| Virtual Symposium 2025 |
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CONFERENCE INFORMATION CONFERENCE WORKSHOP MATERIALS DIGITAL PROGRAM BOOK 2025
Virtual Symposium 2025 | Harnessing the Power of Social Work: Compassion + Action Thursday, May 1 & Friday, May 2
Over 27 CEUs available at the largest gathering of social workers, mental health professionals, and community leaders across New England. Join the NASW-MA and NASW-RI Chapters on Thursday, May 1 & Friday, May 2, 2025, with Keynote Speaker Loretta J. Ross, an activist, public intellectual, scholar, the 2022 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" award, and an Associate Professor at Smith College. Symposium 2025 is featuring 80+ live and on-demand workshops. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with experts in the field and gain new skills at innovative workshops.
Did you know? Social work licensing renewals now require 3 CEUs with focus on anti-racism and anti-discrimination. Symposium 2025 can help with your CEUs! A number of our workshops should fit these requirements as defined in these regulations. See these workshops below.
MaMHCA has approved Symposium 2025 CEUs for LMHC’s attendees. Contact us at chapter.naswma@socialworkers.org for more information.
For questions, email us at symposium.naswma@socialworkers.org
DAY 1 | THURSDAY, MAY 1: LIVE WORKSHOPS:Session 1 Workshops (8:00 - 9:30am) | 1.5 CEUs 017: Addressing Intergenerational Trauma. Speaker: Amy Ebbeson, LCSW (applies to anti-racism CEUs). The latest in Mental Health research has shown us that ancestors may have genetically encoded traumatic responses, passing them to future offspring they may never meet. This presentation will offer promising practices in the treatment of intergenerational trauma.
021: The Mindful Start Exercise: Setting the Stage for Generative Couple and Family Therapy. Speaker: Liz Brenner, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Use an exercise that integrates mindfulness, brain science, solution focused, and narrative therapies. Address power dynamics through the lens of impact vs intent related to discrimination. Watch an example of using the exercise in a demo session and discuss.
029: Creating a Supportive Community for Solo Agers: Best Practices and Innovations. Speaker: Ailene Gerhardt, MA, BCPA, CSA® (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). This presentation will address the unique concerns of solo agers, focusing on innovative best practices for creating and sustaining support. Attendees will explore case studies gaining insights into development, collaboration, outreach, engagement, and sustainability.
034: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD); It's Hard to Miss if You're Informed!. Speakers: Reuben Kittrell, and Kristen Eriksen (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Let's break barriers together! Prenatal alcohol exposure and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are stigmatized topics. Through education and conversation, you'll be able to start building a foundation with those you serve who may be impacted by this disability.
042: Supporting Queer/LGBTQ Survivors of Relationship Violence. Speaker: Kaytee Gillis, LCSW (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Through interactive discussions, case studies, and therapeutic exercises, participants will gain practical tools for creating affirming and inclusive therapeutic spaces, addressing intersectional identities, and navigating complex dynamics of IPV within queer relationships.
060: "We Can Talk About This." Conversations About Death and Dying With Cancer Patients. Speaker: Lenka Phelps LICSW. The presentation invites attendees to explore a topic that is often uncomfortable to talk about. And yet, we can learn how to have these deeply meaningful conversations that have the power to alleviate our clients' emotional suffering and improve their quality of life.
071: KaAbBa: Building The Lighted Temple/Tree of Life Keys. Speaker: Nteri Nelson, PhD.E, LICSW, MSW, MSEP (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). KaAbBa: Building The Lighted Temple/Tree of Life Keys is an Awakening Consciousness, Psychological, Sociological, Spiritual, Educational Model of African/Kemet/Egyptian Civilization wisdom for Mind, Body, Soul and Character development of a human & Divine Constitution.
081: Creating a Circle of Compassion: Supporting Traumatised Students in Schools. Speaker: Anne Martin, BA, MA (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Traumatized children have survived an overwhelming experience of danger. So how can we adults support these children? We have developed our Circle of Compassion that pulls together both theory and practice as we look at the whole child and develop plans that enable healing.
