Current Trainings

About

The workshop expands the Hope Awareness Training by providing participants with important skills to nurture Hope by way of a deep understanding of goal setting, creating and selecting pathways, and building strategies to manage willpower. The workshop allows participants to experience Hope and provides useful tools to find, enhance, and model Hope in any setting. Participants will advance from an awareness of Hope to the application of Hope in their own lives. These workshops cover the same content and are being offered on two separate days, so attendees can choose the session that best fits their schedule.

Dates

April 7 | 9:00–11:30 AM CST

May 6 | 12–2:30 PM CST

Instructor Bio

Dr. Pharris is an Associate Professor at the Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at the University of Oklahoma. She is also the Director of the Child Welfare Impact Institute and a Senior Researcher at the Hope Research Center. Her research focuses on applying and implementing hope-centered and trauma-informed practices that influence human service programs. Angela’s current work centers on child welfare and human service organizations, using hope as a framework for practice. This research contributed to the development of the “Hope Centered and Trauma Informed” training program. Hope is a psychological strength that serves as a buffer against stress, adversity, and burnout, fostering a hopeful mindset that enhances both organizational and individual outcomes.

About

This webinar provides an overview of how sleep works and why it is essential for children’s and adolescents’ health, learning, and emotional wellbeing. Participants will learn about the basic brain processes involved in sleep, common signs of sleep disruption in students, and the ways inadequate sleep can affect attention, behavior, and daily functioning. The session will also explore practical strategies school professionals can use to support students and families, including sleep hygiene practices, managing worries before bedtime, and recognizing when physical sleep concerns may require additional attention.

Dates

March 24 |12-1 p.m. CST

Speaker Bio

Dr. Stephanie Punt is a health psychologist and attending neuropsychologist at UCLA with expertise in brain health, the mind–body connection, and evidence-based lifestyle interventions that improve mental and physical health outcomes. She is particularly passionate about expanding access to these approaches in rural communities and has helped develop and lead multiple telementoring and educational programs through the Telehealth ROCKS initiatives. Dr. Punt earned her doctorate in Health Psychology from the University of Kansas and completed her internship and postdoctoral training at the UCLA Semel Institute. Her work is informed by a multidisciplinary background that began with research in pediatric and adult sarcoma at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she first became interested in how the mind–body connection influences chronic illness and quality of life. Today at UCLA, she works across several clinical settings, including medical assessment clinics, a specialty Veteran clinic, and programs for functional neurological disorders.