60th Anniversary Weekend
CEU WORKSHOPS
March 29, 2025
School of Social Work Building
279 Williams Street, Athens, GA
SCHEDULE
10:00 AM
3/29/2025
Trauma Informed Care: Past, Present, and Future Directions for Social Work (1core ceu)
Jennifer Elkins, Ph.D., Associate Professor and MSW Program Director
Sex Therapy 101 for Social Workers and Allied Professions (1core ceu)
Kate Morrissey Stahl, Ph.D., LCSW, CST, Clinical Associate Professor
Mental Health & the Law: The Ethical Issues of Mental Competency (1ethics ceu)
Ed Risler, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus
11:00 AM
P4P: A Collaborative Approach to Addressing the Call for Paid Placements in Social Work Education (1ethics ceu)
Zoe Johnson, Ph.D., LCSW, Director of Curriculum Innovation and DBHDD Funded Training Program Coordinator
Elise Colquitt, LMSW (MSW '24), Family Advocate and Therapist–The Cottage Sexual Assault Center and Children’s Advocacy Center
Engaging with Social Work History Promotes Ethical Practice Now (1ethics ceu)
Jane McPherson, Ph.D., LCSW, Associate Professor and Director of Global Engagement
Attachment Theory and Child Maltreatment: (1core ceu)
Allison Dunnigan, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Title IV-E Program Director
1:00 PM
Financial Capabilities (1core ceu)
Mary Ager, Ph.D., Associate Professor and BSW Program Director
Expanding Mental Health and Substance Use Services in Criminal Justice Settings (1core ceu)
Orion Mowbray, Ph.D., LMSW, Professor and Associate Dean for Research
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples: How Social Workers can Work Effectively with Emotion in Couples Therapy (1core ceu)
Natalie Milom, LCSW, Certified EMDR Therapist and Consultant, Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist and Supervisor Candidate, Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI) Practitioner
Trauma Informed Care
Past, Present, and Future Directions for Social Work
Trauma is at the core of many challenges faced by individuals, families and communities. As social workers, understanding the evolution of traumainformed care is essential to providing effective, compassionate, and sustainable support. This interactive workshop will take participants on a journey through the history of trauma-informed care, examine current best practices, and explore innovative approaches shaping the future of the field. Discussions will also focus on emerging research, policy implications, and strategies for advocacy, ensuring that social workers stay at the forefront of traumainformed care. Whether you are new to trauma-informed practice or looking to enhance your expertise, this workshop will provide valuable insights and actionable strategies to strengthen your work with diverse populations and navigate systemic challenges. Join Dr. Jennifer Elkins for a thought-provoking session designed to empower social workers with the knowledge and skills needed to foster healing and resilience in the individuals and communities you serve.
Click on the presenters’ photographs to view their websites.
Jennifer Elkins, Ph.D.
Sex Therapy 101 for Social Workers and Allied Professions
Dr. Kate Morrissey Stahl, LCSW, will offer a brief overview of what sex therapy is and why it is relevant to a wide range of types of social worker. Dr. Morrissey Stahl is certified as a sex therapist and supervisor by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) and teaches a sex therapy class to master social work students.
Click on the presenters’ photographs to view their websites.
Kate Morrissey Stahl, Ph.D., LCSW, CST
Mental Health and the Law
The Ethical Issues of Mental Competency
This presentation introduces the various legal and ethical issues associated with psychiatric diagnosis and mental illness. Participants will gain an understanding of the difference between a clinical definition and a legal definition of what is conceptualized as a mental illness. In addition, participants will develop a conceptual understanding of mental competency and personal behavior and its relationship with mental illness and the law, as well as an introductory understanding of the ethical responsibility associated with the clinical social work assessment and the diagnosis of a mental illness and the law.
Ed Risler, Ph.D.
Professfor Emertus
Click on the presenters’ photographs to view their websites.
P4P
A Collaborative Approach to Addressing the Call for Paid Placements in Social Work Education
Payment for Placements (P4P) is a national movement calling for all social work students to be paid for their practicum to make the profession more accessible, inclusive, and equitable across social, racial, and economic backgrounds. Students, practitioners, and social work educators have strong initial impressions of the P4P movement – in both philosophical and process-oriented ways. This session, co-led by a former P4P Chapter Co-Chair and former Director of Field Education, will illuminate their collaborative journey along with shared and divergent perspectives on this issue as we consider ethical implications and embrace multiple truths in shaping the future of social work education.
Click on the presenters’ photographs to view their websites.
Zoe Johnson, Ph.D., LCSW
Elise Colquitt, LMSW
Engaging with Social Work History Promotes Ethical Practice Now
LCSW
Social work defines itself as a social justice profession, yet the historical record is complex as it also shows social workers both promoting and resisting social change. This workshop will explore these complicated histories, and use them to help social workers reflect on how we make professional decisions now. Local historical materials will be used to spark reflection and discussion--and ultimately promote more ethical engagement with individuals and communities in the present.
Click on the presenter’s photograph to view their website.
Jane McPherson, Ph.D.,
Engraving of southeastern view of Athens, GA, c. 1856
Attachment Theory and Child Maltreatment
Allison Dunnigan, Ph.D.
This one hour workshop will cover the history and basic tenets of attachment theory as well as how interventions targeting youth and families utilize attachment theory concepts in the prevention of child maltreatment. Participants will be introduced to evidence-based practices and explore the different contexts that these programs are suited for.
Click on the presenters’ photographs to view their websites.
Financial
Capabilities
Mary Ager, Ph.D.
Nearly half of all American households are financially insecure, without adequate savings to meet basic living expenses for three months. We can help to reduce economic hardship and the debilitating effects of poverty by adopting social policies that bolster lifelong income generation and safe retirement accounts; expand workforce training and re-training; and provide financial literacy and access to quality affordable financial services. Dr. Ager will offer a brief overview of what financial capabilities are, why they are relevant to a wide range of types of social workers, and share financial capabilities practice resources.
Click on the presenter’s photograph to view their website.
Expanding Mental Health and Substance Use Services in Criminal Justice Settings
Dr. Orion Mowbray will discuss effective strategies for expanding mental health and substance use services within criminal justice settings, highlighting the critical role of social workers in improving outcomes for justice-involved individuals. As an expert in behavioral health policy and service delivery, Dr. Mowbray will explore evidence-based interventions, policy considerations, and the challenges of integrating mental health and substance use treatment into correctional and reentry programs. His work focuses on using data-driven approaches to enhance service accessibility and effectiveness, making this talk highly relevant for social workers across various practice settings.
Orion Mowbray, Ph.D., LMSW
Click on the presenter’s photograph to view their website.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
How Social Workers can Work Effectively with Emotion in Couples Therapy
Sometimes, clinical social workers find themselves stuck when trying to use tried and true top-down interventions in couple’s therapy. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is an experiential model that helps get beneath surface-level emotions and behaviors to access the more primary emotions and attachment fears that are often lost in translation, leading to couples feeling disconnected and unfulfilled. This workshop will introduce EFT and the case for why it helps strengthen bonds rather than bargaining for behavioral change.
Natalie Milom, LCSW, is a Black, certified EMDR Therapist and Consultant, Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist and Supervisor Candidate, Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI) Practitioner, and the CEO of Potential Realized, a social work agency dedicated to families surviving adverse and traumatic experiences and the professionals, organizations, and systems that serve them. As one who is passionate about the healing of children, couples, and families, Natalie provides Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to them.
Click on the presenters’ photographs to view their websites.
Natalie Milom, LCSW
