Building Mental Health Support into Family Planning Services Webinar

This webinar featured experts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) who highlighted the value of mental health self-care among service staff and the importance of supporting clients’ mental health as part of supporting preconception and overall health. The webinar also covered the screening processes for anxiety and depression, assisting clients who exhibit symptoms of mental health issues, and other strategies and resources to strengthen providers' ability to engage, support, and appropriately refer clients who might be experiencing anxiety or depression. This webinar was fourth in a series focused on preconception health, following up on the RHNTC’s Advancing Preconception Health Services Webinar (November 2021), Preconception Health Services in Title X Settings: Access, Equity, and Quality Care Virtual Workshop (March 2022), and Promoting Preconception Health Through Social Media Virtual Workshop (May 2022).

Speaker(s):

• Sarah E. (Betsy) Bledsoe, PhD, MPhil, MSW, Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at UNC-CH
• Todd Jensen, PhD, MSW, Research Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work and Family Research and Engagement Specialist in the Jordan Institute for Families at UNC-CH
• Alicia Freeman, MS, LCMHC, LCAS-A, Mental Health First Aid Coordinator at the Behavioral Health Springboard within the School of Social Work at UNC-CH

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the role that staff self-care practices play in promoting the well-being of both clients and staff
2. Describe the importance of providing mental health support for clients and staff in the family planning setting
3. Describe how to screen for common mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, in a family planning setting
4. Describe at least three strategies for engaging, supporting, and referring (as needed) family planning clients who exhibit symptoms of mental health issues

Time: 1 hour

Certificate of Completion: Yes - available after completing the evaluation at the end of the recording

Video Chapters

• Introduction 
• Breathing Exercise (5:05)
• Connection between preconception health and mental health (8:30)
• Stigma (11:58)
• Communicating with clients about mental health (14:37)
• Mental Disorders/mental illness (21:50)
• Anxiety Disorder (31:42)
• Depressive Disorder (32:07)
• Screening (40:34)
• Q&A (53:10)
• Resources (58:04)

* Click on a chapter block on the playback bar above or use the chapter menu (the third icon from the right) to jump directly to a section.