Pre-conference workshops
All Pre-conference workshops will be scheduled on Tuesday July 8th 2008, from 9.30 – 15.00, prior to the formal opening of the conference.

Separate registration is necessary and the number of participants for Pre-conference workshops is limited. Please register for the workshops online at www.cmscongress.com/ispa2008/startsite.htm via the Participant Registration Form. NASP approval for the Pre-conference workshops is pending (APA approved sponsor).

Workshop presenters are well known for their expertise as practitioners and researchers in their specialist fields. The three workshops are focusing on mental health problems in schools. Two presenters, Steve Hoff and Louise Rowling, have previously presented their splendid workshops in Finland.

For those who missed these workshops, take this opportunity to attend. The third presenter is a well-known ISPA member from Australia, professor Graham Martin. He was a keynote-speaker in China.

The fees for attending the Pre-conference workshops are Euro 50 for participants in the ISPA Conference and Euro 125 for non-participants.

Pre-conference workshop A
Dr. Louise Rowling
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia.
New Understandings about grief in school communities.

New understandings of the role of the school as a supportive context for grief provides opportunities for enhanced practice for school psychologists. These new perspectives strengthen existing practice which focuses on individuals and families, to include wider social relationships and contexts.  New knowledge about the impact of grief and trauma on school personnel, including school leaders and school psychologists; the role of the school as an organisation; a whole school approach to grief; and student's experiences, will be explored through review of current research and theorising about loss and grief. Key among these perspectives are: disenfranchised grief in schools, differing grieving styles, the dual process model of grieving, continuing bonds and meaning-making about loss and grief.  Particular attention will be given to the new research on the impact of grief and trauma on the personal and professional lives of school psychologists and the resilience they develop. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect and discuss the findings from research in relation to their own professional practices and experiences.

The format of the workshop will involve brief presentations on a variety issues combined with small group discussions.

In this workshop, participants will:
·   Learn how to develop a whole school approach to grief;
·   Learn about current theories of loss and grief that will enhance school practice;
·   Develop an awareness of the multiple issues that impact on grief in school communities;
·   Be introduced to a framework to assist in understanding and managing the impact of trauma and grief on the work life of school psychologists;
·  Develop skills to enhance their practice as a school psychologist.

Pre-conference workshop B
Dr. Steven Hoff
Assistant Professor of School psychology, The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY, USA.
Working with Self-injurious Youth in Schools.

Working with youth who self-injure presents unique challenges to the school psychologist.  However, the well-informed practitioner is in a position to be extremely helpful. 

This workshop will provide a theoretical/philosophical position from which self-injury can be understood.  Cutting behaviour, common among trauma survivors, will be discussed with a focus on the challenges of treating youth who cut.  Clinical examples (e.g. drawings, poem, and photographs) will illustrate important points.  A videotaped interview featuring four teenage girls will provide ‘real life’ material for workshop participants to consider.  The girls, each with her own successes and setbacks, were residents at a treatment facility where the presenter was Clinical Director.  Challenges unique to school settings will be discussed.  Finally, the important differences between self-injurious behaviour and suicidal behaviour will be delineated.  Important components of a suicide risk assessment will be reviewed. 

The workshop will be interactive in nature: attendees will be encouraged to share their experiences, thoughts and questions.  Small group discussions and role plays will be incorporated to emphasize important concepts. 

Attendees will leave the workshop with enhanced understanding of the challenges and keys to success related to working with youth who self-injure in school settings.  Furthermore, attendees will gain a clear understanding of the differentiation between self-injury and suicidal behaviour.

Pre-conference workshop C
Prof. dr. Graham Martin
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The University of Queensland Mental Health Care, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Australia.
Director of The Centre for Suicide Prevention Studies in Young People, Australia.
A Bridge to the Future: Education and Mental Health working together to develop more resilient and connected citizens for the 21st century.

This workshop will explore various models of collaboration between schools and the mental health system for children and youth in the prevention, clinical and research arenas. In Australia we have been fortunate to have Government support to develop MindMatters, a curriculum based program (www.curriculum.edu.au/mindmatters/), which has focused since 1997 on the development of resilience and connectedness in young people during the high school years. KidsMatter has now been developed for primary school. The evaluation of these major national programs has taught us much about how to improve relationships between the 2 systems, but there are still problems. These appear whenever there are clinical mental health problems emerging, and the interface is sorely tested when acute problems or a crisis happens.

The workshop will discuss and work through a number of models of early intervention, as well as shared clinical programs, training requirements and the needs for whole system reform.

The workshop should provide participants with an overview of the interface problems between the Education and Mental Health systems, and with a framework and some skills for building bridges.