Education and Training – Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center

The Johnson Depression Center offers a variety of educational programs and trainings focused on Mental Wellness. Each program, listed below, is approximately one hour in length, but can be modified to best fit the needs of the audience.

Trainings and programs are offered in variety of settings including, VIRTUAL, schools, workplace settings, hospitals, universities, churches and the homes of community members throughout the state of Colorado.

Each program is led by Alex Yannacone, Community Programs Director. To schedule a training for your organization, please contact Alex Yannacone at 303-724-8768.

Programs We Offer

For a calendar listing of upcoming programs and events, please visit our Events page. To schedule any of the trainings below for your organization, please contact Community Programs Manager Alex Yannacone at 303-724-8768.

VitalCog: Suicide Prevention in the workplace (formerly known as Working Minds)

This program is designed to help workplaces appreciate the critical need for suicide prevention while creating a forum for dialogue and critical thinking about workplace mental health changes. The program builds a business case for suicide prevention while promoting help-seeking and help-giving. A Train-the-Trainer format is also available for this program.

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QPR- Question, Persuade, Refer Suicide Prevention

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. People trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.

This evidence-based training covers national and state statistics about suicide, warning signs, and detailed explanation of how to talk to someone who may be in a suicide crisis. This training is designed for anyone including, parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, advocates, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, first responders, etc. to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide.

Stress Management

This interactive talk focuses on recognizing the function and method of stress and how to understand the essential ways to reduce stress. During this training, participants will learn practical tips and tools to manage stress and change unhealthy habits.

Self-Care Training

This interactive, collaborative training introduces the concept and importance of self-care as a basis for both personal and professional success. Participants will learn the importance and necessity of self-care and the ability to identify areas of improvement in one’s own self-care while recognizing different techniques and habits to develop a well-balanced lifestyle.

Mental Health 101

In this talk, participants will review statistics, facts and warning signs regarding mental illnesses within our society. This talk discusses the barriers to treatment and how best to support an individuals with a mental illness.

Mindfulness

In this training, participants will review the definition of mindfulness, the research supporting it and how to easily integrate mindfulness techniques into one’s own life. Through discussion and hands-on exercises, participants will discover simple techniques to learn more on the benefits of mindfulness.

Resiliency in Teens (for teens)

This training discusses skills and strategies for building resiliency, creating manageable goals, self-care, and mindfulness exercises. Barriers and obstacles will be identified, as well as how to obtain resources and supports. This session will incorporate story-telling and small group collaboration and discussions.

Trauma and Self-Care

This training reviews the effects and symptoms of trauma as well as the resiliency and protective factors to best support a child with a trauma background. Through discussion and practice, participants will learn the importance of self-care (when working with victims), identify areas of improvement in one’s own self-care, and recognize different techniques and habits to develop a well-balanced lifestyle.

Family-Focused Therapy for Bipolar Disorder (for providers)

This program offers community providers free training and ongoing case consultation in Family-Focused Therapy, an evidence-based treatment for bipolar disorder. Training can be completed in day-long workshops held at the Johnson Depression Center, or abbreviated (5 hr) seminars completed in providers’ own community facilities.

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Understanding Depression

This talk will help you identify the difference between Clinical Depression vs. Feelings Associated with Depression (sadness, upset, overwhelmed), give you a new way to understand depression, provide helpful tools and resources to help someone struggling with depression, and help you identify when a referral to a specialist may be important to fight the depression.

Happiness Workshops

Want to learn more about the science of happiness? Curious as to how happiness is a mental health issue? Happiness Expert, Dr. Amy Lopez, leads workshops designed to help you explore your happiness.

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