The New England ATTC has developed multiple products to support our partners and constituents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  

Transitioning to Effective Online Training: Three-Part Training Series

New England ATTC team members Raymond Sanchez and Mika Salas have developed a new training, "Transitioning to Effective Online Training: Parts 1 – 3" in response to the COVID-19 pandemic requiring the workforce to transition to training virtually. This 3-part training is designed to help trainers use Zoom effectively to engage participants in virtual learning. It may be especially useful to ensure that trainings and technical assistance activities are accessible for individuals living in rural and underserved communities. 

Sessions of this training include:

1. Getting to Know Zoom: This session focuses on basic to intermediate Zoom functions in order to build the skills necessary to host, facilitate, and provide technical assistance for any virtual training, meeting, and/or conference.
2. Advanced Zoom Functions and Best Practices: This session builds the specialized skills to manage and engage participants in their ‘virtual classroom’ internal to Zoom.
3. Engagement Strategies and Applications: This session explores techniques and best practices to manage and engage participants in their virtual training sessions using both internal and external resources.

    

Online Engagement and Facilitation: One-Page Guides

In addition to our Transitioning to Effective Online Training series, The New England ATTC developed a series of one-page guides focused on online engagement and facilitation, which has become increasingly necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These one-page guides for online engagement were adapted from the larger resource developed by the Pacific Southwest Mental Health TTC and created in partnership with the South Africa HIV ATTC. Specific topics include:

1. General Guidelines for Virtual Meetings: This guide helps facilitators to be fully engaged in a virtual meeting.
2. Facilitation Guidance for Online Engagement: This guide helps facilitators to prepare, set up, and host engaging online sessions.
3. Group Norms Guidance for Online Engagement: This guide helps facilitators to think through the setting of group norms and practices for online meetings.

    

Expanding Recovery & Wellness in a Pandemic: Two-Part Webinar Series

This series was developed in partnership with the New England MHTTC to address the ways that the pandemic has affected. both pathways to recovery and provider self-care: 

1. Sustaining Hope During a Time of Crisis: Supporting Multiple Pathways of Recovery: This webinar focused on how isolation, stress, anxiety, trauma, financial difficulties, and physical distancing due to COVID-19 have impacted recovery processes and the well-being of the recovery community.
2. Wellness and Self-Compassion: Supporting Mental Health and Substance Use Providers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: This webinar focused on how providers are coping and how to best support this critical segment of the workforce. Participants learned how hopelessness, fatigue, stress, trauma, and social distancing due to COVID-19 are impacting the well-being of mental health and substance use practitioners.   

    

Self-Care Series

In addition to our webinar on Provider Wellness and Self-Compassion, the New England ATTC has helped created a suite of brief provider self-care exercises. Development of these materials was part of a Provider Self-Care initiative led by the South Africa HIV ATTC and the New England ATTC was proud to partner on graphic design and wide dissemination to an international audience.

Though these products are geared towards the addiction treatment and recovery workforce, they are widely applicable.  

1. Reflection and Breathing Exercise: This one-page activity can be used to relieve uncomfortable emotions related to COVID-19 such as stress, anxiety, anger and sadness by being still and practicing intentional reflection and breathing.
2. Wellness Wheel Exercise: This one-page self-assessment activity can be used to set goals towards achieving greater balance in caring for oneself during this COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Coping with Distress: This one-page activity can be used to learn new ways to cope with and relieve stress, especially associated with the COVID-19 healthcare crisis. Developing ways to soothe can be helpful to prevent one from becoming emotionally overwhelmed.
4. Healthy Coping Behaviors: This one-page activity encourages taking care of oneself, particularly in moments of great instability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Regular Emotional Check-Ins: This one-page activity that can help one slow down and check in with their emotional and physical well-being which is especially needed during the global healthcare crisis.

    

Trauma 101 During COVID-19

Trauma 101: Addiction, Trauma, Resilience, Resourcing and COVID-19: It is a best practice to use a trauma-informed approach in addiction treatment and recovery. This is especially critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is creating new traumas and traumatic stress for individuals with addiction, who are disproportionately affected by negative consequences of the virus. This interactive and experiential presentation offers an overview of the impact of trauma on the recovery process from a social, biological, psychological, and spiritual perspective and will provide clinicians with skills to work with  people affected by trauma throughout their recovery, as well as, understanding the conceptual framework of trauma-informed practice.

Additional SAMHSA COVID-19 Resources

SAMHSA recognizes the challenges posed by the current COVID-19 situation and is continually releasing new guidance and resources to assist individuals, providers, communities, and states across the country. Resources include general information and guidance for substance use treatment providers, specific guidance for opioid treatment programs, and information for discretionary grant recipients, as well as links to additional federal guidance. The resources are continually updated and can be assessed on the SAMHSA Coronavirus page.

Example resources include:

1. Tips For Social Distancing, Quarantine, And Isolation During An Infectious Disease Outbreak
2. Virtual Recovery Resources 
3. Training and Technical Assistance Related to COVID-19 
4. Telehealth for the Treatment of Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders
5. Evidence-Based and Culturally Relevant Behavioral Health Intervention in Practice: Strategies and Lessons Learned from NNEDLearn (2011-2020)

Please contact the New England ATTC if you would like training or technical assistance related to these resources!