Thursday Workshops - Block A
An Introduction to Internal Family Systems Therapy
Kim Burkland-Ward, LICSW
This 2-hour workshop offers a foundational introduction to Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), a transformative approach to mental health developed by Dr. Richard C. Schwartz. The session will explore the IFS Model, which helps individuals understand and heal from emotional wounds by working with different "parts" of the self. Attendees will learn about the core principles of IFS, including multiplicity of the mind, systems thinking, and Self-leadership. This workshop will also highlight how IFS can be used to treat conditions like PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Participants will gain practical insights into the therapeutic process, including techniques to promote inner harmony, enhance emotional regulation, and foster self-compassion. By the end of the session, participants will have a deeper understanding of IFS and how it can be applied in both clinical and personal settings.
“Wait, what do I do next?”: Advanced steps for supporting domestic & sexual violence survivors
Lizzy Lyons
Social Workers have an important role in supporting safety and healing for adults and children following experiences of violence. Social Workers already have the basic knowledge that domestic and sexual violence occur and are familiar with the power and control wheel. This advanced workshop will review some best practice recommendations and tips from the DV/SV field then apply this learning to some common but clinically complex cases. Different strategies and tools, including individualized safety plans, will be given to participants for supporting safety for children and adults. And, the workshop will explore options outside of the traditional mental health and justice system to meet the diverse needs of survivors of violence, including the use of empowerment, advocacy, harm reduction, and transformative justice. Be prepared for active learning and engagement during this workshop.
Modern Teens and Classic Techniques: Getting Them to Open Up
Noël Hiers, LCSW
2.0 total CEs, 1.0 of which is in Cultural Competence
Generation Z and Alpha come with the challenges that accompany technology and the pandemic, along with the enduring challenges including suicide prevention, trauma responses, the need for communication skill building, and trust-building.Understanding the obstacle allows the clinician to employ the most appropriate strategy to engage the youth or elicit the information needed.Participants will leave with a menu of options for encouraging conversations.Conversation cards, the use of games, puppets, whiteboards, humor, homework challenges, and strategic framing will be explored.The power of incorporating siblings and other family members will also be emphasized. Particular attention will be given to guiding clinicians on how to build a rapport, convey respect, and gain trust when working with minors.Complex situations will be discussed as they relate to confidentiality and maintaining safety.
Putting the Horse Before the Cart: 5 Workforce Commitments Toward Trauma Transformation and Well-being
Dave Melnick, LICSW
"Kids these days..." This familiar refrain grows louder with each passing year. While the concern is real—and often rooted in genuine care—it can also mask a troubling tendency: focusing our energy on fixing young people, while overlooking the adult systems, beliefs, and practices that shape their environments. Yes, kids are struggling. But they are not the problem. They are the symptom of broader problems. They are responding—to systems they didn’t design, technologies they didn’t authorize, and cultural norms they’ve inherited, not chosen. The canary in the coal mine didn’t create the conditions of the mine.
If we’re serious about transformation, we must stop locating the problem solely in our young people and begin by examining the adults, systems, and institutions responsible for their care. Real change begins with those who hold the most power—and with a willingness to look inward.
This workshop challenges the conventional wisdom that change starts with the client, family or student. Instead, we will explore five foundational workforce commitments that support sustainable transformation in schools and organizations. These commitments act as preconditions for healing, equity, and meaningful impact—both for young people, their families and the adults who serve them.
We’ll close with a practical implementation model designed to move these commitments from theory to action—supporting a healthier culture for all members of the school community.
Building Resilience in Kids: Strategies and Screening Options for Your Practice
Becky Parton, LICSW
This workshop was designed specifically for social workers focused on enhancing resilience in children through effective screening methods. This interactive session will explore the latest research on child resilience and provide practical tools to incorporate into your practice. Participants will learn about both formal and informal screening tools. Whether you work in schools, community programs, or healthcare settings, you'll leave with a deeper understanding of how to promote resilience in the children you serve.
Thursday Workshops - Block B
Perinatal Mental Health: Normalizing Change and Preventing Damage
Lea Calderon-Guthe, LICSW
In this workshop we will take a deep dive into the time of incredible neuroplasticity that is the perinatal period. We will learn what big, important changes pregnant and postpartum people (including non-gestational parents!) can expect, as well as the latest theories on why these changes happen. We will explore prophylactic interventions in family, community and therapy for supporting everyone's mental health during this tender time, and then we will spend some time reviewing the signs and symptoms of the major mental health diagnoses in the perinatal period. Finally, we will discuss some tools and therapeutic interventions for healing and returning to wellness once a diagnosable condition is identified.
