Day 1, January 13, 2027

10:00 am to 1:00 pm EST

Select one of the following classes

 

Class A

Layers of Loss: Structural Racism and Intergenerational Trauma (3 CE Credits – Structural Racism, Trauma)

This new interactive webinar invites participants to explore the layered experiences of grief, trauma, and loss through an ecological trauma framework. Moving beyond traditional understandings of grief as death-related, this session examines non-death losses connected to identity, culture, safety, belonging, opportunity, and collective experiences across generations. Participants will explore how the legacy of chattel slavery and structural racism has shaped historical, intergenerational, and community experiences of loss, resilience, and healing.

Through guided reflection, dialogue, and shared learning, participants will engage in a healing-centered space to examine how trauma is experienced across individual, family, community, institutional, and societal levels. This experience will explore historical trauma, collective grief, ambiguous loss, and pathways toward healing and resilience. Participants will deepen their understanding of the relationship between systemic inequities, generational experiences of loss, and the importance of culturally responsive approaches to healing.

 

(Trainer, Lisa Connors, PhD, LCPC, NCC, is the Associate Pastor of In His Image International Ministry in Maryland. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (MD), Licensed Professional Counselor (PA), National Certified Counselor, Licensed Bachelor Social Worker, Master Addiction Counselor. In addition to her pastoral and clinical work, she is a college professor and consultant/trainer. Dr. Connors has a Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Professional Counseling, and PhD in Psychology.)

 

Class B

From Insight to Action: Utilizing CBT Strategies to Improve Mood, Modify Habits and Create Behavioral Change (3 CE Credits)

This presentation will provide an interactive and experiential skills-based workshop that introduces Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques that teach and support Behavioral Modification and Behavioral Activation to improve clients’ daily level of functioning. Participants will learn and explore how habit tracking, effective behavioral activation practices, and identity formation can be used as evidence-based interventions to increase motivation, reduce avoidance, and promote sustainable behavioral change.

The experiential exercises will utilize the same tools and strategies used in session, allowing attendees to gain firsthand understanding of how these interventions can be taught to clients. The workshop emphasizes putting CBT into practice, with a focus on client education, collaborative goal setting, and individualized treatment planning. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools they can immediately integrate into clinical work across a variety of practice settings.

 

(Trainer, Krista Heller, LCSW, is the owner of Breathe Therapy Services, PLLC. She has been in practice since 2014 and is driven by the passion she feels as a therapist. She is dedicated to meeting clients where they are and utilizing strengths-based practices in treatment. Krista has worked a great amount on her own growth and self-awareness while striving to help clients find their own ways to effectively grow and become more internally aware during sessions. Krista recently expanded her private practice to a group practice and is looking forward to inspiring other therapists in the social work field.)

 

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm EST

Select one of the following classes

 

Class A

AI Is Not Your Therapist: When Clients Start Confiding in Chatbots Instead of Clinicians (3 CE Credits)

Your client may be talking to someone between sessions—and it may not be another person. Increasingly, people are turning to generative AI and conversational chatbots to process relationships, seek reassurance, interpret symptoms, make decisions, cope with loneliness, and obtain emotional support. A client may ask AI whether their partner is abusive, whether their thoughts are “normal,” what their therapist “really meant,” or what they should do during an emotional crisis. Some clients may even experience these interactions as therapeutic, private, or safer than disclosing difficult material to another human. This raises an emerging clinical question: When does AI use become clinically relevant, and how should clinicians respond when the chatbot begins occupying a meaningful role in a client’s emotional life?

This interactive workshop moves beyond the debate over whether clinicians should use AI and focuses instead on clients’ use of AI for mental health and emotional support. Participants will examine potential benefits alongside concerns involving inaccurate information, excessive reassurance seeking, emotional reliance, avoidance of human support, privacy, over-validation, crisis response, and reinforcement of distorted or potentially delusional thinking. Particular attention will be given to distinguishing ordinary AI use from patterns that warrant deeper clinical assessment. Through realistic case scenarios and the ASK–ASSESS–INTERPRET–RESPOND–REASSESS framework, participants will practice discussing AI use without shaming clients, assessing the function AI serves in a client’s life, identifying potential clinical and ethical concerns, and developing appropriate interventions, psychoeducation, boundaries, safety responses, and follow-up plans.

