Virtual CE Bonanza

Individuals will gain awareness of how substance use contributes to feelings of isolation and disconnection from others and themselves. Individuals will identify risk factors that place individuals at risk and how to address each client's needs. Individuals will identify resources and interventions that can be utilized to assist the client in their recovery.

Individuals will gain awareness of the role of self-compassion in the recovery process and how to help individuals foster a sense of connection. Guilt and shame are two barriers that prohibit individual’s self-discovery and growth. The presentation will provide ways to alleviate shame and guilt to promote client’s recovery.

 This program, when attended in its entirety offers 3.0 CEUs for Illinois State Counselors and Social workers and 3.0 BBS California CEUs for MFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs

Add to Calendar

The global pandemic in current, ongoing context has re-exposed xenophobia impacting the mental and social wellness of those seen as Asian and Asian American.  For all of us. race, culture, class and social diversity are inextricable aspects of our work in mental health.  So are the traumas of racism, social "othering" and systemic oppression. A frame of social justice is critical, essential for our contributions presently, for the future and referencing the past. This time period underlines how the health and wellness of one is integrally tied to that of others. The virus of the pandemic further exposed the virus of racism, xenophobia, all the more against Asians and Asian Americans. 

These relational forms of inequities against those seen as Chinese and Asian is not new but historical.  During this presentation, there will be a revisiting of historical as well as current inequities and their impact on multicultural communities including Asian Americans.  Most importantly, social movements and relational practices, including those by psychologists, to confront and heal from the "virus" of xenophobia will be presented.  Finally, our taking care of our own personal wellness as psychotherapists, as "soul healers" will be presented. 

The presenter, who is Asian (Chinese) American, will also facilitate dynamic learning through didactic presentation, videotaped narratives of mental health professionals and consumers addressing service disparities due to traumas relevant to situations in order to move towards improved mental health outcomes.

Add to Calendar

Immigrant, refugee and other migrant communities are significant contributors to society.  Their individual and family histories and stories of arrival to the U.S. impact their mental health and adjustment to their new home.  In order to provide culturally responsive and competent services to these diverse communities, there must be special considerations given to an array of issues.  Immigrant and refugee communities are diverse and complex in so many ways including specific cultural norms and values, degree of experienced trauma and stress, different contexts in which they decide to move, degrees of acceptance and fitting in into their new community.  Clinical experience acknowledges significant differences among immigrants versus refugees.    This course will cover many additional topic areas including assessing trauma and stress, reactions and responses of providers, special behavioral, emotional and mental health concerns, sources of cultural strength and resilience, multigenerational culture conflicts, and effective service strategies and stances.  The course will utilize videotape material, clinical work conducted by cultural family experts and personal narratives of attendees. Some of the findings of effective practices including research by the presenter will be shared. Special considerations will be gathered among attendees serving these groups. 

Add to Calendar

On the surface, mandated reporting for mental health professionals appears to be quite simple. Suspicion of abuse leads to a call from the clinician to the department of children and family services to make a report. However, it is not always easy to determine if a case meets the criteria for reporting. Often overlooked is the struggle between ethics and the law when making the decision on reporting.

Using case studies and real life examples, this program will look at all sides of mandated reporting in a clinical mental health environment.  The presentation will introduce the guidelines on when reports should be made, and explore the process to making the report. While this program is rooted in the laws of the State of Illinois, the concepts and material are applicable to clinicians across the United States.   By the completion of the program, participants will feel more confident in their ability to recognize situations that call for mandated reporting and will be more comfortable with the process of reporting.

Add to Calendar

Attendees will learn about the core tenants of Queer Liberation Psychology: testimonio (personal liberation work), concientización (counselors developing a critical consciousness of oppression and mental health), realismo crítico (the development of critical consciousness by people who have experienced oppression), problematización (developing a critical understanding of the "problem"), and de-ideologizing psychology.

Through this lens of Queer Liberation Psychology, attendees will be asked to reflect on the historical oppression of people who are gender and sexual minorities and the impact of imperialism, colonialism, and forced religious conversion. Reflection activities will include watching short video testimonies and utilizing an interactive map of global gender and sexual diverse identities. Attendees will be expected to actively participate in small group and large group discussions.