085: Concussions: The Missed Diagnosis Underlying Mental Health Issues. Speaker: Lee-Anne M. Thoms, LICSW, OTA. Proper education on Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries will help therapists and agencies to identify mental health issues their clients are experiencing and to provide a broader treatment plan.
091: Ethical Strains on the Clinical Relationship in a Politically-Charged Post-Pandemic Climate. Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Berton, LICSW (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Clinicians are faced with significant strains on the boundaries of the clinical relationship in this politically charged, post-pandemic climate. Exhausted and pressured, clinicians need support and tools to navigate these unique stressors on clinical practice.
Session 2 Workshops (10:00 - 11:30am) | 1.5 CEUs 009: Changing the Narrative: Affirmation for Newly Identified Autistics. Speaker: Sara Rodrigues (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Join us as we empower social work professionals to challenge stereotypes and promote neurodiversity. Learn inclusive practices through an interactive session on promoting positive social identity, resilience, and systemic change through a neurodiversity affirming len.
011: "I Got Next" : Reproductive Healthcare & The Social Work Profession. Speaker: Dr. Olymphia ONeale White, LCSW, PMHC, BCD (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Using the experiences of the presenter, this presentation will reaffirm the need for the Reproductive Justice Framework as standard practice to mitigate ethical pitfalls, improve social work education/service outcomes, and result in preparedness for special practice.
016: Embracing Eros; Rethinking Intimacy in Care Facilities. Speaker: Nathalie Huitema, PhD (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Explore the vital role of intimacy in care facilities. Learn to identify barriers and discover innovative strategies to foster meaningful relationships that enhance residents' well-being. Gain insights into ethical practices and person-centered care. Join us!
030: Secrets to Successful Field Education Experiences. Speaker: Laura Beaver, LCSW. The future of social work is in our students and supervisees, but you likely were given little training on how to actually do supervision well. Come and learn your personal supervision style and see how you can supervise more effectively and efficiently.
035: What is Known about Treating Attachment Disorder in Children and Adolescents?. Speaker: James Drisko, PhD, LICSW. Attachment impacts every part of one's social life. Yet both assessment and treatment approaches for childhood and adolescent attachment disorders are limited. This session reviews how attachment issues are assessed, diagnosed and treated based on current practice research.
041: Seahorse Dads: Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse Birthing People. Speaker: Gavin Fraser, BA (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Many transgender/gender diverse birthing people experience pregnancy and actively participate in family planning. Learn how to reframe existing deficit-based narratives and identify concrete ways to support birthing people in this workshop aimed at all practitioners.
049: "If Not Now, When?" Understanding and Fighting Antisemitism. Speaker: Cathy C. Renz, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Antisemitic attitudes, stereotypes and conspiracy theories show up in schools, in white nationalist ideology, in memes on social media. They span the political spectrum. We can hold anti-Jewish stereotypes without realizing it. What is this phenomenon and what is to be done?
062: Loss and Grief: Modern Theory and Tools for Intervention. Speaker: Tami Micsky, DSW, MSSA, LSW, CT. This presentation explores the process of grief after a broad spectrum of losses. We will discuss modern theories of grief including constructivist approaches and the Dual Process Model while emphasizing a strengths based approach to building interventions.
079: Improving Outcomes: Addressing Nutrition in Substance Use Recovery. Speakers: Gabrielle Simons MS, RD, LDN, and Danielle Owen, MSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). For clients struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), poor nutrition can severely impact their physical & psychological health but also impact their SUD recovery. Learn new ways to empower SUD clients and improve outcomes no matter how limited their food access is.
083: Preparing Effective, Racially Competent and Trauma-Informed Transracial Adoptive Families. Speakers: Hope Haslam Straughan, BA, MSW, PhD, Kate Butterfield, LICSW, and Chelsea Anderson, MSW (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). An adult adoptee, a transracially adoptive parent, & a Department of Children & Families Clinical Manager will consider healthy racial identity development within transracially adoptive families. Co-existing issues of race, trauma, and mental health needs will be explored.
