June 20, 2019 - 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EDT   

Eileen Dombo, PhD, LICSW
Assistant Professor, Chair, Undergraduate Social Work Program, National Catholic School of Social Service, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC

Research shows that upward of 70% of children in schools report experiencing at least one traumatic event before age 16. Today, students are exposed to direct and indirect forms of trauma, creating the need for the school community to address the mental health needs of children and adolescents to promote successful school experiences. This session will provide an overview of the impact of trauma on children and adolescents, as well as interventions for direct practice and collaboration with teachers, families, and communities.

June 20, 2019 - 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EDT   

Susan Munsey, LCSW
Founder & Director of Programs Generate Hope San Diego, CA

Human trafficking is the business of stealing freedom for profit. In most cases, traffickers trick, defraud or physically force victims into providing commercial sex. In others, victims are lied to, assaulted, threatened or manipulated into working under inhumane, illegal or otherwise unacceptable conditions. It is a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 24.9 million people around the world. In The U.S. the average age of entry is 15 and the average victim could be your next door neighbor. This course will focus on domestic sex trafficking, how it happens to American teens, how to identify it and how you can help a victim / survivor in your work setting.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to describe what sex trafficking looks like in the United States.
• Learn to identify typical indicators of sex trafficking.
• Discover where to turn for resources or assistance with sex trafficking victim / survivors.

June 20, 2019 - 1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. EDT   

Nancy Kusmaul, PhD, LMSW
Assistant Professor, Baccalaureate Social Work Program, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD

Traumatic events are widely acknowledged to have long-term impacts on younger individuals, yet we have only recently begun to assess for and gain an understanding of trauma in the lives of older adults. For many older adults, trauma is often overlooked as being either a distant past event (e.g. child abuse) or a normal part of aging (e.g. widowhood). This session will discuss trauma-informed care – looking at how past and recent events can be traumatic for older adults and how to assess and plan for the prevention of re-traumatization.

Learning Objectives

• Provide examples of the types and timing of traumatic events that must be considered when working with older adult
• Apply a trauma informed framework to work with older adults in different practice settings
• Access three different resources that are available for further learning on this topic.

June 20, 2019 - 1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. EDT   

Jeff Zacharias, ACSW, LCSW, CADDC
President & Clinical Director, New Hope Recovery Center, Chicago, IL

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth experience trauma at higher rates than their straight peers. Common traumas experienced by these youth include bullying, harassment, traumatic loss, intimate partner violence, physical and sexual abuse, and traumatic forms of societal stigma, bias, and rejection. Further, research detailed in a Harvard University study showed that LGBTQ youth are a high risk for incurring PTSD in particular when compared with cisgender and heteronormative populations. This session will focus on the challenges and traumatic events unique to the LGBTQ community and current best practices in addressing them.

June 20, 2019 - 4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. EDT   

Marleen Wong, PhD, LCSW
Senior Vice Dean, David Lawrence Stein/Violet Goldberg Sachs Professor of Mental Health, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Natural disasters. School violence. Domestic terrorism. Racial disparities. Domestic violence. These events, and many more, can have a tremendous impact on people’s daily lives. Due to skills and their presence in various settings (hospitals, schools, mental health centers, government agencies, etc), social workers are increasingly accepting the challenge to address these issues. This session will address several key points in addressing trauma and discussing best practices in the community including, the SAMHSA Framework for Trauma Informed Systems, identify sources of trauma in the lives of children, and identify sills and interventions for caretakers, educators, and mental health service providers.

June 20, 2019 - 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EDT 

Carol Tosone, PhD, LCSW
Professor of Social Work, NYU Silver School of Social Work

The social work profession, like all helping professions, requires individuals to be conscious of how listening to the trauma of our clients can impact us both professionally and personally. The retelling of difficult memories and the focus on survival skills impacts even the most trauma-skilled professionals - being exposed to this on a regular basis can lead to burn-out and compassion fatigue. Learn how even the simplest of self-care regimes can make a huge difference in your professional and personal life, as well as the effectiveness towards your clients' interventions.