Continuing Education Course Catalog

Substance Use (SU) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) are frequently intertwined in complex ways, so why aren’t systems set up to address them together? Both SU and IPV are stigmatized with costly societal, family, and personal consequences, and these vary by gender, race, ethnicity, class, etc. While they do not “cause” each other, impacts are more severe when both are present. They are rarely addressed in a coordinated way in communities, human services, or social policy, despite growing evidence that doing so reduces harm and barriers to change and improves outcomes. Practitioners report many barriers/problems in working across fields and creating "hybrid" approaches (addressing both SU and IPV together). This session will explore why there aren't more hybrid services when it’s clear, in both research and practice, that they are needed. Because these are field-level issues, developing new intervention skills is not enough to overcome them.

Throughout, we will work with you to identify ways you can begin implementing hybridity in your practice and/or organization. We will examine:
- how separate intervention fields for IPV and SU have evolved, with different origins, histories, paradigms, approaches and controversies within each field and for different populations - and how these are gendered, raced, classed, etc.;
- the consequences of not addressing both;
- challenges and barriers to hybrid IPV/SU work to understand why hybridity is so uncommon;
- frameworks to understand the complexity of the challenges;
- different approaches to hybridity, at different stages of innovation for varied levels of need.

Eating disorders are increasingly prevalent among mental health clients and frequently co-occur with mood and trauma-related disorders. Despite their widespread impact, many clinicians report feeling inadequately prepared to address them. This course is designed to bridge that gap. Participants will learn to effectively recognize both clinical and subclinical eating disorders, with a critical focus on cultural considerations in presentation and identification. The curriculum will also provide a brief introduction to evidence-based treatment recommendations. The course will conclude with vignette discussions, offering a practical opportunity to apply critical thinking and diagnostic skills.

Note: This course is available for free to U-M SSW alumni as part of our Alumni Webinar Series, which features invited alumni speakers. Please know that non-alumni participants are welcome to register as well!

This continuing education course is designed for social workers and mental health professionals seeking to enhance their competence in working with Veterans transitioning from military to civilian life. Participants will explore the foundational aspects of military culture, common psychosocial challenges faced during reintegration, and the clinical implications of various discharge statuses. The course will examine the impact of trauma, chronic pain, loss of identity, and disrupted family dynamics on former service members.

Participants will also engage in an interactive, case-based activity to identify appropriate interventions and gain practical strategies for building trust and rapport with veterans from diverse backgrounds. Emphasis will be placed on the social worker’s role in supporting veterans across settings, including psychotherapy, housing support, substance use treatment, and social reintegration. The training will prepare professionals to respond with cultural humility and effectiveness when supporting those who have served.

The African American experience comes with misunderstandings that often make their way into the play therapy space with children. The mental health needs of African American families are sometimes even overlooked for various reasons. In this workshop, we will dive into the perception of play therapy within the African American community, and how clinicians can best support the unique mental health needs of African American children and families within the play therapy process. Participants will engage in didactic and experiential learning to support cultural humility through mind and body awareness.

This is a 2-hour self-paced online webinar discussing the use of DBT skills during CBT for Chronic Pain. The CBT-CP in this webinar is based on the Veterans Affairs Hospital developed CBT-CP. The manual can be found free online at: https://www.va.gov/PAINMANAGEMENT/docs/CBT-CP_Therapist_Manual.pdf#

CBT-CP has been found to be effective for decreasing catastrophizing, pain interference, pain intensity, and depression scores. Although CBT-CP is an evidence-based treatment, there are times in which a clinician and client may feel stuck. Thus, this presentation discussed Dialectical Behavior Therapy strategies that may be usefully employed during the course of CBT-CP.

Course created 2/4/2022

The Online Certificate in Disability Inclusion and Accessible Design (DIAD) is designed for social workers and other professionals who are interested in developing skills and sharpening their lens related to disability inclusion, and who strive to make their practice more accessible to and relevant for people with disabilities. The program faculty includes scholars, activists, and others working on the frontlines of disability inclusion and accessibility. Participants will learn about pertinent policy issues affecting people with disabilities, anti-ableist language and practices, accessible interpersonal clinical practice skills, disability inclusive community organizing skills, how to create inclusive management structures and organizational policies, among other topics. Participants will also receive training on American Disability Act (ADA) guidelines, understand the limitations of ADA standards, and gain the knowledge and skills to evaluate and assess built environments and institutional policies for ADA compliance and beyond.

Course created 9/9/2021

The Online Certificate in Disability Inclusion and Accessible Design (DIAD) is designed for social workers and other professionals who are interested in developing skills and sharpening their lens related to disability inclusion, and who strive to make their practice more accessible to and relevant for people with disabilities. The program faculty includes scholars, activists, and others working on the frontlines of disability inclusion and accessibility. Participants will learn about pertinent policy issues affecting people with disabilities, anti-ableist language and practices, accessible interpersonal clinical practice skills, disability inclusive community organizing skills, how to create inclusive management structures and organizational policies, among other topics. Participants will also receive training on American Disability Act (ADA) guidelines, understand the limitations of ADA standards, and gain the knowledge and skills to evaluate and assess built environments and institutional policies for ADA compliance and beyond.

Course created 9/9/2021

The Certificate in Political Social Work is designed for all social workers, regardless of area of primary practice, to fulfill their ethical obligation to engage in social and political action. Participants of this certificate program will learn how politics impacts the lives of those that they serve on both a micro and macro level, practice skills for advocating to policymakers, gain tools to empower clients to become politically engaged, and explore opportunities for running for office.

Foundations of Political Social Work: This module will include the historical and current role of social workers in the political process as well as knowledge that is core to political social work practice. Topics include: emerging political social work research and theory, political justice, ethics in political social work, and foundational skills in communicating political information.

Tools for Political Social Work: This module will cover skills and strategies that social workers can apply to their current practice as well as tools to enhance their political engagement. Topics include: identifying and combating fake news, advocacy and activism, and running campaigns.

Special Knowledge Areas for Political Social Work: This module covers important topic areas social workers should be familiar with when engaging in political social work practice, including organized labor and immigration. This module is intended to be responsive to emerging political topics relevant to social work.

Course updated 5/20/2021