LCPS Mental Health and Wellness Conference 2025: Full Schedule

We are delighted to have you join us at the upcoming 7th Annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference, organized by:
Loudoun County Public Schools Department of Student Services.
The event will take place at Watson Mountain Middle School on January 25, 2025, running from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Your participation is highly valued, and we are excited to offer you a day filled with valuable resources and support aimed at promoting mental well-being.
The primary goal of the conference is to raise awareness about mental health and provide effective wellness strategies in a diverse and inclusive environment. Your presence is important to us, and we are committed to ensuring that you have a remarkable experience. If you have any specific requirements or language preferences, please do not hesitate to inform us. Our aim is to foster a community that prioritizes well-being, offers support, and promotes understanding.
During the conference, you will have the opportunity to engage in various activities, interact with other participants, and share your insights using our designated hashtags: #lcpsmhwc2025, #unitedforwellness, and #onelcps.

You can tailor your experience by choosing sessions designed for ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, or ALL LEVELS, based on your interests.

Address: 41480 Steeplechase Loop Dr., Leesburg, VA 20175

If, due to a disability, you need assistance to enable you to participate in a workshop or need a language interpreter, call Parent Resource Services at 571-252-6540 at least five business days prior to the event.

Si debido a una discapacidad usted requiere asistencia para poder asistir a este taller o si necesita un interprete de idioma, llame a Servicios de Recursos Para Padres al 571-252-6540 por lo menos cinco dias antes del evento.

OR

The Loudoun County Public Schools Department of Student Services is hosting the 7th Annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference at Watson Mountain Middle School on January 25, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The conference aims to provide resources and support for mental well-being, promoting awareness of mental health challenges and wellness strategies. Sessions cater to different age groups and are inclusive of all community members, offering accommodations for individuals with disabilities or language needs. Attendees are encouraged to engage in the event’s transformative experience, fostering a culture of wellness, support, and understanding within the community. Use hashtags #lcpsmhwc2025, #unitedforwellness, and #onelcps to share experiences and connect with others involved.

Address: 41480 Steeplechase Loop Dr., Leesburg, VA 20175

When registering for sessions, please review the audience level which will indicate sessions targeting: ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, or ALL LEVELS

If, due to a disability, you need assistance to enable you to participate in a workshop or need a language interpreter, call Parent Resource Services at 571-252-6540 at least five business days prior to the event.

Si debido a una discapacidad usted requiere asistencia para poder asistir a este taller o si necesita un interprete de idioma, llame a Servicios de Recursos Para Padres al 571-252-6540 por lo menos cinco dias antes del evento.

10:30am EST

Anxiety’s Impact on Self-worth and Resiliency in Adolescents: What Parents Need to Know

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 216

We will explore the inverse relationship between anxiety and self-worth and the resulting impact of that
inverse relationship on adolescents’ ability to be resilient. The presentation will include statistics,
definitions and risk factors. There will be a specific emphasis on the role of social media. Participants
will be provided with strategies and resources to help support their adolescent.

Speakers

Lauren Boyle

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, NOVA LiveWellBeing

Lauren Boyle, LCSW, has worked in the Northern Virginia Region for over 20 years.She received her Bachelor's in Social Work degree from James Madison University, with a majorin Social Work and a minor in Family Issues. She then completed her graduate studies at VirginiaCommonwealth... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 216

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Apathy to Action: Inspiring Teens to Engage and Excel

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 355

This presentation defines apathy and offers strategies to encourage students to engage and excel in academic and personal goals. Five strategies will be addressed: breaking habits, stopping overthinking, developing a growth mindset, confronting avoidance, and envisioning your best possible self. This presentation will provide understanding on combating indifference and enhancing motivation.

Speakers

Cassandra Asekhauno

School Counselor, Loudoun County Public Schools

Cassandra Asekhauno has been a School Counselor at Riverside High School for 5 years. She is one of the PEER sponsors as well as the school counseling liaison to NHS. Prior to joining the Ramily, Cassandra was a Counselor for the Pathway to the Baccalaureate Program at NOVA for 9... Read More →

Tracy Wood

School Counselor, Loudoun County Public Schools

Tracy Wood has been a school counselor with Loudoun County Public Schools since 2015. She has worked at Dominion High School and is currently at Riverside High School. At Riverside, Tracy is one of the sponsors of Sources of Strength, a nationwide strengths-based suicide prevention... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 355

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Beyond Gentle Parenting: Evidence-based Parenting Practices that Work for Even the Most Challenging Children

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 364

Many parents have tried and failed to live up to the ideals promoted by the gentle parenting movement. Others have discovered that it just doesn’t work for their children. Research on behavior theory and behavioral parenting strategies will be reviewed and concrete guidance on how to implement evidence-based parenting practices will be provided.