 

( Dr. Michelle Harris, DBH, LCSW, is a behavioral health executive, speaker, author, and leadership wellness strategist with more than 20 years of experience helping individuals and organizations recognize the hidden pressures that affect performance, well-being, and professional capacity. Her work brings together clinical expertise, organizational leadership, and systems thinking to help people identify what is happening beneath the surface before strain becomes crisis. Known for making complex topics practical and relatable, Dr. Harris equips clinicians and leaders with tools they can use immediately. Her presentations blend evidence-informed insight, real-world application, and candid conversations about burnout, over-functioning, boundaries, professional impairment, and the organizational conditions that can quietly shape how people show up at work.)

 

Class B

Discomfort is Where we Grow: Using Motivational Interviewing and ERP for Treatment of Anxiety, Phobias, and OCD in Kids and Teens. (3 CE Credits)

This interactive training is designed for clinicians who might struggle to push their clients outside of their comfort zone, especially when the client is a child or teen with significant fear. Topics will include getting client buy-in with Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques, explaining the anxiety cycle to different developmental groups, and how to use kindness and confidence to appropriately push our clients to not be controlled by their anxiety through Exposure and Response Therapy (ERP) techniques. Clinicians will have the chance to participate in self-reflections with their own case load, and role plays to find their own style and wording. Additionally, therapists will practice the important (but hard) work of guiding caregivers in the therapy office and at home to help maintain the child and adolescent client’s growth in the outside world.

 

(Trainer, Briana Pfeuffer, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly a decade of experience providing specialized mental health care to children, adolescents, and families. Her clinical expertise centers on the treatment of complex trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety disorders across the lifespan. In her previous clinical leadership roles, she served as a team lead for a community mental health program delivering ongoing psychotherapy and crisis intervention. Additionally, Ms. Pfeuffer has facilitated specialized therapeutic groups, including art-based coping skills groups for adolescents and support networks for family members navigating severe and complex trauma.)

 

Class C

Reclaiming Self: Supporting Postpartum Moms Through Depression, Anxiety & Overwhelm (3 CE Credits)

Postpartum depression and anxiety extend far beyond cognitive distress—they are deeply embodied experiences that live within the nervous system. For many new mothers, traditional talk therapy alone is insufficient to address the profound exhaustion, overwhelm, and somatic dysregulation that frequently accompany the postpartum period. Designed to bridge the gap between verbal processing and body-based healing, this training equips clinicians with trauma-responsive, somatic tools to help postpartum clients regulate their nervous systems and feel safe in their bodies again.

Participants will learn practical interventions to address postpartum depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, and intrusive thoughts while holding compassionate space for overwhelming emotions. By the end of this workshop, professionals will walk away with tangible strategies to help mothers move beyond survival mode, reconnect with their sense of self, and successfully integrate somatic care into their clinical practice. 

 

(Trainer, America Allen, LCSW, is a trauma-focused somatic and parts-based therapist and the founder of suNu Healing Collectively, PLLC where she provides trauma-responsive care and clinician education. She has experience across community mental health, nonprofit, and government-adjacent settings, specializing in trauma-driven patterns such as self-silencing, over-functioning, and emotional shutdown. America facilitates trainings that translate complex trauma theory into practical, real-world clinical interventions. Her work has been featured in Women’s Health Magazine, PopSugar, and Bustle.)

 

Evening Sessions

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

 

Class A

 Being A Catalyst for Change: An Invitation to Ethical Perspectives of Social Workers and Other Mental Health Professionals (3 CE Credits – Ethics)

Over the past decade, the demands placed on social work and mental health professionals have intensified, heightening the need for intentionality, rigorous ethics, and committed self-care. Amidst professional challenges and complex ethical dilemmas, maintaining our perspective and staying true to our core responsibilities is paramount as we work to drive meaningful change.

Designed to inspire, energize, and celebrate our shared profession, this session invites clinicians to tap into their inner resilience and forge innovative collaborations. Participants will learn how to “rise up” above systemic challenges by focusing on the positive impact of heightened ethical awareness, compassionate service, and sustained personal well-being.

 

(Trainer, Tara Rice, LCSW-C, is a seasoned clinical social worker with 35 years of dedicated experience in the field. Born, raised, and currently residing in Baltimore, Maryland, she brings deep expertise across foster care, juvenile and adult justice systems, education, and private practice specializing in mental health and trauma. A passionate advocate and educator, Ms. Rice actively leads continuing education trainings, facilitates community collaborations, and contributes to research, cultural diversity initiatives, and local resource development.)

