CAM™ MasterClass

In addition to the internship placement, students join the CAM™ MasterClass, a one-year learning experience with our organization to learn about CAM™ (Lea S. Denny, 2016). Developed by Lea S. Denny, MS, LPC, NCC, NMT this group is guided by our CAM™ Mentors & CAM™ Practitioners in collaboration with community partners that are thought leaders and innovators around justice and healing. A CAM™ MasterClass cohort consists of interns from clinical mental health counseling, social work, occupational therapy, nonprofit management, and public health building relationships. Here we encourage openness, honesty, and vulnerability, while providing guidance in exploring one’s own healing and growing journey. In addition, interns have the opportunity to lead and engage in our Healing Dojo podcast.

In the CAM™ MasterClass we take an interdisciplinary trauma-informed healing-focused approach to raise awareness and community action on the complex experiences of social injustice, historical trauma, intergenerational trauma, and Persistent Toxic Systems & Environments™ (PTSE™) (Lea S. Denny, 2016). Our goal is to empower new counselors to advocate and embody a culturally responsive practice when serving in diverse communities while learning more about the CAM™ theoretical orientation. 

With this approach our students go into community to provide our Mental Health Without Borders™ Programs (Lea S. Denny, 2020). These programs are our intergenerational preventative outreach work to address complex grief, suicide, and community mental health and wellness. Built as a whole health justice and trauma informed model. CAM™ Mental Health Without Borders™ Approach addresses the systemic barriers in help seeking, accessing mental health care, and triaging effectively to mental health and substance use services. Here we continue to grow the conversations around healing from racial, systemic, injustice, and historical trauma that impacts daily living and mental health and community felt safety. This part of our training to improve culturally responsive and community-based care with future mental health professionals who will serve historically underinvested and chronically underserved people from Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and refugee communities.