All Webinars

Accessing reproductive and healthcare services can be particularly challenging for individuals who use substances, and who are often also facing housing instability, poverty, and trauma. In this presentation, we aim to focus on the intersections of substance use, precarious housing, and pregnancy, and examine how these factors and other social determinants of health impact access to care for this community. We will explore how stigma and systemic barriers, such as the lack of safe and affordable housing, lack of shelter spaces, and limited financial support provided through the social welfare system, affect pregnant people navigating these experiences. We will also explore and discuss strategies to improve access to care and highlight an interdisciplinary team model that is currently being implemented at St. Michael’s Hospital in collaboration with community agencies to respond to the needs of this population. This session will prioritize collaborative, interdisciplinary dialogue and will include clinical, social work, and community-based perspectives.

Webinar Key Objectives:

• To explore how substance use and the intersections of precarious housing, food insecurity, mental health, and other social determinants of health, affect access to reproductive healthcare during pregnancy and in the postnatal period.
• To examine existing systemic gaps, barriers, and stigma within the healthcare and social service systems that directly impact access to care for pregnant people who use substances.
• To highlight harm reduction, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive approaches in pregnancy care.
• To showcase interprofessional and community-based models of care and support.
• To foster dialogue around best practices and areas for advocacy, specifically for vulnerable people in the reproductive and perinatal period.

This webinar is the first of CASW’s Social Work: Preventing Radicalization and Violent Extremism Project (SW-PRE). This opening session will orient participants to the growing issue of violent extremism in Canada, and its intersection with social work practice.

In this session participants will:

1. Gain a general understanding of the state of polarization and extremist violence in Canada,
2. Learn how social workers are the people they serve are being impacted by rising extremist ideologies,
3. Understand the preventative work being done to intervene in violent extremism,
4. Have an opportunity to participate in a needs assessment to define the SW-PRE Project learning outcomes.

Family violence continues to escalate across rural and remote regions of Atlantic Canada, where service gaps and structural inequities compound the risks faced by both survivors and those who have used violence. This webinar will share findings from a mixed-methods study that evaluates the implementation of an online-adapted version of a psychoeducational and restorative program, the Safety and Repair Approach (Augusta-Scott, 2022).

Drawing on needs assessments, demographic surveys, and in-depth interviews with both service users and facilitators, the study examines how virtual delivery can reduce geographic, financial, and social barriers to accessing family violence support. Participants described online programming as enhancing privacy, reducing stigma, and increasing safety and belonging, particularly for men navigating shame and isolation. Service providers and service users emphasized that trauma-informed and relational care can be preserved, and even strengthened, through thoughtful virtual design.

While grounded in the realities of rural and remote service delivery, the lessons learned around accessibility, gender inclusion, and trauma-informed virtual engagement also offer valuable strategies for social workers across practice contexts. The webinar will emphasize how integrating virtual access with community collaboration can build gender-inclusive, trauma-informed, and locally responsive networks of care for all communities.

Webinar Key Objectives:

• Explore innovative virtual approaches to family violence intervention that reduce geographic, financial, and social barriers for both survivors and those who have used violence.
• Examine trauma-informed practices that sustain relational care and promote safety and belonging within online service delivery.
• Identify practical applications for diverse social work settings.

The Role of Social Workers in support of Public Trustee Services: will look in the final segment of the webinar series at the important role Social workers play in referring matters to Public Trustee services, in ensuring that PT clients are treated fairly and appropriately and reporting abuse and following up on abuse investigations to the full extent of the law. This session will also provide an update on ongoing projects and plans to improve Public Trustee Services and create stronger partnerships of care for all PT clients.

This webinar will focus on the Role of Social Workers in support of Public Trustee services. Following the presentation participants should have a good understanding of the important role Social workers play in referral to Public Trustee Services, in obtaining orders of representation under the SDMRA, of reporting and investigating abuse or neglect in respect of public Trustee Clients and in extending supports to children and adults with disabilities to ensure lesser reliance on PT services and seamless transitions to care in appropriate cases.

The first part of this webinar will focus on the history of laws dealing with disability in New Brunswick and with the human rights analysis, under the COnvention onthe rights of persons with disabilities that led to the repeal of the Infirm Persons Act and the adoption of the Supported Decision-Making and Representation Act in January 2024. A second part of the Webinar will explain the options for Supported Decision-Making under the SDMRA, as well as the processes involved in obtaining a Representation Order for Public Trustee services. Finally the webinar will conclude with some data in relation to the Public Trustee's increasing caseload in SDMRA matters, progress in reducing wait-times for access to these services and discussion around future needs and areas for improvement.