 

 

Class B 

The Knowing-Doing Gap: Practical Executive Function Interventions for Everyday Practice (3 CE Credits)

Executive dysfunction presents across the diagnostic spectrum, yet clinicians most often associate it with ADHD alone. Depression impairs task initiation. Anxiety occupies working memory. Insufficient sleep degrades prefrontal performance. Trauma biases attention toward threat at the expense of planning. When clients articulate accurate insight yet remain unable to act, clinicians frequently conceptualize the discrepancy as resistance or low motivation, and treatment stalls. This three-hour training presents a transdiagnostic framework for identifying executive function breakdown and selecting interventions matched to the capacity involved.

Participants will examine core executive capacities—activation, working memory, inhibition, flexibility, and emotional regulation—and examines how mood, anxiety, sleep, and trauma impact them. Participants will learn to distinguish state versus trait impairment and task paralysis versus procrastination. Finally, attendees will master Goal Management Training (GMT) alongside practical tools in nervous system regulation, environmental scaffolding, implementation intentions, and breaking the shame cycle.

 

(Joe Wilner is a licensed clinical psychotherapist, board-certified coach, and ADHD-Certified Clinical Services Provider based in Overland Park, Kansas. His private practice centers on ADHD, burnout, and career counseling, and much of that work involves clients who struggle to regulate executive function. He has completed training in Goal Management Training, holds formal training in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and is a certified meditation instructor. Joe teaches psychology as an online faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University and regularly leads trainings on mental health and professional development for individuals and organizations. He holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the University of Saint Mary and a Master’s in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Management and Leadership from Baker University.)

 

Day 2 – January 14, 2027

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Select one of the following classes

 

Class A 

Beyond Strength and Silence: Culture, Masculinity, Faith, and Mental Health Among African American Men (3 CE Cultural Competence)

This engaging training explores the intersection of culture, masculinity, faith, and mental health among African American men, with a specific focus on how the Black Church influences the understanding, expression, and management of depression. Participants will examine how cultural expectations surrounding masculinity, emotional expression, spirituality, stigma, and help-seeking can shape mental health experiences and decisions. Grounded in the Health, Illness, Men, and Masculinities (HIMM) framework and qualitative research with African American men, the training provides a culturally responsive perspective for understanding barriers to mental health care while recognizing the strengths and importance of faith-based support.

Participants will explore practical strategies for reducing stigma, building trust, improving culturally responsive communication, and strengthening collaboration between mental health professionals and faith communities. The training is designed to help social workers, mental health professionals, educators, clergy, and other helping professionals better recognize the cultural factors that influence mental health engagement among African American men and develop approaches that promote meaningful connection, appropriate referrals, and improved access to care.

 

(Trainer, Dr. Terry Edwards, PhD, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and mental health therapist with nearly two decades of experience supporting individuals, families, and communities through life’s challenges. He earned his PhD in Clinical Social Work and Supervision from Walden University in 2026, his Master of Social Work in 2008 and his Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Psychology in 2004 from The Ohio State University.  He also holds an Addictions Certification from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Edwards believes quality mental health care should feel accessible, familiar, and safe. His approach is warm, honest, authentic, and culturally responsive, creating a space where clients can explore anxiety, depression, burnout, grief, relationship challenges, self-esteem, life direction, behavioral concerns, and generational or past trauma without judgment. He works collaboratively with individuals, professionals, and families to identify strengths, overcome barriers, and develop the confidence and tools needed to become the best representation of themselves. His philosophy is simple: healing begins when you feel safe enough to be seen, heard, and understood.)

 

 Class B

Becoming a Neuro-affirming Therapist: A Focus on Adult ADHD (3 CE Credits)

This new training is designed to assist participants in gaining knowledge and perspectives that will support their professional development. We will define and discuss neurodivergence, distinguishing medical, disability, social, and identity models. Using adult ADHD as a primary lens, the session provides an overview of prevalence, adult diagnosis, long-term consequences, executive functioning, and treatment approaches. An emphasis on a whole-person approach will assist participants in understanding the importance of shifting from a diagnostic/treatment to a well-being model, integrating positive psychology and other key theoretical frameworks.

Participants will be guided to understand and consider what it means to become a neuro-affirming practitioner, including support for executive functioning challenges, adaptations and shifting expectations related to the therapist-client interface, multimodal collaboration, and addressing relationship and workplace considerations. Finally, attendees will be invited to design a personal growth plan and will leave the session with an actionable SMART goal to take that plan forward.