Keynote Workshop (12:30 - 2:30pm) | 2 CEUs Calling In: Navigating Challenging Conversations and Cultivating Compassionate Connections. Speaker Loretta J. Ross (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). With the rise of cancel culture, we often find ourselves embroiled in disagreements rather than focusing on our shared goal of advocating for human rights. To build solidarity in our work and communities, we must adopt a strategy that unites us and embraces our differences. ‘Calling In’ offers a path to engage in transformative conversations, meeting people where they are while making people feel heard, respected, and cared for. In this presentation, activist, public intellectual, and scholar, Loretta Ross helps us understand the divisiveness of cancel culture and leads us through alternative ways of holding one another accountable while developing empathy and building meaningful connection.
Participants will be able to:
Session 3 Workshops (3:00 - 4:30pm) | 1.5 CEUs 013: Social Workers as Wounded Healers: Their Childhood Trauma, and its Impacts on Practice. Speaker: Michael C. LaSala, Ph.D., LCSW, Dean & Professor (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). In this workshop, learn how social workers transform their traumatic histories into a drive to help others and make the world a better place. Self-care methods that build resilience and address vulnerabilities leftover from childhood will also be addressed.
015: Mediation is not just for Attorneys! Mediation 101. Speaker: Ben Stich, LICSW, M.Ed. Conflict abounds and social workers are ideally suited to help! This is an introduction to mediation, including conflict and mediation theory, mediator strategies, and practice examples of how mediation can help families, communities, schools, and more.
028: Introduction to Fat Liberation in Social Work. Speaker: Olivia Montgomery, MSW, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Come learn about the foundations of the Fat Liberation movement in the United States! We will learn together about the history of anti-fatness, how to recognize and challenge it in ourselves and others, and how to advocate against size discrimination in policy.
039: Early Psychosis: Symptoms, Identification, and Treatment. Speaker: Emily Gagen, PhD (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Learn about early signs and symptoms of psychosis in adolescents and young adults, how you can talk to people about these experiences, and how to refer people to specialized treatment.
057: Restoring Hope: Empowering Strategies for Mothers Navigating Post-Separation Abuse. Speaker: Yunieska Trujillo-Ramirez, MSW, LICSW, MLADC (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). This workshop will explore culturally responsive, trauma-informed strategies to empower mothers facing ongoing intimate partner violence (IPV) after separation. Participants will learn practical mental health strategies to address the unique challenges of post-separation abuse, focusing on resilience, holistic well-being, and support for healing.
058: The War on Drugs to Harm Reduction: Social Work & White Supremacist Origins. Speakers: Taylor Hall, PhD, and Hannah R. Stohry, Ph.D, MA (dual), MSW, LCSW (IN), LISW-S (OH) (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Participants will learn origins of the social work profession as intrinsically entwined with white supremacist systems of oppression and social control through the lens of the War on Drugs and harm reduction. Critical analysis tools will be introduced and facilitated.
075: Considerations and Approaches to Suicidality in Clinical Work With Gender and Sexual Minority Youth. Speakers: El Sher, MSW, MFA, Molly Hedrick, PhD, and LJ Dawson, Ph.D. (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Learn practical techniques to create a more affirmative and welcoming environment for gender and sexual minority youth, who are at high risk for suicidality. Discuss the challenges of addressing suicidality, including the toll this can take on providers.
089: Building a Resilient Care Community: Holistic Approaches to Supporting Social Workers. Speakers: Rose Seibold - Fasano, LICSW, and Jessica Reid, MSW, BA Psychology. Discover innovative strategies for fostering a resilient care community in social work. This presentation explores holistic approaches like mindfulness and expressive therapies, introduces inclusive supervision models, and emphasizes culturally sensitive self-care practices.
096: Got Conflict? Managing Conflict: Essential Tools for Social Workers. Speaker: Pedro Spivakovsky-Gonzalez, Juris Doctor, Master in Philosophy, and Emma Knight, AmeriCorps Mediation and Intake Specialist (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Our Conflict Skills Workshop focuses on improving conflict skills and how to communicate effectively in difficult situations. Our training approach is based on a very interactive model combining presentations with experiential learning, including exercises and role-plays.
