HopeForward Community Trainings
Accessible, Evidence-Informed Professional Development for Iowa Mental Health Providers
At New Hope Healing, we have a deep commitment to being part of our community in meaningful and tangible ways. To support therapists and behavioral health professionals, we recognized the need to bridge the gap created by the often high cost of quality professional training and ongoing growth.
With these values in mind, our team created HopeForward Community Trainings—a space for high-quality, collaborative learning designed specifically for mental health and behavioral health providers throughout Iowa.
Practical, Engaging, Evidence-Informed Trainings
Our trainings are intentionally designed to be practical, engaging, and evidence informed. Participants leave with tools and strategies they can immediately apply in their clinical work, supporting both professional confidence and client care.
HopeForward trainings emphasize connection, collaboration, and real-world application—because learning is most impactful when it is shared and relevant.
Professional Growth Without Financial Barriers
Accessibility and affordability are central to our mission. We are committed to ensuring that mental health providers can participate in high-quality training opportunities without financial barriers limiting access.
By offering affordable trainings, we aim to strengthen the mental health workforce across Iowa while honoring the investment providers make in their ongoing development.
Training That Gives Back to Iowa Communities
All proceeds from HopeForward Community Trainings directly support mental health services for children in schools and community settings throughout Iowa—especially those who have little or no access to insurance.
Your participation helps expand access to care for some of our most vulnerable community members, creating a ripple effect of healing beyond the training room.
Learn, Connect, and Make a Meaningful Impact
By joining a HopeForward Community Training, you will:
Advance your professional skills
Connect with fellow mental health and behavioral health providers
Support access to mental health care for children in Iowa schools
Together, we are investing in providers, strengthening communities, and making mental health care more accessible where it is needed most.
February
art Journaling & Yoga
February 20 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
In Person @ Raccoon River Nature Lodge, West Des Moines
3 CEUS
At times, identifying and articulating our thoughts and emotions can be challenging. This experiential training offers an opportunity to engage in yoga-based practices and meditation that support grounding, regulation, and somatic awareness. The yoga flow and meditation will help you reconnect with your body and create openness, physically and mentally, for creativity. This will be followed by an art-informed journaling process designed to enhance reflection and emotional expression. Participants will explore how these integrative approaches can support their own well-being and strengthen clinical effectiveness with clients. 3 CEUS.
Meet the Presenters:
Susan Dannen, LISW, RYT-200: Registered Yoga Teacher and Licensed Mental Health Professional with extensive experience in mental health, specializing in anxiety, grief, and trauma. riverroots.net
Carissa Dannen, BFA, BS: Art teacher with The Des Moines Art Center, Owner of Eclipse Designs - Website Design, Graphic Art, & Art Instruction - Eclipse Designs | Carissa Dannen. Carissa has a passion for helping others express themselves through art.
All proceeds from HopeForward Community Trainings directly support mental health services for children in schools and community settings throughout Iowa—especially those who have little or no access to insurance.
March
Dementia Care Foundations: Assessment, Early Detection, and Mental Health Support
March 23 12:00-4:30 PM
In-Person @ Raccoon River Lodge in West Des Moines and Telehealth
4 CEUS
This half-day seminar is designed to strengthen clinical competencies and deepen understanding of dementia care for mental health practitioners who may not specialize in geropsychology but are increasingly working with older adults, clients with dementia, and their caregivers.
The program begins with an overview of dementia basics—dispelling myths, differentiating normal aging, and reviewing stages and types of dementia. Participants will then explore early warning signs, diagnostic pathways, and gold-standard screening tools, emphasizing the importance of timely detection and referral. The seminar highlights how mental health care supports both individuals with dementia and their caregivers, covering interventions such as CBT, Problem-Solving Therapy, IPT, and caregiver-focused strategies to reduce stress and improve outcomes.
Interactive case vignettes will allow participants to apply knowledge to real-world scenarios, practice diagnostic reasoning, and discuss treatment planning across dementia stages. The session concludes with resources and opportunities for collaboration through Perennial Pathways.
This training offers practical tools, clinical insight, and community connections to enhance dementia-informed care. 4 CEUS
Meet the Presenter:
Led by Kathleen Matthews, PhD, of Perennial Pathways, who brings more than 15 years of geropsychology expertise, the program covers the essentials of dementia assessment, early detection, and evidence-based mental health interventions.
All proceeds from HopeForward Community Trainings directly support mental health services for children in schools and community settings throughout Iowa—especially those who have little or no access to insurance.
April
Looking Beyond Behavior
A Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach to ADHD and Autism
April 20 8 AM - 4 PM - VIRTUAL
6.5 CEUS
This 6.5 content-hour professional development training is designed for clinicians and allied professionals seeking a deeper, neurodiversity-affirming understanding of ADHD and Autism across the lifespan. Grounded in the neurodiversity paradigm, this training moves beyond diagnostic checklists to explore how ADHD and Autism show up in real life—including daily functioning, relationships, learning environments, and clinical practice.
Participants will build a strong foundation in executive functioning, including how these skills develop, why they’re often misunderstood, and how executive functioning challenges can look different across ages, settings, and nervous system states. Emphasis is placed on identifying practical supports that reduce shame and increase access, rather than relying on compliance-based or deficit-focused approaches.
The training also covers differential diagnosis and assessment pathways, offering guidance on overlapping presentations, ethical referral decisions, and ways to support children, caregivers, and adults when diagnosis is delayed, evolving, or inaccessible. Throughout the day, participants will gain practical, clinically relevant tools to support neurodivergent individuals with care that is thoughtful, ethical, and affirming.
