In the News: CBH Research Symposium Empowers Parents With Behavioral Health Needs

On Wednesday, November 8, CBH hosted an in-person research symposium highlighting promising research on transformative programs supporting parents with behavioral health needs. 6ABC covered the symposium during the evening news broadcast.

This symposium brought together family members, providers, researchers, and policymakers to explore how these programs help reduce barriers to care and improve outcomes for local families impacted by the behavioral health challenges.

The symposium featured a keynote by Dr. Emma Maynard, Lecturer in Child & Family Health at King’s College London, and presentations by leading experts from CBH, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Delaware, and Brandeis University.

The covered topics included:

• Engaging Parents and Increasing Connections with Children (EPICC) – a program that helps parents with serious mental illnesses connect and communicate with their children through meaningful activities.
• Mothers’ Support and Health in Pregnancy and Parenting (MotherSHIPP) – a web-based tool that connects pregnant and postpartum women with a substance use disorder (SUD) with mobile education, peer support, motivation for treatment, and other important resources.
• Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) – a partnership between CBH and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children that allows an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals from both organizations – which includes psychologists, therapists, social workers, pharmacists, and other mental health professionals – to provide onsite services during and after a child’s appointments with their pediatrician.
• ParentingWell– an approach to behavioral health that makes talking about parenting, children, and family experiences a routine part of the therapeutic conversation for adults with mental illness.
• The Philly Joy Bank – a pilot program that will provide pregnant Philadelphians with guaranteed income to help improve birth outcomes.
• Community Doula Support Program – a program that provides individuals and families throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and up to one year postpartum with individualized emotional support and education.

CBH held the symposium in honor of the late Evan Kaplan, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Child and Family Connections, a nonprofit in Philadelphia that supports parents and families with mental health needs.