MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF THE MIDSOUTH

MHA's Annual
Mental Health Law
Conference

Live Webinar

Thursday | Nov. 2nd
9:00 AM - 12:30 PM CT
3 Credit Hours*

*Three Continuing Education Credits Pending for Professionals: Social Workers, Counselors, Lawyers 
 

Digital download of certificate awarded upon course completion with evaluations & Post Test score of 80% or above.

For Accommodation Requests, Questions, or Grievances
Please Contact  forinfo@MHAMidSouth.org

Overview & Objectives

This annual mental health law conference will provide legal professionals, social workers, and counselors with the knowledge and tools to ethically navigate systems and individual client care situations in which legal considerations must be taken into account; specifically, situations involving involuntary commitment and harm reduction throughout these processes, ethical and legal considerations for working with clients from other countries, and diversion/deflection programs and their implementation at the community level.

Understand the difference between diversion and deflection and how to utilize deflection strategies in community advocacy work.

Understand the criteria to initiate a certificate of need in the state of Tennessee and how to appropriately rule out less restrictive treatment alternatives.

Understand the relevant ethical considerations for working with clients from other countries, to understand different types of documentation and their meanings, and to better articulate the benefits which exist for these clients.

Deflection vs. Diversion: A More Equitable Approach to Achieving Community Care
Presentation Objectives: 
1. Understand why deflection is important and how it differs from diversion
2. Articulate the different types of behavioral health deflection and how to advocate within your community

Elliot Pinsly, LCSW
President & CEO
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FOUNDATION 

Elliot Pinsly is an award-winning health care leader, collaborator, and driver of systems change. Elliot is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Nashville, Tennessee who serves as President & CEO of the Behavioral Health Foundation – a data-driven, nonprofit policy center to advance mental health, addiction care, and criminal justice reform. Elliot is a passionate leader in mental health policy and strategic advocacy who has helped to develop innovative and effective behavioral health programs. Elliot has been instrumental in the expansion of crisis walk-in centers, pre-arrest diversion and deflection programming, emergency mental health transportation reform, insurance parity enforcement, and mental health awareness. Elliot works hand-in-hand with behavioral health providers, judges, advocacy organizations, law enforcement, hospitals, legislators, government officials, and concerned citizens to create meaningful systems and policy changes that improve the lives of individuals with lived experience.
Considerations in Working with Immigrant Populations
Presentation Objectives: 
1. Understand the relevant ethical considerations when working with clients from other countries
2. Articulate the benefits that exist for these clients within systems of care
3. Understand the different types of documentation which exist for these clients and what each entails

Emily Stotts
Senior Staff Attorney
JUSTICE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS

Emily Stotts is a Senior Staff Attorney at Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors where she represents non-citizens seeking immigration benefits before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and those defending themselves against deportation before the Memphis Immigration Court. Emily is a 2013 graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and joined the JFON team in 2023. She previously served as the Director of the Immigrant Justice Program at the Community Legal Center in Memphis, Tennessee, and is passionate about providing holistic legal services to immigrants.
The Crisis Process
Presentation Objectives: 
1. Understand the criteria to initiate a Certificate of Need in State of Tennessee
2. Articulate the differences between the first Certificate of Need and the second Certificate of Need

Samantha Hammonds, LCSW
Vice President of Special Projects
ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE SERVICES

Samantha Hammonds is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked in mental health for the past 12 years. In that time, she has been a Clinical Supervisor, a Clinical Director, and currently serves as the Vice President of Special Projects overseeing the Crisis Department at Alliance Healthcare Services. Samantha is certified as a Mandatory Prescreening Agent in the State of Tennessee, which allows her to write a Certificate of Need for an involuntary commitment.