Add to Calendar

A workshop-training for parents and educators about divergent thinking skills in early childhood to include an understanding of divergent thinking patterns, a clarification of the importance of maintaining divergent thinking skills in young children, and multiple action methods, including media resources, which can be utilized to encourage divergent thinking skills for children and adults.

Add to Calendar

*PLEASE NOTE* THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RESCHEDULE TO THURSDAY NOVEMBER 4th

This workshop will focus on the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) and the many ethical issues that practicing behavior analysts and RBTs should be apprised of. Participants will learn about federal legal requirements for conducting functional behavioral assessments, writing behavior intervention plans, understanding the term positive behavior supports as used in the IDEIA, and the requirements for independent educational evaluations including FBAs. Participants will learn how state law applies at the local level. Information will be provided in lecture format with case studies as examples. The legal and ethical responsibilities of a behavior analyst will be discussed. Time will be allotted for extensive question and answer. Detailed handouts will be provided.

Add to Calendar

With the public health, social justice and political circumstances of our current world, it may be challenging to manage our own reactions, especially with clients who may hold very different views. Counselors practicing in an ethical manner set aside our values to provide a space for clients to express theirs. How do we provide a safe environment for clients when our reactions may surprise even us?   Join this session to expand your personal awareness.of your reactions to clients who have different views than yours. We will discuss how to ethically work with clients with differing views, in light of ethics codes and multicultural competencies This presentation will also focus on bracketing our own views when the topics are often so charged and personal.  

Add to Calendar

This program presents a qualitative phenomenological study exploring the perceptions of military spouses regarding suicide within the military spouse community. Military spouses do not serve in combat as service members do, but are subject to many of the stressors brought on by the military lifestyle that affect their mental health. In 2019, the Department of Defense released data regarding military spouse suicide for the first time. In the year prior, 128 military spouses died by suicide with a suicide rate of 12.1 deaths per 100,000 individuals. In order to gain more insight into the causes of these suicides, as well as necessary prevention measures, this qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceptions of military spouses regarding suicide within their community.  In this study ten military spouses were interviewed twice and were asked to provide written responses to follow-up questions. This data was coded by the primary investigator (PI) and research team. Six main themes emerged from the data: (a) spouses' feelings of loss of control due to constant deployments and moving (b) spouses' loss of personal and professional identity in the midst of the military lifestyle and culture (c) spouses' fear of seeking mental health services because of a stigma towards doing so within the military culture, (d) spouses' difficulty and frustration with accessing mental health services at each duty station, (e) supportive connections made within the spouse community as a protective factor against suicide, and (f) spouses' desire for better communication about available mental health resources from military leadership.   Implications for both the counseling profession and military leadership will be discussed, as well as the benefits of using this type of research design to conduct research within the military community.         

Add to Calendar

This presentation will discuss therapy principles and techniques with individuals with chronic, progressive illnesses. The presentation will use as a beginning example; individuals with low-vision or blindness. Relevant research will be reviewed with an emphasis on practical applications. All of us, including most of the people you see in therapy, have as a foundational reality dealing with uncertainty about the future. This is highlighted in dealing with chronic problems (either medical or other (emotional, social, financial)). All of us have to continually adjust/readjust (figure out) how to live with the parameters of our life on a daily basis. The key is how to be healthy in the face of this reality. In many situations, the parameters in which we live change but are not predictable.

Add to Calendar

Intersectionality, the interconnected social categorizations such as race, class, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation, that people are placed into where they experience differing types of discrimination or privilege shift based on which group(s) they engage at any given time. Research shows that minorities experience more barriers to mental health treatment than dominant communities and intersectional persons experience even more barriers to accessing mental health care and finding culturally competent providers.   This course will inform participants about the importance of identifying the intersectional experiences clients bring into psychotherapy, how to open dialog with clients about their individual experiences, and integrate interventions that build on the strengths of the client's various communities or help the client to engage in communities that are supportive of their group identities. Participants will learn about the interplay between these multiple group identities, how to assess and discuss intersectional experiences through a culturally humble lens, and develop treatment interventions with intersectional clients. Learning and practice will take place through lecture, discussion, and role-play formats

