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Session Descriptions
Keynote Day 1
Keynote Session
Keynote Presentation
Session Date:
Session Start Time:
Session End Time:
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Presenter(s):
09-28-2026
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Nick Paulisanto
TBD
Plenary 1
Plenary Session
Preparing the Workforce: Training, Supervision, and Support for Behavioral Health Aides to Promote Effective Care
Session Date:
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09-28-2026
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Xiomara Owens, Tonya Horn, Bernice Nisbett, Amanda Gentz, Dennis Mohatt
Alaska’s health aide programs have been described as the backbone of Alaska’s tribal health systems. Behavioral Health Aides (BHAs) provide accessible, culturally sustaining behavioral health services in rural and geographically remote villages across the state. This presentation describes findings from semi-structured interviews conducted virtually with 15 BHA Supervisors practicing throughout Alaska’s Tribal Health System. Findings describe BHA’s readiness and ability to respond to presenting problems (including suicide risk, substance use, and serious mental illness), training strengths and gaps, strengths and gaps related to BHA supervision, structural factors affecting BHAs’ ability to provide care, integration of cultural knowledge and traditions, and impacts of the BHA program on local communities/regions. Recommendations for strengthening BHA training, supervision, and client care to address presenting concerns are discussed.
Plenary 2
Plenary Session
Key Legislative Updates in Rural Mental Health
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Presenter(s):
09-28-2026
1:00 PM
1:30 PM
Eldorado Ballroom
Jonah C. Cunningham
TBD
Poster 1
Poster Presentation
Financial Stress Among U.S. Farmers: Gender and Regional Differences and Implications for Rural Mental Health
Session Date:
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
M. E. Betsy Garrison, Shari Moxley, Don Willis
This poster presents findings from a national study of gender and regional differences in financial stress among U.S. farmers and highlights concrete implications for rural mental health practice. By centering the lived experiences of farmers and farm families, the study illustrates how financial strain manifests in emotional distress, relational challenges, and physical stress responses that are frequently encounter in rural settings. Implications are discussed for practitioners, outreach professionals, community health workers, and policy makers, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary, community engaged approaches that integrate mental health support, financial navigation, and family-focused care to improve access, acceptability, and effectiveness of services in and educational programs for rural agricultural communities.
Poster 2
Poster Presentation
Putting the Farmer First: Collaborating to support the physical and behavioral health of people working in agriculture
Session Date:
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Clinton Wilson
By integrating prevention, intervention, and direct service across multiple delivery mechanisms, the Colorado AgrAbility Project's collaborative framework provides a sustainable, evidence-informed model supporting physical and behavioral health challenges while respecting the unique cultural and practical needs of rural agricultural communities.
Poster 3
Poster Presentation
Prevalence of Depression in People with Epilepsy Who Live in Rural Illinois
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Brianna Trimble
This study examines the prevalence of depression among adults with epilepsy living in rural Illinois. Our findings suggest an increased rate of depressive symptoms in this population, highlighting a potential gap in mental healthcare. These results support the need for routine depression screening and improved access to mental health resources in rural communities.
Poster 4
Poster Presentation
Chronic and acute mental health stressors on the long-term health of rural Latina mothers
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Kimberly Greder, Amin Hashemzehi
This poster presentation will highlight findings from a longitudinal study that examines the health and well-being of 180 first generation Latina mothers in rural Iowa over a 15 year period. Recommendations for strategies, practices and policies will be shared.
Poster 5
Poster Presentation
Where Counselors Come In: Rural Mental Health Workforce Advocacy in New Mexico
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Gena Lawson
New Mexico’s rural mental health workforce crisis is well-documented, and the policies passed in the 2026 legislative sessions are now in early implementation. This poster examines what counselor-led advocacy looks like in the implementation phase: where gaps remain, where current entry points exist, and what culturally responsive action looks like in our state. Key policies include $382 million in BEAD broadband funding, interstate licensing compacts, a $25 million loan-repayment program, and mental health crisis reform. Workforce data is paired with implementation strategies for Spanish-speaking and Native American communities. Visual elements include policy timelines, workforce gap maps, and implementation roadmaps.
