Workshop Information
Thursday March 19th, 2026
Time: 8:45-9:45 am
Keynote Speaker: Sandra Crespo
CEU: 1 Cat 1
Time: 10:00-1:15pm
Ethically Maximizing the Benefits of Self-Disclosure
Workshop A Speaker: Tonya M. Logan, LICSW, LCSW-C
Description: Self-disclosure is a thoughtful guide to consider when deciding what and how much to share in different social contexts. It encourages us not only to be intentional about whom we are open to but also serves as an insight into the importance of privacy and why difficulties arise during interpersonal interactions. Considering various perspectives is important as individuals may process information differently from others. This session will be interactive – with surprises! Whether we are faced with sharing information from our past or present personally or professionally, we are often unsure of how that information will be perceived. Learn how you might use less than positive information to help build relationships and show your children and clients that we can use our challenges to move us forward rather than hamper our growth.
Learning Objectives:
- Define self-disclosure and how it impacts relationships clinically.
- Consider whether sharing information from their past or present, personally or professionally, is clinically appropriate.
- Utilize less than positive information to help strengthen clinical relationships and show clients how we may use our challenges to move forward rather than hamper growth.
- Discuss the process of self-disclosure, including how we make decisions about what, where, when, and how to disclose.
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics
Ethics & AI: Navigating the Future of Mental Health Practice
Workshop B Speaker: Kristin Whiting-Davis
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics
Preparing Family Caregiver
Workshop C Speaker: Julie A. Guistwite
CEU: 3 Cat 1
Time: 2:00-5:15pm
Building Bridges of Trust: Psychological Safety for Social Workers in the Workplace
Workshop D Speaker: Dr. Tonya Phillips
Description: Strong supervision is the cornerstone of ethical, competent, and sustainable social work practice. Yet in today’s high-demand environments, many supervisory relationships are shaped more by compliance and crisis management than by trust and growth.
Building Bridges of Trust is a dynamic and practice-focused workshop designed to equip social work leaders and supervisors with the knowledge, insight, and strategies needed to cultivate psychological safety within their teams. Grounded in Maryland’s COMAR regulations (Title 10, Subtitle 42, Chapter 08), this training clarifies the purpose and core functions of supervision while expanding the conversation to include the relational and cultural conditions that allow professionals to thrive. Participants will explore the foundational principles of psychological safety and examine its critical role in ethical practice, professional development, and workplace well-being. This workshop moves beyond theory to provide supervisors with concrete tools to build trust, strengthen accountability, and foster environments where social workers feel safe to learn, grow, and lead.
Learning Objectives: Through interactive dialogue and applied learning, attendees will:
- Clarify the purpose and regulatory framework of supervision under COMAR
- Define psychological safety and understand its impact on competence, accountability, and ethical decision-making
- Identify the four stages of psychological safety and their relevance to supervisory relationships.
- Examine how trust and open communication shape team performance and retention.
- Learn practical, evidence-informed strategies to strengthen supervisory presence and relational leadership
- Develop a tailored action plan to intentionally integrate psychological safety practices into their own supervisory approach
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Supervision
Please Note: This workshop meets the Maryland BSWE's 3-hour supervision for supervisors requirement and qualifies for 3 Category I CEUS
Developing a Shame Competent Perspective to Healing Complex Trauma
Workshop E Speaker: Alycha Boehm
Description: The purpose of this workshop is to understand the impact of shame post-trauma specifically on vulnerable populations such as survivors of human trafficking. This includes exploring the negative impact to identity formation, interpersonal relationships, perception of self and overall ability to heal. Trauma related shame can be treated through the framework of compassion focused interventions and fostering shame resilience. The concept of shame resilience states it can be developed when others are given connection, empathy, and the opportunity to deconstruct distorted evaluations of self. Building shame competency through including this as a lens in which trauma informed care principles are practiced is essential to mitigating shame in trauma survivors and allowing them capacity to heal.
Learning Objectives:
- Define trauma-related shame and its intersection with on complex-PTSD
- Address the impact on relationships and identity formation
- Identify compassion-focused interventions to address trauma-related shame.
- Apply shame competency to trauma-informed care practices.
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics
Addressing Implicit Bias: The Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities
Workshop F Speaker: Gisele Ferretto
Description: This workshop is focused on the development of strategies to address the common, yet complex ethical issues concerning implicit bias that social workers face in their practice. Content will cover the following: definitions related to implicit bias, identification of implicit bias in behavioral health practice, strategies for addressing microaggressions, establishing and maintaining a practice of self-awareness, use of self, and the examination of implicit bias for effective outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
- Explore the meaning of implicit bias, its impact on the delivery of services, and practice responses.
