Social Work Workshops

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop A: Drawing Nourishment from Spirituality as Helping Professionals
Instructors: Dylan Khanal, PhD, LCSW and Danielle Heitman, MSW, MA, LICSW

In this interactive workshop, participants will be invited to explore, understand, and enrich the spiritual dimensions of their lives in relation to their work in the helping professions. The aim of this workshop is to strengthen participants’ ability to access their own spiritual experiences as sources of profound meaning, as well as a foundation for skills and knowledge that can help protect against burnout and compassion fatigue. Recognizing the broader cultural context that sometimes excludes the integration of spirituality in the helping professions, the instructors for this workshop will draw upon principles and practices from narrative therapy to foster the incorporation of spirituality into an understanding of one’s identity as a helping professional. These connections will be explored and richly storied through a variety of modalities, including large group discussion, breakout rooms, writing prompts, and guided contemplation.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will identify, name, and explore parts of their helping experience that they would describe as having spiritual significance.
2. Participants will become more fully resourced in drawing upon their spiritual wisdom in responding to human suffering.
3. Participants will clarify and elaborate their understanding of preferred ways in which their spiritual lives or experiences support their work with the people they serve.
4. Participants will articulate ways in which spirituality contributes to their identity as helpers.

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop B: Decolonizing the Social Work Profession
Instructor: Ana Bolling Cruz, MSW, LICSW

At its core, decolonization is about returning stolen land to Indigenous people. It is important to understand the history of social work and how our profession has supported systems of oppression. In understanding our history, we can start to evaluate our current day practices. Participants will understand the importance of clinical practice that includes freeing people from oppression with an anti-racist and community-based lens. Participants will be introduced to different techniques and models they can implement in both the care of their clients and in working with their colleagues. We will address the question of whether social work can be decolonized by evaluating the symptoms of colonization and oppression within our practice and field.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will identify the symptoms of colonization and oppression within the social work profession and the impact that they have on our clinical work.
2. Participants will describe how white supremacy permeates our profession and understand how social work has harmed communities.
3. Participants will evaluate our role in dismantling systems of oppression and identify actionable next steps toward decolonizing social work. 

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop C: Female Genital Mutilation: It’s Time To Talk About It
Instructors: Caitlin LeMay, LCSW and Mariya Taher, MFA

Female genital cutting (FGC) is recognized in the U.S. and internationally as a human rights violation and an extreme form of gender-based violence; however, most first responders and clinical providers are not adequately equipped to address FGC in their practice. We know that silence perpetuates violence, therefore to end FGC in the U.S., we must talk openly about it.  This workshop will provide an introductory foundation for understanding what FGC is, including its prevalence in the U.S. and globally, and best practices for working with survivors of FGC. Lastly, this workshop intends to increase participants’ confidence in talking about and addressing FGC in their practice and provide relevant resources.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will gain an introductory understanding of what female genital cutting is, including its prevalence in the U.S. and globally.
2. Participants will gain a greater understanding of best practices in working with survivors of female genital cutting.
3. Participants will experience greater confidence in talking about female genital cutting with clients, colleagues, and peers.

Workshop D: Negotiation Skills for Social Workers
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (2 hours; 2 CEUs)
Instructor: Marriah Lombardo, MPA, MSW

Negotiation is a fundamental skill for any person who wishes to succeed at every level. This workshop will introduce the topic of negotiation as a fundamental tool to achieve one's goals within a multi-cultural context. Research shows that 80% of executives leave value on the negotiation table. This workshop will develop negotiations beyond the traditional approach. We need to be competitive, but we also need to develop trust and goodwill. Preparing for negotiations begins long before we meet our counterparts and it requires strategies that go beyond an effective interaction. Using Harvard Case Simulation methodology, participants will have an opportunity to develop, hone, and evaluate their skills in social work settings. 