Poster 6
Poster Presentation
Listening to Persistence: What Qualitative Data Reveals About Why Rural Mental Health Professionals Stay”
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Rebecca Koltz, Daniel Koltz
Rural behavioral health workforce challenges are typically presented through quantitative indicators: vacancy rates, turnover statistics, service capacity ratios, and burnout scores. While these metrics are essential for funding, planning, and accountability, they often fail to capture the lived realities that shape workforce persistence in rural communities. Why do some mental health professionals remain in under-resourced settings despite professional isolation, high acuity, and limited specialty support? What sustains them? What pushes them toward departure?
This session presents findings from a qualitative study examining persistence among rural mental health professionals. Through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, the study explores how clinicians make meaning of their work within small rural communities, navigate relational accountability, experience expanded scopes of practice, and manage the tension between overwhelming need and limited infrastructure.
Participants will be introduced to key themes emerging from a qualitative research study. They will engage in guided dialogue about how qualitative findings can inform data-driven leadership, workforce policy, supervision, and training models. The session will demonstrate how narrative data, when systematically collected and analyzed, tells a compelling, interesting, data-informed story.
Attendees will leave with practical strategies for incorporating qualitative data into workforce planning and system design, as well as tools for translating lived experience findings into actionable recommendations for administrators, policymakers, and training programs.
By positioning listening as a legitimate form of data collection, this presentation embodies the conference theme: integrating analytic rigor with compassion to build sustainable rural mental health systems.
Poster 7
Poster Presentation
Title: Evidence-Based Mental Health Counseling Techniques for Rural Youth in Therapeutic Residential Treatment Settings
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
David Scott
The effectiveness of therapeutic residential treatment settings has been questioned as an effective form of treatment for historically underserved youth. This presentation will examine the recidivism rates of youth who participated in an established therapeutic residential program serving adolescents from rural and smaller cities in a southeastern state. While least restrictive interventions are the primary mode of treatment for adolescents, therapeutic residential settings still offer an alternative to training school and long stays in local detention centers for adolescents who may have failed in other therapeutic modalities. Over the past several years there has been a proliferation of level II and level III group homes serving rural communities throughout the country. Many of these facilities are operating below standards, creating dangerous settings for the adolescents in care. While a trend to use least restrictive therapy models is indicated in the literature, there is still a place for appropriate and effective residential programs. The agency from which the client sample was taken has been operating therapeutic facilities for over 30 years and is nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation. This agency also continually evaluates the programs to ensure effective programs for the youth it serves. This presentation will describe the general make-up of the adolescents served in the facilities, what type of therapeutic model is used in the facilities and the follow-up data that is collected and used to evaluate the programs. Recidivism rates (committing other crimes) for adolescents sent to training school are as high as 80% while adolescents who participate in one of the group home programs have a recidivism rate of only 35%. These recidivism rates will be reviewed in the presentation.
The effectiveness of these residential services has been measured in three ways: services are evaluated by primary referral sources; follow-up data is obtained at various intervals after program participation to measure recidivism; and a more sensitive, "Offense Seriousness Score", has been computed and analyzed prior to, during and after treatment in the residential program (a sample of 63 participants was used in this part of the study). Also, separate data on 740 clients who have participated in the agency group homes over the past several years is examined to determine what percentage got back into trouble with the Department of Juvenile Justice during one-year follow up periods.
Poster 8
Poster Presentation
Supervision Experiences of Post-Master’s Counselors Seeking Licensure in Alaska: Exploring Professional Identity Development, Clinical Competency, and Systemic Barriers
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Payton Bostick, Winnie Bien-Aime, Misti Compton
This presentation explores the lived supervision experiences of post-master’s counselors in rural Alaska using a transcendental phenomenological approach. Findings highlight how geographic isolation, limited access to qualified supervisors, and the absence of associate-level licensure shape professional identity development, clinical competency, and pathways to independent practice. Five key themes emerged, including boundary challenges in small communities, inconsistent supervision structures, emotional strain, systemic barriers to identity development, and power imbalances within the licensure process. Implications for counselor educators, supervisors, and policymakers will be discussed, with a focus on strengthening supervision practices, supporting workforce retention, and advancing equitable mental health care in rural and underserved communities.