Speakers

Teri Bullis

Clinical Psychologist, Behavior Solutions for Children and Families, LLC

Dr. Bullis is a Ph.D. level licensed psychologist who was also trained as a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. After many years as a school psychologist, she founded Behavior Solutions for Children and Families so that she could offer evidence-based parenting strategies to parents... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 364

Session 1

Audience ALL LEVELS

10:30am EST

Building Executive Functioning Habits Into Your Every Day Routine

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 215

Executive functioning skills are easier than you think to incorporate into everyday routines. Participants will leave this presentation with practical strategies for simplifying and organizing daily tasks, and methods to teach children of all ages across home and school settings. These skills are linked to behavioral, social, and emotional well-being.

Speakers

Kate Tannuzzo

School Psychologist, Loudoun County Public Schools

Catherine (Kate) Tannuzzo is a School Psychologist in Loudoun County Public Schools with 12 years of experience. Kate received her master's degree from St. John's University in Queens, New York. She has worked at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels, and has also... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 215

Session 1

Audience ALL LEVELS

10:30am EST

Building Resilience in Today’s Teens

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 266

This presentation will provide an understanding of resiliency, through a bio-psycho- social lens of the modern-day teenager, in an easy-to-understand format. Strategies and resources for parenting will be provided.

Speakers

Dave Edwards

Clinical Director, Evolve Family Counseling & Sports Psychology

Licensed Professional Counselor; 35 years working with youth/families; professional soccer coach.

Madison Lockamy, M.A.

Resident in Counseling, Evolve Family Counseling & Sports Psychotherapy

Daniel Savage

Evolve Family Counseling & Sports Psychotherapy

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 266

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Horse Sense for Human Healing: Equine Assisted Services and Youth Wellness

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 354

Human services incorporating horses to benefit people have grown tremendously in
popularity in recent years. These services support physical, cognitive, and
social/emotional well-being. Learn more about the purposes, professionals, and
particulars of equine-assisted services, and how these holistic services can help youths
to manage stress, regulate emotions, and build relationships.

Speakers

Katie Fallon

Founder and Executive Director, Bridle Paths

Katie Fallon is a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH), Intl.Advanced Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI) with twenty years ofexperience in facilitating sessions for participants with a wide range of physical,cognitive, psychological, and emotional... Read More →

Elizabeth Young

Bridle Paths

Elizabeth Young is a seasoned Licensed Professional Counselor with three decades ofexperience in mental health and school administration. She has led and supervised alarge team of school social workers in critical areas like human trafficking, foster care,special education, and child... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 354

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Hungry for What? Navigating Disordered Eating and Body Image Issues with Students

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 331

Participants will gain an understanding of healthy eating and body image and the influences that put students at risk for developing eating disorders and body dissatisfaction. The presentation will cover ways for students to build resilience, knowledge, and coping skills to develop a healthy relationship with food and body image.

Speakers

Christie Dondero Bettwy

Executive Directo, Rock Recovery

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 331

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Mindful Sport Performance

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 213

Academy IV Champions and Deyemensional created a program that educates student-athletes in areas such as mental health, mindful sports performance, speed and strength training, and college readiness. By establishing this program student-athletes and their families are getting the full package of what is needed to become the top performer in high school and college. Educating Athletes on Mindful Sports Performance, While Working on Speed and Strength Training.

Speakers

Maricel Keller

School Counselor, LCPS

Dr. Mari Keller has served as a school counselor for eight years, working at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. During her time at Independence High School, Dr. Keller developed programs specifically for student-athletes. She created the Leadership Academy, where student-athletes... Read More →

Khayri Denny

Founder, a native of Northern Virginia, attended South Lakes High School, where he was an All-State track athlete and All-Region football player for the Seahawks. After graduating high school, he decided to take a prep year at Fork Union Military Academy, where he competed in football... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 213

Session 1

10:30am EST

Navigating ADHD: Understanding, Adapting, and Thriving

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 268

This presentation focuses on understanding and navigating ADHD. Attendees will explore key characteristics, effective strategies for support, and practical tools to enhance communication and collaboration between educators, families, and mental health professionals in fostering student success.

Speakers

Cammie Terry LPC, NCC

Authentic Connections Counseling & Wellness LLC

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 268

Session 1

10:30am EST

Neurodivergence and Crisis Intervention: Clinical Interventions, Safety Planning, and Resources

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 358

Please join this session to learn more about the intersectionality of Neurodivergence and Crisis Intervention utilizing clinical interventions, safety planning, and community resources.

Speakers

Juia Hess LCSW

Think Happy, Live Healthy LLC

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 358

Session 1

Audience ALL LEVELS

10:30am EST

New, old and myths of concussions and the link to mental health

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 267

At the conclusion of the presentation the audience will be able to rudimentarily identify the symptomology of a concussion, current evidence based treatments, myths of treatment, the recognition of a declining positive mental health status and the composition of a concussion management team (CMT) to be able to help the student navigate the altered cognitive and mechanical dysfunction.

