Author: Beth Sharkey, MSW

Women with ADHD, Rejection Sensitivity, and Estrogen Fluctuations

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Unraveling the Symptoms that Everyone Wishes we Knew about Earlier

Ruth Pearlman, LCSW, LICSW, M.EDRegister Now
Wed, Aug 12, 2026
10:00 am – 12:00 pm (ET)
2 CECs
Virtual

Registration Fee: $50
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and current SSW Field Instructors

Webinar link will be emailed when your registration is complete

Early research in ADHD in women often neglected the role that estrogen played in the presentation of ADHD symptoms. Recent research now clearly demonstrates that estrogen fluctuations directly affect the intensity and spectrum of symptoms experienced by women at different stages over their lifetime. Over the last decade, there has been an increase in women in peri/menopausal stages that are newly diagnosed with ADHD. As estrogen decreases, ADHD symptoms such as distractibility and disorganization seem to increase. Additionally, we will also explore the recent findings linking Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) and ADHD.

In this webinar, we will:

• examine why women at different stages of life experience increases/decreases of ADHD symptoms
• explore why the topic of estrogen is rarely clinically explained when working with clients with ADHD
• discover the relationship between RSD and ADHD and why women are left questioning why they weren’t told of this earlier in their lives

Magical Thinking and Trauma Throughout the Lifespan

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Ruth Pearlman, LCSW, LICSW, M.EDRegister Now for CE programs

Wednesday, July 29, 2026
10 am – 12 pm (ET)
Live Webinar
2 CECs

Registration Fee: $50
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and current SSW Field Instructors

Webinar link will be emailed when your registration is complete.

Magical Thinking, the cognitive process of assigning direct cause and effect to life events, was once thought to only occur in young childhood. Recent research supports that Magical Thinking is present throughout the lifespan, especially when we are confronted with traumatic and/or grief events. This workshop will explore how the Magical Thinking of traumatic events in childhood forges a narrative of self-blame that the child brings into adulthood. We will explore how to clinically expose the destructive self-blame stories that clients have carried within themselves. We will explore ways to assist clients in reconstructing their narratives. This workshop will also examine elements of Magical Thinking that child perpetrators use to manipulate their victims into silence. Lastly, we will discuss the tendency for traumatically grieved clients to re-employ Magical Thinking in their guilt and shock over the deaths of loved ones.

Please note: This workshop will contain content regarding childhood sexual abuse and suicide.

Learning objectives:

1. Participants will be able to identify Magical Thinking throughout the lifespan
2. Participants will learn how to assist clients in reframing narratives that have been distorted by Magical Thinking Cause and Effect beliefs.
3. Participants will understand the role of Magical Thinking in the cognitive processing of grief.

Why the DSM Doesn’t Acknowledge Sensory Integration Symptoms

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Register for CE programs nowRuth Pearlman, LCSW, LICSW, M.ED
Monday, August 10, 2026
10 am – 12 pm

Live Webinar
2 CECs

Registration Fee: $50
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and current SSW Field Instructors

Webinar link will be emailed when your registration is complete.

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition where a person has difficulties regulating their senses within their environment. These are our clients who can experience the world as being “too loud” or “too intense”. They can experience the world as being so sensory over-whelming that their bodies go into a defensive “fight, flight or freeze” stance. For many people with SPD, their constant need to re-regulate their senses to adapt to the stimuli around them, creates symptoms of distractibility, irritability, anxiety, and depression.

So where is SPD in the DSM? It isn’t. Although more than half of all the diagnostic criteria of disorders in the DSM 5 describe symptoms of SPD, the APA refuses to acknowledge SPD as a disorder. Therefore, DSM 5 conditions such as ADHD, PTSD, Tourette’s, ASD, ODD, the Anxiety Disorders as well as Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, are never understood or treated through the lens of sensory integration. Yet all of the above disorders are, in large part, sensory-based disorders. Imagine trying to treat a client with ASD or PTSD and not teaching the client about their sensory system reactions?