Poster 9
Poster Presentation
Defining Safety during Mental Health Crisis Response: Key Takeaways from Rural Wisconsin Residents
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09-28-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Rachel Odes
This presentation will highlight findings from a recent qualitative study conducted in four parts of Wisconsin. The study involved an interdisciplinary team and was conducted in partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) affiliates. The goal is to identify what attributes of mental health crisis response are most important for individuals with lived experience of mental health crises or their family members.
1A
Breakout Session
Bridging the Rural Gap: Building a Collaborative Virtual Learning Community for Mental and Behavioral Health Practice Change
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09-28-2026
1:45 PM
2:45 PM
Eldorado A
Adelaide Murray, Ashlie Micucci
This session will present the Treating Addiction in Rural Areas ECHO program, a virtual learning community implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Telehealth Technology-Enabled Learning Program. For five years, this program has enhanced provider knowledge, facilitated practice change, and empowered behavioral and mental health professionals across rural communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Following a summary of the program model and key findings, the presenters will engage the audience in an interactive demonstration of the ECHO’s case-based learning model by presenting an example case of a real patient with co-occurring behavioral and mental health conditions residing in a rural area. The presenters will guide attendees through the model’s structure, starting with clarifying questions about the case, followed by a solicitation of recommendations to improve the quality of clinical care provided and identify strategies to address patient barriers to accessing resources. Through the case-based discussion attendees will experience a collaborative learning community and learn to leverage virtual communities to scale evidence-based and person-centered care, close rural health gaps, and reduce professional isolation.
2A
Breakout Session
Using Storytelling and Narrative Therapy to Decrease Mental Health Stigma in Rural Appalachia and other Rural Communities
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09-28-2026
1:45 PM
2:45 PM
Anasazi North
Elizabeth Slaven
This presentation will focus on using Narrative Therapy in rural and Appalachian communities. In the presentation I will introduce what Narrative Therapy is and why it is best practice for counselors and supervisors to be trained in this orientation. I will discuss barriers that individuals from low socioeconomic, rural communities face and how some of those individuals have a distrust in the system because of the language register.
3A
Breakout Session
The Role of Peer Support as an Indigenous Practice
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09-28-2026
1:45 PM
2:45 PM
Anasazi South
Vesper Moore
This training module explores the vital role of peer support, relationships, and genuine human connection in re-indigenizing and decolonizing society. Peer support is not a new idea—it is deeply rooted in Indigenous traditions, where healing occurs in sacred circles, through storytelling, and with the guidance of ancestral practices. By drawing on these values, peer support offers a holistic, community-centered approach to wellness that helps address the harmful legacies of colonization and assimilation.
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how peer support can serve as a tool for reclaiming cultural practices, strengthening identity, and healing intergenerational trauma. The workshop will examine the histories of colonization and their lasting impact, while also exploring the practice of peer support among Indigenous peoples globally. Parallels with Western approaches will be highlighted to illuminate both differences and intersections.
4A
Breakout Session
Collective Effort to Building the Behavioral Health Workforce in Rural Settings: Impact of The Learning to Practice Mini Grant
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09-28-2026
1:45 PM
2:45 PM
Zia A
Kathleen Gibbons, Denise Moore, JoAnn Cooke, Student 1
The From Learning to Practice (FL2P) mini-grant directly advances goals of growing the behavioral health workforce, improving clinical quality and consistency, and increasing provider capacity in rural, tribal, and frontier communities in New Mexico. By embedding structured Clinical Reasoning and Case Formulation (CRCF) training and tools into the practicum experience and providing financial support to both students and provider agencies, FL2P improves clinical readiness, competency, recruitment, and retention before students enter the workforce.
5A
Breakout Session
Use of Contingency Management in Rural Areas: A Scoping Review of the Literature
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09-28-2026
1:45 PM
2:15 PM
Zia B/C
Kathi Trawver, Michael Baldwin
Contingency management (CM) is a well-established, evidence-based intervention that uses structured incentives to reinforce positive recovery behaviors among individuals with substance use disorders. A robust body of research demonstrates that CM improves abstinence, treatment retention, and medication adherence, including for medications for opioid use disorder and stimulant use disorder. Despite this strong evidence base, limited research has examined the implementation, effectiveness, and contextual considerations of CM in rural and resource-limited settings, where barriers to care are often amplified.
