2nd Annual CE You! 

Winter Virtual Conference! 

The full conference includes Ethics and as well as Cultural Competence!

You can attend the full conference or select specific classes to attend.

Day 2 – January 25, 2023

9:30 am – 12:30 pm 

Select one of the following classes 

Class A

Couples Care - Helping Couples Pay Attention To Their Relationship (3 CE Credits)

Married for more than 35 years, Julie, a therapist, and David, a divorce lawyer, have been witness to families struggling with life's most difficult challenges.  Alternatively leaning on their professional and personal experiences, successes and failures, the Bulitts' published their first jointly written book, The Five Core Conversations for Couples. In this workshop the Bulitts set out a three-pronged approach for clinicians to help couples achieve relationship success and fulfillment. 

Much of a family clinician's work is spent focusing on the individual or the family unit, often glossing over or ignoring completely the couple's relationship. The Bulitts shine a light on a relationship model and its vital importance not only to the couple themselves but the family unit as well.  From their differing vantage points, David and Julie discuss key components for happiness at home, exploring the importance of relationship goal setting and strategies for "avoiding avoidance" - how to have difficult conversations with a partner, whether those conversations are about finances, parenting or intimacy.

(Trainers Julie and David Bulitt: Julie Bulitt, LCSW has spent more than 30 years in the private sector working with individuals, couples and families and is also an in house therapist for The Discovery Channel. David Bulitt is regularly listed among the DC area's Top Divorce and Family Attorneys.  Corporate and event speakers, the Bulitts' first book, THE FIVE CORE CONVERSATIONS FOR COUPLES, was published in 2020)

Class B  

The Quiet Storm: The Kallos Model, Marginalization of Black Boys in STEM & Ethics (3 CE Credits - Ethics)

African American (AA) males are one of the most underrepresented minorities in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Examining social influences that hinder equitable participation of AA males in STEM therefore remains a priority for school social workers, the education system in general and for the STEM world as a whole. 

This class will help participants understand the current demographics, statistics, and policies that impact minorities, especially AA males, in Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia; to be able to understand and apply the Kallos Model to effectively advocate for AA boys within schools and communities that incorporates a culturally specific School Social Work Practice Model called the Kallos Model; be able to apply the knowledge gained for ethically-informed, evidenced based-practice at the micro, mezzo and macro level.

(Trainer, Dr. Esonija' Fulgham, Ph.D., LCSW-C, LCSW, is a Virginia native, and MD transplant. She is a licensed clinical social worker in DC, MD & VA and a trauma-informed clinician who practices with clients in all life stages. She graduated from Norfolk State University with both her BSW and Ph.D. in Social Work. Dr. Fulgham also attended University of Maryland-Baltimore's Advanced Standing Program where she studied MACO/Clinical: Social Action & Community Development. Her research interests are minority families; and secondary gains of research are to improve impoverished communities and increase minority participation in STEM fields. She teaches Social Welfare Policy, Evaluation Coordination and Intro to Social Work at the undergraduate level at King University.)

1:30 pm - 4:30 pm 

Select one of the following classes 

Class A

Helping Children and Adults through Grief and Loss (3 CE Credits)

The pandemic contributed to so much change, loss, and grief. Seemingly, the whole world has been grieving, including our children. If we continue down the path of misinformation about grief, more and more people will struggle with unresolved grief. The Grief Recovery Institute has the only evidenced based grief recovery program to date, based on research conducted through Kent University.

In this session, you will learn about the six common myths of grief and STERBS (short-term energy relieving behaviors) from an Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist. Participants will also learn about the stages of grief in a different perspective than what was taught in graduate school. Finally, after getting some psychoeducation on grief, participants will then learn helpful and actionable tools to help children through loss and how to  help people of all ages resolve unresolved grief.

 (Trainer, Jessica Frasier is a Licensed Professional Counselor and an Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist. She has a unique passion for helping people through grief, as her personal loss experiences are what guided her in becoming a mental health counselor. When she is not presenting, she is working with clients, helping them overcome adversity and finding hope, again.)

Class B 

Nutrition is More than What You Eat; The Intersection Between Physical, Psychological and Spiritual health (3 CE Credits)

Most mental health professionals have been taught to “stay in their lane” and only use their psychology, counseling or social work training to focus on the patients’ mental health.  We were trained to let the Physician address the physical health and let the church or religion handle the spiritual health of our patients.  However, now more than ever before, there are expectations that we are able to see the patient’s health through the lens of wholeness. Still, many of us lack the advanced skills to feel confident to do so.  