Utilizing Solution Focused Therapy to measure progress and determine when to terminate
Susan Lee Tohn
During this workshop, participants will learn how to utilize Solution Focused scaling to measure progress toward treatment goals.Different types of Solution Focused scaling determine when it is time to terminate or create new treatment goals.Participants will learn the 13Solution Focused assumptions, which determine the content of therapy sessions and the language clinicians use to formulate questions and validations.Participants will leave this workshop energized and capable of integrating Solution Focused scaling immediately into their practice.
Ethical Issues in working with Individuals at Risk for Suicide
Ken Norton
3.0 CEs in Ethics
Providers working with suicidal individuals may face ethical and legal challenges.Provision of effective practice requires clinicians to recognize and examine their own personal values and attitudes as well as respecting and understanding those of their clients. Clinician’s response and service to clients must be provided in a competent manner, with recognition of the strengths and needs of the individual and within the context of ethical codes and standards.The workshop will provide an overview of issues such as dignity and worth of the individual, self-determination, informed consent, confidentiality. Case Scenarios representing challenging ethical situations with suicidal individuals across the lifespan, and specific excerpts from various professional codes of ethics will be used to highlight these issues. While some material in the workshop is specifically directed toward clinicians, the concepts discussed will be useful for anyone working with individuals at risk for suicide.
Addiction in LGBTQ Community
Dr. Samantha Dutra
3.0 total CEs, 1.0 of which is in Cultural Competence
An estimated 2% of the US population over the age of 65 self-identifies as LGBTQ, and this number is expected to rise as the population of older adults grows and more older persons feel comfortable answering inquiries about their sexual minority status and gender identity. According to the Substance Addiction and Mental Health Services Administration, substance abuse disorders impact 20 to 30 percent of the LGBTQ+ community, compared to 8.4 percent of the overall population. These dismal statistics highlight the need for additional LGBTQ+-friendly drug use rehabilitation services. This workshop will review the understanding and analytics of drug use among the LGBTQ+ community as well as best practices for treatment.
Shinrin Yoku (Nature Therapy), CBT, & BioFeedback: A Multiprong Approach to Tackle Anxiety
Noël Hiers, LCSW
Shinrin Yoku and nature therapy are powerful companions to cognitive behavioral therapy. This workshop will review some of the key studies, along with cultural perspectives, that have come from around the globe. Forest walks have been found to increase movement, reduce cortisol levels, boost the immune system, and regulate blood pressure. The logistics of working outdoors will be covered and examples will illustrate how outdoor parables weave into the foundations of CBT. Interactive conversations and case vignettes will stimulate brainstorming on how the workshop’s information may be infused into their current workspaces.Tips on how to incorporate plants and natural elements into indoor spaces will be covered.Since Nature is acknowledged in the domain of spirituality, NASW’s ethics are visited as we discuss the need to be culturally informed regarding common religious beliefs. Ethics will also keep our biases in check and renew our commitment to our mandate for self-care.
Friday Workshops - Block C
Black Neurodivergence in a White Supremacist World: Unpacking ADHD and Bias
Linda Lai Nga Li
2.0 CEs in Cultural Competence
In this workshop, we will examine how white supremacy culture has shaped the way ADHD is understood, diagnosed, and treated in Black individuals. We will explore how Black bodies are pathologized, misread, and neglected in clinical settings, often resulting in misdiagnosis, underdiagnosis, and harmful labeling. Together, we’ll unpack the stereotypes that hide ADHD symptoms behind narratives of laziness, defiance, or disruptive. Participants will learn how systemic racism distorts mental health care and will gain tools to challenge bias, build cultural humility, and advocate for justice in both clinical and community spaces.
Guns, Violence, Mental Illness and Substance Abuse; What is the Connection?
Ken Norton
After mass shootings, politicians and the media often point to mental illness as being the cause of firearm violence.These public conversations about mental illness, which generate fear and stigma, are often anecdotal and rarely based on research and science.Through lecture, interactive live polling and discussion, this workshop will explore public perception vs what research and science inform us about the connection between violence, gun violence and mental illness; what role substance use disorders also play in firearm violence, and the impact these have on public policy and legislation.