In alignment with this year’s conference theme, this paper presents findings from a scoping review that synthesizes existing evidence on the use of CM in rural behavioral health contexts. The review also examines how existing data sources can be leveraged to inform implementation, evaluation, and practice in rural settings. Implications for policy, program design, and equitable access to evidence-based care will be discussed.
5A
Breakout Session
Rural Youth Mental Wellness: Empowering the Next Generation in Rural America
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09-28-2026
2:15 PM
2:45 PM
Zia B/C
Jeff Winton
There is a mental health emergency in rural America, with higher rates of depression and a suicide rate that is 49% higher compared to urban residents. Rural teenagers die by suicide at rates nearly 75% higher than their urban peers. In response, Rural Minds has developed the Rural Youth Mental Wellness program. The strategy recognizes the independent, self-reliant rural mindset as a strength. The program empowers youth to take action through information and resources, enabling them to practice self-care and become part of the solution to improving rural mental health.
1B
Breakout Session
Strengthening Rural Crisis Systems Through Mental Health Urgent Care
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09-28-2026
3:15 PM
4:15 PM
Eldorado A
Laura Vaughn, Ashley Kjos, Jinny Palen, Tanya Wozniak
This panel will highlight how two rural Minnesota CCBHCs developed and implemented Mental Health Urgent Care models to address gaps in their regional crisis systems. Presenters will discuss the rural mental health landscape in Minnesota including limited hospital bed capacity and the need for community-driven solutions. The panel will also describe how Mental Health Urgent Care integrates with existing crisis services such as crisis lines, mobile crisis teams, and residential programs. They will share practical steps taken to launch these services, including staffing, operations, funding strategies, community partnerships, and early outcomes. The session will conclude with guidance for organizations exploring how to structure similar services based on available legislation, funding streams, and local community needs.
2B
Breakout Session
Balancing Data and Community Realities: Lessons from an Evaluation Learning Team Supporting Rural Mental Health Collaboratives
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09-28-2026
3:15 PM
4:15 PM
Anasazi North
Alfiya Shaikh Mohd Rafiq, Heather Clark, Sara Mendez, Felicia N. York, David Matarrita-Cascante
This panel presents lessons learned from an evaluation of a multi-county rural mental health initiative in Texas. The evaluation team worked alongside community collaboratives to support evaluation planning, document implementation processes, and strengthen local evaluation capacity. Drawing on reflections from the evaluation process, the session explores lessons learned and insights related to integrating evaluation into community initiatives, balancing flexibility with accountability, and supporting community-driven learning in rural mental health programs. The presentation highlights how evaluation teams can support both rigorous data practices and relationship-centered collaboration in complex rural contexts.
3B
Breakout Session
Project AWARE New Mexico: Building an Integrated, School-Based Behavioral Health System and Five-Year Outcomes (2021–2026)
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09-28-2026
3:15 PM
4:15 PM
Anasazi South
David Lardier, Carolina Verdezoto, Ana Milan Hinostroza
New Mexico faces persistently high youth behavioral health needs amid rural/frontier access barriers and sociocultural inequities. Project AWARE NM implemented an integrated behavioral health (IBH) model in three schools (Roswell School District, Socorro School District, and in Santa Fe High Schools for Native American students) across the state of NM—linking screening, trauma-informed care, peer navigation, and cross-sector coordination. Over five years, AWARE engaged more than 400 students in direct clinical services, connected 1,127 students to services both within and outside of schools (out of 1,439 referrals; 78.32%), achieved statistically significant improvements in mental health and functioning, and advanced systems change through policy adoption, workforce training, and formal interagency agreements. This session will distill the IBH framework, implementation strategies across diverse LEAs, and the evaluation results that inform sustainability and scale.
Full authors: David Lardier, PhD Cynthia Melugin, PhD, Thomas A Chavez, PhD, Carolina Verdezoto, LCSW Ana P Milan Hinostroza, MA, Sondra Samaniego, LPCC, Micayla Duran, Danika Riddlebarger, Allen Dominguez, Magdalena Sona Saiz, PhD
4B
Breakout Session
Training Clinics as Access Points: Bridging Gaps in Rural Mental Health Through Innovation and Ethics
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09-28-2026
3:15 PM
4:15 PM
Zia A
Becca Kall
Rural communities face persistent barriers to accessing behavioral health care, including workforce shortages, geographic isolation, stigma, and limited availability of culturally responsive services. Traditional outpatient models alone are insufficient to meet these complex and evolving needs. At the same time, many preventive and supportive interventions, while critical to engagement and early access, are not reimbursable under standard billing structures, creating a significant gap between service delivery and financial sustainability.
