural representation and appropriateness in research.
- Participants will discover how to translate data collection from mental health research into practice that guides and directs their day-to-day work.