Larned State Hospital to Host Annual Mental Health Conference in August

LARNED – Larned State Hospital (LSH) will host “Frontiers in Mental Health,” its 16th annual mental health conference August 5-8, 2019, in the State Theatre, 617 Broadway, Larned, KS, Superintendent Lesia Dipman announced today. The conference will kick off August 5 with a 5K run at 5:30 p.m. on the LSH campus. Medals will be awarded to 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place finishers in five age divisions.

“This annual conference has become one of the premier behavioral health events in Kansas. We conduct this conference annually to aid the professional development of those working in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work and corrections, but it is open to anyone with an interest in mental health,” Superintendent Dipman said.

Rich in history, LSH is the largest psychiatric facility in the state serving the western two-thirds of Kansas with more than 990 staff and the capacity to treat more than 450 patients. The hospital is accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC) and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) is responsible for administrative oversight of the hospital.

“Larned State Hospital has again put together an exceptional lineup of speakers and important topics to enrich the knowledge and treatment skills of attendees and help them better care for the people we serve,” KDADS Secretary Laura Howard said.

For more information and to enroll in the conference, visit: http://kdads.ks.gov/Frontiers-Mental-Health-Conference or contact LSH development staff at 620-285-4566.

Presentations at the conference include:

• “Critical Incident Stress Management”
• “Distinguishing Between Self and Professionalism”
• “Ethics: You are Fine, How am I?”
• “Palliative Care: Core Principles and Practical Applications”

Featured speakers at the 2019 conference will be:

• Dr. David Barnum, Ph.D.
  Dr. Barnum, Diplomate of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists, completed his doctoral training in clinical psychology with a specialization in health psychology at The University of Kansas. After his internship at Temple University Health Sciences, he began a 20-year career in community mental health, with particular emphasis in establishing and expanding clinical training programs as a means for developing professional staff in rural and under-served areas.

  Currently, he is the Clinical Director and Director of Clinical Training at Larned State Hospital as well as a co-owner of The Family Therapy Institute Midwest. He has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Kansas and Benedictine College. Dr. Barnum has been an ambassador for the National Health Service Corps, is a past-president of the Kansas Psychological Association and served on the Continuing Education Committee of the American Psychological Association. He is a frequent presenter at local, national and international conferences on topics including diagnosis, ethics, risk management, clinical training and supervision, family psychology, autism spectrum disorders, treating family injustice, elements of effective psychological treatment and Ericksonian approaches to treatment, among others. He has published work in the treatment of children affected by abuse and foster care health psychology. He is currently co-chair of the Hospital Ethics Committee at Larned State Hospital.

• Teresa Strausz
  Teresa Strausz is passionate about the human experience in organizations and learning. She has been supporting staff, students and adult learners throughout her career by providing education, supervision, training and dynamic learning opportunities in a variety of formats.

  Teresa earned a Master’s degree in Social Work in 1996 from the University of Kansas and a Master’s degree in Organization Development in 2012 from Friends University. Teresa serves as a founding member of the Trauma-Informed Systems of Care team, social work field instructor, leadership coach, facilitator and consultant.

• Leo Hermann, Ph.D.
  Dr. Leo Herrman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Master’s of Science degree in Clinical Psychology from FHSU. He completed his Doctorate of Philosophy in Developmental and Child Psychology at the University of Kansas. He currently is the Associate Professor/Director of Psychological Screening Clinic at FHSU. He has an extensive background in administration and clinical supervision having served as Administrative Program Director for Kansas’ Violent Sexual Predator Treatment Program, Superintendent of Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility, Program Director and Acting Superintendent of the Youth Center at Topeka as well a chief psychologist there. His clinical experience includes work as a psychologist sex offender treatment programs, youth centers, substance abuse treatment programs and mental health centers.

  He is a licensed clinical psychotherapist and a certified substance abuse counselor. His teaching experience includes Fort Hays State University and the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authorities’ Training Academy.

  Dr. Herrman has written many articles and is known for his scholarly presentations to professional organizations. His research interest lies in the area of forensic psychology and suicide prevention programing, particularly in youth.

• Brooke Mann, M.S.
  Brooke Mann is a lecturer and the Director of the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program at Fort Hays State University (FHSU). She earned her B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Clinical Psychology from FHSU and is finishing her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University – Commerce. Her experiences include psychotherapy in in-patient and out-patient facilities, psychometric assessment, coordinating graduate clinical practice, supervising graduate students, and community outreach. Her current research interests are in reducing stigma of mental illness, and diagnosis assessment of ADHD.

• Karin Porter-Williamson, M.D.
  Dr. Porter-Williamson is an Associate Professor and Division Director of Palliative Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She is also the Medical Director for Palliative Care Services at the University of Kansas Health System and is the Medical Director for the KS-MO TPOPP Coalition. Dr. Porter-Williamson grew up in Topeka, Kan., attended Washburn Rural High School, then KU for her undergraduate degree in Biology, French and Psychology. She completed medical school and an internal medicine residency training at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2002, and then completed fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative medicine in 2003 at San Diego Hospice. After training she returned to the University of Kansas and has been on faculty there for the past 16 years.

  Dr. Porter-Williamson’s academic interests include building systems for patient-centered, goal concordant plans of care, to improve the value of medical care for patients and families facing serious illness, and to integrate the principles of palliative medicine as the standard of care for all seriously ill patients and families. Dr. Porter-Williamson’s educational focus is on the training of medical professionals and inter-professional teams across the continuum of care to understand these principles and integrate them into their practice, with specific attention to communication skills necessary for goals of care discussions and serious illness care planning.