In this interactive webinar, participants will:

  • Explore the long-delayed need to incorporate sensory integration issues into our working knowledge of the DSM
  • Recognize that negative behaviors of are better de-escalated when sensory overload can be quieted (calmed down), similar to “sensory rooms” and “sensory placed” used in schools
  • Consider the clinical cost of these misinterpretations for both children and adults

Building Your Private Practice

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Jennifer Berton, PhD, LICSW, CADC-IIRegister now for CE programs
Live Webinar
Tuesdays, July 21, 28, and August 11
9 am – 12 pm (ET)
9 CECs – participants must attend all 3 sessions to earn CECs

Registration Fee: $225
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and Current SSW Field Instructors

Webinar link will be emailed when your registration is complete.

Welcome to the Building a Private Practice Series. This training is not only for people who are thinking about starting a practice, but also for those who have an existing practice. It’s never too late to make some adjustments to your practice that will help it grow more effectively. This training relates to direct practice as it aims to help the clinician build a practice that will benefit the clients it serves and ensure their practice adheres to the strictest of ethical principles. Participants will learn how to build a private practice that meet the needs of the clients they serve and strengthens both the client’s treatment experience and the profession as a whole.

This training is split into 3 consecutive Tuesday webinars. Participants must attend all 3 sessions to earn CECs.

DAY 1 covers the top mistakes people make in private practice, and begins to layout the framework for building a better one. We will explore the nuts and bolts of who, why,  where, and when to open a private practice. Then we will dive into how to set up your practice with your own policies and procedures.

DAY 2 begins with ironing out all the financial aspects of your private practice, including how to set a fee schedule, how and why to work with insurances, how and why to work with private pay options, bank accounts, insurances, and taxes. We will then lay out all the clinical paperwork you need to safeguard your practice the right way.

DAY 3 begins with a discussion of how to market your business, where you should focus and what you should ignore. We then round out the series by exploring how to develop your practice, how to effectively close your practice, and how to troubleshoot your practice when it isn’t growing as you would like it to grow.

Supervising the Ethical Clinician – Seminar

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Jennifer Berton, PhD, LICSW, CADC-IIRegister Now for CE programs now
Friday, July 24, 2026
In-person at the UConn Hartford Campus
9:30 am – 3:30 pm (ET)
5 CECs

Registration Fee: $125
UConn SSW Alumni and Current Field Instructors receive a 10% discount

Room location will be included in your confirmation email.

This is an essential training for supervisors dedicated to fostering ethical excellence in their mental health teams. This program provides the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to effectively teach and model ethical practices to clinicians. From navigating complex ethical dilemmas to upholding professional standards, this course empowers supervisors to guide their clinicians in making sound, ethical decisions. Perfect for those committed to cultivating integrity & professionalism within their supervision practice.

Learning Objectives:

  • Learn the vital components to successful supervision.
  • Examine the 5 keys to an ethical practice.
  • Explore the most common pitfalls to an ethical practice.
  • Learn strategies to manage common scenarios that challenge the interview.

Supervising the Diagnosing Clinician – Seminar

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Jennifer Berton, PhD, LICSW, CADC-IIRegister Now for CE programs now
Friday, June 26, 2026
In-person at the UConn Hartford Campus
9:30 am – 3:30 pm (ET)
5 CECs

Registration Fee: $125
UConn SSW Alumni and Current Field Instructors receive a 10% discount

Room location will be included in your confirmation email.

Designed for supervisors eager to enhance their ability to teach and guide mental health clinicians in the art and science of diagnosis, this specialized training provides practical tools, strategies, and insights to help supervisors effectively support their clinicians in mastering diagnostic skills.

From understanding diagnostic frameworks to navigating complex cases, this program ensures supervisors are equipped to foster confidence and competence in their teams.

Learning Objectives

  • Examine core of the supervisory relationship and the needed tools.
  • Learn how to direct and redirect the path of the clinical interview.
  • Explore common diagnostic mistakes clinicians make.
  • Practice diagnosis using DSM5 through clinical vignettes.

Superior Supervision – Seminar

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Jennifer Berton, PhD, LICSW, CADC-IIRegister Now for CE programs now
Friday, June 12, 2026
In-person at the UConn Hartford Campus
9:30 am – 3:30 pm (ET)
5 CECs

Registration Fee: $125
UConn SSW Alumni and Current Field Instructors receive a 10% discount

Room location will be included in your confirmation email.

Whether you are currently a supervisor, or interested in becoming one, this is a must-have training for mental health professionals looking to build a successful and impactful clinical supervision practice. 

