Claritycon Mental Health Conference to feature three renowned speakers

SAN ANTONIO, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Clarity Child Guidance Center is the only nonprofit in South Texas providing a continuum of mental health care for children, ages 3-17, and their families. It works with kids and their families to manage mental health conditions ranging from ADHD and anxiety to suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia.

Clarity CGC provides professional education and CEUs at Claritycon, its annual children's mental health conferences. In 2019, more than 700 professionals and community members participated. Because of Covid-19 pandemic, Claritycon was transformed into Claritycon Reimagined–with four mini-conferences instead of one—to offer three options for in-person or distance learning, thanks to taping at TV studios of KLRN-PBS.

Claritycon Reimagined is split into four separate half-day sessions scheduled during the 2020-2021 school year, with each session offering 4 CEU credits for state of Texas. The April 9 session is the fourth of four sessions for 2020-2021. Because past sessions are available on demand, professionals can still pay to watch any or all of the four Claritycon sessions, and earn 4 CEUs per session. Each CEU costs $25 each. If desired, all four sessions (16 CEUs) can be purchased together as a bundle for $250. Groups of 10 or more that purchase the four-session bundle get if for $150/pp.

The April 9, 2021 Claritycon will feature three experts in the field of mental health and children:

• Understanding OCD and Treatment in Children and Adolescents - Elizabeth McIngvale, PhD –

Director of the McLean OCD Institute at Houston, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, McIngvale is internationally known and recognized for her clinical work and advancements in the OCD field where she maintains active clinical, research and leadership roles. Her keynote presentation will address diagnostic criteria/basic principles of OCD and appropriate treatment; impact of stigma and low access to appropriate mental health treatment; importance of support in treatment; and importance of relapse prevention and advocacy. Her interests focus on OCD, anxiety disorders, mental health stigma and access to mental health care. She is the founder of the Peace of Mind Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to OCD, and operates ocdchallenge.org, a free self-help website for OCD which is live in six languages and serves nearly 4,000 individuals. She was the first national spokesperson for the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and now serves on their board of directors.

• Behavior and Aggression: Trauma Focused Behavioral Strategies for Success - Steven Gonzalez, PhD, LBA, BCBA-D, CCTP – Director of the San Antonio-based South Texas Behavioral Institute, Gonzalez works at the PhD level alongside nurses, psychiatrists, LMSWs, LCSWs, adoption agencies, attorneys and judges to ensure permanency of children in safe and supportive environments while reducing the placement into foster care, also dealing with issues such as incarceration, homelessness and trauma. His talk will focus on understanding the basic functions of behavior and aggression; how trauma may influence behavior; and three-term contingencies and how they play a role in future aggressive behaviors. He pioneered a program by which he provides training to hospital medical professionals including MDs, RNs, intake and registration specialists, and administration professionals, in de-escalation techniques to be used during crisis.
• Change, Trauma, and Supporting Children of Military Families - Monica Escamilla, PsyD - Family Psychologist in the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at South Texas Veterans Health Care System which provides psychotherapy intervention for family and veterans/service members for the polytrauma inpatient, outpatient, and Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program clinics. In this seminar participants will learn about the challenge of change among Children of military families, preventive strategies and interventions to protect the mental health of military children, and how to recognize signs of trauma in children and aid in the healing process. A professional psychology doctoral practicum coordinator, Escamilla is on the faculty of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) in the Psychology Dept. She earned her Doctorate in Psychology and Masters in Counseling Psychology from OLLU and a BS in Biology from St. Mary's University. She formerly served at the SA Military Medical Center in the Warrior Resiliency Program as Staff Psychologist.

Registration is now open for the three socially distant options for attendees:

• Attend live, socially distant audience at KLRN TV station on the day of event from 8 a.m. – noon. In-person tickets are very limited and subject to change, based on city ordinance. In-person attendees may change to the online livestream option at any time.
• Watch a livestream online on day of event.
• Access recordings of the event after-the-fact.
• Group reservations are available, and discounted if 10 or more.

Claritycon attendees include child psychologists, social workers, pediatricians, educators, childcare providers, school counselors, special education teachers, Child Protective Services specialists, Juvenile Justice workers, small counseling offices, students and others.

For more information, contact [email protected] or 210-593-2148, or visit https://www.claritycgc.org/annual-conference-claritycon/.

Clarity Child Guidance Center has honored Methodist Healthcare Ministries with its Community Leaders Award for Claritycon 2020-2021. USAA Foundation is underwriter for Claritycon.

ABOUT CLARITY CHILD GUIDANCE CENTER: Clarity CGC offers the region's largest concentration of child and adolescent psychiatrists, with its onsite affiliation with Southwest Psychiatric Physicians. In addition, the center serves as a teaching hospital for UT Health San Antonio and Baylor College of Medicine. Clarity CGC's treatment facilities include an eight-acre campus in the South Texas Medical Center with a 66-bed hospital and 6-bed Crisis Service. Clarity CGC serves all children in need of care, regardless of their family's ability to pay.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jeanne Albrecht
210-392-9047
[email protected]
March 2021

Media Contact

Jeanne Albrecht, Clarity Child Guidance Center, 2103929047, [email protected]

SOURCE Clarity Child Guidance Center