Registration is Now Open!

Join us for our upcoming 2 Day January Conference, taking place January 13–14.

Registration Price: $149.99 for Day 2 only

CE Credits: Earn up to 18 CE credits with registration for both days. Each individual day offers 9 CE credits.

10:00 am to 1:00 pm EST

Select one of the following classes

Class A
Beyond Strength and Silence: Culture, Masculinity, Faith, and Mental Health Among African American Men

This engaging training explores the intersection of culture, masculinity, faith, and mental health among African American men, with a specific focus on how the Black Church influences the understanding, expression, and management of depression. Participants will examine how cultural expectations surrounding masculinity, emotional expression, spirituality, stigma, and help-seeking can shape mental health experiences and decisions. Grounded in the Health, Illness, Men, and Masculinities (HIMM) framework and qualitative research with African American men, the training provides a culturally responsive perspective for understanding barriers to mental health care while recognizing the strengths and importance of faith-based support.

Participants will explore practical strategies for reducing stigma, building trust, improving culturally responsive communication, and strengthening collaboration between mental health professionals and faith communities. The training is designed to help social workers, mental health professionals, educators, clergy, and other helping professionals better recognize the cultural factors that influence mental health engagement among African American men and develop approaches that promote meaningful connection, appropriate referrals, and improved access to care.

(Dr. Terry Edwards, PhD, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and mental health therapist with nearly two decades of experience supporting individuals, families, and communities through life’s challenges. He earned his PhD in Clinical Social Work and Supervision from Walden University in 2026, his Master of Social Work in 2008 and his Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Psychology in 2004 from The Ohio State University. He also holds an Addictions Certification from the University of Michigan. Dr. Edwards believes quality mental health care should feel accessible, familiar, and safe. His approach is warm, honest, authentic, and culturally responsive, creating a space where clients can explore anxiety, depression, burnout, grief, relationship challenges, self-esteem, life direction, behavioral concerns, and generational or past trauma without judgment. He works collaboratively with individuals, professionals, and families to identify strengths, overcome barriers, and develop the confidence and tools needed to become the best representation of themselves. His philosophy is simple: healing begins when you feel safe enough to be seen, heard, and understood.)

Class B
Becoming a Neuro-affirming Therapist: A Focus on Adult ADHD

“Becoming a Neuro-Affirming Therapist (Focus on Adult ADHD)” is designed to assist participants in gaining knowledge and perspectives that will support their professional development. We will define and discuss neurodivergence, distinguishing medical, disability, social, and identity models. We will use Adult ADHD as an example: providing an overview of prevalence, adult diagnosis, long-term consequences, executive functioning, and treatment approaches. An emphasis on a whole person approach will assist participants in understanding the importance of shifting from a diagnostic/treatment to a well-being model, with an emphasis on positive psychology and other key theoretical frameworks. Participants will be guided to understand and consider what it means to become a neuro-affirming practitioner, including: support for executive functioning challenges, adaptations and shifting expectations related to the therapist-client interface, multimodal collaboration, and addressing relationship and workplace considerations. Finally, participants will be invited to consider a plan for their own growth in this area and will be able to leave the session with a SMART goal to take that plan forward. 

(Micah Saviet, LCSW-C, NBC-HWC is a clinical social worker, specializing at the intersection of trauma and neurodiversity at Adult Trauma and ADHD Solutions and is certified as an Advanced Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner and as a Brainspotting Therapist He is a also an ADHD and health and wellness coach and co-principal at Pathways Ahead. He is Director of the Springer Institute for Research, researches topics in health and wellness and ADHD coaching, and has authored over 20 peer-reviewed research articles, including: 1) A descriptive review of ADHD coaching research; 2) ADHD Coaching--Evolution of the field; 3) Development of a manualized coaching intervention for adult ADHD; and 4) a prospective study exploring ADHD coaching for adults.. He is also co-author of the upcoming text: Flourishing with Adult ADHD: The Evidence-Based Guide to Client Well-being for Therapists and Coaches. Through the Springer institute he also provides research consultation. He is an international presenter on topics related to ADHD, therapeutic approaches, and coaching and also consults with other professionals related to their work with ADHD populations. Elizabeth Ahmann, ScD, RN, PCC, NBC-HWC is a professor of health and wellness coaching in the School of Integrative Health at Notre Dame of Maryland University. She is a registered nurse and an ADHD and health and wellness coach and co-principal at Pathways Ahead. She is also Director of Research for the Springer Institute, researches topics in health and wellness and ADHD coaching, and has authored over 25 peer-reviewed research articles, including: 1) A descriptive review of ADHD coaching research; 2) ADHD Coaching--Evolution of the field; 3) Development of a manualized coaching intervention for adult ADHD; and 4) a prospective study exploring ADHD coaching for adults. She is also co-author of the upcoming text: Flourishing with Adult ADHD: The Evidence-Based Guide to Client Well-being for Therapists and Coaches. She has experience with research to practice translation and curriculum development and is an international presenter on topics related to ADHD and coaching.)