Navigating Sexualization by Clients
Ellen Smith
2.0 total CEs, 1.0 of which is in Ethics
A challenging aspect of practice for social workers to navigate is the client’s expression of sexual or romantic feelings for them. From a feminist perspective, sexualization by clients may be seen as an expression of gendered power dynamics. Historically, the emergence of sexual or romantic feelings on the part of the client has been conceptualized as erotic transference. This workshop will help participants to navigate sexualization by clients, and to provide effective supervision about this complex issue. It will explore the range of potential meanings and interpretations of sexualization by clients. It will present a framework to understand the various aspects of power dynamics that can play out between clients and social workers, including those related to gender, race/ethnicity, and role in the relationship. Implications for social workers with personal histories of sexual trauma will also be addressed. Case examples will be used to illustrate the concepts that are presented.
History of Ableism in the United States
Kristen L Sheppard, MSW, LICSW
2.0 CEs in Cultural Competence
This presentation will define ableism and explore the history of inclusion of individual with various disabilities.The workshop will help identify ways to work with individuals with disabilities and their families.The presentation will go over the history of disabilities rights reform.
Improvisation in School Social Work
Jeremy D. Lynch, MA, MA in Social Work
Clinical social work interventions have been strongly influenced by "talk therapy" approaches. While such interventions may work well for highly verbal individuals who are able to sit still for long periods of time, talking intervention techniques do not work well for many children, who are developing their verbal skills and often have difficulty staying in one spot for very long. One way for school social workers to engage children in services is through acts of play utilizing techniques and exercises derived from improvisation. In this session you will learn about the foundational history the field of social work has had with improvisation–dating back to work in Chicago's Hull House in the early 20th century, learn about the philosophy and efficacy regarding improv techniques in social work practice and, learn three different improv activities you can utilize to help engage your students in social work interventions.
Friday Workshops - Block D
Got Health Insurance? The current state of health insurance options in Vermont
Zachary Goss, Micael Swaim, Bethany Ledoux, Sven Lindholm
The state of health insurance seems to change every year. Customers must adjust to changing costs, coverage options and new legislation. It's open enrollment for Vermont Health Connect. Learn about what's changed, how to enroll and how to get help. This workshop is designed to help you stay up to speed on the latest health insurance changes for you and your clients.
The Social Worker as Artivist: Bridging Creativity and Advocacy for Social Change
Meri Stiles
This workshop explores the potential of socially engaged art practices—collectively termed Artivism—as a transformative tool for social activism and advocacy. The central question guiding this workshop is: How can the profession of social work leverage art to advance social justice? To address this, three Artivism case studies are presented as practical models, demonstrating how social work can integrate art into community organizing and advocacy efforts. By bridging the worlds of art and activism, this workshop invites social workers to reimagine their practice, embracing Artivism as a dynamic and impactful approach to fostering equity and justice in society.
Suicide Prevention for Autistic Individuals: Strategies for Social Workers
Dr. Sara Rodrigues
The workshop addresses critical ethical considerations in clinical work with autistic individuals at risk of suicide. Specifically, the training explores how to uphold core social work ethical principles, including respect for the inherent dignity and worth of all individuals, client self-determination, cultural competence, and commitment to promoting social justice within the context of suicide prevention.
Protection or Punishment: Child Welfare Practices and the Criminalization of BIPOC Children
Sherri Simmons-Horton, PhD, MSW
2.0 CEs in Cultural Competence
The child welfare system postulates itself as an agency intended to protect maltreated children, with the intent to provide services and resources to restore families or provide children with permanent loving homes. However, Black and other children of color disproportionately have adverse experiences while in foster care and are subject to increased trauma through child welfare practices that lead to juvenile or criminal justice system involvement. This session will deconstruct and discuss how child welfare practices deviate from protection and instead align with punishment. The session will end with a discussion of transformed anti-oppressive practices that child welfare workers can engage to dismantle the foster care-to-prison pipeline.
Exploring Moral Injury & Moral Distress in Social Work
Cassie Gillespie, LICSW
Moral Injury & Moral Distress occur when individuals violate or witness violations of deeply held values and beliefs. While these phenomena have been long studied in military and health care workers, examining Moral Injury in the context of other roles, like social work, is a new and emerging inquiry. In this interactive workshop, Cassie Gillespie, LICSW will define, unpack, and explore Moral Injury & Moral Distress, and their unique presentation and impact across social work settings.