Add to Calendar

Couples and Sex Therapy in 2021: "An Integrative Approach" was designed for mental health professionals, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychologists, Counselors, and/or graduate psychology students. The course will enable a paradigm shift in their conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of couples and relationship issues in therapy. This course briefly explores the various aspects of human sexual behavior and sexuality counseling issues. The biological, physiological, and social attributes that shape human sexual behavior and its changes, values, responsibilities, and needs are addressed, as well as medical aspects of sexual pathology in pathogenesis and recent therapy possibilities. A wide variety of issues will be considered, including diversity, sexually transmitted diseases, gender, sexuality, and aging. Numerous theoretical approaches are available for working with couples; this training will integrate necessary theoretical approaches to advance participants' skills in assessment, treatment, and referral of couples. Contemporary models will be compared and contrasted including Developmental Psychology, EFT, Strategic Behavioral Couples Therapy, Imago Couples Therapy, Crucible, Gottman Method, Mindfulness Couples Therapy, Structural Couples Therapy, Inter-Analytic Couples Therapy, and Neurodevelopmental Research on Social & Interpersonal Engagement. The Integrative approach to couple therapy will be explored from two perspectives: (a) integration of sex therapy and couples therapy as well as (b) integration of theoretical approaches to couples therapy into one overarching model for couples therapy.

Add to Calendar

This presentation will take the seriousness out of meditation and make it simple and fun for families of all backgrounds and ages. Families will be able to take this information after the presentation is over and use it at their own pace. This presentation will take knowledge from previous conference presentations to teach others about the benefits of yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises. It will give kids a chance to get silly and really learn how to breathe the right way when they get upset and find new ways to move their bodies to help them with their emotions.   The research will be shown as to how these types of exercises have been proven to help these populations decrease residual anxiety and how to prevent anxiety from creeping in. The presenter will become engaged and make this hour-long presentation fun for the whole family.

Add to Calendar

Bring your morning beverage of choice and join 4 of our distinguished Alumni as they lead a networking event!

Add to Calendar

• Vanessa Hintz, PsyD

  licensed clinical psychologist
• 

  Kennette Thigpen, Ph.D. LCSW

  Mental Health Consultant and Speaker

  Welltrust Partners, LLC

Sponsors

Research suggests that traditional case consultation supervision has little or no influence on client outcomes.  Why might this be true? Research also clearly indicates that in lecture or discussion style learning is 90-96% forgotten within 48 hours. By the time a supervisee carries the learning of supervision to a client session, it is mostly forgotten. In addition, in performance-based activities, being told "how to" does not transfer to being able to "do." Imagine being told how to drive a car and then put behind the wheel without practice that is observed and corrected with feedback. In performance-based learning, "doing" is learned by repetitive practice that is monitored and corrected by an observer. Deliberate practice is a process of practice with ongoing monitoring, feedback, and repetition.   Learning to be, and being, a psychotherapist is one of the only, if not the only, performance-based activity where the "performer," for the most part, is not directly and consistently observed and does not received feedback on the actual behaviors (interventions). In fact, most therapists, once licensed, are never observed again. In all other performance-based activities (playing music, playing sports, doing art, etc.) the performer experiences a lifetime of being constantly observed and for the most part, receives feedback on that performance, particularly if part of the goal is to maintain or improve performance. "Experience" in the absence of ongoing observation, feedback, and corrective practice leads to ineffective behaviors being increasingly ingrained. In fact, research suggests that as a therapist becomes increasingly experienced that therapist becomes more confident and less effective.  Deliberate practice is not a specific model of learning but a process of learning that can be achieved by many differing modalities. In this program you will learn about the process of deliberate practice, and you will learn one specific process to apply deliberate practice within supervision. While this example of deliberate practice training will focus on pre-licensed supervisees, it can be equally applied to working with licensed professionals.  Join me on a journey into the realm of Deliberate Practice and explore the invitation to modify your supervision process to incorporate deliberate practice as a more experiential and effective style of learning.

