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Brittany Irby, MD, a psychiatrist at the Medical University of South Carolina, was the keynote speaker at the First Annual Mental Health Access for Arkansas Pediatric Primary Care School-Based Mental Health Symposium.
August 29, 2024 | Educators from across the state attended the first Arkansas Mental Health Access for Pediatric Primary Care (ARMAPP) School-Based Mental Health Symposium.
The free event gave school personnel who work with students from K-12 an opportunity to network, participate in activities and receive information about how mental health issues can affect a child's ability to learn.
ARMAPP is funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration and is a collaboration between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children's Hospital. It is made up of health care professionals who provide consultations about mental health conditions to children's primary care providers and school-based mental health professionals.
The organization's goal is to expand mental health and behavioral health capacity among primary care providers and school-based health professionals, and team members realized the best way to build connections in rural areas was to partner with school districts.
“Because ARMAPP focuses primarily on family physicians and pediatricians, it has been difficult to fully penetrate rural Arkansas,” said Chris Smith, M.D., professor of pediatrics in the UAMS School of Medicine, co-director of ARMAPP and principal investigator on the grant. “We want to bring education and consultation into school-based settings, and as part of our plan, we decided to host a symposium for school-based professionals.”
According to Program Manager Valandra German, Ph.D., MPH, the event served as a celebratory and informative kickoff for the group to move on to the next phase.
“We wanted to bring this program to educators and provide them with information about the mental health issues facing children,” she said. “Children are Arkansas’ most important asset.
“Suicide rates are rising among African-American boys. We want to make sure our kids are healthy. Mental health, mind, body, soul, spirit plays a big role in a child's health.”
The symposium provided training on several topics affecting youth including sexting, racism, substance abuse and de-escalating behaviors. More than 200 people registered for the symposium, with participants representing 45 of Arkansas' 75 counties.
Brittany Irby, MD, a psychiatrist at the Medical University of South Carolina, was the conference's featured speaker. Her keynote address, “Racism as Trauma,” discussed the various ways racism creeps into the education system. Irby drew parallels between covert and overt racism and how a lack of cultural awareness on the part of educators and school officials can undermine young people's ability and motivation to achieve their goals. German said Irby's talk was well received.
“Racism can have a detrimental effect on childhood experiences,” German said. “It was important to focus on racial trauma and how it impacts people of color and how to address it, and provide resources that Dr. Irby can use to help people. She wants people to be comfortable talking about racism and talking to students about racism and creative, inclusive environments.”
A participant at Arkansas' first School-Based Mental Health Symposium for Pediatric Primary Care uses his cell phone to take a photo of one of the slides presented during the event.
The event organizers wanted attendees to openly discuss Irby's talk and the symposium's other topics, so they designed the seating arrangement to encourage conversation.
“Strategically, we didn't allow people who knew each other to sit at the same table,” German says, “so we wanted it to be a place where networking and partnership building were necessary.”
Participants received a free copy of the book, “A Non-Apologetic Guide to Black Mental Health,” plus a $50 gift card for those who traveled to Little Rock from outside central Arkansas for the symposium.
Since the event concluded, we have seen an increase in inquiries and registrations for ARMAPP training sessions.
“More people are now aware of us,” German says, “and some have signed up to receive consultations from our psychologists and attend monthly training sessions. We currently have around 70 school-based service providers who will receive ongoing training and the support services we provide.”
“Participants were eager to continue receiving training in the format that we offered,” she said, “so we know they had a great time at the symposium. We discussed topics that don't get a lot of attention, and we had a lot of comments that this wasn't traditional professional development.”
ARMAPP, also led by co-director Lori Graham, MSW, aims to make an impact in the state’s rural communities, so the symposium needed to be productive, fun and memorable. Smith said the feedback he received indicates that goal was met.
“Looking at the graffiti boards we set up, the comments people left were very positive,” he said. “We heard a lot of echoes of Dr. Irby's talk and how we're trying to draw attention to racism and what we can all do for populations that face hidden trauma. I think people enjoyed the good time, the food, the fellowship and especially the information.”
“We wanted participants to leave with a positive understanding that both UAMS and Arkansas Children's Hospital care about Arkansans, especially our youth,” Smith said. “Participants can then return to their own districts and encourage others to enroll in ARMAPP for education and consultation on youth mental health programs.”
