All Webinars

“Far too often we falsely convince ourselves that because we have a certain educational background, hold a certain professional title or have our own share of challenges in life, that we are immune to holding harmful beliefs about others.”  

This webinar series focuses on self-awareness as it relates to stereotypes, biases and prejudices that we hold as humans, and as professionals.  By examining how human brain schemas are formed, participants will explore how their familial cultural experiences, the media and the larger culture work to create specific generalized ideas about others.  Participants will learn strategies to combat those beliefs and enable them to enhance their professional relationships with clients and others.  The aim of this webinar is to create a safe and inviting space to be vulnerable within ourselves to examine what beliefs we hold and how they translate into our work with clients. 

“Vulnerability is uncomfortable and discomfort is a prerequisite to growth.”

Grief is a normal and natural response in this time. Grief is a response to loss that affects our physical, emotional, behavioural, social, financial, and spiritual lives. It does not only occur in response to death; any loss can cause us to grieve. So much is being lost in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Grief literacy provides a way forward. Grief literacy calls on all of us to be better acquainted with grief so that we can support ourselves and one another. This webinar addresses what social workers can do in the time of COVID-19 to be more grief literate. With greater grief literacy, we can all support ourselves and one another better, now and in the future.

Webinar Key Objectives:

• Review current theory about grief and loss
• Discuss how grief is occurring in the pandemic
• Define grief literacy
• Consider implications for social work practice

This has been a stressful and challenging time across the world for Social Workers. Join this webinar to dive in to substance use and what we need to know as practitioners in terms of addiction and dependency. 

Webinar Key Objectives

• To present an overview the process of decolonizing through Indigegogy.

• Highlight milestones of the decolonizing journey for Indigenous and non-Indigenous social work practitioners and educators.

• Begin to introduce participants to knowledge(s) or knowledge sets within a decolonizing journey. 

• To foster curiosity and desire to engage in participants own decolonizing journeys.

Webinar Summary: 

This seminar offers an opportunity for participants to get an overview of what it means to engage in their own decolonizing journey. It is a step in understanding why decolonizing must be part of social work practitioners’ and educators’ response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's (TRC) calls for action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. 

In this session, participants will begin to explore how decolonizing will influence their social work practice.  

This webinar will explore how VAW shelters and transition houses are adapting their services during COVID-19 so they can continue to offer safety and support to women experiencing domestic violence. After providing some context on the impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence and the VAW shelter sector, the webinar will focus on three of the ways VAW shelters are adapting their services to keep survivors both safe and healthy. Specifically, the webinar will look at the use of alternative locations for sheltering; supporting survivors within the shelter; and expanding the ways women can receive support from shelters. For each of these topics, Leah will examine some of the benefits and challenges, and share specific resources and examples.

Webinar Key Objectives:

• Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence & VAW shelters

• Exploring three of the ways VAW shelters are responding to COVID-19 (alternative locations for sheltering, supporting survivors within the shelter, and expanding ways women can receive support)

• Sharing resources and examples related to the topic that can be of use to those working in shelters

This webinar covers various aspects of interprofessional collaboration (IP) that is used in SW practice to address complex situations that cannot be resolved in a compartmentalized manner (working in silos). The webinar also examines the important dimensions of IP collaboration, including roles and responsibilities, structure, and the collaborative process. In conclusion, the authors raise the importance of considering the benefits and implications for SW practice.

Key lessons:

• Complex situations encountered in practice that require IP collaboration and new models of intervention
• Definition and components of IP collaboration
• Aspects that facilitate and hinder IP collaboration
• Solutions to foster IP collaboration
• Benefits of IP collaboration

Join the CASW and our webinar presenter Kate to dive in to building trusting relationships in your practice!

What are some key topics this webinar will highlight?

• Positive Assumptions we make about ourselves as practitioners? about our clients?
• How do we define our clients? Noun or verb? Or other?
• Trust : Intact or Broken? 100% in tact? or is it broken (how much?) and in the need of mending?
• The Myths of Trust
• TEARS = Totally Expected Attitudes and Reaction that Soothes (Making Room for Pain - What is your role as a practitioner?)  
• The “STAR” approach: Sustaining Trust and Respect  - the Talk and Walk  approach
• The “Peace Pizza” - leads to repair of trust

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every aspect of childhood, from education to protection. Schools were closed in more than 190 countries, affecting more than 1.5 billion learners. At the same time, children in lockdown have been cut off from other community places and people that support their health, development and well-being. Together, these spaces play a crucial role not only in children’s learning, but also in protecting their well-being and safety. As such, it’s important that they reopen as soon as the public health imperative allows. 

To facilitate the decision-making process around how schools and other child and youth serving spaces might safely reopen, Lisa Bender, UNICEF global expert on Education in Emergencies, will share the new Framework for Reopening Schools, jointly developed by UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, the World Food Programme and the World Bank. This Framework is designed to be a flexible tool that can be adapted to community and jurisdictional contexts. We trust it will serve as a guiding tool in your planning or advocacy with governments in opening safe spaces for children, based on a robust assessment of the benefits and risks, and guided always by the best interest of the child. Our aim is to reopen better, healthier, safer child and youth serving spaces, enabling children to learn and recover from the crisis.

Specific learning objectives for this presentation are:

1.    To restore and enhance the protective environment for children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic;

2.    To provide a framework for planning and deciding on how to open safe spaces for children and youth, considering the new Framework for Reopening Schools for other children’s services and programs;

3.    To support consideration of the best interests of children and youth in pandemic plans and strategies.

This is a very stressful and challenging time across NS for Social Workers quickly learning to develop means of maintaining contact and therapeutic relationships with their clients during COVID 19.  As discussed, a proposal to provide education to the members on quickly transitioning to virtual client care.

Rationale:

Social Workers are needing to make rapid changes to their Social Work Practice to adapt to the COVID 19 Pandemic.  Heidi Sturgeon, a RSW in NS, has been practicing Online Therapy for the past 4 years. During this presentation she will share information to help transition to Online Practice - considering confidentiality and ethical and legal aspects of Practice. Participants will learn what privacy laws to be aware of, what types of software, hardware and paperwork they will need to consider as well as lessons learned from her own practice.

Topics to be discussed:

• Video Options for meeting with clients 
• Home office set up to see clients online
• Practice Management
• Emergency Planning
• Virtual Social Work Practice Tips – lessons learned 

The integrity of offering mindfulness practice to our clients rests in our own practice of mindfulness. Come together as a community to be nourished and supported in period of guided meditation focused on stabilizing the mind/heart/body - evoking our inherent and sustainable loving kindness, compassion, and wisdom.