NCPD Summer Intensive on Mental Health

Mon, 06/09/2025 - 1:00pm EDT to Thu, 06/12/2025 - 4:00pm EDT

The Summer Intensive on Mental Health is for diocesan or parish leadership.
Registration now open.
This event will be online via Zoom.

If you have any accessibility needs please contact us at ncpd@ncpd.org.

Is your diocese an NCPD Affiliate? If so, you qualify for special pricing! Check the Affiliate list here. A check mark in either the 2024-2025 or 2025-2026 column means your diocese qualifies.

To receive your coupon code, email ncpd@ncpd.org with the name of your diocese.

Mental Illness

Day One - Session One

Dr. Jean Nanos, Psy.D.

Topic: Accompaniment

Dr. Jean Nanos, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 27 years of experience in various mental health settings, serving individuals, couples, and families across the lifespan. She holds a doctorate from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and is a member of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Nanos specializes in psychological testing for adults and children and utilizes evidence-based treatments, including CBT, DBT, and ACT. She is Level 1 Gottman trained and PSYPACT authorized for telepsychology services. Previously, she directed clinical services for a nonprofit, developing school-based programs and training clinicians.

Day One - Session Two

Brother Fred Cabras, OFM Cap. and Steve Nash

Topic: Trauma-Informed Care

Br. Cabras is a Roman Catholic priest, ordained in 2019, and a member of the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph since 2011. Br. Cabras is a Capuchin Franciscan. Before relocating to Detroit in 2020, Br. Cabras worked as a licensed inpatient and emergency room psychiatric social worker at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he worked with a multidisciplinary team. He also previously served as coordinator of a social justice program providing regional resources for the homeless, as assistant staff member for a day program for adults with developmental disabilities, as case manager for persons experiencing homelessness while also offering sacramental ministries to a local Catholic community. He received his Master of Divinity Degree from the Catholic Theological Union, a Master of Social Work with a specialization in Mental Health from Loyola University, and a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Illinois, in Chicago, IL. Br Cabras is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) for the State of Illinois and Michigan.

Steve Nash, a Mental Health Advocate and Complex Trauma investigator, focuses on a subtle yet significant paradigm shift in mental health. This shift, fueled by a more comprehensive understanding of trauma, exposes critical gaps, blind spots, and biases that significantly impact our approaches to education and treatment. Informed by evidence-based science, which demonstrates the far-reaching effects of childhood trauma on physical and mental well-being, Steve urges individuals, parishes, and dioceses to recognize the essential role of faith-based components in trauma-empowerment and post-traumatic growth. He points to growing research that reveals the synergistic combination of faith and evidence-based science can have a profound positive impact on the majority of people within our parish communities.

Day Two - Session One

Jennifer L.K. Charles, Ph.D.

Topic: Removing Stigma

Jennifer is an Assistant Professor at the National Catholic School of Social Service of The Catholic University of America. She has a clinical social work background in community mental health, including crisis stabilization and mobile crisis response. Guided by her practice and educational experiences, Charles’s research focuses on the identification of and issues related to the stigma of mental illness. Particularly of interest to her are the negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of mental health service providers toward their clients as well as the influence of stigma on the mental health help-seeking behaviors of college-aged adults. She earned her Ph.D. in 2015 from Virginia Commonwealth University, her M.S.W. from Barry University, and her B.A. from Virginia Tech.

Day Two - Session Two

Ben Wortham

Topic: Mental Health and the Unhoused

Ben Wortham is the Vice President for Behavioral Health Integration at Catholic Charities USA. Ben leads the CCUSA integrated health strategic priority providing technical support to 168 Catholic Charities agencies across the country. A major priority for the integrated health team is making sure Catholic Charities agencies are connected to healthcare systems. Under the umbrella of the integrated health priority, Ben also leads the aging section and co-leads the veteran section. He is currently helping to lead a national initiative called the Healthy Housing Initiative, working to reduce chronic homeless and provide wrap around health services in five major cities across the US. Prior to Catholic Charities USA he worked on a team creating housing and healthcare programs at Catholic Charities of New Orleans. One of the highlights from Ben’s seven years at Catholic Charities New Orleans was supervising a team that opened up the Sacred Heart Apartments, PSH and affordable housing for 109 homeless individuals and veterans. Ben is a licensed social worker and earned his master’s from Tulane University.