This presentation highlights how a university-affiliated rural behavioral health training clinic has implemented innovative, nontraditional access strategies to address these challenges. These approaches include embedded behavioral health services, community-based outreach, brief supportive interventions, telehealth adaptations, and integration of peer support, all while maintaining ethical and legal integrity and advancing long-term sustainability.
Attendees will explore how rural-informed decision-making, adaptive clinical models, and strategic community partnerships can expand access, improve engagement, and strengthen the behavioral health workforce. The session will provide practical guidance on navigating regulatory frameworks, distinguishing between billable and non-billable services, and delivering culturally responsive care in rural contexts. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to develop sustainable, community-centered behavioral health systems that are responsive to the unique needs of rural populations.
5B
Breakout Session
Balancing the Head and the Heart: Strategy and Communication for Rural Nonprofits
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09-28-2026
3:15 PM
4:15 PM
Zia B/C
Dixie Casford
In an environment of uncertainty driven by evolving business models, shifting regulations, and talent acquisition challenges, rural health organizations must remain agile to thrive. Aligning with the NARMH 2026 conference theme of integrating data ("The Head") and compassion ("The Heart") for effective leadership, this presentation equips rural health leaders with a framework to navigate instability. It will demonstrate how to use data-informed tools, such as adaptive planning cycles and impact mapping, to make strategic, mission-driven choices. Furthermore, the session emphasizes compassionate leadership by focusing on how to communicate effectively through uncertainty. Leaders will learn how to ensure that staff and stakeholders understand the organizational plan, feel included in solutions, and remain connected to the overarching mission when difficult decisions are made. By combining strategic agility with transparent communication, rural health providers can stabilize their operations and uncover new collaborative opportunities.
Keynote Day 2
Keynote Session
Keynote Presentation
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09-29-2026
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Jac Charlier
The Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC) is an alliance of practitioners in law enforcement, behavioral health, community, advocacy, research, and public policy, whose mission is to strategically widen community behavioral health and social service options available through law enforcement diversion. The purpose of the Collaborative is to provide vision, leadership, advocacy, and education to facilitate the practice of pre-arrest diversion across the United States. PTACC is the national voice of the pre-arrest diversion and deflection field.
Plenary 3
Plenary Session
Listening First: Rural People Responding to Loneliness and Social Well-Being
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09-29-2026
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
Daniel Read
In rural America, the gap in mental health specialty care is often bridged by the people who live there. While systemic barriers persist, local residents are uniquely positioned to design creative, culturally relevant solutions that resonate within their communities. This panel spotlights the LOR Foundation’s 2025 Field Work Initiative, a research-driven funding model that invested $500,000 into 25 innovative, community-led projects across the Mountain West.
Through a moderated discussion, project leaders from the 2025 cohort will share how they turned localized insights into actionable mental health interventions. Panelist case studies will be drawn from 25 funded projects (Note we are open to guidance on which projects the audience may be most interested in, pending project leader availability):
+Peer-Led Support: By bringing proactive education and peer recovery coaching directly into restaurants and community hubs, Synergy in the Service Industry normalizes support for substance misuse within the high-stress food and beverage sector, meeting workers in their own professional environment.
+Culturally Responsive Convenings: By integrating intergenerational gatherings and community-led storytelling with culturally-adapted mental health kits, the National Latino Behavioral Health Association fosters trust and reduces deep-seated stigma among high-risk Hispanic and Indigenous populations.
+Healing Through the Arts: To increase accessibility in a region where traditional clinical care is limited, Steamboat Dance Theatre delivers movement-based therapy workshops in familiar community spaces, offering a welcoming and adaptable alternative for emotional well-being in a community working to overcome a high suicide rate.
