4th Annual Mental & Behavioral Health Conference: Crisis in Care

Friday, February 17, 2023 | 10:00 AM to 2:15 PM (MST)

Located on the Auraria Campus in the Tivoli, room 440/540

Register by Thursday, February 16 at 12:00 PM (noon)

This conference will consist of three (3) hours and provide knowledge regarding the emerging mental and behavioral health trends in the State of Colorado since the Pandemic. Participants will acquire knowledge about workforce resilience and how to best support LGBTQ+ and BIPOC populations.

Participants will:

  • Be able to discuss the state of the mental and behavioral health crisis in Colorado
  • Be able to describe services to support mental and behavioral health needs in Colorado
  • Learn about emerging Mental and Behavioral Health services to support LGBTQ+ and BIPOC populations
  • Understand the importance of addressing Work Force Resilience

For more information or any questions, please contact Dr. Tanya Greathouse at [email protected], or Teiriana Ibarra at [email protected].

Note: Continuing education credits available. Request information located in the conference evaluation forms. Pending approval for NASW CE credit: 3 credits / 1 per hour.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1.9M with no funds financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

Register Today!

Conference Schedule

10:00 AM – Welcome Address

10:10 AM – Keynote Address: State of Mental and Behavioral Health Crisis in Colorado

10:30 AM – Keynote Panel Discussion: Crisis in Care(moderated by Dr. Tanya Greathouse)

  • Speakers:
    • DJ Ida, Asian Pacific Center
    • Chris Richardson, Mental Health Center of Denver
    • Leanne Rupp, National Association of Social Workers – CO Chapter

11:35 AM – Morning Breakout Sessions: The Macro Perspective of the Mental Health Crisis

  • State Trends in Mental Health Services Needs Through a National Lens Since the Pandemic with Kim Patton, PsyD
  • Emerging Trends in Mental and Behavioral Health Due to the Pandemic with Kate Parker, LCSW VP Clinical Care, COO, and Sara Reid, M.A., MHP Grants and Program Evaluation Manager
  • Professional Development: The Ins & Outs of Licensure, Continuing Education in CO, & ASWB Exam Developments with Leanne Rupp, MSW, LCSW Executive Director

12:30 PM – Lunch and Student Tabling

1:10 PM – Afternoon Breakout Discussion: Emerging Issues in Mental and Behavioral Health

  • Being Hopeful and Resilient in the Workplace with Susan Archuleta, Grants Community Liaison Specialist
  • Emerging Issues in the LGBTQ+ Community: ‘Til Death Do Us Part with Li Brookens, LCSW, CGP, WPATH GEI SOC7 Certified Member, and Virginia Sanford, LPC
  • Supporting BIPOC Communities Through Mental and Behavioral Health Crises with Sarah Naomi Jones, Center for Trauma and Resilience

2:05 PM – Closing Address

Keynote Presenters

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Chris Richardson, LCSW, CAS

Chris Richardson is the Director of Criminal Justice Services at the Mental Health Center of Denver currently overseeing multiple criminal justice entry points withing the sequential intercept model. Most notably is Denver’s Co-Responder Unit, a program that pairs licensed mental health clinicians with Denver Police Officers, providing on scene support, crisis deescalation, service connection and follow up visits to individuals experiencing mental health crisis in the Denver area. More recently, Chris has been overseeing the daily operations to Denver’s STAR program, that provides a civilian based response to low level 911 calls. With 14 years of direct clinical services in the field of mental health, the goal is to provide education, service connection and coordination to individuals needing behavioral health supports to sustainable, trauma informed community supports.

Leanne Rupp, MSW, LCSW

Leanne Rupp, MSW, LCSW is the Executive Director of the NASW Colorado Chapter and has been in her role since April of 2021. She comes to the organization following a 15-year career as a clinical social worker in integrated healthcare settings in the Denver-metro area, most recently working as a Behavioral Health Site Manager and Provider at a local FQHC community health center organization. She is a passionate advocate for social workers and the populations they serve, focusing much of her time and effort over the last few years on improving the Mental Health Practice Act in Colorado and the licensure process in Colorado. Leanne earned her MSW in 2006 from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work with a focus on clinical practice, and her BSW in 2005 from the University of Alabama. She lives in Golden, CO with her husband, 2 young children, large rescue pup & small rescue cat, where she enjoys spending her free time in the nearby foothills on adventures with her family.

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Dr. DJ Ida

Dr. DJ Ida has over forty years of experience working with Asian American/Pacific Islander communities. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology and helped establish organizations including the Asian American Educational Opportunity Program at the U of Colorado Boulder campus, the Asian Pacific Development Center, a specialty mental health services agency in Denver and the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, NAAPIMHA, where she serves as Executive Director. Dr. Ida works closely with AAPI serving community-based organizations around the country. In 2017 she received the Robert Wood Johnson Award for Health Equity for her focus on the impact mental health has on the overall health of AANHPIs. Dr. Ida has served on numerous local and national boards including the US Dept of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services National Advisory Council, Mental Health America and was the primary author for the Office of Minority Health’s Integrated Care for AANHPIs: A Blueprint for Action. Strengthening the service delivery system is core to Dr. Ida’s work as she helped develop Growing Our Own to train clinicians on how to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services; Achieving Whole Health to train community members to become Wellness Coaches; and the Mental Health Interpreters Training to train interpreters to work in mental health settings, Friends DO Make a Difference to develop mental health leadership among youth that raises awareness about what mental health is/is not, the mental health impact of racism, and the power of community services. In response to the growing anti-Asian hate, she convened a group of mental health advocates to create Asians in Focus and heart’s hope to address the healing power of art.

Sponsored by the MSU Denver College of Health and Human Sciences, MSU Denver Department of Social Work, and MSU Denver Health Institute

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