2:00 pm to 5:00 pm EST

Select one of the following classes

Class A
Embodying Our Code of Ethics: Challenging Injustice

This dynamic and interactive training empowers social workers, counselors, advocates, and community professionals to move beyond theory and fully embody the social justice mandate within the NASW Code of Ethics. Through reflection, skill-building, and real-world application, participants will explore how to effectively recognize and challenge injustice at both individual and systemic levels. This session integrates direct practice insights with macro-level advocacy tools, ensuring participants leave with concrete strategies and renewed confidence to make ethical, justice-driven decisions in their everyday work.

(Kendra Van de Water, LSW, is a social worker, educator, advocate, author, and nationally recognized leader in youth justice and systems change. She is the Co Founder and Co CEO of Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH Philly), a Black led organization advancing innovative approaches to youth justice, violence intervention, advocacy, and policy reform. Her work focuses on challenging systems that cause harm and building more equitable, community centered responses for young people and families. Known for her bold and practical approach, Kendra challenges social workers to move beyond simply knowing the Code of Ethics and begin embodying it. Through training, consulting, and public speaking, she helps professionals examine power, confront injustice, advocate within and beyond their organizations, and translate social work values into meaningful action.)

Class B
Navigating Discomfort and Transitions: Regulation Skills for Uncertainty and Change

Change can activate anxiety, grief, avoidance, identity disruption, and physiological distress—even when the transition is wanted or necessary. This interactive, evidence-informed training equips clinicians to help clients navigate uncertainty without rushing them toward acceptance, minimizing their circumstances, or relying on forced positivity. Participants will examine how intolerance of uncertainty, emotional dysregulation, experiential avoidance, and cultural or systemic pressures can influence clients’ responses to life transitions.

Using case examples, guided reflection, audience polling, and experiential practice, participants will learn culturally responsive strategies for recognizing dysregulation, distinguishing productive discomfort from overwhelm, and helping clients reconnect with strengths, meaning, relationships, and manageable action. Applications will include grief, career changes, caregiving, relationship transitions, identity development, health changes, and other periods of uncertainty. Attendees will leave with grounding, emotional-regulation, meaning-making, and positive-psychology tools that can be incorporated into assessment, treatment planning, and clinical interventions.

(Dr. Tekeah “TC” Mason is a positive psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, author, speaker, and continuing-education trainer with more than 21 years of experience in behavioral health, clinical supervision, program leadership, mentoring, and group facilitation. She holds a PhD in Psychology and a Master of Social Work and maintains clinical social-work licenses in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. Dr. Mason’s work focuses on positive psychology, emotional regulation, resilience, gratitude, grief, life transitions, and sustainable flourishing. Her doctoral research explored how women used intentional positive activities to support flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through Beautiful Weirdo Therapy & Consultation, she translates research into culturally responsive, practical strategies that help clients and helping professionals navigate discomfort, reconnect with their strengths, and create meaningful well-being without minimizing trauma, systemic barriers, or real-life challenges.)

Class C
Beyond Overthinking: Teaching Intuitive Decision-Making and Somatic Trust in Clinical Practice

It is common for clients to arrive in therapy paralyzed by overanalysis and reliant on external validation rather than their own internal wisdom. While traditional talk therapy helps clarify thought patterns, it often stays in the head—leaving clients disconnected from the intuitive clarity held in the body. This training gives clinicians a clear roadmap for helping clients tune back into their felt sense and build lasting somatic trust.

