By Michelle Marshall, Managing Director

Posted in: Grade School, Teenagers, Young Adults

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The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at MGH (“The Clay Center”) mission is to promote well-being by providing mental health education to aide in the prevention, reduction and de-stigmatization of mental illness in young people.

We accomplish this by developing and implementing evidence-based, practical mental health education for caregivers.  Our work is fueled by data that one in four individuals will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, and that more than 50% of these disorders begin in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood.

The Clay Center is led by Executive Director, Gene Beresin, MD, MA; Associate Director, Khadijah Booth-Watkins, MD, MPH; and Managing Director, Michelle Marshall, MBA. We are formally affiliated with the MGH Department of Psychiatry in the Division of Professional and Public Education and maintain a close relationship with Harvard Medical School. Combined, these resources help to expand the depth and breadth of the clinical expertise we can extend to our partners.

Education Services

Producing evidence-based, practical mental health education has been a core component of our mission for over a decade. Our content library consists of thousands of articles, which are available in multiple formats, including blogs, videos, podcasts, and films.  The format is designed to help audiences understand the Clay Center’s unique model of the “3W’s” – What to look for, when to worry and what to do. Through this approach, our content fosters awareness and understanding, promotes de-stigmatization and aids in the expansion of early detection and intervention for young people.  Examples of our services and content collaborations include:

• Co-branded and/or licensed content for use by our partners
• Co-branded and licensed educational videos, articles, blogs
• Mental health educational brochures for schools, organizations, pediatricians, etc.
• Customized articles and communications for employers and organizations to educate on mental health conditions

Continuing Education Courses
Mental health education for professionals working with young people is available in both live and online formats. Our course program offerings are dynamic to meet the needs of today’s caregivers and educators but can also be customized to meet unique needs and circumstances.

Workshops and Trainings
Professional trainings and workshops to increase and expand educators’ and caregiver knowledge, skill, and confidence of mental health conditions and promote social emotional wellness.  Our team of expert child and adolescent clinicians are available to work with your organization. Examples of trainings include:

• Training to help identify at-risk youth and how to work with them
• Identifying trauma in the classroom and how to help
• Developing successful parent-child-school relationship at college
• Parent workshops to increase awareness of child mental health conditions and “What to look for, when to worry and what to do”

Presentations and Speaking Engagements
Our Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists are frequently called upon for professional speaking engagements and presentations.  These range from customized presentations on a particular topic of choice or selecting a presentation from our content library, which at times is a more efficient approach to meeting your needs.  Examples include:

• The Biology of Stress: The Impact of Stress on Mental Health and Learning and How to Support Struggling Children (1 hour)
• Fostering Resilience, Preventing Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide in Youth (1 hour)
• Ways to Help a Lonely Teen (1 hour)

Consultations
The treatment of a young person suffering with a mental health condition at school can present unique challenges for all parties involved in their care. There may be special circumstances when seeking the services of an outside professional team of experts may be helpful.  In this structure, our clinicians work as an advisor to the school or organization.

Needs Assessments
The integration of comprehensive mental health educational curriculum is essential in today’s learning environment. However, the process of assessing current systems and programs across organizations is time intensive and often complex. When done well, these programs help foster a sense of wellbeing and resiliency in youth. Our clinicians work collaboratively with leadership teams to assess the current curriculum and landscape and make formal recommendations for integration into school strategic plans.

Mental Health School Curricula
As mental health education has become an integral core curriculum within schools and school districts, our 16-week, programs offer educators evidence-based, practical programs that focus on empowering youth with the necessary life skills to recognize, respond to and build healthy coping mechanisms and resolution skills.  Examples of our curriculum include: Conflict Resolution and Strengthening the Self and Social Interactions.

For more information about any of our programs or services, please contact:

Michelle Marshall, Managing Director
E-mail: mmarshall14@mgh.harvard.edu