All Webinars

The population in Canada is growing older.  The fourth annual report “Perspectives on Growing Older in Canada” released in January 2026 highlights why the way we age matters to Canada’s future.  The experience of intimate partner violence will affect the aging process.  This presentation focuses on raising awareness about intimate partner violence (IPV) among older adults to help professionals better understand how it appears in later life. It explains how the term “older adult” is defined and clarifies the distinction between IPV in later life and elder abuse.  The dynamics of power, control, and violence will be examined and how that presents in older adult relationships. It reviews what is known about the prevalence of IPV among older adults and highlights the challenges involved in identifying and measuring it. The presentation explores how aging can intensify the physical, emotional, social, and financial effects of IPV. Finally, it discusses the factors that increase risk for older adults, including health changes, dependency, and social isolation, with the goal of strengthening professional awareness and improving responses to IPV in later life.

This webinar is intended to increase awareness of intimate partner violence among older adults. Professionals will:

• Learn how older adult is defined
• Examine the difference between intimate partner violence (IPV) in later life and elder abuse
• Explore the prevalence of IPV in older adults
• Discuss the impact of IPV and aging
• Learn about factors that increase risk of IPV for older adults
   

Celebrate 30 Years of Black History Month with a powerful gathering that honors the legacy, resilience, and contributions of African, Caribbean, and Black Social Workers. This event brings together a intergenerational panel representing Social Workers of African descent, each offering their own lived experiences, wisdom, and reflections. This intergenerational dialogue invites attendees to witness the richness of shared history, the diversity of practice, and the importance of rest as a form of resistance, healing, and longevity in the field.

This celebration event is organized in partnership with the National Africentric Social Work Circle. All CASW members are welcome to join! 

Autism is still widely understood through persistent stereotypes, often reinforced by media portrayals, social narratives, and institutional practices. These limited perspectives contribute to the invisibility of many autistic profiles, including adults, women, older adults, and individuals from marginalized communities, and can significantly affect access to services, well-being, and social recognition.

This webinar explores autism beyond stereotypes, offering a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of the diversity of autistic experiences. Grounded in a neuroaffirming and person-centered approach, it invites participants to reconsider how autism is understood, discussed, and addressed in community and professional settings.

Particular attention is given to the importance of language, the recognition of strengths, and the inclusion of autistic voices. The webinar aims to support the development of practices and perspectives that promote inclusion, dignity, and meaningful participation of autistic individuals within the community.

This webinar is designed to support participants in learning about and engaging with:

• Autism as a form of neurological diversity, beyond common stereotypes and misconceptions;
• Common stereotypes about autism and their impact on inclusion, recognition, and access to services;
• The diversity of autistic profiles, experiences, an support needs;
• The importance of a neuroaffirming and person-centered approach;
• The role of language, attitudes, and inclusive practices in promoting dignity and social participation of autistic individuals.

This webinar introduces social work principles and their relevance to preventing radicalization to violence. Participants will learn practical, evidence‑informed social work approaches for engaging individuals who may be at risk of radicalization to violence or involved in violent extremism. The session also highlights the role of the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (housed in Public Safety Canada) and the resources it offers to practitioners.

By the end of this webinar, participants will:

• Have an increased understanding of core social work principles and their relevance to preventing radicalization to violence 
• Identify at least three practical, evidence‑informed social work approaches for working with individuals at-risk of radicalization to violence or involved in violent extremism.

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.

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.

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