Welcome to Project BEAMS!
Behavioral, Emotional And Mental Health Supports in Schools: Collaborative Practices to Improve Special Educator & School Psychologist Training
An Overview of Project BEAMS
Project BEAMS was a federally funded training grant project from 2018-2023.
While the project had concluded, its initiatives improved the preservice preparation of school psychologists (SP) and special educators (SE) to serve diverse students with behavioral, emotional, and mental health challenges in California's public schools.
Project BEAMS involved SPs & SEs in interdisciplinary training and shared collaboration via:
1. Research-based courses in Autism, Ethics, & Applied Behavioral Analysis;
2. Seminars, where trainees discussed readings, gave cross-disciplinary presentations,
and practiced collaboration;
3. Clinical practicum experience paired SPs and SEs, who worked together in classrooms
to provide intensive interventions;
4. Summer institutes were held, where SEs and SPs learned about leading research (Day
1) and built capacity around mental health services (Day 2);
5. Co-attendanced at professional conferences.
Competencies included interdisciplinary knowledge & collaboration; enhanced communication & consultation; evidence-based interventions with cultural contexts for understanding behavior and mental health; and action research & data-based decision making.
Scholar Testimonials
"BEAMS for me, has been a way to increase my collaboration skills, gain experience working in the classroom directly with students that have high behavioral or mental health needs, develop my own professional competency and service delivery all while making an actual impact for students in the field. BEAMS is so unique in the way it pairs school psychologists and special educators to work directly together. Individually, both of these professions can have a profound impact on students needing behavioral or emotional support. Coming together to collaborate, identify, and implement an intervention for those students all under the support of this grant are what makes it so truly impactful. In addition to all this wonderful work BEAMS does, this grant emphasizes true collaboration. The people I have met during my time on BEAMS will continue to be the ones I lean on in the future for support both in and out of the field." - Mo Salamah
“BEAMS has brought me closer to amazing colleagues that have taught me so much in the fields of school psychology and special education. I will definitely be keeping in touch with these intelligent individuals. I love all the professional development opportunities BEAMS has given me. My staff, students and I will forever be grateful for all of this wisdom in behavioral, emotional, and mental health supports.” - Alex Ng, SE, MA, BCBA
"Beams is a huge opportunity to gain training to better serve our communities and students in the school setting. Beams has allowed collaboration between teachers and school psychs that is unmatchable in providing feasible interventions in the classroom setting." - Sami Lauf, SE
"Participating in project BEAMS improved my knowledge of evidence-based behavioral interventions and mental health in schools. In addition, through a collaborative process with a special education teacher, I am able to learn more about ways to support the unique needs of diverse students." - Elenie Anteneh
Contact
Dr. Katina Lambros at [email protected] for more information.