 

(Trainer, Micah Saviet, LCSW-C, NBC-HWC, is a clinical social worker specializing in the intersection of trauma and neurodiversity at Adult Trauma and ADHD Solutions, as well as an ADHD and health and wellness coach and co-principal at Pathways Ahead. Serving as Director of the Springer Institute for Research, he investigates health, wellness, and ADHD coaching, having authored over 20 peer-reviewed research articles. He is also the co-author of the upcoming text, Flourishing with Adult ADHD: The Evidence-Based Guide to Client Well-being for Therapists and Coaches. An international presenter on ADHD, clinical approaches, and coaching, Mr. Saviet regularly consults with fellow professionals on best practices for working with neurodivergent populations.

Elizabeth Ahmann, ScD, RN, PCC, NBC-HWC, is a professor of health and wellness coaching in the School of Integrative Health at Notre Dame of Maryland University. A registered nurse, ADHD coach, and co-principal at Pathways Ahead, she also serves as Director of Research for the Springer Institute. With expertise in research-to-practice translation and curriculum development, Dr. Ahmann has authored over 25 peer-reviewed research articles and co-authored the upcoming text, Flourishing with Adult ADHD: The Evidence-Based Guide to Client Well-being for Therapists and Coaches. She is an international presenter on topics related to ADHD and professional coaching.)

 

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Select one of the following classes

 

Class A

Embodying Our Code of Ethics: Challenging Injustice (3 CE Credits)

This dynamic and interactive training empowers social workers, counselors, advocates, and community professionals to move beyond theory and fully embody the social justice mandate within the NASW Code of Ethics. Through reflection, skill-building, and real-world application, participants will explore how to effectively recognize and challenge injustice at both individual and systemic levels. This session integrates direct practice insights with macro-level advocacy tools, ensuring participants leave with concrete strategies and renewed confidence to make ethical, justice-driven decisions in their everyday work.

 

(Trainer, Kendra Van de Water, LSW, is a social worker, educator, advocate, author, and nationally recognized leader in youth justice and systems change. She is the Co Founder and Co CEO of Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH Philly), a Black led organization advancing innovative approaches to youth justice, violence intervention, advocacy, and policy reform. Her work focuses on challenging systems that cause harm and building more equitable, community centered responses for young people and families. Known for her bold and practical approach, Kendra challenges social workers to move beyond simply knowing the Code of Ethics and begin embodying it. Through training, consulting, and public speaking, she helps professionals examine power, confront injustice, advocate within and beyond their organizations, and translate social work values into meaningful action.)

 

Class B

Navigating Discomfort and Transitions: Regulation Skills for Uncertainty and Change (3 CE Credits)

Change can activate anxiety, grief, avoidance, identity disruption, and physiological distress—even when the transition is wanted or necessary. This interactive, evidence-informed training equips clinicians to help clients navigate uncertainty without rushing them toward acceptance, minimizing their circumstances, or relying on forced positivity. Participants will examine how intolerance of uncertainty, emotional dysregulation, experiential avoidance, and cultural or systemic pressures can influence clients’ responses to life transitions.

Using case examples, guided reflection, audience polling, and experiential practice, participants will learn culturally responsive strategies for recognizing dysregulation, distinguishing productive discomfort from overwhelm, and helping clients reconnect with strengths, meaning, relationships, and manageable action. Applications will include grief, career changes, caregiving, relationship transitions, identity development, health changes, and other periods of uncertainty. Attendees will leave with grounding, emotional-regulation, meaning-making, and positive-psychology tools that can be incorporated into assessment, treatment planning, and clinical interventions.

 

(Trainer: Dr. Tekeah “TC” Mason is a positive psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, author, speaker, and continuing-education trainer with more than 21 years of experience in behavioral health, clinical supervision, program leadership, mentoring, and group facilitation. She holds a PhD in Psychology and a Master of Social Work and maintains clinical social-work licenses in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. Dr. Mason’s work focuses on positive psychology, emotional regulation, resilience, gratitude, grief, life transitions, and sustainable flourishing. Her doctoral research explored how women used intentional positive activities to support flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through Beautiful Weirdo Therapy & Consultation, she translates research into culturally responsive, practical strategies that help clients and helping professionals navigate discomfort, reconnect with their strengths, and create meaningful well-being without minimizing trauma, systemic barriers, or real-life challenges.)

 

Class C

Beyond Overthinking: Teaching Intuitive Decision-Making and Somatic Trust in Clinical Practice (3 CE Credits)

It is a common clinical phenomenon for clients to arrive in therapy paralyzed by overanalysis, excessively reliant on external validation rather than their own internal wisdom. While traditional talk therapy successfully clarifies cognitive patterns, it can frequently remain confined to the intellect, leaving clients disconnected from the intuitive clarity held within the body. This innovative training provides clinicians with a clear, actionable roadmap to help clients tune back into their felt sense and build a foundation of lasting somatic trust.

