Working with New Clients who Hold Violent Extremist and Conspiratorial Views
Topic(s): 
Counselling
Trauma
Violence
Webinar event date: 
May 13, 2026 11:00 am EDT
Webinar link

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Webinar Presenters: 
Laura Stolte, BCYC, MSW, RSW

Laura Stolte (BCYC, MSW, RSW) is the lead case worker with the Evolve program, a psycho-social countering violent extremism (CVE) program, part of the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV). She has worked with youth and families for over 15 years, spending much of her early career working in youth transitional housing and mental health programs. Laura transitioned to the practice area of CVE in 2020. Since then, her work has focused on supporting individuals and families to live meaningful lives while reducing hatred and harm, as well as broader work contributing to the development of best practices in the field.

Description

This webinar provides an overview of how social workers can assess for, and better engage with, clients who hold extremist and conspiratorial worldviews. Participants will learn about indicators of these worldviews to look for when working with new clients, as well as how the client’s experience of social workers and the systems they work within may be impacted by these worldviews. An emphasis on enhancing effective communication and strategies for building relational safety with this population will be explored.

Participants can expect to learn the following:

  1. Where and how extremist worldviews might show up in various areas of social work practice
  2. Signs of extremism to look, listen, and screen for during contact with new clients
  3. Discussion of the tensions that may arise when clients with extremist or conspiratorial worldviews interact with social workers and/or the systems they work within
  4. Ethical principles of engagement to support safety for all and increase effective rapport building 
  5. Communication and practice strategies for engaging clients who may hold extremist worldviews