Speakers

Michael Kotelnecki

Athletic Trainer, LCPS

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 267

Session 1

Audience ALL LEVELS

10:30am EST

No More Birds & Bees: Preventing Violence & Talking to Teens About Healthy Relationships LIMITED

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 258

Caregiver involvement is key to promoting healthy behaviors in teens. Pervasive misconceptions hold that sexual/dating violence prevention requires uncomfortable one-off conversations with teenagers (e.g., the traditional “Birds & Bees” script). This workshop will provide parents/caregivers evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, actionable steps for teaching consent & healthy relationship skills in everyday interactions.

Speakers

Jen Farnsworth

Violence Prevention Specialist, LAWS Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services

Jen Farnsworth, MPH (she/her) works as one of the Violence Prevention Specialists at LAWSDomestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services in Leesburg, VA where she lives her passion inpreventing violence within relationships & families. With a Master’s in Public Health focused onmaternal... Read More →

Katherine Parker

Violence Prevention Specialist, LAWS Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services

Katherine Parker, MSW (she/her) is one of the Violence Prevention Specialists at LAWS DomesticViolence & Sexual Assault Services. In her role, she works across Loudoun County to implementviolence prevention programming & healthy relationship education to diverse audiences, includingyouth... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 258

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Over Control vs Under Control – A Transdiagnostic Perspective LIMITED

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 202

This 1 hour presentation reviews the concept of over control (OC) and under controlled (UC) individuals. It defines the differences of OC and UC and how diagnosis presents in these individuals. The presentation will review bio-temperament and how it presents in an OC vs UC individual. After defining and reviewing the differences we will look at two specific treatment interventions that are evidenced based and the review the similarities and the differences. Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO DBT) are the two treatments that will be reviewed in this presentation. It will begin with a review of DBT and the goals and objectives of the treatment followed by what RODBT is and the goals and objectives that treatment. The presentation will provide hands on interventions that parents can use when supporting with students/children who are OC or UC. Participants will leave the training with a better understanding for what treatment (ie: DBT or RO DBT) to pursue when a child is over controlled versus under controlled, and a good understanding of the differences between the two behavioral therapies by reviewing case examples.

Speakers

Alicia Ayvas, LCSW, CEDS-C

Clarity Counseling

I am a certified eating disorder specialist and supervisor as well as hold certification in DBT. have been working in the field of eating disorders since 2008 and I am committed to help client’s understand and fully overcome their eating disorder's so that they have peace within... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 202

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Preparing for Adulthood LIMITED

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 330

The transition to adulthood is becoming increasingly challenging with the numerous obstacles one faces along the way. Parents and supporters play a vital role in how they help adolescents thrive. From managing anxiety to independence to interdependence and the particular skills required during this period, we’ll discuss the key struggles and strategies for success. You will leave having gained valuable tools and insights to guide your teen’s growth and success during their journey.

Speakers

Craig James LCSW, MAC, LSATP

Insight Into Action Therapy

Sarah Wires LCSW-S, CSAC-S

Insight Into Action Therapy

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 330

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY

10:30am EST

Raising an intuitive eater: What works for kids and teens? LIMITED

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 263

We know that food does not ‘fit a box’ and, therefore, does not have to maintain the labels it too often does. Eating broccoli does not inherently make one healthy, nor does eating a cookie make one inherently unhealthy. This rigid dichotomy can fuel disordered eating and, furthermore, cause poor body image. This can be an even greater risk factor when sports and movement come into play. Building balance earlier on and allowing an open narrative with your children can help form positive and long-lasting behaviors. Therefore, educating children on the benefits of proper nutrition, building and appreciating food, and forming a relationship with food and their body can drastically improve their future selves.

Speakers

Katherine Lusorio MS, CNS, LDN

Certified Nutrition Specialist, Enlighten Nutrition, Counseling and Care, LLC

Helena is a Registered Dietitian who is dedicated to helping clients re-discover a healthy relationship with food and their body. Helena has her Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences from The George Washington University, Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition... Read More →

Tressa Largent MS, RD

Registered Dietitian, Enlighten Nutrition, Counseling and Care, LLC

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 263

Session 1

Audience ALL LEVELS

10:30am EST

Supporting Children With “Big Emotions” (and Parents Who Raise Them) LIMITED

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST

Room 264

Raising children with "big emotions" (who are sensitive, strong-willed, and/or anxious) can be challenging. Not only must parents manage dysregulation of children, but the entire family dynamic is impacted by the kids’ big reactions. Although traditional strategies are often ineffective, specific techniques can be used to foster resilience in children and confidence in parents.

Speakers

Rachel Bailey

Parenting Specialist

Saturday January 25, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EST
Room 264

Session 1

Audience SECONDARY