Together, we will examine how early developmental experiences, relational dynamics, and societal pressures teach individuals to override their gut feelings. We will unpack a straightforward framework to help clients distinguish the loud, urgent chatter of anxiety from the quiet, grounded presence of true intuition. You will learn experiential somatic tracking interventions to help clients reconnect with interoceptive signals and make choices rooted in authentic self-trust.

(Christina Scott (she/her) is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Ohio. With a history in substance use treatment, community mental health, University counseling, and school-based therapy, she currently runs an online private practice, Rising Action Counseling LLC. When she is not providing clinical services, she teaches CE courses on topics such as Positive Psychology, neurodivergence, trauma-informed care, Play Therapy, sleep disturbance and dreamwork, and using media/pop culture in counseling. Christina is a Registered Play Therapist, a Certified Integrative Mental Health Practitioner, an Autism Spectrum Clinical Specialist and an ADHD-Clinical Services Provider. A proud geek therapist, Christina co-authored a chapter in the book, Using Superheroes and Villains in Counseling and Play Therapy: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals (edited by Lawrence C. Rubin) and has an intervention featured in Liana Lowenstein’s book, Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children Adolescents and Families VOLUME 4: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques. Christina also wrote a chapter for An Autistic Anthology: Neuro-Narratives of Mental Health Professionals, which came out in November 2024, and feels honored to have contributed to this fantastic resource for autistic individuals entering the mental health profession!)

Evening Sessions
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Select one of the following classes

Class A
Art and Ethics of Clinical Supervision: Building Competence, Navigating Challenges, and Turning Difficult Conversations into Learning

Clinical supervision is a distinct professional competency that extends beyond case consultation, administrative oversight, and the transfer of clinical knowledge. Effective supervisors must balance the development of clinical competence, protection of clients, ethical accountability, and the cultivation of a supervisory relationship that supports honest reflection, constructive feedback, and professional growth. Yet clinical expertise alone does not necessarily prepare clinicians to supervise effectively.

This interactive workshop examines the knowledge, skills, and responsibilities involved in providing effective clinical supervision. Drawing on the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology, contemporary supervision literature, and practical supervision frameworks, participants will explore competency-based supervision, reflective practice, supervisory alliance, cultural humility, feedback, professional boundaries, and the identification of concerns regarding clinical competence.

A central component of the workshop focuses on difficult conversations, including how supervisors can address clinical errors, ethical dilemmas, defensiveness, performance concerns, and relational ruptures without losing sight of client welfare or supervisee development. Participants will learn to prepare for challenging discussions by clarifying what needs to be addressed, how they hope to approach the conversation, and what outcomes they intend to achieve. They will then apply a structured approach to exploring differing perspectives, communicating concerns, making clear requests, and translating difficult conversations into opportunities for learning and accountability.

Through case examples, guided reflection, discussion, and applied exercises, participants will develop practical strategies for strengthening their supervisory practice. The workshop emphasizes that effective supervision requires both relational skill and professional accountability, with ongoing attention to the supervisor’s own competence, biases, and impact on the supervisory process.

(Elan Javanfard is a Psychotherapist (LMFT # 87054) who specializes in reintegrating the whole self, by utilizing present focused methods of discovery and coping. He works for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in Los Angeles overseeing all Crisis, Residential, and Substance Treatment. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education & Psychology.)

Class B
Beyond the Diagnosis: Human-Centered Clinical Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Clients

Immigrant and refugee clients are often assessed through clinical frameworks that prioritize symptoms and diagnoses while overlooking migration history, cultural identity, legal vulnerability, family relationships, and the social conditions shaping distress. This interactive training invites clinicians to move beyond the diagnosis and engage clients through human-centered, culturally responsive, and ethically grounded practice. Participants will examine how pre-migration experiences, migration journeys, resettlement stress, acculturation, discrimination, language barriers, immigration status, and social determinants of health influence mental health and access to care.

Through reflection, clinical vignettes, and applied discussion, participants will examine clinician positionality, power, privilege, and implicit bias while learning practical strategies for culturally responsive assessment and intervention. Participants will practice distinguishing psychiatric symptoms from cultural expressions of distress and understandable responses to displacement, using the DSM-5-TR Cultural Formulation Interview, working effectively with interpreters, identifying client and community strengths, and adapting evidence-informed interventions. The training emphasizes cultural humility, curiosity, shared decision-making, ethical advocacy, and seeing each client as a whole person whose migration story, relationships, strengths, and aspirations are central to clinical care.