KN1: Holding the Future: Hope, Ethics, and Reimagining the Path of Social Work (Ethics CE)

11/17/2025 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Presenter: Reia Chapman, LCSW

The future of social work demands that we confront our challenges while holding space for hope, creativity, and possibility. In an era marked by social division, policy rollbacks, and collective exhaustion, this keynote invites us to reconnect with our “why” i.e., the shared values that ground us as professionals and guide us toward liberation and equity. Rooted in the NASW Code of Ethics, we will explore how to anchor ourselves ethically while cultivating cultural accessibility and responsive, justice-aligned practice. Through stories, reflection, and practical strategies, we’ll reimagine what “right” looks like now and leave empowered to take meaningful, actionable steps forward together.

M1: Click, Connect, Repeat: Creative Strategies to Engage Families & Adolescents - and Keep Them Coming Back to Teletherapy

11/17/2025 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Presenter: Terri Williams-Whiteside, LCSW, LCSWC, CTFCBT, Parenting Coordinator & Certified Clinical Supervisor

Keeping teens and families engaged in therapy, whether in person or over Zoom, is no small feat. This training offers creative, ethical, and evidence-based strategies to help clients not only show up, but keep coming back. Through tools like object storytelling, digital check-ins, and rhythm-based session planning, clinicians will learn how to make therapy feel safe, relevant, and real. We’ll explore what makes the clinician, the space, and the session flow essential to client retention—and how to do it without burning out. Come ready to rethink engagement and leave with practical tools you can use immediately.

M3: Comprehensive OCD Assessment: Using Functional Analysis to Increase Diagnostic Accuracy

11/17/2025 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Presenter: Ben Eckstein, LCSW & Erin Jones, LCMHC

This workshop will give attendees tools to perform an in-depth assessment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). We'll review the diagnostic criteria, but we'll also go beyond the DSM-V-TR, using functional analysis to better understand and identify behaviors maintaining OCD. The presenters will also highlight a wide range of OCD "subtypes", helping attendees to be more prepared to screen for lesser-known symptom presentations.

M4: Ethical Practice Across State Lines: Multistate Licensure and the Future of the Social Work Compact

11/17/2025 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Presenter: Jalessa Cherry, LCSW, LCAS, CCS, ADHD-CCSP

As telehealth continues to expand access to care, more social workers are navigating the complexities of multistate licensure. With the Social Work Licensure Compact on the horizon, this training will explore the ethical, legal, and practical considerations of practicing in multiple states. Participants will review current regulatory frameworks, real-world dilemmas, and strategies for ethically sound decision-making while anticipating the implications of the Compact for future practice. Attendees will leave with tools to maintain compliance, uphold ethical standards, and prepare for cross-jurisdictional practice.

M6: Having the Hard Conversations: Death and the Dying Process

11/17/2025 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Presenter: Jessica A. Smith, MSW, LCSW

This workshop will provide attendees with an in-depth look at the dying process from the perspective of medical social work. This will include medical terminology, end-of-life planning, and an introduction to research and theories being used by professionals in the field. Above all, this workshop was created to help social workers feel more comfortable having the difficult conversations that come with supporting patients and families through the death and dying process. Note: This presentation will be interspersed with nerdy humor, but will require participants to look closely at mortality and other uncomfortable topics.

M7: Advancing Macro Social Work Practice: Your Voice Matters

11/17/2025 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Presenter: Nicholas Bailey, MSW, MSHA, MA, LCSW, LSSBB

In this session, we will guide a discussion and interaction on how Social Workers can best support policy change at all levels and the importance of advocacy. Through this journey, we will learn and discuss how to engage with leaders as self and professional advocates, and what it means to collaborate. We will discuss the downstream impacts of policy across professions as well as upstream support for advancing critical change needs. We will finish with the understanding of social media, networking, and how to maintain a personal and professional balance while engaging in macro practice.

M9: When DNA Tells a Different Story: Supporting Clients Through Unexpected Family Revelations

11/17/2025 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Presenter: Kathryn Perkins, LCSW

With the rise of commercial DNA testing, clients are increasingly uncovering unexpected information about their biological origins—such as unknown siblings, misattributed parentage, or adoption. This workshop equips mental health professionals to support individuals navigating identity shifts, family disruptions, and complex emotions following DNA discoveries. We’ll explore common findings, psychological impacts, how adoptees use DNA to search for first families, and what it means to be unexpectedly “discovered.” Clinicians will leave with practical tools and case examples to guide ethical, trauma-informed care.

