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CADER Partners with Indiana to Provide Behavioral Health Training for Aging Adults

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The Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers (ICCMHC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting mental health and substance use treatment services across Indiana. Through advocacy, education, and support, the ICCMHC works to ensure that all Hoosiers have access to comprehensive, high-quality behavioral health care. When the organization secured a Humana Healthy Horizons Community Investment Grant in support of the Indiana PathWays for Aging program, they turned to the Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research (CADER) at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) to help them implement a focused training program on providing behavioral health services to older adults for staff at their Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC).  

 “The aging population is one of the largest areas of growth within our CMHC system in Indiana,” says Andrew Zellers, ICCMHC’s grant administrator and policy and research analyst. “As the volume increases, so does the need to serve them and provide staff with training to better ensure aging Hoosiers have the services and care they need.” 

Thanks to the Humana grant, ICCMHC and CADER have partnered to offer CADER’s Behavioral Health in Aging Certificate Program to help staff better support older adults living with mental health and substance use concerns or Alzheimer’s and dementia. The training also promotes mental wellness and suicide prevention. Building on CADER’s commitment to strengthen the workforce that provides home and community-based support and services to older adults and people with disabilities, CADER has trained more than 50,000 practitioners and provided online training to more than 450 community-based agencies and state organizations nationwide. 

“We are thrilled to be working with ICCMHC and Humana in strengthening the skills and competencies of the workforce in CMHCs,” says Prof. Bronwyn Keefe, BUSSW research associate professor and CADER director. “As the older adult population continues to grow, it’s crucial to expand training for clinicians, equipping them to provide support in diverse settings and across all stages of life.” 

The program’s first cohort is already benefiting from CADER’s innovative certificate program, which offers an evidence-based, practice-informed learning for professionals to expand their understanding of key issues related to working with older adults who have behavioral health concerns.  

“I feel that, as a provider, older adults are often not part of the picture of [behavioral health] care. I appreciate the program’s insight into what that looks like,” one CMHC participant said. “Society does not treat all ages equally and certainly each stage of life has its unique set of challenges.” 

The program features a blend of cutting-edge academic research, role-play simulations in real-life scenarios, and opportunities for participants to apply their learning, making it an invaluable resource for staff who work with older adults. 

“We were looking for a way to provide training to all 24 CMHCs, and CADER’s online, self-paced certificate program model was very appealing,” says Zellers.    

The training is available to over 100 of CMHC’s mental health professionals, including social workers, counselors, psychologists, and other behavioral health practitioners.  

“I loved the discussion questions and the thought that was put into them as well,” another learner said. “This course was very informative and has made and will continue to make me a better therapist.”  

The training builds on practitioners’ knowledge and expertise to meet the increasing mental health demands of the state’s aging population, with the ultimate goal of improving care and outcomes for older adults across Indiana.  

“This training will help staff at all 24 CMHC’s in Indiana better serve the growing mental health needs of our aging population,” says Zellers. “As their needs grow, so does our need to train and prepare our professionals who work with this population every day. This program will be instrumental in enhancing the ability of our workforce to care for the mental health needs of aging adults.”