This session will explore LOR's Field Work philosophy: that the most effective solutions to rural challenges often come from within, and that providing rapid, flexible funding ($1,000 to $25,000) can catalyze scalable change. Attendees will learn how to identify, advocate for funding, and support grassroots innovation in their own regions.
Sponsor Presentation
Plenary Session
From Data to Action: Advancing Rural Mental Health Through Screening Insights
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09-29-2026
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Eldorado Ballroom
America Paredes
Mental Health America (MHA) is the nation's leading nonprofit dedicated to promoting the mental health and well-being of all people living in the U.S. As part of its commitment to increasing access and reducing disparities, MHA works to improve mental health outcomes in communities across the United States, including rural areas that often face unique barriers to care.
One key strategy supporting this work is MHA’s National Prevention and Screening Program (NPSP), which provides free, anonymous, confidential, and clinically validated mental health screenings. Today, NPSP is the nation’s largest ongoing real-time mental health screening effort, with more than 32 million anonymous screens completed across 14 evidence-based tools assessing depression, anxiety, substance use, and other mental health concerns.
This presentation will provide an overview of MHA and its NPSP, and share key findings and insights from screening data on mental health needs in rural America. Attendees will learn how these findings have informed MHA’s efforts to support rural communities, including the development of the Rural Mental Health Resource Center and related public education materials, available in English and Spanish. The session will highlight practical tools and resources that individuals and communities can use to strengthen mental health awareness and improve support for rural communities.
1C
Breakout Session
Ethics in Rural Clinical Settings
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09-29-2026
1:15 PM
2:15 PM
Eldorado A
Catherine Jones-Hazledine, Michael Steube, Lauren Steube, Ryan Lovell
Four rural clinical providers at different points in their career paths will provide a thorough discussion of ethical issues and challenges encountered in rural practice. We will highlight the factors that contribute to these challenges, why they are problematic, and how providers can reduce their impact. Challenges discussed will include: overlapping relationships, cultural challenges, scope of practice issues, appropriate care, confidentiality and anonymity concerns, provider burn-out and advocacy issues. A series of vignettes illustrating some of these challenges will be explored with attendees. There will be time throughout the workshop for discussion and questions.
2C
Breakout Session
From Data to Cultural Competence: A Research-Based Model for Strengthening Veteran-Ready Rural Systems
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09-29-2026
1:15 PM
2:15 PM
Anasazi North
Jon Parker, Heidi Radunovich, Michelle Parisi, Maria Rossi
This interactive workshop presents a research-based model for strengthening Veteran-responsive capacity across rural behavioral health and community systems using online technology. Drawing on qualitative interviews with rural Veterans and their families along with needs assessments of rural practitioners and educators, our team translated lived experience and data into a five-module online Rural Veteran-Friendly Certification Program and digital toolkit. Evaluation findings demonstrate statistically significant improvements in participant knowledge and preparedness following certification (p < .001). Participants will explore how a data-informed, compassion-centered workforce development can be used within their own rural communities to strengthen cultural responsiveness for Veterans and their families.
3C
Breakout Session
Grief in the Middle of Nowhere: Supporting Rural Grieving Children
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09-29-2026
1:15 PM
2:15 PM
Anasazi South
Kris Fulkerson
While 1.6 million rural children grieving the death of a parent or sibling by the age of 18, the current rural mental health crisis plaguing the US means that 1.1 million of them will have no access to mental health support. When the age is increased to 25, the number of bereaved youth more than doubles, yet the lack of access remains the same. Using both her professional insight as a children's grief expert who cofounded a rural community outreach agency and her lived experience as a young widowed rural mom, the presenter highlights actionable steps that can be taken to support rural grieving kids. With a keen eye on the unique challenges facing our rural communities, this presentation harnesses the strengths of rural people to address the gap in services for rural grieving youth. With the ever-increasing rural mortality penalty and rising suicide rate in rural communities, the number of grieving children is poised to continue growing as well. The time to act is now. By collaborating, learning from each other, and developing innovative solutions, rural professionals and key stakeholders are uniquely poised to advocate and provide much needed leadership to strengthen rural grief support for youth.
