How the Bradley Learning Exchange Takes a Public Health Approach to Mental Health
The Bradley Learning Exchange Team
Founded in 1931, Bradley Hospital has nearly a century of experience in pediatric mental health. We want to share that expertise beyond the children and families that we treat in our inpatient units, day treatment programs and outpatient clinics.
“By taking a public health approach to mental health and spreading awareness and skills, we can impact far more people.”
What is The Bradley Learning Exchange?
The Bradley Learning Exchange is a department of Bradley Hospital. We share Bradley REACH’s mission to expand access to quality mental health care. We offer in-person and virtual trainings on a wide range of mental health topics. We are national leaders in trainings including;
Trauma-informed Care
Suicide Prevention
Screening and Response
Our full range of trainings is available here.
Through Bradley Online Learning, we offer a range of computer-based courses free for professionals and a general audience. These courses cover topics as diverse as;
autism spectrum disorder
sleep
stress
self-injurious behavior
infant and toddler mental health
eating disorders
For professionals, these courses come with continuing education units (CEUs).
We train clinicians and mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and certified counselors. But the mental health workforce is under strain, and to really improve youth mental health, we need non-clinicians to be able to help meet children’s needs where they are. For that reason, we also train;
educators
clergy
human services professionals
first responders
a wide range of other professionals
In Rhode Island alone, we’ve provided trainings in more than 35 school districts.
Post-pandemic, as a society we have come face-to-face with the crisis in child and adolescent mental health.
In turn, this crisis has taken a toll on the workforce in education and health care. Increasingly, organizations are recognizing that providers need the skills to set boundaries and look after their own mental health in order to help others. As a result, across the board, we’ve seen a spike in demand for trauma-informed care training, violence prevention, de-escalation, provider self-care, and vicarious trauma.
A recent highlight for the BLE has been our partnership with SAMHSA on Project AWARE RI, over several grants since 2018. We’ve also worked with the government in Rhode Island, to provide evidence-based suicide prevention, screening, and response education to several school districts in accordance with the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act of 2021. In the fall of 2021, we provided virtual and in-person seminars to train members of the public on awareness, screening, and interventions related to suicidal ideation and behaviors. Nearly 1,000 community members participated in the conference series.
Each year our Bradley Conference provides a forum for Bradley Hospital’s clinicians and researchers to share expertise with mental health clinicians. Again, CEUs are available to providers who participate.
The scale of the crisis in mental health means that we cannot simply treat our way out of the problem. By supporting frontline staff and “helping the helpers” the BLE is working to build a comprehensive community response to the youth mental health crisis in Rhode Island and beyond.
DISCLAIMER:
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
If you or your child are in crisis or experiencing mental health problems please seek the advice of a licensed clinician or call 988 or Kids Link in Rhode Island.
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