- Examine the role of professional ethics to identify and control for implicit bias when delivering services to diverse clients and working with diverse co-workers.
- Review the Use of Professional Self for addressing and controlling for implicit bias in social work practice.
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics
Time: 5:30-6:30 PM
MD State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled
Optional evening workshop
Speaker name: Ashley M. Biggs
Description: The Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled provides accessible reading options for those unable to access traditional print due to a visual, physical, or organic disability. Social workers are at the forefront of care management and have built relationships with clients who may qualify for these free services. Learn about the service, who qualifies, and how to sign up those who qualify.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about the free service
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Learn qualification criteria
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Learn how to certify an application
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics
Friday March 20th, 2026
Time: 8:45-9:45 am
Beyond Care: Social Workers as Architects of Power, Culture, and Change
Keynote Speaker: Ja’Bree Harris
Description: At a time when Black history is under attack, public
institutions are being hollowed out, and state violence is increasingly
normalized, social work cannot afford to remain neutral, quiet, or
confined to the margins of policy conversations.
Drawing from national organizing campaigns, legislative strategy,
cultural defense work, and movement-building across states and sectors,
this keynote challenges social workers to see themselves not only as
helpers, but as power-builders, culture carriers,
and defenders of democracy. This keynote explores how social workers
are uniquely positioned to uplift communities through organizing and
care, defend truth against disinformation and political erasure, and
transform systems by moving from individual practice
to collective power. Participants will leave with a grounded
understanding of why social work is inherently political and what it
means to act with courage, clarity, and strategy in this moment
.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this keynote, participants will be able to:
- Reframe social work as a power-building profession Understand how
social workers’ skills in care, assessment, storytelling, and systems
thinking translates directly into political strategy, organizing, and
institutional transformation.
- Identify the role of social workers in defending culture and truth.
Examine how attacks on history, education, and public institutions harm
communities—and how social workers can intervene through narrative
change, cultural defense, and ethical leadership.
- Connect micro, email, and macro practice to democracy and policy
outcomes. Recognize how individual client work, community engagement,
national policy, and advocacy are interconnected—and why siloed
approaches limit impact.
- Apply a framework uplift uplift, defend, and transform. Learn a practical lens for evaluating social work interventions:
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Uplift: Who is centered and resourced?
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Defend: What harm is being prevented or confronted?
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Transform: What power is being built or redistributed?
- Commit to a personal and professional call to action. Articulate at
least one concrete way to expand their role as a social worker, whether
through organizing, advocacy, institutional change, or cultural
work—aligned with NASW values and the urgency of this
political moment
CEU: 1 Cat 1
Time: 10:00-1:15pm
What's Age Got to Do With It? Understanding the Impact of Ageism and Implicit Bias
Workshop G Speaker: Bracha Poliakoff
Description: The most recent election cycle brought age and aging to the forefront of public discourse, sparking conversations about ageism and its pervasive influence on society. As helping professionals (who are also all aging ourselves!) it is crucial to understand how age bias impacts our society, and in particular, the health and well-being of our older adults. In this thought-provoking workshop, we will explore the definition and impact of ageism, the role of implicit and explicit bias in perpetuating ageism, and learn strategies for challenging ageist attitudes and behaviors. Participants will leave with valuable insights and skills needed to create a more just and equitable world for older adults.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to define ageism.
- Participants will be able to explain the difference between explicit and implicit biases.
- Participants will be able to describe 3 strategies for decreasing ageism in our society.
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Implicit Bias
Unpacking Colorism: Healing the Hidden Wounds in the Black Community
Workshop H Speaker: Dr. Buckingham
Description: Colorism—the preferential treatment of lighter skin tones and the stigmatization of darker skin tones—remains a persistent and often unaddressed driver of psychological distress, interpersonal harm, and identity-based trauma within the Black community. Rooted in enslavement, racial hierarchy, and internalized oppression, colorism continues to shape mental health outcomes, family dynamics, dating and relationship patterns, workplace experiences, and service engagement.
This workshop offers an ethically grounded, culturally responsive learning experience designed to strengthen clinical awareness, deepen cultural humility, and enhance intervention competence related to colorism as a psychosocial and mental health issue. Participants will examine colorism through historical, systemic, and behavioral health frameworks while strengthening their ability to recognize indicators of colorism-related trauma and provide culturally relevant support.
