This training is only open to first time participants.
All seats have been filled. To be added to the wait list, please contact Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org.
January 23, 2026 @ 8:00 am – 3:00 pm (In Person)
January 30, 2026 @ 12:30 – 2:30 pm (Virtual)
February 6, 2026 @ 12:30 – 2:30 pm (Virtual)
This program is limited to 40 participants. A maximum of 2 staff members per district may register. Participants must attend the first day in-person and the two virtual sessions live to receive PDPs and/or CEUs. This training will not be recorded.
Attend In Person
Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
555 Maple St.
Danvers, MA 01605
SpeakerS
Description
Building a comprehensive school mental health leadership team will help school leaders to assess and triage school threats and create effective response and threat mitigation plans using best-practices based on guidelines from the Secret Service and FBI. This full-day live threat assessment training will be limited to 40 participants. Attendees must register for and participate in both the in-person workshop and the 2 live virtual follow-up sessions. School personnel, including but not limited to, administrators, clinical staff and school resource officers who are currently on school threat assessment teams are encouraged to attend.
In the virtual follow-up trainings, Dr. Richards will present actual cases from schools in Massachusetts to illustrate the complexities of threat assessments, as well as the benefits of applying a structured protocol that integrates key information from all respective stakeholders. Specific tools will be reviewed and shared, and report formats will be distributed to school-based teams to utilize and/or modify for use in their respective districts.
January 23, 2026 (Facilitated by James Barrett, Ph.D.)
Location: Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
January 30, 2026 (Facilitated by Ellie Richards, Ph.D.)
Location: Virtual
Time: 12:30 – 2:30 pm
February 6, 2026 (Facilitated by Ellie Richards, Ph.D.)
Location: Virtual
Time: 12:30 – 2:30 pm
About the SpeakerS
James Barrett, Ph.D., (he/him) is the Director Clinical Support at the Cambridge Police Department and an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He also is an associate with the Health Equity Research Lab at Cambridge Health Alliance. Dr. Barrett is the recipient of the Academic Council Award for Excellence, the HMS Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship, the HMS Leston L. Havens Teaching Award and the Gold Standard in School Safety Award. He is a member of the FBI’s Mass Bay Threat Assessment Team, and a National Institute of Justice LEADS Scholar. His research has been published in JAMA Network Open, Psychology, Public Policy and the Law, Psychological Services, Police Chief Magazine, Adolescent Psychiatry, Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services, and Translational Issues in Psychological Science.
Ellie Richards, Ph.D., (she/her) is a child and adolescent psychologist at Cambridge Health Alliance and an Instructor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Richards specializes in providing clinical care to high-risk adolescents, particularly those who are multi-system involved. She serves as the team lead for school-based mental health at CHA, supporting behavioral health staff in four school-based health centers, providing consultation, support, and professional development to several school districts, and is an active member of the Cambridge Police Department’s Safety Net Collaborative, a partnership between families, police, schools, youth programs, and others to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquent behaviors. Finally, her research focuses on increasing access to mental health treatment for youth.
Participants must attend the in-person and two virtual sessions to receive PDPs and/or CEUs and must pass the quiz following the second virtual session. If you are not eligible for PDPs and/or CEUs, you may apply for a Certificate of Attendance.
Membership Information
Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.
PDPs and CEUs
MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.
To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz.
Event Cancellation Policy
If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.
For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.
- Enrollment in this course closed on January 14, 2026.