Participants will examine the profound impact of early developmental experiences, relational dynamics, and societal pressures that teach individuals to systematically override their gut feelings. We will unpack a straightforward, clinically applicable framework designed to help clients distinguish between the loud, urgent chatter of anxiety and the quiet, grounded presence of true intuition. You will learn experiential somatic tracking interventions to help clients reconnect with interoceptive signals, fostering the capacity to make choices rooted in authentic self-trust and somatic resonance.

 

(Trainer, Christina Scott, LPCC, RPT, CIMHP, is a licensed professional clinical counselor and owner of the online private practice Rising Action Counseling LLC. With extensive experience across substance use treatment, community mental health, university counseling, and school-based therapy, she is also a frequent continuing education instructor specializing in positive psychology, neurodiversity, trauma-informed care, play therapy, and geek therapy integration. Christina is a Registered Play Therapist, Certified Integrative Mental Health Practitioner, Autism Spectrum Clinical Specialist, and ADHD-Clinical Services Provider. A proud geek therapist, she co-authored a chapter in Using Superheroes and Villains in Counseling and Play Therapy, contributed an intervention to Liana Lowenstein’s Assessment and Treatment Activities (Volume 4), and authored a chapter in An Autistic Anthology: Neuro-Narratives of Mental Health Professionals.)

 

Evening Sessions

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

 

Class A

Art and Ethics of Clinical Supervision: Building Competence, Navigating Challenges, and Turning Difficult Conversations into Learning (3 CE Credits – Supervision, Ethics, )

Clinical supervision is a distinct professional competency that requires far more than administrative oversight or clinical expertise. Effective supervisors must balance clinical skill development, client safety, ethical accountability, and a reflective supervisory relationship. Drawing on the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology and contemporary frameworks, this interactive workshop explores competency-based supervision, reflective practice, cultural humility, and the identification of competence concerns.

A core focus centers on mastering difficult conversations—addressing clinical errors, ethical dilemmas, defensiveness, and relational ruptures without sacrificing client welfare or professional growth. Through case examples and applied exercises, participants learn a structured approach to communicating concerns, navigating differing perspectives, and translating friction into valuable opportunities for accountability, learning, and self-awareness.

 

(Trainer: Elan Javanfard, LMFT, is a Psychotherapist who specializes in reintegrating the whole self, by utilizing present focused methods of discovery and coping. He works for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in Los Angeles overseeing all Crisis, Residential, and Substance Treatment. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education & Psychology.)

 

Class B

Beyond the Diagnosis: Human-Centered Clinical Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Clients (3 CE Credits)

Immigrant and refugee clients are often assessed through clinical frameworks that prioritize symptoms and diagnoses while overlooking migration history, cultural identity, legal vulnerability, family relationships, and the social conditions shaping distress. This interactive training invites clinicians to move beyond the diagnosis and engage clients through human-centered, culturally responsive, and ethically grounded practice. Participants will examine how pre-migration experiences, migration journeys, resettlement stress, acculturation, discrimination, language barriers, immigration status, and social determinants of health influence mental health and access to care.

Through reflection, clinical vignettes, and applied discussion, participants will examine clinician positionality, power, privilege, and implicit bias while learning practical strategies for culturally responsive assessment and intervention. Participants will practice distinguishing psychiatric symptoms from cultural expressions of distress and understandable responses to displacement, using the DSM-5-TR Cultural Formulation Interview, working effectively with interpreters, identifying client and community strengths, and adapting evidence-informed interventions. The training emphasizes cultural humility, curiosity, shared decision-making, ethical advocacy, and seeing each client as a whole person whose migration story, relationships, strengths, and aspirations are central to clinical care.

 

(Trainer: Dr. Neerja Singh, PhD, LICSW, LADC, is a clinician, educator, and public-sector behavioral health leader. A first-generation immigrant from India, she brings lived experience and expertise in culturally responsive clinical practice, mental health and substance use services, social determinants of health, and systems advocacy. She teaches clinical practice with immigrant and refugee clients and other graduate social work courses at the University of St. Thomas and National University. Dr. Singh is also a board-approved clinical supervisor, a 2023 Bush Fellow, and a leader of the NASW-Minnesota Ethics Support Group. Her work centers human dignity, cultural humility, ethical practice, and equitable access to care.)