Trainings for Human Service Providers

Note:  This training is a Webinar, you must complete the Full Day to receive your certificate. Certificates will not be awarded to those who arrive later than 15 mins after the start of the course and who leaves before the course ends. NYS Social Work CE & LMHC Credit Hours: 5.0.  CASAC Renewal Credit Hours: 5.0 Case managers have diverse backgrounds, and they work to provide a wide range of services to persons with special needs as they navigate the complicated systems that support them.  Yet staff who are new to the field often have little to no hands-on experience in basic engagement and counseling skills, and studies show that effectively-trained staff provide more consistent and higher-quality services in helping professions.  This training offers practical information about mental health counseling and the role of the case manager in facilitating individuals’ achievement of greater independence and movement towards wellness.  Participants are introduced to a variety of fundamental clinical skills and strategies.  The training emphasizes strengths-based engagement and assessment, active listening skills, focused referrals, and effective transition of services as individuals make progress on the path toward recovery.  Attendees have the opportunity to utilize examples from their own work.     Read more

Note:  This training is a Webinar, you must complete the Full Day to receive your certificate. Certificates will not be awarded to those who arrive later than 15 mins after the start of the course and who leaves before the course ends. NYS Social Work CE & LMHC Credit Hours: 5.0.  CASAC Renewal Credit Hours: 5.0 Altering behavior is complicated, and staff can either help the change process by becoming change agents in partnership with the service recipient or hinder the process by unwittingly pushing too hard.   This training is a supplementary training for practitioners who have already mastered the Motivational Interviewing (MI) skills offered in the introductory MI training, such as OARS, expressing empathy, rolling with resistance, and avoiding common road blocks to change.  In this training, participants learn how to use “change talk” to elicit client motivation.  In addition, the training introduces common MI techniques such as DARN statements, reframing, agreement with a twist, and amplified and double-sided reflections.  The goal of the training is to help practitioners promote persons’ commitment to change by advancing their use of MI techniques and avoiding traps that interfere with motivation.  Attendees will leave with a greater understanding of their role in the change process when working with others. Read more

Note:  This training is a Webinar, you must complete both days to receive your certificate. Certificates will not be awarded to those who arrive later than 15 mins after the start of the course and who leaves before the course ends. NYS Social Work CE & LMHC Credit Hours: 5.0.  CASAC Renewal Credit Hours: 5.0 Service providers are challenged with offering support to a number of populations who are at greater risk of suicide than the norm.  National efforts have focused on identifying risk factors and strategies to prevent suicide.  This training provides an overview of both suicide assessment and prevention, and offers vital statistics with an emphasis on risk factors that contribute to potential suicide.  Intervention strategies, including assessment on the continuum of suicide and ensuring the person’s safety, are presented, and attendees will learn how to create a plan of safety for individuals.  Case studies are used to practice the skills presented in this training and resources are provided.  Attendees will leave with a better understanding of the suicide continuum and a host of strategies to assist persons in crisis.   Read more

Note:  This training is a Webinar, you must complete the Full Day to receive your certificate. Certificates will not be awarded to those who arrive later than 15 mins after the start of the course and who leaves before the course ends. NYS Social Work CE & LMHC Credit Hours: 5.0.  CASAC Renewal Credit Hours: 5.0 Statistics may vary, but there is a consensus that people living with HIV have a higher rate of mental health conditions. Similar research shows that persons living with Serious Mental Illness are at higher risk of being infected with HIV. The result is a large cohort of people living with co-occurring disorders that are underserved. Understanding how both mental health and HIV interact and impact on one another is essential. Support systems that offer an integrated approach to services have better outcomes than those that address each condition separately. This training offers an overview of how mental health and HIV interact and the skills needed to support people who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.  Attendees will leave with the skills and strategies needed to support people living with HIV and a mental health condition. Read more

Note: Certificates will not be awarded to those who arrive later than 15 mins after the start of the course and who leaves before the course ends. NYS Social Work CE & LMHC Credit Hours: 5.0.  CASAC Renewal Credit Hours: 5.0 Regardless of the program setting, organizations strive to offer services that are culturally sensitive to the service recipients.  With an ever-changing demographic of clients, maintaining cultural competency among staff has to be a deliberate and planned goal.  This training focuses on skill-building based on four of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Standards on Cultural Competency: Ethics and Values, Self Awareness, Service Delivery, and Language Diversity.   In addition to providing services to diverse service recipients, most programs are also staffed by a broad range of individuals, each with unique communication styles and values.   The quality of services offered often depends on the degree to which effective communication takes place amongst all levels of staff, and certain critical sentiments can get lost in translation when staff members are unable to effectively exchange points of view.  Experiential exercises are used to illustrate the concept of culturally-bound frames of reference and how to use awareness of these frames to heighten cultural sensitivity.  At the end of this training, attendees will be better equipped to offer culturally-sensitive services and to effectively communicate points of view.   Read more

Note:  This training is a Webinar, you must complete the Full Day to receive your certificate. Certificates will not be awarded to those who arrive later than 15 mins after the start of the course and who leaves before the course ends. NYS Social Work CE & LMHC Credit Hours: (This training is not eligible for SW CE/LMHC Hours) CASAC Renewal Credit Hours: 5.0 Studies suggest that social service work can be very stressful, and that not addressing these stressors can impact service delivery.  This often translates to high turnover rates and programs having to invest in resources to train new staff.  This training acknowledges the level of stress in this field and uses the same strengths staff use in their daily work to engage in a series of dialogues about personal self-care and organizational issues that often go unaddressed.  The training also explores common sources of stress and provides strategies for managing and lowering stress levels.  Discussions focus on acknowledging and addressing issues of burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma.  A special emphasis is placed on self-care for staff.  Attendees will be offered information to support a renewed sense of purpose and will be better equipped to manage their stress. Read more