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will explore the concept of conflict that allows parties to transform it instead of avoid it.
2. Participants will gain information about the concept of negotiation as a strategy, not a skill.
3. Participants will review the Distributive vs. Integrative Negotiations.
4. Participants will understand why negotiation skills are important to social workers.

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (6 hours; 6 CEUs)
(Lunch Break from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
Workshop E: Integrating Solution Focused Therapy Into Clinical Practice, Pt. 2 (Part 1 to be offered during the Summer Advanced Clinical Practice for Adults series)
Prerequisite: Integrating Solution Focused Therapy into Clinical Practice: Part 1, or equivalent knowledge
Instructor: Susan Lee Tohn, MSW, LICSW

Solution Focused work is ideal for these challenging times as the model meets the client's needs in fewer sessions than traditional models and is applicable to a culturally diverse clientele. Solution Focused Brief Therapy focuses on "change" not "problems" and is applicable to both the micro and macro levels of working with individuals, families, groups, and managed behavioral healthcare organizations. Solution Focused Therapy empowers people to create and realize their own solutions, and emphasizes strong rapport and active participation by both client and therapist. The training will challenge participants to explore their assumptions about therapy and provide them with many hands-on techniques they will be able to incorporate immediately into their work. This Part 2 training will cover later sessions and how to create the unique intervention message that includes the client's homework.

Learning Objectives 

1. Participants will demonstrate the EARS technique.
2. Participants will explain how to utilize scaling to terminate with clients.
3. Participants will describe the three components of the Solution Focused intervention message.

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop F: Using Metaphors, Stories, and Book Writing to Help Clients with Life’s Challenges
Instructor: Ilama Amrani-Cohen, PhD, LICSW

Everyone likes to hear stories. They capture the mind and heart and serve as a gentle way to get to core issues without “barging” through defenses. This is a participatory, skill-enhancing workshop that will explain and demonstrate the use of metaphors, storytelling, and book writing with clients. This workshop draws heavily from the research of Milton Erickson, D.W. Winnicott, Richard Gardner, and Bob Ziegler, who noted the importance of storytelling and book writing in therapy. We will learn from case examples, use unique playing cards, and engage in mutual book writing. By the end of the training, participants will immediately be able to incorporate their new, creative skills into work with clients.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will describe how metaphors can be used and will participate in at least one role play opportunity to practice the use of metaphors in the work with clients.
2. Participants will identify at least one method for using stories effectively in therapeutic work with individuals or groups.
3. Participants will describe and practice how to create a book with clients that can address life’s transitions and difficult moments.

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop G: Trauma Informed Supervision
Instructor: Susan Coleman, MSW, LICSW

Supervisors are entrusted with the professional development of our supervisees and students. They come to the profession with a wide range of lived experiences, including trauma. Studies show that people working in the human services sector report Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) at almost double the rate of the general population. Those lived experiences may impact their abilities as professional helpers. This workshop will present an overview of trauma informed care as a concept on both an individual and systems level. We will review aspects of the supervisory relationship that must recognize that impact and try to mitigate it. We will discuss behavioral and performance concerns that arise and how to best coach and support staff as they learn about themselves and the work.

Learning Objectives 

1. Participants will learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as well as the community and societal structures, such as racism, discrimination, and harassment, that cause harm to individuals in the form of trauma.
2. Participants will apply SAMSHA’s principles of trauma informed responses to the supervisory relationship to improve recognition and support of the professional development of their staff.
3. Participants will learn to recognize how trauma shows itself in the performance of staff. Participants will learn techniques to restructure workplaces to improve staff experiences and development.

Workshop H: Journey to Mental Health: from Adverse Childhood Experiences to Resilience
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (2 hours; 2 CEUs)
Instructor: Carly Sebastian, LICSW

This workshop will address the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on mental health and identify a road map through services. We will identify early signs and symptoms, and provide best practices for identification, assessment of needs, and available services, as well as the role of resilience. This workshop reviews a social justice issue - that individuals/families should not need to wade through bureaucracy to find the right service. We incorporate the NASW code of ethics to have integrity and behave in a trustworthy manner; therefore helpers should be prepared and competent to ensure the interaction with individuals/families includes accurate information about interventions beyond the social worker relationship, if needed, as well as guidance to help support and guide individuals. 