4C
Breakout Session
Mental and Behavioral Health in Agriculture Communities: Qualitative and Quantitative Data from Families and Producers
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09-29-2026
1:15 PM
2:15 PM
Zia A
Melissa Fenton, Morgan Valley, Christina Welch
Colorado is consistently in the top 10 U.S. states for suicide deaths (CDC, 2025). In rural Colorado, individuals working in agriculture (e.g., farming, ranching, meat packing, forestry, fisheries) have high rates of mental and behavioral health concerns and have elevated suicide rates (Stallones et al., 2013). To identify strategies to address this persistent public health problem, we are conducting two research studies to describe risk and protective factors, sources of resilience and strength, and health outcomes among this hard-to-reach population. Findings from an interview study with parents, adolescents (12-18 years old), and young adults (18-25 years old) who lived and/or worked on farms/ranches in Colorado focused on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors around substance use will be shared. Preliminary findings from a survey of randomly selected agricultural producers will describe baseline mental and behavioral health outcomes, help-seeking behaviors, stigma, physical health, sleep, and rural community stress. Qualitative interview data from 60 agricultural producers about the economic, environmental and social challenges they face will be shared to contextualize these findings. Implications for programs and services to meet the needs of agricultural workers and their families will be discussed.
5C
Breakout Session
Transcending Trauma for Families: A Community-Driven Approach to Addressing the Impact of Historical Trauma
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09-29-2026
1:15 PM
2:15 PM
Zia B/C
Teresa Gomez, Jennifer Nanez, Natalee Price, Deidre P. Yellowhair
The T.R.I.B.E.S. initiative at the University of New Mexico Community Behavioral Health addresses histories of trauma that impact parenting and influence ACEs and contribute to behavioral health challenges in AIAN communities. Brave Heart’s Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief model serves as the foundation to develop a parenting curriculum and training that integrates evidence-based approaches with tribal healing practices, integrating community-based and decolonial approaches to promote resilience and develop Tribal workforce readiness.
1D
Breakout Session
Diagnosing and Addressing Appalachian Eco-grief - Mental Health and the Environment
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09-29-2026
2:30 PM
3:30 PM
Eldorado A
Larry Merkel, Theresa Burriss
Central Appalachia has long been known for its natural beauty, with lush forests, picturesque mountains, flowing rivers, and abundant flora and fauna. The region has been a site for outdoor adventures for over a century. However, the resource extraction that began in the 1880s expanded over the decades, leading to unhealthy ecosystems for both human and other-than-human alike. From toxic silica and coal dust exposure of coal miners and ecological degradation of mountaintop removal coal mining, to increased extreme weather events due to fossil fuel use, Central Appalachians have experienced a deep sense of loss and grief, feelings some call eco-grief and others solastalgia. As a result, many residents experience a deterioration of physical and mental health. Over several decades, though, many communities have confronted these human-made challenges through political activism, physical and mental health advocacy, and various arts endeavors. Community theater groups, musicians, storytellers, novelists and poets, and visual artists have used their creative agency to bring awareness of these environmental ills, while advocating for sustainable change. Additionally, local activists have fostered community efforts to directly address these concerns, such as utilizing youth groups, college and university students, and others to plant hardwood trees on abandoned mountaintop removal sites. All these activities carry with them positive mental health results and enhance a sense of shared community across generations.
2D
Breakout Session
Reimagining Access: Geospatial-Based Catchment Areas for Rural Behavioral Health
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09-29-2026
2:30 PM
3:30 PM
Anasazi North
Ellysse Boughey
This presentation explores how the Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (E2SFCA) method, a distance-based approach for measuring geospatial accessibility, can be used to estimate behavioral health service utilization in rural settings. This approach can help inform decision making for resource allocation in behavioral health systems.
3D
Breakout Session
Beyond Recruitment: Addressing Pay Parity to Sustain the Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
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09-29-2026
2:30 PM
3:30 PM
Anasazi South
Tracie Self, Darcie Davis-Gage, Paul Mackie, Marnie Werner
Rural communities continue to face persistent behavioral health workforce shortages despite ongoing efforts to expand training pipelines and recruitment initiatives. While considerable attention has been placed on preparing new mental health professionals for rural practice, less focus has been given to compensation structures that influence whether early-career clinicians enter—and remain in—rural behavioral health systems. Compensation inequities, productivity-based pay models, and limited transparency surrounding employment contracts may contribute to workforce instability, burnout, and provider turnover in rural settings.
