March 13, 2024
On March 1, 2024, the Institute for Building Resilience and Trauma Informed Programs (IBR-TIP) in collaboration with the SC School Behavioral Health Collaborative to hold its first South Carolina Behavioral Health Summit. Because of the immediate success of the summit, Columbia College faculty have decided to make it an annual event. The summit focused on building resilient systems to address school mental health, involving leaders in the mental health field such as MUSC Boeing Wellness Center, Department of Mental Health, SC School Behavioral Health Initiative, and Stepping Stones. Over 70 professionals in the field ranging from psychiatrists, pediatricians, clinical therapists, and school administrators met on a rainy Friday to make this summit happen.
Chair of the Summit and Associate Professor of Trauma Informed Education Dr. Elaine Chavez Swain, DSW, LMSW, shared, “This combination of leaders created a Summit where professionals could collaborate and discuss solutions to empower and mobilize our school systems to serve the mental health needs of young people.”
During the event, Kevin Cornett, Chief of Police for Isle of Palms Police Department was the Call to Action speaker. His incredible story empowered the summit community to address barriers to children and families accessing mental health. He spoke about the importance of follow-up between the family, school, and mental health systems. This Call to Action led to participants working together to identify barriers and solutions, creating an action plan, and collecting data from the day that will be analyzed and prepared for a report to the SC School Behavioral Health Collaborative on how to implement system change.
Columbia College continues to trailblaze in building resilient organizations with its Trauma Informed Masters Programs, Higher Education Certificate Program in Trauma Informed Care, and certifying organizations like Alston Wilkes Society in Trauma Informed Practices. IBR-TIP is proud to partner with like-minded organizations to strategize ways to best serve students today. Because of the work of dedicated faculty and staff like Dr. Elaine Swain, Columbia College remains THE destination for educators seeking expertise in the in-demand study of Trauma Informed Education.
Interested in becoming an organization certified Trauma Informed Practices (TIP)? Interested in our Master’s Degree Programs in Trauma Informed Education or Higher Education Certificate? Please visit https://www.columbiasc.edu/academics/resilience-institute.