MHB Finance and Audit Committee Meeting
2026-03-17 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-19 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-06-16 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-09-15 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States

The Lingering Shadow: Navigating the Depths of Traumatic Grief | In-Person| Presented by Gary Rukin, LPC
2026-03-20 09:00 - 12:00 | McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER
FREE: 3 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and IAODAPCA (pending)
SUMMARY

This presentation examines traumatic grief as a profound and often disabling response to sudden or violent loss that disrupts the natural grieving process and overwhelms identity, meaning-making, and emotional regulation. It differentiates traumatic grief from normative grief and PTSD, emphasizing how trauma fragments memory, arrests emotional processing, and freezes aspects of identity. The presentation explores how cultural, spiritual, and contextual factors shape grief experiences, as well as the acute aftermath of loss, which may include shock, intense sadness, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Healing is framed as a compassionate, trauma-informed process that supports narrative reconstruction, mindfulness, self-compassion, and creative expression. The presentation underscores the importance of self-care, professional boundaries, and supportive networks for both clinicians and those they serve.
OBJECTIVES
Participants will be able to:

Define and Understand Traumatic Grief
Describe Traumatic vs. Episodic Memory
Explain Why Traumatic Loss is an Identity Crisis
Describe the Importance of Cultural, Spiritual & Contextual Factors
Characterize the Immediate Aftermath of a Traumatic Loss
Delineate likely long-term effects
Understand Multifaceted and Compassionate Approaches to Healing
Identify Useful Therapeutic Modalities
Apply Self-Care Practices for Yourself & Clients
Evaluate Ceremonial Healing practices

PRESENTER
Gary Rukin, LPC has worked in Community Mental Health for the past thirteen years. He serves as the Trauma-Informed Coordinator for the McHenry County Mental Health Board, and has presented trainings on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Understanding Psychosis, Understanding and Treating Emotional Trauma, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Thresholds, The Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Recovery Conference, Northwestern University Hospital, and the Illinois Department of Human Services.

MHB Regular Board Meeting
2026-03-24 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-04-28 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-26 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-06-23 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-07-28 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-08-25 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-09-22 17:00 - 18:00 | McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States

A Trauma Informed Approach | Virtual | Presented by Gary Rukin, LPC, MA, MS
2026-04-09 14:30 - 16:00, 2026-07-09 14:30 - 16:00 | Virtual, IL
This is not a series. The same session is repeated monthly.
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER
Free: 1.5 CEUs for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and IAODAPCA (Pending)
Summary:
The presentation, A Trauma Informed Approach, is replacing the monthly ACE Interface Trainings provided by the McHenry County Mental Health Board and differs in several respects. While it incorporates information from the ACE Study conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the Center for Disease Control, it also explores other causes of childhood and adult adverse experiences. These include the role of genetics and epigenetics in transmission of trauma reactions from one generation to the next, environments in which violence is commonplace, behaviors which result from trauma, and begins to delve into ways to mitigate these reactions, and how we can do better as individuals, organizations, and as a society.
Presenter:
Gary Rukin, LPC, MA, MS, has worked in Community Mental Health for the past thirteen years. He serves as the Trauma-Informed Coordinator for the McHenry County Mental Health Board, and has presented trainings on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Understanding Psychosis, Understanding and Treating Emotional Trauma, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Thresholds, The Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Recovery Conference, Northwestern University Hospital, and the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Building the Supervisory Relationship | In-Person| Presented by Katherine ("Katie") Atkins, PhD, LCPC, NCC, ACS
2026-04-10 09:00 - 16:00 | McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER 1 hour lunch on your own.
FREE: 6 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, and Psychologists
SUMMARY

This 6-hour intensive workshop supports Illinois-licensed counselors and supervisors in developing effective, ethical, and culturally responsive supervisory relationships. Aligned with the ACA Code of Ethics (2014), Sections F.1–F.10, CACREP 2024 supervision standards, and Illinois supervision expectations, the training focuses on supervisory alliance development, feedback delivery, rupture-repair strategies, and parallel process awareness. Participants engage in skills practice, role-plays, and structured observation to enhance relational safety, accountability, and supervisee growth across diverse clinical contexts.
OBJECTIVES
Participants will be able to:

Describe key components of the supervisory alliance.
Demonstrate effective feedback and rupture-repair strategies.
Apply multicultural and power-aware approaches to supervision.

PRESENTER
Katherine (“Katie”) Atkins, PhD, LCPC, NCC, ACS is a licensed professional counselor in Illinois and Wisconsin, a National Certified Counselor, an Approved Clinical Supervisor, and holds a Professional Educator License in School Counseling. Katie holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision and has extensive experience in clinical practice, supervision, and counselor education. She has authored or co-authored a textbook for counselors, numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, delivered over 65 professional presentations, and is the recipient of multiple teaching awards. She is also the co-founder of Blooming Life Institute, LLC.

Intake Coordinators Meeting
2026-04-14 09:00 - 10:15, 2026-05-12 09:00 - 10:15, 2026-06-09 09:00 - 10:15, 2026-07-14 09:00 - 10:15, 2026-08-11 09:00 - 10:15, 2026-09-08 09:00 - 10:15 | IL
The purpose of this meeting is to enhance Network Providers’ knowledge of resources to aid families and individuals in service navigation and care coordination.

