2021 TNOTA Pre-Conference Session DescriptionsFriday, September 10, 20213:30 to 5:30: The Role of Life Experience in Shaping Brain Development. This presentation will explore how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) harm the developing brains and bodies of children, compromising the foundation for lifelong health. The ACE research has resulted in child abuse and neglect being acknowledged as a major public health problem and a leading cause of early death. From academic failure to alcoholism, from crime to cancer, presence of ACEs compromise the safety, tax dollars and quality of life for all Tennesseans. This presentation will also identify community-based strategies to prevent and mitigate ACEs and build resilience. Understanding the ACE research deepens professional knowledge across sectors and creates a common language for collectively addressing community challenges. Speaker: Melissa McGee, M.A. Melissa McGee, M.A. is the Children’s Mental Health Advocacy Director with the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, where she works with statewide partners and advocates to move forward the mental health system for children and families. Melissa is a professional counselor and has worked with students and their families as a therapist and case manager in both a traditional setting and an alternative learning setting for youth with mental health concerns, as well as a counselor in an adolescent residential setting. She is currently applying for her Licensed Professional Counselor – Mental Health Service Provider designation and completing her doctoral program in Clinical Counseling at Trevecca in Nashville.
6:30 to 8:30: Question, Persuade, Refer: Suicide Prevention Training. Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) is a suicide prevention training that will equip the everyday person with the knowledge of signs of depression, how to ask someone if they are having thoughts of suicide, how to persuade an individual to seek help, and how to refer someone to resources available. You will learn what a Safety Plan looks like and how to create one. This course satisfies the requirement for OTRs to have 2 hours of suicide prevention training. Speaker: Kaylin Flamm, MSOT, OTR/L Kaylin Flamm, MSOT, OTR/L attended the University of Southern Indiana where she earned her bachelor's degree in Health Services with a concentration as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. She then worked as a neurorehabilitation Occupational Therapy Assistant and a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocate in Florida. After 3 years, Kaylin moved to Nashville, TN to complete her master's degree in Occupational Therapy at Belmont University's MSOT Bridge Program. She continued her work with survivors of domestic and sexual assault during this time and became the first Occupational Therapy intern with the Mental Health Court of Rutherford County. Upon completion of graduate school, Kaylin accepted a position with the Recovery Court program as a Mental Health Court case manager while also providing OT services. Through this avenue, Kaylin was able to advocate for a full time OT position serving all of the Recovery Courts in Rutherford County. This is one of the first OT positions of its kind in this setting in the country. In addition to working for the Recovery Court program, she is an Adjunct Professor at South College and the Mental Health Chair of the Tennessee Board of Occupational Therapy. |