100: A Facilitated Dialogue on Israel - Palestine Tensions . Speakers: Jen Wofford, LICSW, and Rosa Khorshidi, LMFT. Join a thoughtful, compassionate space to discuss the Israel - Palestine tensions. If you've been intimidated by the polarizations, you are welcome. If you have strong feelings and strong perspectives, you are welcome. If you want to understand others and be understood.
Evening Workshop (5:00 - 6:30pm) | 1.5 CEUs Creating and Maintaining Immigrant Family Support and Security. Speaker: Alexandra Piñeros Shields, PhD (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). After providing a historical perspective on immigration policy for context, we will share strategies for supporting immigrant families. Offering effective support to immigrant families requires organizations to develop plans for both internal and external goals and strategies. We will present possible internal organizational policies and programs as well as potential external-facing policies to advance immigrant family networked support. Rooted in an ecological model approach, this presentation offers a menu of strategies and resources for you and your organization towards a vision of immigrant well-being.
SECOND DAY | FRIDAY, MAY 2: LIVE WORKSHOPS:Session 4 Workshops (8:30 - 10:00am) | 1.5 CEUs 006: Decolonizing Mandated Reporting Screening Practices in Pediatric Healthcare Settings. Speaker: Emily Stewart, DSW, LICSW (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). A comprehensive overview of how racism at the intersection of pediatric healthcare and the child welfare system has contributed to disproportionate suspicions of child maltreatment in children and families of color, with solutions for change from an anti-racist framework.
007: Yoga for Ethical Social Work Practice. Speaker: Sarah Stevenson, LICSW, NSW-C, CCM, RYT-200 (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). In this presentation, participants will learn the ethical principles of yoga and how they mirror the medical ethics which drive our everyday decision-making in healthcare and social work practice. An accessible chair yoga practice will be included in this session.
027: What Social Workers Want to Know About Caring for Children With Prenatal Opioid Exposure. Speakers: Theresa Harmon, RN, LICSW, and Andra Wilkinson, PhD, MSPH. Join us in supporting children with prenatal opioid exposure, the premiere nonprofit research center focusing on child well being to discuss their recent research findings on the long term impacts of prenatal opioid exposure.
036: The Anxiety Puzzle: An Introduction to the Neurobiology of Anxiety. Speaker: Jeff Driskell PhD, LICSW. This introductory presentation delves into the basics of brain anatomy and the foundational neurobiological underpinnings of anxiety. This includes exploring pathways that fuel anxiety.
046: How to Protect Your Practice: Words of Wisdom from a Defense Attorney. Speaker: Robert P. Landau, Esq. Everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask about how to minimize the risk of facing a malpractice lawsuit and licensing board complaint.
048: Unaccompanied Immigrant Children's Adjustment to US Communities. Speaker: Kerri Evans, MSW, LCSW, PhD (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). In this interactive session, participants will learn about unaccompanied immigrant children by reviewing recent research studies, engaging in an active imagery of their journey to the US, engaging in group discussion, and discussing impacts on their practice.
052: Understanding and Treating the Five Phases of Divorce Grief. Speaker: Oona Metz, LICSW, CGP. The Five Phases of Divorce Grief is a new model. Participants will learn the Five Phases, their characteristics, and therapeutic interventions for each phase, and leave with more skills and confidence working with their divorcing clients.
067: Mindfulness & Eco-Distress: Finding Balance in a Warming World. Speaker: Teresa Yeh, LICSW LCSW. Explore what eco-anxiety is and its impact on diverse populations. Learn how and why to introduce this topic in therapy, discover effective therapeutic approaches, and experience a few mindfulness techniques to take away with you and integrate into your own practice.
070: Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Clients. Speakers: JT Timms, LICSW, and Casey Pons, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Learn how to support clients and their families through different forms of transition and challenges they may face. We will explore all the different forms of transition from social to surgical, what these entail, the steps involved, and the various roles you may play.