Learning Objectives:
- Define and clinically conceptualize colorism and its historical roots
- Identify psychological, emotional, and relational impacts of colorism across the lifespan
- Engage in structured dialogue and story-telling
- Describe culturally relevant healing practices
- Explore collective and community-based actions to dismantle colorist thinking
CEU: 3 Cat 1
Beyond Compliance: Ethical & Anti-Oppressive Care in Schools
Workshop I Speaker: Ebony Vaughn
Description: Social Work & Ethics is a 3-credit course was developed for social work professionals.It has been approved by AWSB ACE and may meet your state board's 3 credit ethics requirement for Licensure renewal.This course seeks to provide practicing social work professionals a deepened understanding of their ethical responsibility to those that they serve and challenge the values and beliefs that often interfere with their ability to be objective in their practice.
Learning Objective:
- Participants will be able to apply theory to practice and evaluate their practice using social work practice standards.
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Participants will be able to apply knowledge of specific components of NASW Code of Ethics to professional practice
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Participants will be able to apply critical thinking skills to analyze and address ethical dilemmas.
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Participants will be able to apply an awareness of the complexities and implications in serving people from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures to engage in culturally competent social work practice.
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Participants will be able to analyze personal values, moral codes and cultural backgrounds and determine threats to effective social work practice.
CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics
Time: 2:00-4:00pm
Let's Talk: Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Equitable Care for Transitioning Foster Youth
Workshop I Speaker: Arielle Skinner
Description: This presentation focuses on equitable care by emphasizing tailored interventions, resources, and support for youth aging out of foster care. Drawing from personal experience as a former foster youth and her professional expertise as a licensed clinical social worker, the presenter highlights challenges such as inadequate support systems, unresolved trauma, and barriers to favorable outcomes. The session explores how social workers can mitigate these issues through strategies that address the unique needs of transitioning youth. The presentation offers a nuanced approach to fostering resilience and independence, while delivering actionable insights into equitable care practices for meaningful support beyond systemic care.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will recognize the unique challenges faced by transitioning foster youth
- Participants will be equipped with tools to implement the five key strategies to foster resilience, promote equity and improve outcomes for transitioning foster youth.
- Participants will understand how to use lived experience, research, and evidence-based practices to advocate for policies and practices that promote equity, access to resources, and positive outcomes for transitioning foster youth.
CEU: 2 Cat 1
Addressing Substance Use through Social Work Practice: Challenges & Opportunities
Workshop K Speaker: Tonya Phillips, Ph.D., LCSW-C, LCADC
Description: Substance use remains a complex challenge impacting individuals, families, and communities across social service systems. Social workers are uniquely positioned to address substance use through prevention, early intervention, treatment support, and recovery-oriented care. This workshop explores the biological, psychological, social, and structural factors that influence substance use, including trauma, stigma, and systemic inequities. Participants will examine ethical considerations, culturally responsive engagement strategies, and practical interventions that support individuals experiencing substance-related challenges. Through discussion and applied examples, this session highlights both the challenges social workers face and the opportunities to promote holistic, compassionate, and effective responses that strengthen individuals, families, and communities.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify key biopsychosocial and environmental factors contributing to substance use and substance use disorders.
- Examine ethical and professional responsibilities of social workers when addressing substance use in practice settings.
- Apply trauma-informed and culturally responsive strategies for engaging individuals affected by substance use.
- Explore practical intervention approaches that support prevention, treatment, and recovery within diverse communities.
CEU: 2 Cat 1
Back to the Basics: Relearning Topics about Gender, Sexual Identity, and Health in the New World
Workshop L Speaker: Dr. Shanéa Thomas, LICSW, CSE
Description: Need to discover new tools for integrating competency for LGBTQIA+ mental healthcare in our ever-changing world? Thought you knew all the terms and words to accommodate the growing list of genders, but don’t feel as if you can keep up? Join Dr. Thomas in developing a new understanding of sex, gender, and sexual health to not only accommodate the difficulties in our political climate but also our therapeutic and healthcare systems as well. This space is built for clinicians and educators to learn information that will evolve into modern-day practice for continuous improvement. Participants will also examine the experiences of possible unintentional harm we may inflict on our clients due to a lack of knowledge or the ever-changing pace of language. This is geared toward direct service practitioners but open to those in administrative roles to learn how to integrate concepts within their organizations for workplace continuity.
Learning Objectives:
- Re-examine and discuss previously learned language, terminology, and history around gender, sexual identity, sexual health, and lived experiences using the framework of intersectionality through statistics, graphs, and visual materials.
- Evaluate the effects of oppression, discrimination, and microaggressions on all gender affirming care through review of research, policy, and case study examples.
CEU: 2 Cat I in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Content
Please Note: This workshop meets the BSWE Anti-Oppressive Social
Work Practice content requirement and qualifies for 3 Category I
continuing education units in Cultural Competency