Understanding ADHD and Executive Functioning: Practical Strategies for Children, Teens, and Adults – Part 2 | Virtual | Presented by Jacqueline Rhew, LCPC and Lauren Hart, MA, LB1
2026-04-17 09:00 - 10:00 | Virtual, IL
The Mental Health Board and the Center for Emotional Wellness of the Northwest Suburbs have partnered to offer this training opportunity for our Behavioral Health network.
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER
FREE: 1 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and ISBE CPDU’s for School Professionals
SUMMARY

Attention-Deﬁcit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) aﬀects individuals across all stages of life, inﬂuencing attention, organization, emotional regulation, and daily functioning. Central to ADHD are challenges with executive functioning—the skills that allow us to plan, prioritize, initiate, and sustain eﬀort toward goals. This session provides a comprehensive look at ADHD and executive functioning in children, adolescents, and adults, oﬀering insight into how symptoms may appear diﬀerently across ages and environments. Participants will learn practical, evidence-based tools to help individuals strengthen executive skills, improve focus and organization, and build conﬁdence through a strengths-based, neurodiverse-informed lens.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Describe the relationship between ADHD and executive functioning and how challenges manifest across developmental stages and settings.
Apply practical, evidence-based interventions to improve organization, attention, emotional regulation, and self-management in individuals with ADHD.
Utilize strengths-based and neurodiversity-aﬃrming strategies that promote self-awareness, independence, and success at school, home, and work.

PRESENTERS
Jacqueline Rhew, CADC, LCPC, is the co-founder of the Center for Emotional Wellness of the Northwest Suburbs. She is an expert in her field and is called upon by hundreds of school districts, family agencies and mental health facilities — locally and nationally — for consulting staff to better serve their youth. Jacqueline served as a Clinical Consultant for AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital for many years, and previously served as Assistant Director for the School Anxiety/School Refusal Program — a program she was instrumental in creating and developing. She has facilitated 300-plus workshops for professionals and parents — locally and nationally — on topics ranging from anxiety, school refusal, parenting, and self-injury.
Lauren Hart, MA, LBS1, has been a teacher for the past 18 years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education, a Bachelor’s Degree in English Education and a Learning Behavior Specialist Certification (LBS1). Before choosing to invest her time fully into building the company in response to community need, she spent the 12 years prior as the Clinical Supervisor of Patient Education at Ascension- Alexian Brothers Behavioral Medicine, overseeing nine programs at two locations. Before leading her team at the hospital, she taught at the middle school and high school level, in the general education setting as well as in a therapeutic day school and alternative high school program.

MHB Ethics and Compliance Committee Meeting
2026-04-28 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-07-28 17:00 - 18:00 | IL

The Shadow’s Gift: Healing Shame and Reclaiming Your True Self | In-Person| Presented by Gary Rukin, LPC
2026-05-15 09:00 - 15:30 | McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER
FREE: 5.5 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and IAODAPCA (Pending)
SUMMARY

This transformative presentation guides participants through the complex landscape of shame—an emotion that shapes identity, relationships, and mental health, yet often remains hidden and unspoken. Drawing on the pioneering work of Carl Jung and contemporary neuroscience, the session explores how shame creates the shadow self, influencing behavior and perpetuating cycles of self-rejection.
Through vivid imagery, practical exercises, and compassionate guidance, attendees learn to recognize and integrate their shadow, transforming shame from a source of pain into a pathway for healing and authenticity. The presentation offers actionable strategies for therapists and individuals alike, including somatic grounding, vulnerability practices, self-compassion exercises, and guided imagery.
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of shame’s origins, its impact on the psyche, and a toolkit for fostering resilience, connection, and wholeness. Whether you are a clinician, educator, or someone seeking personal growth, this presentation provides a roadmap for turning the darkness of shame into the gold of self-acceptance.
OBJECTIVES

Define shame and distinguish it from guilt in psychological contexts.
Explore the developmental origins and social factors contributing to shame.
Analyze the impact of shame on mental health and trauma responses.
Summarize Jung’s concept of the shadow self and its clinical relevance.
Explain neurobiological mechanisms underlying shame and its physical manifestations.
Illustrate the interactive cycle between shame and the shadow self.
Identify evidence-based healing practices for addressing and transforming shame.
Discuss the therapeutic importance of vulnerability, empathy, and compassion.
Apply strategies for integrating shame resilience into personal and professional practice.
Evaluate methods for reclaiming strengths and “harvesting gold” from the shadow.

PRESENTER
Gary Rukin, LPC, MA, MS, has worked in Community Mental Health for the past fourteen years. He serves as the Trauma-Informed Coordinator for the McHenry County Mental Health Board, and has presented trainings on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Understanding Psychosis, Understanding and Treating Emotional Trauma, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Thresholds, The Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Recovery Conference, Northwestern University Hospital, and the Illinois Department of Human Services.