Day Three - Session One

Jen Housel

Topic: Parish Mental Health Ministry

Jennifer (Jen) Hayes Housel is a seasoned nonprofit executive with over 15 years of experience in managing complex projects, designing and sharing targeted resources, and fostering community engagement. She earned a BA in Psychology from Swarthmore College and an MA in Theology from the University of Scranton, and blends her expertise to create impactful programs for individuals, couples, and communities. Jen currently serves as the Executive Director of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers (CMHM). At CMHM Jen helped launch and now manages and facilitates a global online learning platform for Catholic mental health ministry, along with designing and sharing additional mission-aligned resources with a worldwide community. Prior to this role Jen served for five years as the Director for Community and Family Development in the Parish Life Office of the Diocese of Scranton. She is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and a Psychological First Aid Trainer.

Day Three - Session Two

Chris Miller, Ed.D.

Topic: Mental Health and Catholic Schools

Dr. Chris Miller is an educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area, currently working for NAMI Santa Clara County, supporting FaithNet efforts. He most recently worked as a high school teacher at De La Salle High School in Concord CA, after working for 3 years at Catholic Charities Santa Clara County supporting the Community Action Poverty Simulation program as well as serving as the youth and young adult coordinator at a 5,000-family parish in San Jose, CA. Prior to this position, Chris taught theology and served as director of campus ministry at a Catholic boarding school in Connecticut. He also worked as the Director of Youth Ministry at a Catholic parish in Palo Alto and worked as a Catholic middle school teacher in Gilroy and San Jose, CA. Chris earned a master's degree in clinical psychology at Notre Dame de Namur University and a Graduate Diploma in Canon Law through Saint Paul University. In 2019, he graduated with a doctoral degree in education from the University of San Francisco, focusing research on the Kairos Retreat experience at Jesuit High Schools in the United States.

Day Four - Session One

Christian Bentley

Topic: Minority Mental Health

Christian Bentley is a certified Mental Health First Aid provider and Peer Support Specialist, committed to blending his faith with advocacy for mental health and social justice. As Director of Evangelization and Discipleship at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Alexandria, VA, he leverages his role to engage the community in the Catholic faith and in addressing mental health and social justice issues. Christian is a descendant of enslaved and freedmen Catholics and brings this profound heritage into his advocacy and service, representing a voice for historic African American Catholic communities and young adults. Christian is a core team member with Josephite Vocations and co-lead for Mental Health initiatives with Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (V.O.I.C.E.), he actively supports spiritual growth and mental health awareness within the Catholic Church and broader communities. He also collaborates with the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership and the Institute for American Policing Reform, serving as a representative in its pilot community program, where he advocates for humane and faith-inspired approaches to public safety and mental health.

Day Four - Session Two

Maribel Rodriguez Laguna, MA, LPC-S, CSAT, Founder of Cor Sacrum Counseling

Topic: Suicide

Maribel graduated from the University of Dallas with a B.A. in Psychology in 2004 and from University of North Texas with an M.A. in Counseling Psychology in 2007. Maribel is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Dallas, Texas, where she is the founder and owner of Cor Sacrum Counseling and Consulting. She is also the past board president of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association. Maribel has worked as a counselor in a variety of settings including the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center, Genesis Women’s Shelter, and Dallas Independent School District Youth and Family Centers. She specializes in sexual addiction therapy, premarital preparation, and marital counseling as well as vocational discernment counseling, working closely with diocesan vocational leaders. Additionally, Maribel is a presenter at various Catholic conferences around the country and has been a guest on EWTN’s Cara a Cara.

NCPD Summer Intensive on Mental Health

The Summer Intensive on Mental Health is for diocesan or parish leadership.
Registration now open.
This event will be online via Zoom.