Join us on October 27, 2023
Keynote Presentation
Rebuilding Our Communities: What Have We Learned, What Have We Rediscovered
Speaker: Dr. Michelle Melton ​
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Dr. Melton provides training in the public and private sectors on mental health wellness, organizational development, and diversity education and leadership. She has been published in state and national scholarly journals. Her aim is to use psychological sciences and professional knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organizations, and communities. By enterprising diversity and inclusion, Dr. Melton seeks to facilitate personal transformation and institutional innovation.
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Plenary Presentation
The Significance of Others: The Only Way in is Through. The Only Way out is Within - How to Bring Your Whole Self and Invite a Conversation
Speaker: Carla Du Pree​
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What happens when you bring your authentic self to engage differently and foster more meaning in your everyday work? We’ll explore ways to create a space of vulnerability in you and others, to remove foreseen and imagined barriers for a larger, enriching conversation that taps into a more meaningful practice that grows you. My work with a literary nonprofit in Baltimore, CityLit Project, influenced our reputation as a dynamic cultural institution built on grit, grind and a passion for words that continues to generate lively, meaningful engagements in a multicultural landscape. We’ll examine organic DEI tools to look harder, tap deeper, and invest in ways to foster truth-telling in brave spaces. From Mark Nepo’s The Endless Practice, “The broken door lets in the light. The broken heart lets in the world”. Growing a practice by building trust and integrity in the real work you do with the real people you do it with.
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Exclusion IS Trauma: Using Trauma-Informed Practices Everyday
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Speaker: Dr. Shaunna Payne Gold
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Although trauma-informed approaches are often seen as optional, they are fundamental to more fully understand diversity, inclusion, equity, and the converse of DEI — exclusion. This keynote provides practical tools at the center of DEI, Trauma, Identity, and Practitioner relevance.
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Workshop A
Compassion and Trauma: Strategies and Interventions for Military Veterans
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Speaker: Elena Henderson, PhD
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The evidence supporting compassion-focused interventions for trauma-related disorders is increasingly demonstrated in clinical research. This workshop provides an overview of the evidence supporting compassion-focused interventions for trauma-related disorders and treating them in a veteran population. This workshop introduces practical strategies and interventions for integrating compassion in trauma-focused psychotherapy for veterans to enhance patient care.
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Workshop B
Expanding the Perinatal Conversation: Barriers and Insights Into Paternal Mental Health
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Speaker: Katlyn Workman
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This session will explore Perinatal Mental Health including symptomology, presentation, and current considerations for treatment. Specific attention will be given to the experiences of fathers and non-birthing partners. We will explore the intersection of masculinity and the roles and identities associated with fatherhood, as well as the prevalence of paternal mental health disorders and barriers to treatment.
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Workshop C
It’s Scary Out There: LGBTQ+ Issues in the News
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Speaker: Nena Craven and John Donahue
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New laws. Book bannings. School board battles. In this session, we will review the effects of recent news items and political events on the trauma and stress levels of LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies. Participants will receive information about these issues, conduct small- and large-group discussions about how these issues may apply to their fields, and learn practical strategies to manage and reduce harm.
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Workshop D
We Are Not OK! This includes the State of Law Enforcement
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Speaker: Michelle Lieberman
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This presentation will begin with a socio/political and generational examination of the current mental health crisis we are facing. How did we get to this point of mass anxiety, distrust, and fear (much of which is directed toward Law Enforcement)? Technology is wonderful but also possesses the ability to unravel our society. Law Enforcement are people too and this “new normal” is affecting us all. How do we get through this together? Police and community together. Join us for a journey through the ages that concludes with a collective brainstorm as to how police and social workers can successfully work together to implement positive change.
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Workshop E
Introduction to Nature Therapy: Connecting with Nature to Support Self-care and Community Care
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Speaker: Phil Hosmer
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The isolation and pace of our technology-focused society have contributed to increased stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness. The emerging field of nature therapy has helped combat these symptoms using evidence-based practices that help people develop deeper, reciprocal relationships with the natural world that enhance connection, boost mood and reduce stress and anxiety.
The founder of Nature Worx will share their story of growth and evolution and how their techniques can be utilized for self care and for enhancing patient/client health and wellness. Learn simple, evidence-based ways to connect with nature to enhance your mood, reduce stress and anxiety and lower blood pressure and heart rate. Understand how to shift from doing mode to being mode, from thinking mode to sensing mode, seeing nature as your ally in this process. Add to your self-care tool-box, while also learning how intentional time in nature can facilitate and enhance a sense of connection to community and one's self and provide a context for safe interaction.
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