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will identify at least three “experiences” as defined by ACEs.
2. Participants will identify three aspects of Resilience and at least one way to improve it.
3. Participants will learn at least five components essential to a path towards mental health.

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop I: Exploring Cultural Humility and Unconscious Bias
Instructor: Danielle Fagan, MSW, LICSW

This interactive workshop will provide an opportunity to examine how unconscious bias impacts our thoughts, actions, and decisions. Understanding what unconscious bias is and how it impacts our everyday life is key to fostering more inclusive social work practices. Bias is personal, cultural, institutional, and systemic. The reality is that we all have bias; however, there are ways to counterbalance and disrupt implicit bias. We will explore how cultural humility helps us challenge our own frame of reference, allowing us to learn and grow. Participants will gain practical strategies to examine and challenge bias and develop an action plan to ensure we remain compassionately curious.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will define and understand unconscious bias and why it occurs.
2. Participants will recognize how unconscious bias impacts all interactions. 
3. Participants will utilize a cultural humility approach to challenge their own frame of reference. 
4. Participants will employ strategies to detect their own bias to avoid climbing the ladder of inference. 

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop J: Understanding the Impact of Oppression on Mental Health
Instructor: A. Rahema Mooltrey, LCSW, MEd

This workshop explores the issue of racism and classism in social work. We will review relevant research on the impact of discrimination on mental health. Participants will walk through clear steps on how to affirm clients and give relevant therapeutic support for clients enduring societal discrimination. We will also provide a macro view of what we can do to interrupt cycles of oppression alongside the mental health work we do with clients, including reflecting on and addressing biases within our organizations and the way we practice.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will examine research demonstrating the impact of discrimination on mental health. 
2. Participants will learn methods to support clients who are enduring societal oppression in therapeutic treatment with clients.
3. Participants will reflect on how to address biases in their organization, practice, and the larger community. 

Workshop K: Philosophical Ethics and Social Work 
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (2 hours; 2 CEUs)
Instructor: William John Healey III, LICSW, Psya.D.

In this workshop, participants will first learn the difference between ethics and morals. Philosophers regard morals to be our feelings about a situation and ethics to be a set of laws we follow regardless of how we feel. Famously, in the play Antigone, the main character is forced with a dilemma; she can either follow the law laid down by her uncle (the king) and not bury her brother OR she can bury him against the wishes of her uncle. Using examples from popular culture and social work, the workshop will explore the tension that often arises between morals and ethics. The workshop will also explore how social workers can navigate those tensions in a responsible way. 

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will understand the difference between ethics and morals.
2. Participants will examine social work examples of ethics/morals, as well as popular culture examples so as to help relate to the material.
3. Participants will gain a better understanding of how to navigate the antagonisms that often occur between ethics and morals.

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours; 3 CEUs)
Workshop L: Evidence-Based, Trauma-Informed Policy in the Current Era
Instructor: Matt Pecoraro, MSW

Policy provides the foundation upon which our social environment is built, the construct within which individuals and families live their lives. When the decisions made at the policy and systems levels are rooted in research, science, and the lived experiences of community members and professionals, we can more effectively identify, interrupt, and replace harmful experiences, structures, and social patterns that lead to negative outcomes and trauma.

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce participants to evidence-based policymaking; to explore the relationship between evidence-based policymaking and addressing trauma at the policy, systems, and practice levels; and to explore together the relevance of these concepts for our practice as social workers.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will define and explore the concept of “evidence-based policymaking”.
2. Participants will identify the relationship between evidence-based policymaking and addressing trauma at the policy, systems, and practice levels.
3. Participants will explore these concepts and develop action steps to apply lessons learned to their own practice.