Chronic pain is estimated to impact 1 in 5 people across their life span (Health Canada, An Action Plan for Pain in Canada, 2021) and it impacts key areas of daily living. Social workers have an important role in chronic pain treatment and recovery through individualized care, support, and advocacy. We will examine key strategies you can use with clients who experience chronic pain.

Webinar Key Objectives:

• Define chronic pain and types of chronic pain;
• Identify bi-directional impact of pain and areas of life;
• Show how social workers in their current role can support recovery in chronic pain with at risk clients

This seminar will be lead by Christian Whalen, Public Trustee and Shannon Benjamin, Legal Counsel in Public Trustee Services. The webinar will focus on the role of the New Brunswick Public Trustee. In this intro webinar participants will learn about the work of the NB Public Trustee, its history, the various legislative mandates under which it operates; how the law in this field in New Brunswick compares with other Canadian jurisdictions; the types of services that PT staff offer to clients; the profile of clients who are typically served by PT staff and the processes involved in accessing services. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions by placing them in the webinar chat and directing live questions at the end of the presentation time. Time will be reserved for a healthy dialogue with program participants.

This Webinar will be offered in French and in English and is the first in a series of three webinars that seek to make the Public Trustee's Services more available and better understood by social workers and other professionals who often deal with these services.

This webinar is the third and final part in the series, "Decolonizing Clinical Social Work: Integrating Ubuntu Centred Cultural Humility to Enhance Cultural Competency."

This closing session invites participants to shift from expert–client, saviour–helper dynamics toward authentic co-creation rooted in presence, relational accountability, and shared humanity. Guided by Ubuntu and the Multicultural Orientation framework, we will explore how therapeutic alliance can only be established when cultural and psychological safety are present- conditions that require both cultural and epistemic humility. Through clinical reflections on decolonizing language, we will examine the terminology we use in practice and how words like “client,” “non-compliant,” or “at risk” can unintentionally reinforce hierarchy and harm. Integrating ethical and value bracketing with embodied cultural humility, this session offers a space to reimagine practice through decolonial lenses and to commit to language liberation and relationships that honour dignity, spirit, and collective liberation.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand cultural competency as an outcome of practising cultural humility in conjunction with other social work skills.                

2. Explore the Multicultural Orientation (MCO) framework and begin integrating its principles into practice through culturally and spiritually responsive ways of being.

3. Recognize how the absence of epistemic humility can lead to clinical misinterpretations and the pathologizing of culturally rooted practices (e.g., ancestor communication).

4. Reflect on ethical bracketing as a clinical skill that allows practitioners to hold space for difference without imposing dominant interpretations.                

5. Deconstruct power-laden clinical language (e.g., “client,” “helping,” “non-compliant”) and practice re-authoring case notes using Ubuntu-centred language that affirms dignity, story, and self-determination.

This webinar is the 4th and final part of a 4-part webinar series on Social Work and Mediation, presented in partnership with Family Mediation Canada.

The advancing age of our population, combined with a belief that all people deserve quality of life, has resulted in issues of aging steadily finding their way into the field of mediation. Designed specifically for social work professionals, this one hour educational session will define Elder Mediation, differentiate it from family mediation, explore how social workers can recognize when mediation may be beneficial, and highlight the unique skills and sensitivities necessary to be an effective Elder Mediator. For those interested in adding a specialization to their repertoire, a short review of what is needed for certification will be shared along with examples of Elder Mediation initiatives and the Code of Ethics.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Understand the language, themes and sensitivities of Elder Mediation

2. Describe the benefits of Elder Mediation

3. Identify who should be included in the Elder Mediation process and why

4. Apply practical strategies to recognize when a referral to Elder Mediation may be appropriate

This webinar is part 3 of a 4-part webinar series on Social Work and Mediation, presented in partnership with Family Mediation Canada.

This webinar examines the evolving role of mediation in child protection cases, where complex family dynamics, safety concerns, and legal mandates converge. Drawing on national and regional experiences, Dr. Michael Saini and Margaret Stewart Sweet will explore how mediation can offer a structured, yet flexible alternative to adversarial court processes. The presentation will address critical safety issues, including how to screen for family violence, manage power dynamics, and engage families in culturally responsive ways. Attendees will gain insight into how trauma-informed practices can support collaborative decision-making and how mediated agreements can contribute to long-term, sustainable outcomes for children, parents, and child protection agencies.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Explain how mediation is currently used in child protection contexts across Canada.

2. Identify key safety considerations and trauma-informed practices when mediating child protection matters.

3. Discuss strategies for fostering sustainable agreements that prioritize child well-being and reduce conflict over time.