Add to Calendar

As clinicians, we are challenged to set aside our personal biases the moment we step into our professional role. Oftentimes, we were taught we needed to be a blank slate, free of values in the clinical settings or believed that we had to have healed our own wounds, in order to be effective clinicians. Yet, what would happen if we recognized our relationships with clients as dynamic, mutual, and interdependent, both consciously and unconsciously?  This interactive presentation will provide an overview on the history of the use-of-self, highlight the theoretical orientations to which it has applied and then introduce the application of the use of selves' interdependent model (USIM) as a means to integrate it into improving clinical outcomes and attunement to client interactions. Participants will engage with the presenter in dialogue regarding the ways in which we as professionals can utilize this co-created 'third space' to strengthen outcomes for the fellow humans we serve.  

Add to Calendar

Direct services staff must identify clinical strategies and resources to support clients of diverse backgrounds in achieving their best outcomes. With increased awareness of their own values, beliefs and knowledge as a foundation, staff must better understand application of their challenges, strengths and resources for optimally working with multicultural individuals and communities. Participants will review the cultural continuum from cultural competence awareness to humility with CLASS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) standards.  Components of intersectional identity and social location will be examined along with the influences of power and privilege. Participants will then be provided with specific strategies, tools, building blocks, and practical steps for implementing these concepts more effectively into their daily practices, direct services and clinical work.  This dynamic, engaging workshop will include didactic presentation, self-assessment with reflection, presentation of diverse narratives and vignettes, small and large group discussion, and skills practice in dyads or triads.  

Add to Calendar

Paganism is a growing religious, cultural population in both the United States and around the world. However, there is still little known about it to those not a part of this culture and a heavy stigma surrounds the term Pagan. Counselors are not exception to this. There is little to no research surrounding counseling and Pagans and what little is there is still filled with bias and stigma.  In this presentation, we will talk about what Paganism is, the stigma surrounding it, and different cultural aspects. We will also introduce different ways counselors can learn about their pagan clients and different counseling theories that fit into this culture. It is our hope that this will help end the stigma against Pagan clients and develop a better understanding so the stigma against mental health professionals in the culture begins to wane.

Add to Calendar

The DNA-V model (Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor, Values) is derived from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and positive psychology designed to support emotional regulation of adolescents and young adults. Based in Relational Frame Theory, which has underpinnings in behavior analysis, ACT is an empirically based psychological framework that utilizes mindfulness-based interventions designed to increase psychological flexibility. By enhancing one's ability to connect with the 

present moment, or direct acting contingencies, individuals learn how to develop healthy relationships with their thoughts and emotions.  ACT also heavily focuses on the concept of value driven action, which ultimately leads to long-lasting behavior change. The DNA-V model expands this framework to specifically support adolescents to flexibly adapt to life changes and challenges and live a meaningful enriched life.  

This presentation will extend the work outlined in the DNA-V model to provide adaptations of the material when working with neurodiverse learners, such as individuals with cognitive disabilities/delays and those who identify as Autistic. The application of Clinical Behavior Analysis has a unique perspective in tackling the disparity of counseling services for neurodiverse individuals. As clinical behavior analysts, the presenters will outline the DNA-V model and provide effective clinical adaptations with neurodiverse clients for both in-person and remote support.

Add to Calendar

Mental health training graduate programs are entrusted with the responsibility of providing students with a baseline education in their respective field of practice. One of the greatest challenges in professional programs is deciding what content to cover in each course as well as what to leave out. Although there may be licensing or accreditation minimum standards outlining what students should learn in each respective course, the depth and breadth of many of the topics instructed cannot be fully addressed given the short amount of time students are enrolled in the each course. Additionally, the importance of teaching the complexity of culture and diagnosis in client care adds even more complexity to the already abundant curricula, and often there is not enough time to provide a thorough discussion in these areas. As a result, students and future clinicians often leave their graduate programs unclear about how and when to decide if they should take on a client who they are culturally or diagnostically unfamiliar with, or when they should refer the client out to another professional.   In this presentation we seek to highlight the complexity and challenges of addressing cultural and diagnostic diversity in mental health training graduate programs. We then will present a decision-making model on how to best determine if a clinician should accept working with a client whose clinical complexity they are unfamiliar with, or if they should refer out. We will discuss the importance of avoiding the possibility of discrimination and bias during the referral process, as well as the importance of knowing when to seek consultation or continuing education when taking on a clinical case whose complexity a clinician is unfamiliar with.

