All Webinars

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.

This webinar is part 2 of a 4-part webinar series on Social Work and Mediation, presented in partnership with Family Mediation Canada.

Family separation and divorce are common life events with the potential for long-lasting impacts—especially on children. Many social workers already support families navigating these transitions, yet family mediation remains an underutilized service in many provinces. This presentation introduces family mediation as a valuable, client-centered alternative to the adversarial legal system. The session notes key post-separation decision areas—parenting plans, property division, support agreements—and where family mediation fits in the range of dispute resolution options available. We’ll highlight why many families struggle to resolve issues on their own, the harm ongoing disputes can cause, and how the legal system often exacerbates conflict. Recent amendments to Canada’s Divorce Act, which emphasize mediation, will be discussed alongside the ethical considerations around when mediation is or isn’t appropriate. Participants will gain a high-level understanding of the family mediation process, the unique role of the social work mediator, and core skills used to facilitate communication, manage conflict, and support decision-making. We’ll also explore certification pathways for social workers interested in becoming family mediators and contributing to positive outcomes for separating families.

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

1. Describe the impact of family separation and divorce on children and families, and recognize how unresolved conflict contributes to negative outcomes.

2. Identify the key legal and practical issues that must be addressed following separation or divorce, including parenting plans, property division, and support arrangements.

3. Compare various dispute resolution options available to families, and explain where family mediation fits within this continuum.

4. Understand the role of the social work mediator and the family mediation process, including core skills used to support communication and conflict resolution.

5. Explore professional pathways to becoming a certified family mediator, including relevant training and accreditation opportunities for social workers.

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

This session invites participants to move beyond foundational understandings of cultural harm toward cultivating Ubuntu-centred cultural humility as the foundation for becoming culturally competent. Cultural competence is framed not as a destination or checklist, but as a lifelong, relational journey. Together, we will explore how cultural and epistemic humility deepen our ability to value diversity, navigate cultural differences, and engage in ethical, accountable practice. Through storytelling, reflection, and case-based inquiry, participants will examine how their cultural lenses shape approaches of helping and healing, and how cultural humility calls us into collective responsibility and communal care.

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

1. Identify and explore the five key steps in the journey toward cultural competence and consider how to integrate them into everyday practice.
2. Deepen their understanding of Ubuntu as an intercultural Indigenous worldview that fosters relational, ethical, and culturally competent engagement.
3. Recognize how cultural humility promotes an ongoing, relational, and reflective approach to trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and equity-focused practice.
4. Critically reflect on how personal and professional cultural lenses shape one’s definitions of helping, harm, and healing, through a case vignette involving ethical tensions.
5. Engage in group dialogue to reframe cultural competence as a continuum of communal responsibility, grounded in humility, accountability, and Ubuntu.

This webinar is part 1 of a 4-part webinar series on Social Work and Mediation, presented in partnership with Family Mediation Canada. 

This webinar explores the natural intersection between social work and mediation, focusing on how the values, ethics, and skills of social work complement and enhance the mediation process. Dr. Michael Saini and Scott Cruickshank will reflect on their experiences in both fields to highlight how social workers contribute to safe, balanced, and child-focused dispute resolution. The session will examine how trauma-informed practices, empathy, cultural humility, and a systems lens equip social workers to address power imbalances and support durable outcomes in mediation. Participants will learn about emerging opportunities for social workers in mediation and the policy frameworks that support this integration across Canada.

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

1. Identify the core values of social work that align with the principles and goals of mediation.

2. Describe the ways in which social workers are uniquely positioned to serve as effective mediators in family and community disputes.

3. Explore the ethical and practical considerations for social workers engaging in mediation practice across diverse settings.

Join the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) and our insurance partner, BMS Canada, for an informative and practical session designed for social workers.  

Whether you're in private practice or working within an organization, understanding your professional risks –and how your insurance coverage protects you – is essential.  

In this webinar, BMS will explore:

• The most common complaints and claims made against social workers;
• Real-world claim examples to highlight key risk areas;
• How the CASW liability insurance program is tailored to the unique needs of social workers;

Don’t miss this opportunity to better understand your liability exposure and the protections available through our insurance program.

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

To decolonize social work, we must first understand the colonial systems that shaped it. This opening session explores how colonization disrupted cultural identity, erased Indigenous ways of knowing, and medicalized suffering through Eurocentric frameworks. Participants will examine how mainstream models like Maslow’s Hierarchy and the ACES study reflect individualist, Western assumptions that often invisibilize collective, historical, and racialized trauma. In contrast, we will introduce HIPP Theory (Historical, Intergenerational, Persistent & Personal trauma) as a decolonial and embodied approach rooted in cultural and ancestral context. Through this lens, participants will begin to explore the foundations of cultural competency, reflect on their own social location, and engage with Ubuntu as a path to rehumanizing care and restoring relational accountability.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the relationship between colonization, cultural harm, and the foundations of Western clinical frameworks.

2. Differentiate between the ACES framework and HIPP Theory, identifying how each conceptualizes trauma and healing.

3. Critically reflect on how dominant models like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs may exclude collective, relational, and cultural worldviews.

4. Begin to explore their own positioning within the cultural competency continuum and consider how Ubuntu can guide culturally humble and relational practice.

This session invites social workers and allied professionals to engage in a deep, reflective exploration of neuroaffirming practice—moving beyond inclusive language and checkbox trainings to embrace a framework rooted in ethics and dignity. Drawing from lived experience, emerging research, and her doctoral work, Alisha Stubbs challenges participants to critically examine traditional models of support—including compliance-based and behaviour-focused approaches—and the ableism that often underlies them.

Rather than centering interventions or branded modalities, this session offers a relational and anti-oppressive lens for supporting neurodiverse individuals, families, and communities. Participants will reflect on their own roles within complex systems, identify ways ableism shows up in practice, and begin to reimagine support that prioritizes autonomy, safety, and belonging. Through current scholarship, concrete strategies, and meaningful prompts, attendees will leave with increased capacity to engage in trauma-informed, dignity-centered, and neuroaffirming work across clinical, community, and policy contexts.

Participants will leave the session with the ability to:

1. Define neuroaffirming practice in a way that is grounded in ethics, relationships, and disability justice—not as a set of techniques or “soft skills,” but as a deeper commitment to safety and belonging.

2. Begin to think about how to critically assess traditional models of support, including the legacy of compliance-based interventions, goal-driven therapy, and social “skills training,” through an anti-ableist and trauma-informed lens.

3. Begin to identify specific ways that ableism shows up in practice—from assumptions about eye contact and verbal language to the pathologizing of stimming, sensory needs, or dependency.

4. Increase curiosity about how to apply trauma-responsive, dignity-centered strategies for supporting neurodiverse individuals across clinical, community, and policy contexts.

5. Reflect on their own power, role, and responsibilities as service providers, educators, or policy influencers in systems that may inadvertently marginalize those they aim to support.

Social workers in primary health care provide a breadth of services, enhance access, and improve comprehensiveness of interprofessional primary care teams. This webinar will also examine the state of social work in primary health care in Canada and discuss the CASW’s report outlining a vision for social work practice in primary health care. Our team will highlight experiences of social workers in different geographical jurisdictions in Canada to illustrate some of the important issues emerging for social workers in primary health care.

Webinar Key Objectives:

i) To highlight social work practice in primary health care across Canada;

ii) To review and discuss the vision for social work in primary health care outlined in the CASW National Report;

iii) To present examples of social work practice in primary health care;

iv) To discuss some recommendations to advance social work practice in primary health care in Canada.