Assisting Patrons with Mental Disorders Across Library Settings

$250.00

Credits: 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs

The National Alliance of Mental Illness estimates that one in five children, teens, and adults suffer from a mental illness. With libraries functioning as a hub of the communities they serve, library professionals must be prepared to serve patrons struggling with mental illness. This course will provide library staff with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand a range of mental disorder, address potentially challenging behaviors, engage in programming to raise awareness of mental health issues, and connect patrons with community supports.

The course facilitator offers a unique background in being a second career librarian with over 20 years of experience as a master’s level clinical psychologist.

By the end of the course, students will:

  • Develop a better understanding of mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, PTSD, OCD, and personality disorders.
  • Improve interactions with patrons with a mental disorder with an emphasis upon awareness of the stigma of mental illness, implementing equitable and inclusive library policies to address the needs of patrons with a mental disorder, and providing appropriate accommodations.
  • Learn effective ways of de-escalate potentially challenging behaviors including: maintain appropriate boundaries; conflict resolution skills; crisis intervention; and managing requests for sensitive information about mental health topics.
  • Work with community partners to develop potential referral sources, training opportunities, mental health programming, and assistance with crisis intervention.
  • Create programming to help raise awareness and provide support for those experiencing a mental disorder, and to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Course Information

Session

Credits

1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs

Registration dates

We accept registrations through the first week of classes, unless enrollment is full, and unless the class was canceled before it started due to low enrollment.

Course Description

The National Alliance of Mental Illness estimates that one in five children, teens, and adults suffer from a mental illness. With libraries functioning as a hub of the communities they serve, library professionals must be prepared to serve patrons struggling with mental illness. This course will provide library staff with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand a range of mental disorder, address potentially challenging behaviors, engage in programming to raise awareness of mental health issues, and connect patrons with community supports.

The course facilitator offers a unique background in being a second career librarian with over 20 years of experience as a master’s level clinical psychologist.

By the end of the course, students will:

  • Develop a better understanding of mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, PTSD, OCD, and personality disorders.
  • Improve interactions with patrons with a mental disorder with an emphasis upon awareness of the stigma of mental illness, implementing equitable and inclusive library policies to address the needs of patrons with a mental disorder, and providing appropriate accommodations.
  • Learn effective ways of de-escalate potentially challenging behaviors including: maintain appropriate boundaries; conflict resolution skills; crisis intervention; and managing requests for sensitive information about mental health topics.
  • Work with community partners to develop potential referral sources, training opportunities, mental health programming, and assistance with crisis intervention.
  • Create programming to help raise awareness and provide support for those experiencing a mental disorder, and to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Dawn Behrend

Dawn BehrendDawn Behrend is an Instruction and Outreach Librarian at Lenoir-Rhyne University, where she serves as the liaison for psychology, counseling, mathematics, computer science, and business and manages the library’s social media platforms. She holds a B.A. in Psychology, M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Library Science. Ms. Behrend has worked for 20 years in North Carolina as a Licensed Psychological Associate and is a second career librarian. Ms. Behrend continues to work in private practice where she completes psychological evaluations in addition to her work as an academic librarian.  

How to Register

To enroll yourself or other participants in a class, use the “Register” button that follows the description of each course. If the “Register” button does not show up, try loading the page in a different web browser. Contact us if you have technical difficulties using our shopping cart system or would like to pay for an enrollment using another method. On the payment page in the shopping cart system, there is a place to add notes, such as the names and email addresses of participants you wish to enroll. We will contact you to request this information in response to your processed payment if you do not include it in the “notes” field. Prior to the start of the workshop, we will send participants their login instructions.

Payment Info

Our shopping cart system allows you to pay with a credit card or with PayPal. Alternatively, if it is an institutional payment, we can arrange to invoice you. Contact us by email, and we can make arrangements to suit your institution's business processes.

Special Session

Please contact us to arrange a special session of this class for a group of seven or more, with a negotiable discount, or to be notified when it is next scheduled.

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