Michelle Eberle <michelle.eberle@umassmed.edu> is the primary contact.

Description: Responding to questions involving topics on mental health is challenging even for the most experienced librarian. In Caring for the Mind, participants will learn how to effectively provide mental health information at their libraries. Participants will learn about the best electronic resources to consult as well as ways to improve their print collections. Best approaches for handling interactions with emotional patrons will also be discussed. Other topics covered include: bibliotherapy; assessment and testing; and the future of mental health. This class will increase skill for providing mental health information for care providers and the public.

Educational Objective: Participants will: 1)Gain awareness of mental health issues. 2)Learn to respond to challenging reference questions for mental health information. 3)Be informed of tools for collection development and mental health research including the latest web sites and databases.

Agenda:

1)Introductions, Statistics, Classification and Definitions 2) Stigma, Information Seeking Behavior, The Reference Interview in the Context of Mental Health, Interacting with Emotional Patrons 3)Web Resources, E-patients, Databases, Search Tips, Assessment and Testing 4)Collection Development, Bibliotherapy, Community Resources, Professional Development 5) The Future of Mental Health [The Science of Happiness]

Need for This Course: N/A

The instructional methods used include Lecture, Demonstration, Discussion, Brainstorming, Sharing/Self-disclosure, and Hands-on Exercises.

Participant Materials: Handout available online at: http://nnlm.gov/training/consumer/caringforthemind/

Facility Requirements: Class can be lecture style, in computer lab or webinar/Moodle.

Additional Evaluation: MLA evaluation will be used.