Events

Cosponsored by The Mental Health Interventions and Technology Program at Florida International University center for children and families.

SMTI is made possible through the generous support of the Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Foundation, Inc.

May 2 and May 3

Register Now

**Due to the concerning and rapidly changing situation with COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the training institute will now be held entirely online. More information to come regarding specific webinar sign-on for those who register.

Cost

Participation without CE credits (CE credits will be $30 collected at conference): $299
Graduate Student/Trainee: $200

Program Overview

The Selective Mutism Training Institute (SMTI) is an in-depth 2-day training course for professionals working with children diagnosed with selective mutism (SM). The workshop is intensive, and skills-based with the goal of increasing competence in providing empirically-supported treatment of SM to professionals with beginner and intermediate exposure and skills in assessing and treating SM. We maintain a high instructor to participant ratio to ensure adequate time for modeling and video role-play of the skills.

This is a unique opportunity for mental health professionals, speech-language professionals and graduate-level trainees to learn cutting-edge, innovative techniques to effectively treat children with SM. Small group, video consultation with the course instructors following the 2-day training is included in the cost, allowing participants to further apply the skills in their own unique clinical settings.
The workshop starts with providing a framework for understanding the etiology of SM, highlighting the role of nature, nurture, temperament, and developmental differences in the onset and maintenance of SM, social anxiety, and other common comorbidities. Strategies for behavioral, developmental, and language assessment will be reviewed, including how to conduct observations of children with SM. Evidence-based interventions will be covered in depth, including behavioral strategies such as stimulus fading, shaping, positive reinforcement, and parent education/coaching. State-of-the-science interventions, such as intensive treatments, group-based interventions, and school consultation will also be taught. Speech and language conceptualization, assessment, and interventions will also be reviewed.

Program Objectives

• After this course, participants will be able to describe etiologies related to selective mutism and appropriate timing for medication consultation.
• After this course, participants will be able to describe effective assessment measures and procedures in the evaluation of children with selective mutism.
• After this course, participants will be able to list levels of communication from nonvocal to spontaneous vocalization in treating children with selective mutism.
• After this course, participants will be able to state empirically-supported behavioral and cognitive treatment including self-modeling, and PCIT-SM (Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Selective Mutism) techniques for selective mutism in school, home, and public (social) settings.
• After this course, participants will be able to list three strategies to effectively engage school personnel and education systems to promote awareness and implementation of treatment strategies specific to youth with special needs and selective mutism.

Program Schedule

Audience

Participants must be either independently licensed or certified, or matriculating in a supervised graduate program in clinical psychology, school psychology, counseling, social work, applied behavior analysis, or speech-language pathology (Mental Health Professionals: Psychologists, LMHC, LMFT, LCSW; Medical/Healthcare Professional; Education Professionals). Other participants will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are encouraged to email info@selectivemutism.org with their particulars to discuss if this training is appropriate.
Prior experience: The SMTI course is primarily intended for those with beginner and intermediate exposure to work with SM.

Continuing Education

• The CCF has been approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The CCF maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accepts CE credit provided by APA providers towards ANCC re-certification.
• The FIU Counselor Education Program is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP™) and a co-sponsor of the Center for Children and Families’ presentations. The FIU Counselor Education program may award NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP™ solely is responsible for all aspects of the program. Provider # 4565, effective 9/1/11.
• The Center for Children and Families is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists to offer professional development for school psychologists. The Center for Children and Families maintains responsibility for the program.
• This talk has also been approved for up to 11 CE credits by Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling; Florida Board of Psychology and Florida Office of School Psychology. Provider# BAP 50-12872.”
• This course has been approved for 1.1 ASHA CEUs by the Florida Association of SLPs and Audiologists.

This course is offered for up to 1.1 ASHA CEUs
(Introductory level, Professional area)

Participants may earn a maximum of 11 Credit Hours. Partial credit will NOT be granted (you must attend the training in its entirety to receive credit).

Presenter Information

Rachel Busman, Psy.D., ABPP

Rachel Busman, Psy.D., ABPP is the senior director of the Anxiety Disorders Center and director of the Selective Mutism Service at the Child Mind Institute. She leads a team of clinicians providing evaluation and innovative treatment to children with selective mutism. Dr. Busman is Past President of the Selective Mutism Association, the nation’s largest network of professionals, families, and individuals with selective mutism. Dr. Busman has extensive experience providing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to children, teenagers and young adults struggling with anxiety disorders, school difficulties and behavioral problems. She also has specific interest and expertise in the evaluation and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobias. Dr. Busman has worked with children in both inpatient and outpatient settings at a major academic medical center, where she directed a multidisciplinary team. She has taught and supervised psychiatry residents and child psychiatry fellows, and lectured extensively on a variety of topics, including the evidence-based assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in children and teens. Dr. Busman works intensively with children who have selective mutism, and is dedicated to establishing trust and instilling a sense of hope in her patients as she helps them on their path to recovery.

Emily Doll, M.A., M.S., CCC-SLP

Emily Doll is a Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist in the Easton Area School District in Pennsylvania. Her caseload includes students in grades K-5 with a variety of social, emotional, cognitive, and academic needs, including students with selective mutism. Emily is also a counselor and lead teacher at the Child Mind Institute’s Brave Buddies programs for children with selective mutism. Prior to working as a speech pathologist, Emily taught preschool for 10 years and worked one-on-one with a student with selective mutism in this setting. Emily received her M.A. in Applied Developmental Psychology with a focus on Language Acquisition from George Mason University and her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from East Stroudsburg University. She continues to conduct and collaborate in research within the speech pathology field through East Stroudsburg University, where she also serves as a guest lecturer for graduate and undergraduate classes. She has presented on selective mutism as an invited speaker at local, state, and national conferences. Her professional interests are in helping children with anxiety and communication needs find the tools to communicate effectively and efficiently with those around them. Emily currently serves as the Secretary for the Selective Mutism Association’s Board of Directors.

Jami Furr, Ph.D.

Jami Furr, Ph.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Senior Psychologist in the Mental Health Interventions and Technology (MINT) Program, and the Selective Mutism Program at the Center for Children and Families at Florida International University (FIU). Dr. Furr has extensive expertise in cognitive-behavioral treatments of childhood anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders, with a focus on preschool mental health and intensive group treatment programs for children with selective mutism – directing the first randomized clinical trial of the intensive group behavioral treatment for selective mutism in young children. Dr. Furr received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University. Dr. Furr completed her clinical psychology internship at the NYU-Bellevue Clinical Psychology Internship Program and the NYU Child Study Center, after which she completed an NIH-funded Postdoctoral Fellowship in Child Psychiatry at the NYU Child Study Center.

Aileen Herrera, M.S., RMCI

Aileen Herrera, M.S., RMCI, is the Clinical Director of the Selective Mutism Program for the Mental Health Interventions and Technology (MINT) Anxiety Program at the Center for Children and Families (CCF) at Florida International University. She has extensive clinical training in cognitive and behavioral treatments for children and adolescents, with a special emphasis on selective mutism. She supervises student trainees and provides weekly and intensive treatment in English and Spanish for children and teens with anxiety and directs specialty programs for youth with selective mutism. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Selective Mutism Association.

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