088: Grand-Stories--Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren and Kin. Speakers: Jennifer Coplon, PhD, MSW, and Deanna Forist, BS, M.Ed. (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Grandfamilies form after a series of stressors and traumas. This workshop explores trends of these families and what providers and communities can do to increase services and support for them. Grandfamilies can demonstrate stability, cultural identity, and sense of belonging.
Session 5 Workshops (10:30 - 12:00pm) | 1.5 CEUs 005: How Poverty Changes the Brain, Which Changes Everything. Speaker: Linda Riddell, MS (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). In this session, you will experience how poverty changes the brain by playing the game Gettin' By, then learn the science and hidden impact of poverty on a person. You will leave this session seeing poverty in a new way and with new tools to make your work more effective.
012: Family Controlled Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. Speakers: Laurie Krull, LCSW-R, and Kait Gannon, BA Psychology (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Survivor-leaders, creators of a podcast, share research and lived experience regarding organized sexual abuse and family controlled commercial sexual exploitation of children.
022: Making Peace: Exploring Death and Dying on a Multidisciplinary Team. Speaker: Johnna Marcus, LICSW (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). This presentation works to explore topics relating to death and dying in multidisciplinary teams. While medicine is no a stranger to death, many people who work in patient care struggle with it. This topic will explore how to support one another, patients and ourselves.
026: Culture and the DSM-5 TR: Using the Cultural Formulation Interview in Diagnosis. Speaker: Beth Craft, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Diverse clients are often reluctant to share aspects of their cultural meaning system for fear of being pathologized. By utilizing the Cultural Formulation Interview from DSM 5 TR clinicians can improve engagement, diagnostic accuracy, and reduce client drop out.
038: Calm Amid Chaos: Supporting Students Through Global Adversity. Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Lawrence, DSW, LICSW (applies to anti-racism CEUs). Discover how to create resilient educational environments amid global crises. This presentation offers trauma-informed care techniques, innovative interventions, and strategies for equitable support. Equip yourself with the tools to foster student resilience and success.
050: Antisemitism: Its Effects on the Jewish Community and College Campuses. Speakers: Charlotte Zeller Ph.D, LICSW, MEd (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). This workshop with focus on Antisemitism and the threats to Jewish students on college campuses. A historical overview of the history of Antisemitism will also be presented including the prejudice, physical attacks and extermination inflicted on this minority population.
065: A Case-Based Application of Environmental Justice Principles to Eco-Social Work Practice. Speakers: Kristin Erbetta, PhD, MPH, MSW, and Eva Olsen, BA, MSW (expected May 2025) (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Our case-based interactive presentation facilitates learning and application of practice, theory, research and policy about climate change and environmental justice. We focus on eco-social work principles across systems to best serve those impacted by environmental injustice.
066: New Statewide Group Peer Support Program for Social Workers. Speakers: Deborah Lisansky Beck, MSW, LICSW, Liz Friedman, BA, MFA, and Sandra Munier, LICSW, CADC, LADC. In today's post-pandemic world where isolation and burnout are occupational hazards for social workers, social support for us as practitioners is needed now more than ever. This workshop demonstrates our model, useful for ourselves and our clients.
072: Understanding Child Welfare Practice with Disabled Parents: Considerations to Inform Practice. Speaker: Kevin Durant, MSW, DSW Student (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). The intersection of child welfare practice with disabled parents is a growing social work concern. This presentation will review legal requirements, information sources, and recent research directions and findings for practitioners to consider in their own practice.
087: The Successful Elements for Prison Reentry Programming: 6 Years Later, What We Now Know. Speakers: Kathleen A. Carty PhD MSW LICSW, and Stacey Wildenhain, MS (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Prison re-entry programs throughout the country tend to focus on rudimentary post release services and employment. Our project is a 6 month reentry program that works with graduates post release, as often as necessary and requested, to reduce recidivism by half.
094: Treating Children & Parents; When Parents Have Personality Disorder Traits. Speakers: Brian Hart, M.S. MHC, MBA, and Michelle Jones, LCSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Parental personality disorder traits, often undiagnosed, may cause maladaptive parenting, client resistance, and intergenerational trauma. You will learn strategies for building alliances and recognizing defenses. A comprehensive set of resources will be provided.
