Exploring Complexity: Making Medication Evaluation Referrals for Traumatized, Under-Resourced Foster Youth.

Ayelet Barkai
Speaker: Ayelet Barkai, M.D.
Description: In this workshop, Ayelet Barkai, M.D., will provide live case consultation for 2-3 A Home Within clinicians, centered on the clinical considerations for psychotropic medication evaluation and use. Participants will explore common issues related to accessing appropriate psychopharmacologic consultation, within the context of working with clients who are disenfranchised and do not have consistent access to such services. Psychopharmacologic evaluations and consultations are in high demand and difficult to access, even in the best of circumstances, and these access barriers have become more pronounced during the pandemic.
In addition, children in the custody of child care agencies require special measures for obtaining consent to begin medication treatment, in particular antipsychotic medications. Dr. Barkai will outline these procedures, which differ from state to state. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and troubleshoot ways to potentially mitigate some of these access barriers. Dr. Barkai and attendees will also discuss the complexities of deciding when a medication referral is appropriate to consider for foster youth, who have often experienced traumatic life events and are under-resourced.
Learning Objectives:
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Participants will be able to list 3 reasons to consider a medication evaluation for their clients.
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Participants will be able to describe the process for getting consent for medication treatment for children in the custody of child protection agencies.
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Participants will be able to name 3 medication classes and the typical symptoms to support their collaborations with prescribers.
Dr. Barkai's Bio:
Dr. Barkai is trained as an Adult Psychiatrist at McLean Hospital and a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Cambridge Health Alliance, where she is now on the teaching faculty. She is currently the co-clinical director of the Boston/Cambridge chapter of A Home Within, and has worked as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in a number of public health settings including inpatient, outpatient and residential treatment programs. She is also an adult psychoanalyst and on the faculty of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, as well as a corresponding member of the Psychoanalytic Society of New England. In addition, Dr. Barkai is a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and has been involved as a research associate in a longitudinal developmental psychology research project on adolescent development spanning 30+ years. She has a private practice in Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Adult psychoanalysis in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Content Level: Intermediate
Target Audience: All Clinicians
Timed Agenda:
- 12-12:30pm: Welcome and Introduction of Ayelet Barkai by Deanna Linville; Ayelet Barkai does a powerpoint presentation describing the workshop, discussing mental health crisis in the US, and complex PTSD diagnosis.
- 12:30-1pm: Deanna Linville introduces Emily Yang, and Emily presents her case scenario; Ayelet comments on the scenario and floor is open to audience questions and reflections
- 1-1:30pm: Deanna Linville introduces Saralyn Ruff, and Saralyn presents her case scenarios / thoughts, and the floor is open to audience questions and reflections.
- 1:30-2pm: Further audience discussion, questions, reflections; wrap-up comments.
These events are free, and registration is available up until 24 hours prior to the start of the event. There is no penalty for cancellations. Content level is suitable for working mental health professionals with advanced degrees. There will be no breaks during the programs.
Live courses are interactive and recorded courses are non-interactive. In order to complete and receive credit for live courses, attendees must remain for the duration of each event and complete the course evaluation directly following each event. A link to the evaluation will be shared in the Zoom chat box during the live webinar. To earn home-study credits for recorded webinars, viewers must watch each course and complete the evaluation and posttest for each course. Viewers have 3 chances to pass the posttest with a score of 75% or higher. Once the evaluations or the evaluations and postttests are completed, we will generate and issue certificates via email within one week of completion.
Credit is calculated by the hours of the event (1 hour = 1 credit, 2 hours = 2 credits, etc.). The time it takes to complete the course evaluation and/or the posttest does not count toward CE credits.
To participate in a live webinar, a system that runs Zoom is required. To watch a recorded event for home-study, a system that plays recorded videos is required.
Please send an email to chrissy@ahomewithin.org to request disability accommodations, address grievances, or ask questions.
ASWB: A Home Within, 1381 is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. A Home Within maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 3/21/2019 - 3/21/2022. Social workers completing each of the above listed courses may receive 2 continuing education credits per course.
APA: A Home Within is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. A Home Within maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
NBCC: A Home Within has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6701. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. A Home Within is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