This seminar provides a comprehensive toolkit, including essential strategies, frameworks, and resources to enhance your supervisory skills. From navigating challenging supervisory relationships to fostering professional growth and ensuring ethical compliance, this program will equip you with everything you need to confidently guide and support clinicians under your supervision.

Learning Objectives:

  • Explore the current state of supervision and needed improvements.
  • Gather effective theoretical orientations and models of supervision.
  • Examine the core components of the supervisory relationship and the needed tools.
  • Troubleshoot common challenges in supervision and how to address them.

You Related to Who? Defending, Uplifting, and Transforming Practice with Mixed-Race Individuals

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Colleen Webb, LCSW, LICSW and Qur-an Webb
Register Now
Monday, June 22
Virtual
10 am – 12 pm (ET)
2 CECs, including cultural competency

Registration Fee: $50
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and current SSW Practicum Instructors

Webinar link will be included in your confirmation email.

This training focuses on the practice areas of cultural competence, race, and ethnicity by looking at the lived experiences of mixed-race individuals and the judgments they often encounter. The session will explore common assumptions, stereotypes, and racial misidentification and pressures to “choose a side” and how these experiences affect identity development and mental health.

Participants will be able to reflect on how language, documentation practices, and personal bias can unintentionally invalidate a client’s self-defined racial identity. Also addressed will be accepting how individuals identify themselves without judgment and centering their lived experience of pain, confusion, resilience, and strength. Practical tools, advocacy and culturally responsive strategies for participants to implement will be discussed and explored.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify and critically look at common assumptions, stereotypes, and microaggressions directed toward mixed-race individuals, and explain their impact on identity development and mental health.
  • Demonstrate culturally responsive communication skills by applying strategies that affirm client self-identification, use inclusive language, and avoid racial misclassification in clinical, school, and community practice settings.
  • Develop actionable strategies to challenge and transform agency policies, documentation practices, and service delivery models that reinforce racial binaries or invalidate multiracial identities.

Marijuana: Miracle Drug or the Devil’s Lettuce?

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William C. Gilbert, PhD, LCSW, AADCRegister Now for CE programs
Virtual
Saturday, July 11, 2026
10:00 am – 12:00 pm (ET)
2 CECs

Registration Fee: $50
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and current SSW Field Instructors

Webinar link will be emailed when your registration is complete

With the increasing number of states legalizing recreation marijuana and other states approving the drug for medical purposes, the use of marijuana is becoming more popular. With this increasing popularity, the facts about marijuana and the effects on the brain and body are often misrepresented. Marijuana in neither the panacea that some claim, nor will its use lead to the downfall of our country. This webinar will present an unbiased discussion about the facts and myths about marijuana. The pharmacology of the drug will be reviewed as well as its benefits and negative consequences.

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

• describe the effects of marijuana on the brain and body
• distinguish between the myths and facts about marijuana
• describe the validated medical use of marijuana
• describe the cultural and societal effects of marijuana use

Clinical Documentation for Mental Health Professionals

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Jennifer Berton, PhD, LICSW, CADC-II
Register NowVirtual
Monday, June 8
9 am – 12 pm (ET)
3 CECs

Registration Fee: $75
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and Current SSW Field Instructors

Clinical documentation is more than “notes for the file.” It’s a clinical tool, a continuity-of-care roadmap, and a legal/ethical record of the services you provide. This training gives mental health professionals a practical, real-world framework for writing documentation that is clear, clinically meaningful, and defensible—without turning notes into novels.

Participants will learn how to document with intention: capturing the clinical story, supporting medical necessity, reflecting sound clinical reasoning, and aligning with ethical standards and payer expectations. We’ll cover what to include (and what to avoid), how to write notes that are both professional and human, and how to create consistency across intake, treatment planning, progress notes, risk documentation, and discharge.

This training is designed for clinicians across settings (private practice, agencies, community mental health, integrated care) and is appropriate for both early-career and seasoned providers who want to tighten up their documentation habits.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the essential elements of clinically sound documentation across the full episode of care.
  • Write progress notes that clearly communicate clinical reasoning, client response, and medical necessity using behaviorally specific, objective language.
  • Develop treatment plan goals and objectives that are individualized, measurable, and aligned with the client’s presenting concerns and level of care.
  • Discuss how to identify stakeholders, anticipate their interest and needs, and modify documentation as needed.