Session 6 Workshops (1:00 - 2:30pm) | 1.5 CEUs 001: Social Work, Psychedelics, and the Future of Mental Health. Speaker: Jay Taylor, DSW, LCSW (applies to anti-racism CEUs). Psychedelic assisted psychotherapy is upon us. Evidence suggests that psychedelics will play a significant role in addressing a variety of mental health conditions when combined with adjunctive psychotherapy provided by well trained Social Workers
020: Disenfranchised Grief: The Invisible Challenge. Speakers: Elliott Kronenfeld, Ph.D., LICSW, CSTS, and Tiane Jennings, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Disenfranchised grief is the invisible grief that so many clients experience during infidelity recovery, infertility treatment and other identity challenging situations. It is the grief that cannot be spoken or supported. Learn how to assess and treat this challenging issue!
023: Women Growing Older: Our Bodies Ourselves. Speaker: Joan Ditzion, MSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). With increased longevity, aging women are facing new opportunities and challenges. This presentation will explore aspects that affect women's aging. Together we need to embrace aging and the potential for growth and development and work together to change the aging paradigm.
025: Supporting Patients with Long Covid: A Chronic Illness Journey. Speaker: Jaclyn French, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Patients suffering from Long Covid live with a poorly understood and under-funded illness. This seminar will explore individual and systemic challenges patients face, treatment approaches to enhance mental wellbeing, and directions for future advocacy.
031: Practicing Together: Fostering Collaborations Between DCF and Mental Health Providers. Speakers: Karen Zilberstein, LICSW, and Dawn Jenner, MSW. Overcoming silos and barriers and forming effective collaborations between child welfare workers and mental health providers leads to improved outcomes for clients and better worker satisfaction and retention. This workshop helps participants navigate the complexities.
055: The Next Generation of Social Workers: Who They Are, What They Need and How We Can Support Them. Speakers: Susan Coleman, LICSW, Maureen A. Ward, MSW, LICSW, Eugenia Correia Knight, LICSW, CHHP, PhD candidate, and Molly Hogan-Fowler, LICSW (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Please join this panel of experienced administrators from 3 MA schools of social work, who will share the trends, strengths and challenges facing students in their practicum training programs today.
063: Disability Justice in Social Work: Enhancing Education and Practice for Equity. Speakers: Abdul Haseeb Hamza, MSW Candidate, Bethlyn Vergo Houlihan, MSW, MPH, and Tami Gouveia, DrPH, MPH, MSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). Passionate about enhancing disability training in social work? Join us to delve into our original research highlighting critical gaps in social work education. Engage in learning about integrating intersectionality and disability into social work as a social justice issue.
069: Understanding and Supporting Caregiver Trauma. Speaker: Sheilah M Gauch, LICSW, M.Ed. Caregivers of children with mental health needs face multiple barriers and endure a unique type of stress that is better understood through the lens of trauma. We will look at how to best support them - knowing helping them means also helping their children!
098: Virtual Group CBT: Revolutionizing Mental Health Services for Food Allergy Caregivers. Speaker: Emilé Baker, LICSW (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). This presentation will address the often hidden psychosocial challenges and mental health issues faced by many parents and caregivers who manage their child's life-threatening food allergies. It will delve into the specific anxiety, stress and trauma symptoms.
Session 7 Workshops (3:00 - 4:30pm) | 1.5 CEUs 003: The Power of Expressive Arts: Make Stuff. Feel Better. Speaker: Kimberly DiOrio-Rooney, MSW, LICSW. Participants will review the brain's role in anxiety and then embark on an expressive arts journey to explore emotions. Through artistic and creative endeavors, attendees will grasp the significance of employing diverse methods for gathering information and treatment tools.
032: Supporting Clients to Divorce with Dignity. Speakers: Beth L. Aarons, JD, MSW, and Ben Stich, LICSW, M.Ed. Divorce is complicated. Well-intended but misinformed guidance about divorce can cause harm. Learn about divorce in MA, process options, child-centered divorce, tips for effective negotiation, and divorce myths and misconceptions.