T1: The U-Model in Action: Combining IFS and ACT for Clinical Practice

11/18/2025 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Presenter: Rivka Edery, Psy.D., M.S.W., L.C.S.W., M-RAS IFS Practitioner Level I

This workshop equips participants with the skills to integrate Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) using the innovative U-Model framework. It is designed to enhance therapeutic outcomes for a wide range of clients, including those who have experienced significant trauma, such as children in foster care. Participants will gain a deep understanding of IFS concepts like "Self" and "parts" (managers, exiles, firefighters) and learn techniques to foster a compassionate relationship with these internal parts. The workshop also covers the six core principles of ACT (acceptance, defusion, present moment, self-as-context, values, committed action) to help clients build psychological flexibility.

T3: When Systems Collide: The Intersectionality of Criminal Justice and Mental Health

11/18/2025 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Presenter: Kwanza Winn, LCSW, LISW-CP

When Systems Collide: The Intersectionality of Criminal Justice and Mental Health aims to educate and inspire attendees interested in merging their work across both fields. This session will equip attendees with clinical skills to treat mental illness while reducing clients’ further exposure to trauma within the criminal justice system. Attendees will leave with a comprehensive understanding of how mental health presents within institutional settings, how to accurately differentiate behavioral concerns from mental illness, and how to honor clients’ lived experiences while effectively addressing their immediate symptoms. Additionally, attendees will learn strategies for maintaining self-care while working in two high-stress professional fields.

T4: Unmasking the Silence: Reimagining Mental Health Support for Black Men Through a Social Work Lens

11/18/2025 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Presenter: Tyrek Corry, MSW, M.Div., LCSW

Black men face unique challenges at the intersection of systemic racism, cultural stigma, and societal expectations of masculinity, all of which profoundly impact mental health. Despite increased awareness, they remain underrepresented in treatment and often cope in silence. This interactive workshop examines the historical, cultural, and clinical factors contributing to these disparities and offers practical, culturally responsive strategies for engagement. Drawing on research, case examples, and the presenter’s professional and personal experience, participants will learn how to build trust, center strengths, and create safe spaces that affirm vulnerability. Attendees will leave with tools to better support and empower Black men’s mental health.

T6: When It’s Not Abuse-But Still Not Safe: Introducing a New Two-Track Curriculum for DSS and High-Conflict Custody Cases

11/18/2025 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Presenter: Kelly Campbell, MSW, LCSW

Child welfare agencies are increasingly drawn into custody disputes where allegations stem not from abuse or neglect, but from unresolved conflict between parents or caregivers. Shared Roots is a trauma-informed, two-track co-parenting curriculum designed to fill this critical service gap. One track supports high-risk, DSS-involved families; the other targets families in ongoing custody battles engaged in the DSS and/or Court system, but without formal findings of abuse or neglect. This session introduces participants to the curriculum’s structure, its grounding in attachment and systems theory, with deliverable, measured outcomes. Attendees will learn how Shared Roots reduces system strain, improves parental functioning, and keeps the child at the center of care—even when the adults can’t agree.

T7: Coordinating Social Services for Refugees: Improving Integration Outcomes Through Culturally Competent Practice

11/18/2025 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Presenter: Avril Knox, DSW, CSW & Gracie Brownell, PhD, LMSW

This session examines coordinated refugee services for those who are already resettled, highlighting the importance of linguistic access, culturally responsive support, and interagency collaboration. Attendees will explore how service gaps impact refugee self-sufficiency and learn practical strategies social workers can implement to improve communication, enhance integration efforts, and advocate effectively for refugee populations.

T9: Healing Through Connection: The Theraplay Approach to Attachment-Based Therapy

11/18/2025 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Presenter: Karen Doyle Buckwalter, LCSW, RPT-S

This workshop introduces Theraplay®, a playful, relationship-based approach to building healthy attachment and emotional regulation in children and families. Rooted in attachment theory and brain development research, Theraplay uses structured, nurturing, and engaging interactions to strengthen connection, safety, and trust. Attendees will explore the four dimensions of Theraplay, observe real-life applications through case examples and video, and learn practical strategies that can be used in clinical, educational, or caregiving settings. This session is ideal for professionals working with children impacted by trauma, anxiety, or regulatory challenges.

KN2: Burnout, Secondary Trauma, And Moral Injury: Similar Faces, Differing Roots And Remedies For Resilience (Ethics CE)

11/18/2025 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Presenter: Gabriela Zapata-Alma, LCSW, CADC

Emotional exhaustion, detachment, and ethical distress are all too common in social work, but what’s causing them isn’t always clear. Is it burnout from chronic overload? Secondary trauma from trauma exposure? Or moral injury from being asked to act against your values? Though these struggles can look alike, their roots and remedies are very different. This interactive session will help social workers recognize the signs of each, understand what drives them, and explore targeted strategies for prevention and healing. Participants will also reflect on their own risk factors and leave with a personalized plan to support resilience, restore meaning in their work, and protect their capacity to care without burning out.