The Behavioral Health Training and Education Network - BHTEN

12/24/2025

The holidays can be a wonderful time. For some, they can also be a stressful time. DBHIDS Commissioner Kenny Solanke shares some tips for managing the season...

12/15/2025

December is HIV/AIDS Awareness Month – a time to raise awareness and reflect on the impact that this epidemic has had on our communities and on the world.

The United States has made enormous strides in HIV treatment, care and prevention since the epidemic began 40 years ago. HIV was once the leading cause of death for young people, but because of scientific advances, fewer people are becoming infected with HIV, and those who do are living longer and healthier lives. The rate of new HIV infections declined 73% between 1984 and 2019, and the age-adjusted death rate has dropped more than 80% since its peak in 1995.

However, in some ways, progress has stalled, as too many people remain unaware of their HIV status, and too few people living at risk are taking the appropriate pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine. In 2019, there were approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S., with 34,800 new infections that year, representing an 8% decrease since 2015. However, an estimated one in eight people living with HIV in the U.S. did not know they’d been infected.

The human body can’t get rid of HIV, and no effective HIV cure exists. So once you have HIV, you have it for life. Fortunately, however, effective treatment with HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) is available. If taken as prescribed, ART can suppress HIV replication and reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to a very low and even undetectable level. Without HIV medicine, people with AIDS typically survive about three years.

There are several symptoms of HIV, and not everyone will have the same ones. The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. You can’t rely on symptoms to tell whether you have HIV.

12/15/2025

Join us January 10th 2025 for "Trauma and Resilience"

The nature of behavioral healthcare requires professionals to bear witness to their clients’ trauma on a daily basis. An
understanding of trauma’s potential impacts and how resilience can encourage healing supports professionals’ abilities to provide effective protective services
to children and families. It is also essential that professionals understand how this work may impact their own health and well-being. This workshop will assist
professionals in recognizing their clients’ trauma and resilience, provide foundational knowledge about trauma’s effects in all areas of life, outline resilience-
building approaches and skills, and address the ways vicarious trauma plays a role in this work. This training will also provide some guidance and tools to
support trauma-informed care (TIC) in service settings.

This training will be instructed by David Johnson, Ed.D. Sign up @ https://conta.cc/4iNuceS

12/09/2025

Due to the National Weather Service forecasting wind chills below 20 degrees, Code Blue is in effect until noon today. Call 215-232-1984 if help is needed.

12/02/2025

Join us on December 15th for the training: " Using the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Process in Supervision."

This 6-hour skills-based course is designed to enhance practitioners’ skills in Supervision of Psychiatric Rehabilitation services staff. Developed in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), the course offers those in the Behavioral Health Field currently providing supervision for psychiatric rehabilitation staff advanced tools in BH Supervision. Utilizing an approach to inspire, teach, challenge and evaluate Supervisory style and collaboration with staff goals/objectives. Join us to develop a collaborative, strength-based approach for supervision in psychiatric rehabilitation programs.

register online @
https://conta.cc/3K8RJtX

12/02/2025

Join us on December 15th for an In Person training : "Macro Motivational Interviewing"

One of the limitations of traditional approaches to Motivational Interviewing (MI) is the narrow focus on individual behavior change. Macro MI recognizes that our behavior patterns often emerge in response to oppressive structures. Macro MI uses the 5 components SHARP framework, Structural oppression; Historical Content; Analysis of role; Reciprocity and Mutuality; and Power to help individuals engage in individual as well a social change. This interactive training will introduce Macro MI as well as exercises that allow practitioners to understand how it might be used in their practice settings.

register online at
https://conta.cc/3MAcDCJ

12/02/2025

December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month.

Weekends and holidays are dangerous times on our roadways. Two of the most celebrated days of the year, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, also are among the most deadly. That's why December has been recognized as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. Taking personal responsibility for a safe ride saves lives.

The legal alcohol concentration limit in all states is 0.08. Research shows that for the majority of drivers, driving performance deteriorates significantly at this level.

However, the current U.S. culture regarding driving and alcohol is not supportive of lowering driving limits for all adult drivers. And despite drivers' views of drinking and driving as a very serious threat, more than one in eight drivers admit to driving in the past year when they thought they were close to or over the legal limit.

Having a plan that includes a designated driver, a taxi or ride share, or an overnight stay at a friend's home just might save a life. Just a single drink can cause a decline in visual function, mental judgment and motor skills, resulting in driver impairment.

Drugs — including opioids, ma*****na and some over-the-counter medicines — can impair driving by causing drowsiness, altering visual functions and affecting mental judgment and motor skills. Other factors, such as fatigue and stress, also can impair your ability to drive.

Drivers should avoid driving while impaired by any of these factors, just as they would if they consumed alcohol.

11/21/2025

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11/21/2025

International Men’s Day 2025
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11/21/2025

International Men’s Day 2025 No Male Su***de
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11/20/2025

11/17/2025

November is Men's Health Awareness Month.

The Movember Foundation aims to change this way of thinking by putting a fun twist on this serious issue. Using the moustache as a catalyst, the idea is to bring about change and give men the opportunity and confidence to learn and talk about their health and take action when needed.

To help achieve this, the Movember Foundation challenges men to grow moustaches during Movember (the month formerly known as November) to spark conversation and raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health problems. We see success as moving the dial on progress towards:

-Reduced mortality from prostate, testicular cancer and men’s su***de

-Men living with prostate or testicular cancer being physically and mentally well

-Men and boys understanding how to be mentally healthy and taking action when they experience mental health problems

-Men and boys with mental health problems not being discriminated against