033: We're All in This Together: Collaborating for Comprehensive School Mental Health. Speakers: Bianca Carreiro, LICSW, Vanesa Morales, LMHC, and Aleksa Kaye, MPH. Join us for an engaging session where we dive into our exciting grant initiatives, eye-opening survey insights, and a practical guidance document.
037: Shaping Tomorrow: The Future of Social Work in a Changing World. Speaker: Malaka Mims, MSW, LICSW (applies to anti-racism CEUs). Shaping Tomorrow:The Future of Social Work in a Changing World Explore the evolving landscape of social work, focusing on AI, ethical practice, political dynamics, and navigating value differences. Equip yourself with strategies for addressing key factors shaping the future.
047: Rest as Resistance. Speaker: Dr. Anthony C. Hill, Ed.D, MSW. This workshop will identify the seven forms of rest (physical, mental, emotional, sensory, social, creative, and spiritual rest) and explore how each is a powerful tool and can transform one's effectiveness as a social work professional.
064: Labracadabra! The Magic of Animal-Assisted Social Work Practice. Speaker: Dr. Yvonne Eaton-Stull, DSW, LCSW. Animal-assisted social work (AASW) is a growing, valuable intervention to enhance the lives of those you serve. Join us to learn about various animal-assisted services and how to apply this to your setting and/or population.
082: Neurofeedback: An Alternative Treatment for Trauma. Speakers: Ainat Rogel, PhD, MSW, BCN, LICSW, and Diana Martinez, MD, PhD. Neurofeedback, alternative non-pharmaceutical intervention, alters electrical brain activities associated with various brain conditions, including developmental trauma. It significantly improves functionality and reduces symptoms, according to research and clinical reports.
084: The Mental Health Implications of Injury on Athletes: How Sport Social Workers Can Help. Speakers: Christine A. Mosher, LICSW, and Ros Wilson, LCSW. The mental health implications of injury on athletes: Discover the devastating impact that can occur when an athlete is injured and unable to participate in their sport. Explore how sport social workers can uniquely help athletes recover and regain their athlete identity.
090: Solution Focused Therapy: Exceptions Lead to Change. Speaker: Susan Lee Tohn, MSW, LICSW. During this interactive workshop, participants will learn the concept of Solution Focused exceptions, and how to direct these conversations to facilitate change talk and action with clients. We will watch a demonstration and practice the exceptional language.
097: Collaboration to Advance Permanency. Speakers: Meredith Rapoza, LMHC, Cheryl A. Peltier, Kara Sabalauskas, MSW, and Noreen Dolan MSW. Participants will experience a variety of formats to hear from youth, practitioners, executives, and evaluators to learn about our process to collectively engage in practices, advocacy, and outcome evaluation to ensure safe permanency.
ON-DEMAND WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE:
These workshops are a list of pre-recorded webinars that will be available on the conference’s website for 2 weeks post-conference. 13.5 CEUs available in program recordings! Please note, you do not have to select these during registration; you will have access to all of the recordings.
Childhood Trauma & Emotional Eating: A Trauma-Informed, Self-Compassion Approach to Healing. Speaker: Diane Petrella, MSW (1.5 CEUs). Research shows a link between early trauma and emotional eating. This workshop presents a weight-neutral and trauma-informed self-compassion-based approach to healing emotional eating for trauma survivors. Participants will learn how trauma affects their clients’ stress response and relationship with food, emotions, and their body and offers practical steps to heal.
Ethics Management: Reducing your Risk & Liability in Social Work. Speaker: Melissa Santoro (1.5 CEUs). In this webinar, attendees will learn about the basics of ethics that impact their clinical practice, such as boundaries, clinical documentation and conflicts of interest. Strategies to reduce practitioner risk and liability will be explored. This webinar is geared towards newly licensed and practicing Social Workers & therapists.
