Workshop Summary: Since the pandemic, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other mental health problems have increased substantially, with the WHO reporting a 25% increase in prevalence. The Surgeon General has stated that we are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. The National Institute of Health reports that while mental health problems and the need for services increase, there is a shortage of mental health providers. Additionally, there is a lack of diversity in the profession, and many individuals seeking services have difficulty accessing appropriate services.

This shortage of mental health professionals makes it paramount for those of us in the field to practice amazing ‘self-care for the long haul.’  We have talked about self-care and wellness for years, decades. Charles Figley recognized the need to take care of the providers following the Oklahoma Bombing, and as a profession, we have continued to beat that drum. The pandemic demanded that we, as a profession, focus on self-care and find new, different, and more ways of taking care of ourselves while we take care of our clients. This workshop/presentation aims to offer a new perspective on our work and suggest numerous tools to keep us providing mental health services for many years, AKA the long haul.

Learning Objectives:  

Participants will be able to define Occupational Phenomena (WHO).

Participants will be able to list three forms of Occupational Phenomena relating to mental health providers.

Participants will be able to compare tools for assessing occupational phenomena.

Participants will select a minimum of three new self-care tools (AVE, NFB, CES) to explore further.

Speaker Bio: Sherry M. Todd, PhD, LPC, ATR-BC, CTTS, BCETS earned a PhD in CES from Old Dominion University and an MS from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Graduate Art Therapy. Currently, she is Core Faculty in the Counselor Education and Supervision PhD Program at the University of the Cumberlands and was formerly tenured faculty at Regent University, where she co-directed the Center for Trauma Studies and served as Program Director for the Master Counseling Programs. Dr. Todd is the CEO of New Vita Neurotherapy and former clinical director of the Tidewater Emergency Medical Services Critical Incident Stress Management Team. She has over three decades of crisis intervention, trauma evaluation/treatment, and risk of lethality assessment experience. 

 While employed as a Safe Schools Counselor in Norfolk Schools, her team developed and implemented a suicide prevention/screening program that screened all ninth-grade students and was recognized by the Surgeon General in 2001. As a Certified Clinical Traumatologist, Green Cross has deployed Dr. Todd to numerous natural disasters. Dr. Todd is a Diplomate in the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, a Premier Speaker with the National Center for Crisis Management, an Approved Instructor with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and serves on the Green Cross Board of Directors. 

Her recognitions and awards include the Founder’s Award from Green Cross Academy of Traumatology for “lifelong service dedicated to healing those suffering from severe trauma and leadership in deployment in difficult situations,” the 2014 William Hathaway Outstanding Faculty Award, School of Psychology and Counseling, Regent University, the 2010 Golden Starfish Award and the 2009 Making a Difference Award, Tidewater Emergency Medical Services CISM Team, the 2008 Chi Sigma Iota National Outstanding Practitioner/Supervisor Award, the Outstanding Practitioner/Supervisor Award, 2008 Omega Delta, Chi Sigma Iota and the Paul Fink, MD Outstanding Art Therapist Award, 1994 Eastern Virginia Medical School. Dr. Todd and her colleagues published Synchronous Online Counseling and Supervision in the 21st Century (2021). She has also authored several book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles.