Consultation Services

Since 2000, The Bridge Training Institute has provided consultation services to many organizations and schools. Our 35 years of experience, combined with a commitment to Evidence-Based Practices makes us uniquely suited to assist mental health and educational professionals.

We Provide:

  • customized training programs for clinical and direct care staff,
  • assistance designing and implementing an evidence-based practice that meets the special needs of your population and milieu,
  • assistance adapting these treatments to suit specific populations and setting such as: adolescents, individuals with developmental disabilities, parents, residential settings, schools, out-patient treatment and others,
  • staff supervision,
  • case consultation and treatment planning,
  • assistance to agency leadership to develop strategies that build funder and stakeholder commitment to evidence-based practices,
  • assistance to schools to manage and prevent dangerous and disruptive behaviors and costly outplacements.

Principal Consultation Staff

Self-Injury & Suicide Prevention 

Barent Walsh, Ph.D. has written extensively and presented internationally on the topic of self-destructive behavior. He is the author of three books on non-suicidal self-injury, including Treating Self-Injury: A Practical Guide 2nd edition, Guilford Press, (2014). This volume has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Dutch and Polish.

Dr. Walsh is Executive Director Emeritus and Senior Clinical Consultant at Open Sky Community Services, a human service agency headquartered in Worcester, MA. Dr. Walsh is also a Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School at Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA. Dr. Walsh received the following recognition in 2021:

“On behalf of the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS) Board of Directors, we would like to honour your extensive contributions to the field by inviting you to be an Invited Fellow of ISSS. This invitation reflects the highest recognition of your many contributions to the field, notably your seminal work and publications in the areas of assessment and treatment of self-injury.”

Illness Management & Recovery

Kerrin Westerlind, L.I.C.S.W., is The Director of Illness Management & Recovery (IMR) Services at The Bridge of Central Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work. Ms. Westerlind is responsible for overseeing the implementation of IMR throughout the agency and training staff. In addition, Ms. Westerlind has provided IMR training and consultation to many organizations.

Kerrin Westerlind, MSW, LICSW, is the Director of Evidence Based Practices at Open Sky Community Services.  For more than a decade, Kerrin has assisted interdisciplinary teams in the implementation of Evidence Based and Best Practices.  

Kerrin is an expert in Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) and has been involved in this practice since 2005.  She has overseen the implementation of IMR services in residential and supported housing programs with diverse populations, adapted materials for various populations and has provided consultation on using adaptations of IMR with adolescents, those who are justice-involved and individuals who are dually diagnosed with a mental health and a substance use disorder.   She has provided training and consultation on IMR and its adaptations to specific populations to various agencies in Massachusetts, throughout the United States and at National Conferences.

Additionally, Ms. Westerlind has training and leadership experience in implementing multiple emerging modalities for working with people who experience psychosis, including CBT for Psychosis and Recovery Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R).  

Kerrin is passionate about providing person-centered, recovery-oriented practices, and training others in the provision of these treatment models.  Her experience in the mental health field includes over 20 years of work in a range of settings from residential, supported housing, day treatment, outpatient, community-based services for adults and adolescents and clubhouse model. Her interests have led her to serve on the MassPRC (Massachusetts Psychiatric Rehabilitation Collaborative) Board of Directors, since 2018. Kerrin is best known for her creative approach to providing group and individual interventions while maintaining fidelity to the model.   Ms. Westerlind brings an enthusiasm for teaching and lots of energy to her trainings.  

 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Elizabeth Plante, MA, LMHC, DBTC is a certified Dialectical Behavior Therapy clinician through the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification. Ms. Plante received her Master’s Degree from Assumption College with a concentration in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Children and Families. Ms. Plante was also awarded a certificate in CBT through the Aaron T. Beck Institute in Cognitive Studies at Assumption College. Ms. Plante has received intensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy under Charlie Swenson and advanced intensive training under Marsha Linehan.

Ms. Plante is the Director of DBT and Trauma Services at Open Sky Community Services. In this capacity, she oversees implementation of DBT and Trauma Services throughout the agency including training, supervision, and consultation.

Ms. Plante has provided DBT and CBT to individuals for the past 18 years. She leads several consultation teams, both within the agency as well as in the community. She co-developed and facilitated the Training Institute’s DBT series as well the agency’s internal staff and clinical training series. She has facilitated both day-long trainings as well as shorter trainings individually tailored to meet the needs of specific programs. Ms. Plante has experiencing in doing DBT consultation and training for the Department of Youth Services, school systems, and other non-profit agencies. Ms. Plante is also trained in CR for PTSD and Prolonged Exposure for PTSD. In addition, she is working toward becoming a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Teacher.

If you are interested in exploring ways The Bridge Training Institute can help you with a new treatment model, a challenging client or a student in critical need, please contact traininginstitute@openskycs.org or at (508-755-0333).