From Depression and Anxiety to Vitality: A Body/Mind Journey. Speaker: Laurie Ure, LICSW (1.5 CEUs) (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). In this workshop we will explore how depression and anxiety have roots in a person's body and experience, as well as their mind. Participants will learn body-based techniques for helping their clients. We will discuss the approach of Bioenergetic Analysis that offers understanding of the impact of developmental trauma on these presenting problems and vitality as an antidote to depression and anxiety. I will discuss how systems of oppression including racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism, and chronic conditions such as poverty and lack of access to resources contribute to depression and anxiety. In addition, I will review the ways norms of popular culture work to keep people in states of depression and anxiety.
Grief and the Family Dynamic and How Social Workers can Help. Speaker: Lauren J Yabut, LICSW, Nursing Home Administrator, Assisted Living Administrator (1.5 CEUs). Participants will explore Family Systems Theory in relation to family loss and examine family grief through a culturally curious lens. The speaker will also discuss the history, study, and definitions of grief to better understand the griever and impact on the family system. This workshop will identify some strategies for the helper as well as some strategies for the family to aid the family dynamic and the grieving process.
Long-term Homelessness in Rhode Island and How to End It. Speaker: Eric Hirsch, Professor of Sociology at Providence College (1.5 CEUs) (applies to anti-racism and anti-discrimination CEUs). Why do we have so many people without homes in Rhode Island? What is the best approach to ending long-term homelessness? Homelessness disproportionately affects people of color, especially Black and Indigenous people in Rhode Island. It also disproportionately affects single mothers and LGBTQ+ people. I will cover these issues in my presentation.
Tier 1 SEL and Mental Health: Classroom and Schoolwide Interventions. Speakers: Kyle Shaw, Principal, M.Ed, Maureen Rosenplanter- School Social Worker, LICSW, Doctorate in Social Work, Sherry Gelinas, Nyki Clark (1.5 CEUs). Join us for a dynamic panel discussion featuring two seasoned school social workers and two administrators as they share their journey implementing Tier 1 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions in schools. Gain valuable insights into their successes, setbacks, and strategies for promoting student well-being.
Starting a Private Practice. Speaker: Julia Nepini, MSW, LICSW, ACSW (1.5 CEUs). In this webinar, we will discuss considerations when starting a private practice, pros and cons, as well as the steps involved.
Supporting Positive Identity Development with LGBTQ+ Youth. Speaker: Cristina Costa, LICSW (1.5 CEUs) (applies to anti-discrimination CEUs). When working with the LGBTQ+ community, it is important for us that we have a foundation of knowledge that includes the obstacles this population faces, the social pressures they endure and how to be welcoming and open. We will explore how to work with LGBTQ+ children and youth who are challenged with developing and understanding their own identity and their relationship with the world around them. For children and youth who struggle with exploring and expressing their sexual and gender identity it is important to know how to help them work through their own inner dialogues of who they are, the family and societal pressures related to their developing identity, the challenges of trying to fit into a social group, and how to navigate their relationship with their bodies. By engaging with youth and including their families in treatment, we can support the development of positive self-identity, growing confidence, and improve outcomes as they move into adulthood with understanding and self-acceptance.
Unmasking Gambling Disorder: History, Risk Factors, and Pathways to Help. Speakers: Desiree Soto, MSW, LICSW, LCDP, CGS, IGCD-1, & John Cipolla, Project & Helpline Coordinator (1.5 CEUs). This training session is designed to equip professionals with a deeper understanding of gambling disorder. We will explore the history of gambling, tracing its evolution and societal impacts. Participants will learn to identify the key signs and symptoms of gambling disorders, recognizing the behaviors and patterns associated with gambling addiction. The session will also delve into the various risk factors that contribute to the development of gambling problems, including psychological, social, and economic influences and pathways to help including information on available resources, treatment options, and support networks that can assist individuals affected by gambling disorder.
SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SYMPOSIUM PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS We sincerely appreciate their dedication, hard work, and support in planning the 2025 Symposium. Their efforts and collaboration have been essential in bringing this event to life for all participants. Thank you for making it possible! Virtual Symposium 2025 | Harnessing the Power of Social Work: Compassion + Action Thursday, May 1 and Friday, May 2 For questions, email us at symposium.naswma@socialworkers.org.
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