CPTSD and Fragmentation in the Wake of Complex Trauma | In-Person| Presented by Becky Carter, LCPC
2026-05-29 09:00 - 15:00 | McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER *There will be a 1 hour lunch break on your own.
FREE: 5 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and IAODAPCA (Pending)
SUMMARY

Fragmentation and dissociation are the protective and adaptive responses to trauma – especially when escape, resistance, or external support is unavailable. Survivors of trauma, particularly those abused in early childhood, create ways to minimize pain and preserve functioning.
Understanding dissociation as a survival response and recognizing fragmentation in the therapy process is essential when working with survivors of trauma like abuse, neglect, torture, domestic violence, oppression, and combat. Dissociated experiences create immense shame for survivors and are often underreported, unrecognized, and underassessed in the therapeutic relationship.
This training explores the spectrum of dissociation, from numbing and disconnecting to severe disruptions in consciousness, body sensation, awareness, memory, identity, and perception. This training will include an exploration of the connection between trauma fragmentation, different types of dissociative disorders, symptom presentation, as well as contemporary treatment modalities.
OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of training participants will:
1. Be able to identify dissociative disorders and associated criteria.
2. Gain an understanding of dissociative and fragmented responses in clinical interactions.
3. Identify conditions in which trauma leads to dissociation and fragmentation.
4. Learn at least two treatment approaches for working with dissociation.

PRESENTER
Becky Carter, LCPC, is a biracial, cisgender, transracially adopted female with West African and Sicilian ancestors. She has two black adopted children.
Becky has been a trauma therapist for over 20 years helping heal the wounds of relational trauma that occur in-utero and beyond. She is trained in Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, Transformative Touch Therapy for the treatment of Developmental Trauma, and in the Treatment of Complex Trauma and Dissociation.
Becky works with adults, teens, couples, and groups with expertise in healing the wounds associated with Racial Trauma, Complex Trauma and Dissociation, Sexual Trauma and Issues of Trauma and Loss in Adoption. Becky facilitates groups for Male Survivors of Sexual Trauma. She also provides support and community education on Racial Trauma and Decolonizing Therapy Methods; with focus on the somatic impact of the chronic and sustained experience of oppression.

Trauma 101: Key Principles and Practical Approaches | Virtual | Presented by Gary Rukin, LPC
2026-06-11 14:30 - 16:00, 2026-08-13 14:30 - 16:00 | Virtual, IL
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER
FREE: 1.5 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and IAODAPCA (Pending)
SUMMARY

This training covers basic trauma-informed principles. It distinguishes developmental trauma—chronic, relational, and attachment-based—from shock trauma, caused by sudden overwhelming events. Participants learn how each influences emotional, cognitive, and physiological functioning.
The presentation covers the normal stress-response system and how trauma disrupts it, leading to hyperarousal, hypoarousal, and dissociation. It highlights the roles of biology, genetics, epigenetics, and environment, emphasizing that trauma reactions stem from neurobiology rather than character or willpower.
Attendees are introduced to mindful, expressive, and somatic interventions that support stabilization and nervous-system regulation. The training concludes with an overview of effective and evidence-based trauma therapies.
Participants leave with an understanding of trauma foundations and some practical tools to support clients safely and effectively.
OBJECTIVES

Differentiate between developmental trauma and shock trauma, including their origins and clinical presentations.
Explain the functions of the normal stress-response system and its role in maintaining safety and regulation.
Describe how the stress-response system becomes altered under traumatic conditions.
Discuss how biology, genetics, epigenetics, and environment interact to shape trauma responses.
Apply mindful, expressive, and somatic-based interventions to support trauma recovery in clinical settings.
Identify evidence-based therapeutic approaches effective in treating both shock and developmental trauma.

PRESENTER
Gary Rukin, LPC, MA, MS, has worked in Community Mental Health for the past thirteen years. He serves as the Trauma-Informed Coordinator for the McHenry County Mental Health Board, and has presented trainings on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Understanding Psychosis, Understanding and Treating Emotional Trauma, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Thresholds, The Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Recovery Conference, Northwestern University Hospital, and the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Opioid Overdose Prevention & Reversal: Overdose Responder Training | In-person | Presented by Teagan Ferraresi of Liv4Lali
2026-07-09 13:00 - 14:30 | McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States
REGISTER HERE!
EVENT FLYER
FREE: 1.5 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and IAODAPCA (Pending)

Summary
Attendees will learn what opioids are and how they work, the opioid overdose epidemic, identify the signs of an opioid overdose & learn how to respond and reverse it, all about Naloxone, a little about Harm Reduction, and overdose prevention and policies.
Presenter
Teagan Ferraresi (she/her) is an Outreach Coordinator in McHenry County. With personal experience with Substance Use Disorder, her desire to make a change locally brought her to Live4Lali. After volunteering for a year, she joined the team as a SMART Recovery Facilitator and Overdose Education & Naloxone Distribution (OEND) trainer. She’s a fierce believer in harm reduction and destigmatization through community education, and is passionate about helping others with anything from peer support to treatment navigation.

Community Connections Summit | In Person
2026-09-11 09:00 - 15:00 | McHenry County College, Luecht Auditorium, 8900 US-14, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012, United States
VISIT OUR SUMMIT PAGE
