Date: Thursday, December 7, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:00pm ZOOM
Credit: 1
Speakers: Nicole Pierce-Risvold LPCC, Embedded Counselor for the School of Dentistry & Shannon Gilligan Wehr, Senior Student Support Associate, School of Dentistry
Nicole Pierce-Risvold is the Embedded Counselor for the School of Dentistry. She is clinically trained and holds a Licenced Professional Clinical Counseling degree. Nicole has worked in educational counseling for 15 years and has worked in a variety of settings. A part of her previous position was curating professional development opportunities for teachers to have courageous conversations with students about their mental health. She found that most people wanted to lean into these conversations, but didnt feel equipped with the right things to say. From there, she developed and trained hundreds of educators on how to have productive mental based conversations with students. She found that feedback from both sides was crucial and continues to research best practices. Lastly, Nicole works in her own private practice that focuses on young adults and couples. This has given her a multitiered perspective on how people from all walks of life interpret and view their own mental health needs and ways to support diverse groups of people.
Shannon Gilligan Wehr (She | Her) coordinates academic and wellbeing support services for University of Minnesota School of Dentistry learners. Some of her responsibilities within this role include creating and disseminating electronic and in-person programming focused on holistic wellbeing, supervising the School of Dentistry peer tutors and teaching assistants, co-authoring and maintaining an electronic Learner Success Guide, and co-managing the Doctor of Dental Surgery mentor program. Shannon also collaborates with other Academic Health Center units on campus to identify inter-professional development opportunities for learners and staff. She also serves in a leadership capacity within the ADEA Section on Dental Student Admissions Officers, Student Affairs, and Financial Aid (AFASA). Shannon has worked professionally in student affairs and educational non-profits since 2008, with experience in orientation, academic advising, career services, graduate and professional student support services, academic and career exploration, and wellbeing, in addition to non-profit event planning and communication.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and History and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Multicultural Post-secondary Teaching and Learning from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, as well as a Master of Arts in Leadership in Student Affairs from the University of St Thomas.
Program Description: This training will provide specific tools and ideas of how to have solution focused conversations with students who are experiencing academic or emotional distress that is impacting their mental wellbeing. If you have ever felt that you need some more tools or resources to have a well rounded conversation with students, this training will help support that. We will go over scenarios and ideas of how to support a conversation and the student getting the right resources they need in the end. This training will also help you feel like you have a “place to start” and help you explore some additional pathways if you find that you get stuck in “what should I say?”. Lastly, we will go over how to decompress and take care of yourself after difficult conversations.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn solution focused intervention tools that support student mental health
- Increase their ability to navigate challenging mental health conversations with students
- Discover how to decompress and take care of themselves after emotional conversations
RegisterZoom Link