This presentation examines pay parity as a critical yet often overlooked rural workforce sustainability issue. Drawing from qualitative exploration of compensation practices and employment contract experiences among early-career mental health counselors working in fee-for-service and community behavioral health environments, presenters identify systemic factors that support or undermine long-term professional retention. Particular attention is given to how compensation expectations intersect with supervision access, financial viability, and professional identity development during the transition from training to independent practice.
4D
Breakout Session
MOConnect: Creating a Statewide Mobile Crisis Response System in Missouri
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09-29-2026
2:30 PM
3:30 PM
Zia A
Armen Arevian, Drew Burnett
The launch of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in July 2022 marked a transformative shift in how mental health crises are addressed across the United States. In response to this national initiative, the state of Missouri began laying the groundwork for a more coordinated and responsive behavioral health crisis system. Three years ago, the Missouri Behavioral Health Council (MBHC), in partnership with the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH), initiated the development of a comprehensive statewide mobile crisis response infrastructure.
A key component of this initiative has been the creation of MOConnect, an innovative electronic platform designed to enhance communication and coordination among crisis response providers. MOConnect serves as a centralized digital hub that enables 988 call centers to efficiently dispatch the most appropriate mobile crisis response teams—regardless of the caller’s location within the state. This ensures that individuals in crisis receive timely and regionally appropriate care, even if they are outside their local service area.
The development of MOConnect was made possible through a strategic collaboration with Chorus Innovations, a technology vendor selected to build a custom solution tailored to Missouri’s unique needs. From the outset, Chorus Innovations engaged closely with MBHC, DMH, and member agencies to co-design a Crisis Module that aligns with both state-specific requirements and federal compliance standards. This collaborative approach fostered strong provider engagement and ownership, as stakeholders were actively involved in shaping the platform’s functionality and user experience.
One of the primary goals of MOConnect was to alleviate the administrative burden on providers by streamlining data collection and reporting processes. The platform was designed to automate and simplify these tasks, allowing providers to focus more on delivering care and less on paperwork.
MOConnect was officially piloted in the fall of 2024 with a cohort of five behavioral health agencies.
During this pilot phase, Chorus Innovations worked hand-in-hand with providers, MBHC, and DMH to refine the platform based on real-time feedback and operational insights. This iterative process ensured that the system was both user-friendly and operationally effective ahead of a broader rollout.
Following the successful pilot, MOConnect was deployed statewide in a phased approach, organized by geographic region. This methodical rollout allowed for targeted training and support, ensuring that each agency was adequately prepared to integrate the platform into their crisis response workflows. Extensive training sessions were conducted to familiarize staff with the platform’s features, usage protocols, and data expectations.
As of April 2025, the MOConnect platform is actively used by 830 professionals across 25 behavioral health agencies throughout Missouri. Since its initial deployment, the system has facilitated the documentation and coordination of 2,773 crisis cases, demonstrating its growing impact on the state’s behavioral health infrastructure.
MOConnect represents a significant advancement in Missouri’s commitment to delivering responsive, data-informed, and person-centered crisis care. By leveraging technology to bridge communication gaps and streamline service delivery, the state is setting a new standard for behavioral health crisis response.
5D
Breakout Session
Bridging the Head and the Heart: Integrating Data-Driven Care and Compassion in Rural Behavioral Health Systems
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09-29-2026
2:30 PM
3:30 PM
Zia B/C
Ashunte Claybrooks, Brenda Cibulas, Rachael Holloman, David Newton
This session highlights the implementation of an integrated behavioral health model through the PIPBHC-GA initiative across two FQHCs and four CSBs serving rural Georgia. Grounded in evidence-based practices, the presentation demonstrates how data-driven strategies, such as standardized screening, referral tracking, and outcome monitoring can be combined with compassionate, patient-centered care to improve access and engagement for children, families, and adults.
Participants will gain practical insights into addressing common rural barriers, including workforce limitations, transportation challenges, and stigma, while incorporating client voice and lived experience into service delivery. Interactive elements, including case discussions and peer exchange, will support real-world application. This session offers scalable, systems-level strategies that reflect the conference theme of integrating “the head and the heart” in rural health.
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