The time has come for mental health professionals to feel fully confident in bringing together all 3 areas of wholeness for a patient; physical, psychological and spiritual nutrition. Nutrition is more than just food.  Nutrition is what you are hungry for, what you feed yourself and how to address the connections between the physical self, the psychological self and the spiritual self.  Participants will learn how each of these areas of health are intertwined, how to talk patients about them and the skills to help patients achieve better understanding of this health triad.

(Trainer Michelle Duprey, LMSW, CTNC is a Certified Nutrition Coach and a national subject matter expert in Integrated Health Care.  She is the owner of IterVia Health, LLC.  Michelle works with individuals and organizations to increase knowledge and skills about the intersection between physical, psychological and life purpose health. Michelle is the Program Director of the Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care Program at the University of Michigan, School of Social Work)

Evening Sessions

5:30 pm – 8:30 pm  

Select one of the following classes  

Class A

Dream Worlds: Using Play Therapy in the Treatment of Childhood Sleep Disorders (3 CE Credits)

Sleep problems can wreak havoc on anyone’s life, especially a child.  Research suggests that roughly 20% - 30% of children are currently affected by sleep disorders or sleep-related symptoms which directly influence social, emotional, academic and/or behavioral functioning (Owens, Chervin, & Hoppin, 2019). 

Play therapy is an effective approach to addressing this challenge for children.  While play therapy is not the answer for every child with sleep problems, we could improve the outcomes of therapeutic interactions by including play therapy interventions in the treatment planning process. 

Clinicians who are able to immerse themselves in the child’s world (and language) of play find it easier to build rapport with their clients. Play Therapy is also a reliable method to help the treatment provider understand the child’s perceptions of their sleep disturbances. Play represents a familiar safety net, one where the child feels in control and thus they give themselves permission to communicate/describe their experiences more effectively.  This affords the clinician a glimpse into the child’s inner world as well as an opportunity to gain insight into the challenges related to the sleep problems.  This training will focus on addressing sleep symptoms through the lens of two major theories: Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy and Jungian Play Therapy.

(Trainer: Christina Scott, LPCC-S, NCC is a licensed counselor and supervisor in Ohio. A proud geek therapist, she utilizes superheroes and pop culture in her work with clients. She is a Registered Play Therapist and is certified in Trauma Focused CBT. Christina owns an online private practice called Rising Action Counseling. She chose this field because she loves connecting with others and is a life-long learner.)

Class B 

Adult Siblings: A Hidden Resource in Individual and couples' therapy  (3 CE Credits)

The relationship between brothers and sisters, who are about four years of age, has been called a “first marriage,” since they are each other’s first peer relationship.  During this time, they learn (or don’t learn) to start, resolve, and avoid fights; to compete, save face, negotiate, cooperate; to go back and forth between loving and fighting; to know when to exert power and when to withdraw or rely on other skills such as humor, manipulation, blackmail, tattling, bartering, silence. 

Our clients bring these learned (or not learned) skills from childhood to their adult lives, transferring them onto their love and work relationships.   Three core issues explain this: frozen images, crystallized roles, and unhealthy loyalty.  Further, old unresolved childhood issues sometimes lead to behavioral problems that have an unconscious “message” to siblings.  This workshop will professionals recognize and determine ideas for how to incorporate these hidden resources in their treatment of individuals and couples.

(Trainer, Dr Karen Gail Lewis, EdD, MSW, has been practicing as a marriage and family therapist for over 40 years, in both Washington, DC and in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the author of several books including Siblings: The Ghost of Childhood that Haunt Your Love and Work and Why Don’t You Understand? A Gender Relationship Dictionary. Dr. Lewis lectures both nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics, focusing on family and couples’ relationships, women’s friendships, and adult siblings. She has been interviewed by dozens of newspapers and magazines including, the New York Times, Woman’s World, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cosmopolitan, the Boston Globe, Psychology today, and the Washington Post. Dr. Lewis has taught at Johns Hopkins Medical School, Catholic University in Washington DC, and other Universities and has been on the editorial boards of four professional journals.)

 Earn up to 9 CEs!