Past Courses

This presentation will aim to both introduce the foundations of Infant Mental Health and expand the knowledge base of those familiar with the practice. During this course, we will examine the historical background and relevance of IMH as well as how we can utilize IMH practices in both clinical and other relevant settings to support child development, secure attachment, and lifelong relational wellness. Relevant to this work, the course will explore the development of attachment styles, including delving into each of the 4 primary styles. In addition, we will explore the use of self and the importance of clinical reflective capacity and supervision.

In this online workshop, participants will learn how to support very young children and infants who are intersex and their parents. This training will address the importance of using affirming language and avoiding damaging and stigmatizing language. This session will center the rights of the child with intersex conditions. This workshop will teach participants about the importance of implementing child-centered, gender-affirming care so all children are free to live healthy, affirmed lives. This workshop is designed to equip providers to be able to step in quickly and effectively to help families during sensitive moments.

Social work, a profession with roots in advocacy and social justice, is uniquely positioned to adopt a leadership role in providing evidence-based, ethically informed services to persons with intersex conditions.

The impacts of climate change on the world is overwhelming. The increase in droughts harm food production and human health. Flooding has led to the spread of disease and damages to ecosystems and infrastructure. Climate change impacts are seen throughout every aspect of the world we live in. However, climate change impacts are uneven across the country and the world. The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare has proposed 12 Grand Challenges for the social work profession to address, which includes to “create social responses to a changing environment.” Due to the impacts of climate change, social workers must be equipped to tackle climate change and to engage in strategies to promote environmental justice. This interactive webinar, informative in nature, explores definitions related to climate change, environmental justice, and climate grief. We will identify the role that social workers play in the environmental justice movement, including ways it can be addressed at all levels of practice.

Technology and social media shape the identities and world views of today's teens. Adolescent sexuality and relationships are interwoven with cell phones and social media. Many caregivers and professionals are left wondering: what does it all mean? This workshop will start from the ground up, beginning with definitions and a roadmap of technology commonly used by young people. From there, we will examine how technology influences teen sexuality and relationships -- for better or for worse. We will discuss teen relationship abuse and technology, as well as the way teen relationships and identity can be strengthened by technology. Finally, the class will focus on how to work with and relate to teens through the lens of technology.

Facilitating peer-support groups requires a unique skillset and mindset; differing from therapy groups and individual therapy, peer-support groups center the peer relationships of the group participants and highlight shared experiences. This course will explore: expectation setting for group members, welcoming new group members, setting group rules, and saying goodbye to group members. This course will review several facilitation skills, utilize case examples, and discuss use of the virtual platform for peer support.

Loss and grief are universal aspects of the human experience and much of the work we do as social workers is at its core often about loss and grief. Exploring and increasing your understanding of death-related and non-death related loss and grief can facilitate responding with compassion and competence in interactions with your clients, colleagues, workplaces, and communities.

The workshop will focus on death, loss and grief and explore a diverse range of losses and expressions of grief that occur in our professional and personal lives. We will explore theoretical frameworks of human loss and grief from culturally and philosophically diverse perspectives regarding why and how humans grieve. Various types of supportive interventions to use with clients across the life span will be identified. Finally, personal loss history and clinician resiliency working with grieving clients will be addressed.

This course challenges learners to explore their personal values, beliefs and judgements related to issues of sexuality. Interpersonal practice tools will be offered to assist clients in holding personal beliefs and values and remaining present to client's sexual self, needs, beliefs. Lecture and discussion will examine how implicit bias can limit services and harm clients, particular limits to sexually diverse populations. Sexual health will be considered as a social justice issue.

This course has been developed to meet the Michigan implicit bias training requirements for health professionals.

This workshop will start with an orientation webinar on Friday June 2 from 2-5pm provided over Zoom. The remainder of the course, which is primarily experiential, will meet at the instructor's farm in Dexter, Michigan on Saturday, June 3.

Course Description:
This course provides an experiential opportunity for participants to explore animal-assisted therapeutic activities specifically designed to further a wide range of therapeutic goals with children, adolescents, families and adult clients. Like play therapy and art therapy, animal-assisted interventions, when integrated with evidence-based methods including (but not limited to) CBT and mindfulness, trauma recovery, family systems, cultural-relational and psychodynamic approaches, offer opportunities for people to work through a variety of issues and insecurities related to attachment, trauma, self-esteem and identity concerns, dysregulation, behavioral difficulties, mental illness, developmental disabilities, and family and relational problems. With selected animals as therapy partners, the therapeutic team helps people of all ages and positions foster new alliances, understand more fully existing problems and build practical life-skills to enhance confidence, effectiveness and joy. Presently, animal-assisted therapy is gaining acclaim in the field of mental health intervention and there is a growing body of evidence supporting its efficacy and standards in the field to be explored. This course introduces the theoretical foundations, standards, ethics, evidence, certifications, integration of methods, case examples, evaluation and practical skills involved in partnering with a variety of animals, in particular dogs, cats, goats, pigs, horses and chickens (yes, chickens!)- to provide engaging and effective interventions.