Meet the Presenter
Bobbi-Jo Molokken (she/her), LISW, CCTP, is a licensed clinical social worker and mental health therapist based in Decorah, Iowa. She is the owner of Compassionate Curiosity Counseling, where she specializes in adult ADHD and relational trauma. Her clinical work integrates Internal Family Systems (Level 1 trained), polyvagal-informed approaches, Brainspotting (Phase 1 trained), mindfulness-based practices, and executive functioning-informed support within a neurodiversity-affirming framework.
Bobbi-Jo has several years of experience in college mental health, where she supported all types of clinical presentations. There she developed and facilitated a successful ADHD support group for students. She regularly provided trainings and educational presentations for students, faculty, and staff, and has a strong background in curriculum development and facilitation, including previous roles as a Prime for Life instructor and Adult Mental Health First Aid facilitator. Earlier in her career, she worked in the substance use field, where she helped develop and facilitate the treatment component of the Dubuque/Delaware County Drug Court Program.
She is the founder of Embrace the Muchness LLC, an ADHD coaching and education practice offering executive functioning coaching, professional consultation, and continuing education trainings. Her professional work is shaped by clinical expertise, research-informed practice, and lived experience as an adult diagnosed with ADHD and a parent of ADHD children. Bobbi-Jo is committed to supporting individuals, families, and professionals through neurodiversity-affirming care that prioritizes understanding, accessibility, and dignity.
All proceeds from HopeForward Community Trainings directly support mental health services for children in schools and community settings throughout Iowa—especially those who have little or no access to insurance.
June
IFS Foundations: Working With Protectors & Healing Steps
This training is designed for clinicians who are beginning or growing their IFS journey and want a supportive and immersive experience working with protectors and the healing steps.
JUne 17 9:00 AM - 4 PM & June 18 9 AM - 12 PM - VIRTUAL
8.25 CEUS
This foundations-level IFS training is designed to help clinicians experience the model as an integrated, relational process rather than a set of isolated concepts. Participants will review and deepen the core concepts of Self, protective parts, the 6 Fs, and the healing steps—seeing how these elements work together in real clinical time.
Through expanded video examples and live or modeled demonstrations, participants will observe how therapists apply the 6 Fs to build trust with managers and firefighters, recognize and work with self-like parts and therapist parts, and support systems in staying regulated and resourced.
The training places a strong emphasis on direct access work, offering guidance and practice for engaging protectors without bypassing their concerns or rushing the healing process.
Participants will also be introduced to legacy burdens and learn how intergenerational patterns may influence protective roles. Throughout the training, there will be opportunities to observe and practice new learning.
If you have never learned about IFS before, but are ready to take the leap, you are still welcome to join this training. To prepare, please watch this free 90-minute introduction to IFS.
Meet the Presenter
Alyce Messer, LCSW-S is a dedicated therapist committed to supporting other clinicians in understanding and facilitating healing from trauma. She integrates attachment principles, relational neuroscience, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) to conceptualize symptoms through an adaptive, rather than pathological, lens. Alyce emphasizes growth, resilience, and Self-led healing, helping therapists work compassionately with protective parts, relational dynamics, and legacy burdens.
Drawing on her expertise in IFS, EMDR, and attachment-informed approaches, Alyce’s trainings offer a clear, relational framework for understanding how internal systems organize and how early relationships shape protective strategies. Her teaching focuses on practical application, consent, clinical pacing, and curiosity—equipping clinicians with language, tools, and experiential guidance they can use directly in session.
All proceeds from HopeForward Community Trainings directly support mental health services for children in schools and community settings throughout Iowa—especially those who have little or no access to insurance.
JULY
Trauma Assessment and TreATMENT
A Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach to ADHD and Autism
July 30 & 31 9-5PM - Virtual
13 CEUS
Join internationally respected trauma psychologist Daphne Fatter, Ph.D. for a comprehensive, practice-focused two-day training designed to deepen clinicians’ confidence in assessing, conceptualizing, and treating trauma across the lifespan. With a blend of didactic teaching, case examples, and hands-on practice, this training provides a full toolkit for working with PTSD, Complex PTSD, dissociation, and the neurobiological impacts of traumatic stress.
Participants will learn to:
• Use evidence-based assessment tools for adults and children
• Differentiate PTSD, C-PTSD, developmental trauma, and dissociation
• Understand how traumatic stress affects the brain and informs treatment planning
• Apply the three-phase trauma treatment model with clinical confidence
• Identify and regulate hyperarousal, hypoarousal, and dissociative states
• Utilize stabilization tools including somatic, relational, sensory, and mindfulness-based interventions
• Assess readiness for trauma processing and communicate realistic expectations
• Integrate cultural humility and systemic trauma considerations
• Select effective, evidence-based trauma treatments for diverse clients
Meet the Trainer:
Daphne Fatter, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist, author, and international speaker dedicated to providing education on integrative trauma-informed therapies. She is also Certified in EMDR and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant. She has received extensive training in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and in Internal Family Systems therapy. Dr. Fatter is the author of Integrating Internal Family Systems (IFS) into EMDR (2026).
Dr. Fatter was awarded her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Psychology at the Trauma Center, under the direct supervision of the author of The Body Keeps The Score, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, MD. She is the former Military Sexual Trauma Coordinator at the Fort Worth Veteran Affairs Outpatient Clinic. She speaks to mental health clinicians internationally providing engaging continuing education on nuances on trauma treatment from her seasoned clinical experience treating PTSD, complex trauma and complicated grief.
All proceeds from HopeForward Community Trainings directly support mental health services for children in schools and community settings throughout Iowa—especially those who have little or no access to insurance.