Add to Calendar

Experiencing grief during the holiday season frequently occurs. There are five identified stages of grief including denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance (Carr, 2020). These stages can be applied to multiple grief causing situations (Mittet, 2019). Psychoeducation about these stages provides a framework for understanding the grief experience and healing during the holidays (Ross, 2018).   The purpose of this presentation is to provide a definition on the denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance stages of grief. Discussion on the various community grief experiences occurring during the holiday season is explored. A psychoeducational approach for assisting individuals working through grief during the holidays is proposed. 

Add to Calendar

Authentic Revival Movement retrains the body's stress response to help individuals feel more able to cope with stress in both their personal and public life, and feel more like their authentic self in their day-to-day life.   Our mission is to push back on society's rules to put on different personas, according to your location, career, culture, etc. These expectations are impossible to reach during life's chaotic and traumatic moments. Trauma is experienced by everyone at some point in their life, but not everyone knows to label it as such. During those times our bodies respond to life's stress in the same way that it would respond to a physical injury. The body is unable to tell the difference between a tiger attacking you or losing your keys before work. These symptoms will last between two hours to three days depending on the amount of stress that your body has endured throughout your life. However, we are not taught in our society to work through that stress.   We provide workshops to help individuals and companies build awareness of their body's stress response and to actively support individuals to learn new ways to manage their stress response, to better function in their day to day.  For example, this is especially relevant for those connected to providing services in the mental health and healthcare communities, during these trying times of the COVID-19 global pandemic and social injustice.  

Add to Calendar

Humor in the serious realm of psychotherapy?  In this lively mini-workshop, filled with anecdotes, videos, and clinical illustrations, we will explore the theoretical underpinnings, research, clinical rationale, and practical application of the conscious and purposeful use of humor to shift emotional distress in psychotherapy.   Integrating humor into psychotherapy is more than simply using humor with clients. While most therapists report utilizing humor within the therapeutic relationship, few do so with conscious and purposeful intent. When, like other clinical interventions, humor is consciously and intentionally applied to the therapeutic process, it can create change in the central targets of clinical interventional emotions, cognitions, behaviors, social interaction, and physiology.    It is well established that the therapeutic alliance the most significant outcome factor in psychotherapy. We will explore the power of humor to build the therapeutic alliance, to be utilized as a diagnostic tool, and to be used for direct treatment interventions.  The psychotherapeutic benefits of humor include the experience of: 'mirth' (the emotional experience of humor); 'wit' (the cognitive experience of humor); 'laughter' (the physical experience of humor); and 'relational fusion' (the social interactive experience of humor). Clinically, mirth dissolves emotional distress and teaches clients ways to manage emotional distress by embracing mirthful experiences. 'Mirth and distressing emotions cannot occupy the same psychological space.' Wit assists clients in gaining perspective which is integrally related to emotional experience. Relational fusion creates bonds between people and that accounts for a great deal of psychological well-being.  The presentation will include a clinical model that provides a solid rationale and guide for the use of humor in psychotherapy as well as practical strategies on how to expand one's 'sense of humor' so that that it might be integrated to the fabric of one's psychotherapeutic interventions. 

Add to Calendar

Let's face it - For any professional working in a relationship-oriented or care-giving role, it is challenging to compartmentalize our work! It is inherent in the nature of these professions to consider the needs of clients, co-workers, and the companies we work with - sometimes, even when we are not on the job.  We may be clocked out of our shifts, but we often remain mentally checked-in to considering the needs of our clients.  What's more, many of our job-related activities have transitioned to a virtual setting, making it even more difficult to place boundaries between work and off-the-clock time. Is it possible to have quality time with our significant others (and most importantly, with our selves), while servicing our clients during the holiday season?  The purpose of this workshop is to discuss and discover exactly how we, as relationship-oriented and caregiving professionals, can hang our professional hats up during the holidays and actually enjoy the special season with our significant others.  How can we leave our professional self on the shelf?  

Add to Calendar