What is the TREAT Equity Series?
The TREAT Equity Series provides clinical staff with the skills needed to better serve members of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, LGBTQIA+ community, the disability community, and other marginalized communities who are involved in the Massachusetts specialty drug courts. This series includes training on racial trauma to enhance clinical staff's knowledge of the impacts of racial trauma and identify marginalized communities and build allyship skills to support members of those communities. Additional trainings focus on the NADCP equity and inclusion standards and how to engage diverse populations in treatment.
Meet the Equity Series Faculty
Leana Pilet, LMHC
Institute for Health and Recovery, Trauma Integration Specialist
TREAT Faculty
Leana Pilet is an Adult Trauma Integration Specialist who provides training to enhance trauma informed care. Leana's experience includes clinical, management, and training positions within various levels of care for adolescents and adults. Leana has worked with people impacted by a dual diagnosis, mental health disorder, trauma, and sexual assault. Leana is a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts with a background in expressive arts therapy.
Contact: [email protected]
Jazmine Washington, MSW
Institute for Health and Recovery, Trauma Integration Specialist
TREAT Faculty
Jazmine is a macro-focused social worker whose interests include social justice, equity, and organizational change. In her current position she assists trauma integration staff in trauma integration planning and conducts trainings on various topics related to trauma, substance use, and social justice.
Contact: [email protected]
Ayorkor Gaba, PsyD
Assistant Professor, UMass Chan Medical School, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Ayorkor Gaba is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical school as well as the Director of the Equity Division at the Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts. Dr. Gaba’s research aims to inform programs, practices, and policies to eradicate behavioral health and health care disparities, foster structural change, and enhance community engagement in research and implementation practice. As a researcher and clinician, her current work is at the intersection of health equity and health justice, behavioral health, and the criminal legal system.
Previous Trainings
Addressing Racial Trauma I: Background
Leana Pilet, LMHC and David Stanley, LCSW
This training is designed to provide participants with information on the impacts of racial trauma, ways to promote equity in therapeutic environments, and how to support healing in treatment. This training begins with a brief introduction to trauma informed care, trauma, and types of racial trauma. The training moves to explore the impact of racial trauma and identifying the presence of daily occurrences that fuel experiences of racial trauma.
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Addressing Racial Trauma II: Enhancing Allyship Skills Within Communities and Treatment
Leana Pilet, LMHC and Jazmine Washington, MSW
This training is designed to provide participants with information on how to enhance their ability to be an ally. This training begins with defining marginalization, allyship, and identifying common groups that are marginalized. The training moves to explore personal biases and how these impact one’s ability to be an ally. The training provides exploration on self-reflection on how to enhance one’s ability to be an ally.
At the end of this training people will be able to:
1. Identify at least two groups of people that are marginalized
2. Identify at least two ways to empower the voices of marginalized people
3. Identify two personal biases
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Equity/Inclusion NADCP Standards
Ayorkor Gaba, PsyD
This training is based on Standard II of the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards, equity and inclusion. This training program will provide an overview of best practices to address racial disparities and bias impacting equivalent access, retention, treatment, and outcomes within Adult Drug Court. This training is designed to provide attendees with skills to improve equivalent access, retention, treatment within treatment court programs.
Lecture and Materials
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Engaging Diverse Populations in Treatment in the Context of Specialty Courts
Ayorkor Gaba, PsyD
This training will help attendees understand and utilize multicultural approaches and their own lived experience to meaningfully engage people receiving treatment within Specialty Courts. The training will provide practical strategies for engaging with persons served and their diverse and intersecting cultural identities. Through case examples and discussion, attendees will better understand and leverage their interpersonal traits and strengths to successfully engage culturally diverse individuals.