Outreach and Trainings

Women’s mental health care can only improve when service providers better understand the link between societal pressures, the violence women experience, and emotional distress. The more we talk about violence and its effects, the more likely we are to put a stop to it in our society. For this reason, the Elizabeth Stone House provides extensive educational resources and technical assistance.

The Elizabeth Stone House’s Outreach and Education program offers trainings on women’s mental health, domestic violence, working with trauma survivors, group facilitation skills, and empowering women. These workshops are ideal for clinicians, social workers, counselors, advocates, and service providers in hospitals, schools, community agencies, treatment centers, and homeless shelters.

Available Trainings:

Domestic Violence

Working with Battered Women With Additional Mental Heath Issues: This training addresses working with battered women who identify as having only domestic violence issues but present mental health issues after they come into shelter. We will discuss how to provide services and empower Direct Service staff to work with this population. We will explore why “Violence Can Make You Crazy”.
Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse
Working with Battered Women with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Treatment Considerations

Substance Abuse

Dealing with Substance Abuse in the Shelter: This training addresses how to work with women who are in recovery while in shelter and how to support them if they relapse. We will look at behavior, protocols, processes we utilize if relapse occurs.
Substance and Alcohol Abuse
Methadone: This training addresses how to support women on methadone maintenance.

Mental Health

Elizabeth Stone House Mental Health/ Trauma 101: This 2- hour training is designed for service providers who want a basic understanding of Elizabeth Stone House’s alternative approach to mental health. We will discuss traditional mental health vs. the Stone House Way. Talk about the “Myths and Realities” surrounding mental health. Show the connection between oppression and violence and how it leads to distress.
Dissociation and Multiple Personality Disorder: Responses to Trauma, Malevolent
Families and Ritual Abuse
Dealing with Mental Health Issues on the Crisis Hotline
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Diagnosis and Medications: This training will help shelter workers understand the different Psychotropic medications that women in shelter are prescribed. It will also address the correlation between diagnosis and medication.

Elizabeth Stone House

Elizabeth Stone House 101: This training will focus on how the Elizabeth Stone House developed an alternative approach to working with women with mental health issues. The training includes an overview of ESH, including our philosophy, service approach, programs, and the population we serve.
Shared Administrative Model: A Historical Perspective: This training will discuss the Elizabeth Stone House alternative management style.
Supervision 101: Tools for effective supervision

Advocacy

Advocacy 101: Basics of advocating for at risk women
Working With the Women

Children/Parenting

Working with Children in Shelter
Child Witness to Violence
Sheltering Teens: More and more shelters are accepting teen children. This workshop addresses the particular problems teens and their parent’s encounter. Includes discussion of the impact of parental mental health problems, domestic violence, and parental substance abuse. It will include specific “best practices” projects that we have used such as teen curriculum for our nurturing program (which could be used as a stand-alone teen program) and our parent/teen rap sessions.
Impact of Homelessness on Children: This two hour training can be designed for shelter workers, early childhood educators or any group whose professional life brings them into contact with homeless children. The workshop gives participants a peek into the journey homeless families make, provides the latest statistics on homelessness, and provides information on how homelessness impacts a child’s motor development, linguistic development and social/emotional development.
Parenting In Public: This workshop can be incorporated into the first and is particularly geared to shelter personnel. It focuses on how shelter rules can impact parenting and the development of the parent/child bond.
Working with Parents Involved with DSS: This workshop focuses on the issues families face when they are DSS involved. It covers understanding service plans, learning the lingo of DSS as well as discussions of “best practices” projects like our reunification curriculum and grief curriculum designed for families that have lost children to the child welfare system.
Working with Children with Sexual Abuse Issues

Culture

Working with Latina Women: language, translation, cultural differences, and resources
Working with Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Community
Working with Latina GLBT Community

Personal Economic Empowerment

Personal Economic Planning Workshop: This training will discuss our four-session course which focuses on budgeting, long range planning, and identifying a woman’s internal and external resources
Train the Trainer Seminars: This training is available to social service agencies wishing to train their staff in the Personal Economic Planning or Women’s Business Opportunity Program curricula. Trainers will give on or two-day trainings that prepare trainers to bring economic development initiative into their own communities.

Job Readiness

Learn To Earn: Curriculum based program that helps unemployed and underemployed people prepare resumes, practice interviewing, learn office etiquette, and gain public speaking skills.

Housing Advocacy

Roof Over My Head: This training will discuss Section 8, resources, and steps for women to find housing in Massachusetts.

Available Resources:
The Elizabeth Stone House Handbook: Sheltering People in Emotional Distress- a "how to" handbook for developing community-based residential mental health alternatives. Our handbook includes residential programming, information on advocacy, crisis intervention and incorporating as a non-profit. Available for $35.70 (including shipping and handling).

Women and Craziness- a moving and powerful volume of first-person histories from ten women who have been residents of the Elizabeth Stone House. Available for $11.50 (including shipping and handling).

The Road I Took to You: Stories of Women and Craziness- a prize-winning video documentary based on the life-stories of former Elizabeth Stone House residents. .It addresses the impact of violence, sexism, racism, homophobia and poverty on a woman’s mental health. Available for $45.00 (including shipping and handling).

If you would like to order any of the above items, please send a check or money order for the appropriate amount to the following address:

The Elizabeth Stone House
Publications
P.O. Box 300039
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

For more information on any of these services, please contact outreach@elizabethstone.org or 617-427-9801 x407.