Events

Register here.

SCHEDULE

9:00am WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Trelan Holder ’06
President, CSSW Alumni Association

9:15am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:  FROM INDIVIDUAL TO COLLECTIVE TRAUMA:  BROADENING THE FRAME OF OUR PRACTICE

This presentation discusses the broad reach of trauma across social work, and considers a cohesive perspective to frame our clinical practice and community engagement. From the relational, complex traumas of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault, to the collective traumas of our current political landscape, community violence, disaster, and war, discussion also includes the transmission of trauma and loss across the generations, as well as the vicarious trauma and vicarious resilience experienced regarding both the impact of our trauma work, and our resourcefulness, as we listen deeply to narratives, absorb emotion, and witness suffering as well as survival. The centrality of a relational process, as well as collective experience after trauma; dimensions of loss accompanying trauma; the significance of cultural meaning, along with a historical, political, social, and global context; and a commitment to a social justice and race equity framework regarding the realities of trauma, are underlined.

Courtney Cogburn, PhD
Assistant Professor, Columbia School of Social Work

Madelyn Miller ’74, PhD, LCSW, CGP
Psychotherapist

10:45am 

VICARIOUS TRAUME IN THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM:  SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE ACROSS FORENSIC SETTINGS

This workshop will provide participants with an overview of social work practice within the criminal legal (justice) system. As social workers who have worked in prosecutorial based and defense based practice, Ms. Williams and Ms. Crawford will provide an examination of practice modalities in forensic social work. The presentation will focus on trauma for the worker, which encompasses managing multiple ethical dilemmas, and contrasting principles between social workers and criminal law professionals, all while supporting the communities that are served by this system. Best practices within a complicated institution, our legal (justice) system, will be discussed. We will provide a critical analysis of the importance of training social workers to practice within the legal systems and expanding a knowledge base to include forensic training and management of worker trauma within this field of practice.

Jenny Crawford ’02
Lecturer, Columbia School of Social Work

Ovita Williams ’93
Lecturer, Columbia School of Social Work

12:00pm LUNCH (on own)

1:30pm TRAUMA AND INTERSECTIONALITY: A NARRATIVE APPROACH

The use of narrative in trauma work will be presented through an exercise in close reading and reflective writing. Follow up discussion will place the experience within the context of social work practice and provide resources for participants to learn more about narrative competence. The leaders of this workshop are awaiting the release of their new book this May titled Narrative in Social Work Practice: The Power and Possibility of Story.

Benaifer Bhadha ’08
Advocate, Performance Artist and Teacher

Ann Burack-Weiss ’71 ’90PhD
Educator and Consultant

Lynn Sara Lawrence ‘73
Psychotherapist, Private Practice

Heidi Mandel ‘82 PhD
Social Work Supervisor, The Jewish Board

3:15pm THE REPARATIVE POWER OF YOGA AND MINDFULNESS: EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES FOR CONNECTION AND HEALING

(narrative coming soon)

Victoria Grinman ‘07, LCSW-R
Lecturer, Columbia School of Social Work
Founder, Growing Kind Minds

4:30pm ANNIVERSARY CLASS RECOGNITION and WRAP-UP

We conclude the day with a summary of what was learned and a recognition of the anniversary classes.

Learning Objectives

Session 1
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: FROM INDIVIDUAL TO COLLECTIVE TRAUMA: BROADENING THE FRAME OF OUR PRACTICE

Participants will be able to:

• Differentiate among, and identify examples of, individual and collective trauma, transgenerational, historical, and cultural trauma.
• Know the many dimensions of loss closely accompanying trauma experiences.
• Reflect on their experiences of both vicarious trauma and vicarious resilience in relation to their social
  work practice with individuals and communities living through or having survived trauma

Session 2
VICARIOUS TRAUMA IN THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM: SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE ACROSS FORENSIC SETTINGS

Participants will learn to:

• Identify opportunities for cooperation between social workers and criminal justice personnel.
• Know the similarities and differences of providing social work services to survivors of violence vs the person arrested.
• Analyze common challenges faced by social workers practicing within the criminal legal (justice) system.
• Ascertain the ethical issues and dilemmas (i.e. client confidentiality, autonomy, social justice, host setting with legal professionals, social work ethics vs legal ethics.)

Session 3
TRAUMA AND INTERSECTIONALITY: A NARRATIVE APPROACH

Participants will learn to:

• Discover the power and potential of narrative practice.
• Gain an understanding of close reading and reflective writing.
• Analyze text for different levels of meaning.
• Explain the core narrative concepts of “attention”, “representation” and “affiliation”.

Session 4
THE REPARATIVE POWER OF YOGA AND MINDFULNESS: EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES FOR CONNECTION AND HEALING

Participants will learn to:

• Highlight the effects of trauma on the brain-body connection, and how yoga and mindfulness helps to rewire the brain for healing, resilience, and growth.
• Implement a few core trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness techniques and practices to support safety, awareness, and connection to self and others.
• Support children and adolelescents in identifying triggers, soothing their nervous system, and awakening their capacity to make good choices.

Continuing Education Contact Hours Information

5.25 contact hours will be awarded for NYS, NJ and CT licensed social workers. Licensed Social Workers for other states, please refer to your state licensing agency and email[email protected]. In order to receive your continuing education certificate, you must attend the entire conference. Certificates will be emailed within 30 days of the conference. CSSW is an approved NYSED provider for continuing education contact hours and a CSWE accredited institution.

Special Accommodations and Grievance Policy

For information on special accommodations or our grievance policy, click here.

Cancellation policy: Fees will be refunded less a $5.00 processing fee, if written notification is received by the Office of Professional Excellence up to two weeks prior to the workshop date.