Ruth Pearlman, LCSW, LICSW, M.ED

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.

Jennifer Berton, PhD, LICSW, CADC-II
Virtual
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.

A Neuroscience- and Attachment-Informed Approach to Understanding Student Behavior

Regina Lester-Harriat, LMSW, Assistant Professor in-Residence
Monday, May 18
Virtual
9 am – 12 pm (ET)
3 CECs

Registration Fee: $75
10% discount for UConn SSW Alumni and current SSW Practicum Instructors

Webinar link will be included in your confirmation email.

This interactive training introduces school-based and clinical professionals to a neuroscience- and attachment-informed framework for understanding student behavior. Moving beyond traditional behaviorist interpretations, this session explores how the autonomic nervous system, trauma exposure, and attachment experiences shape students’ responses to stress, authority, and learning environments.
Participants will examine fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses as adaptive survival strategies, and learn how these responses often manifest in school settings as defiance, withdrawal, avoidance, or compliance.

Through case-based application and practical strategies, the training emphasizes the importance of co-regulation, relational safety, and culturally responsive, trauma-informed interventions.
Grounded in school social work practice, this session bridges theory and application, equipping participants with tools they can immediately integrate into their work with children, adolescents, and families.

Participants will be able to:

• Describe the role of the autonomic nervous system in shaping behavioral responses in children and adolescents.
• Identify fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses and how they present in school and clinical settings.
• Explain the connection between attachment experiences and nervous system regulation.
• Apply a neuroscience-informed lens to reinterpret student behavior and reduce mislabeling.
• Implement practical co-regulation and relationship-based strategies to support student engagement and emotional safety.

Clinical Tools and Interventions for Supporting Justice-Impacted Clients and Their Families

Elia M. Johnson, LCSW
Thursday, April 23, 2026
9:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)
Live Webinar
3 CECs

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

Webinar link will be emailed when your registration is complete.

This training provides a comprehensive overview of the criminal legal system, guiding clinicians through each stage- from arrest to reintegration – while examining the emotional, psychological, relational, and systemic impacts at every phase. Participants will explore how system involvement reshapes identity, mental health, family roles, and long-term stability.

Designed for social workers, therapists, and counselors, the session integrates trauma-informed and justice-oriented frameworks with practical clinical tools. Participants will learn evidence-based interventions including mindfulness techniques for emotional regulation, cognitive restructuring strategies for trauma processing, and family systems approaches to strengthen communication and repair relational strain. The training also offers strategies to build trust, foster resilience, and support individuals and families as they navigate reentry and move toward sustained healing.

Audience: Social workers and mental health practitioners at all levels.

Learning Objectives

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

1. Identify key stages of the criminal legal process and their clinical implications.
2. Recognize common trauma responses experienced by justice-impacted clients and their families.
3. Apply trauma-informed, strengths-based interventions at different phases of legal involvement.
4. Support clients and families in navigating reentry and reintegration challenges.
5. Integrate ethical, culturally responsive, and person-centered practices when working with justice-impacted populations.

Marie Cortez, LCSW, CPLC
Monday, March 23, 2026
9 am – 11 am
Webinar
2 CECs

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

Clients experiencing chronic illness or medical trauma frequently face emotional challenges, including fear, grief, exhaustion, and uncertainty. These clients often suffer from anxiety and depression.

This webinar offers behavioral health professionals a compassionate, trauma-informed framework for supporting clients impacted by chronic illness and medical trauma. Attendees will learn how to provide emotional and nervous system support, validate lived experiences, and offer practical interventions that help clients feel more grounded, empowered, and supported within their medical journeys. The focus will be on strategies that acknowledge and respect both the psychological and physical realities encountered by these clients.

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

• Identify common psychological and emotional responses associated with chronic illness and medical trauma, including grief, hypervigilance, loss of identity, and burnout
• Differentiate between trauma responses and adjustment-related stress in clients with ongoing medical conditions
• Apply behavioral health interventions that support nervous system regulation, emotional safety, and self-advocacy in clients with chronic illness
• Support clients in navigating identity shifts and boundary challenges related to medical care, caregiving roles, and fluctuating capacity
• Practice ethically appropriate, scope-aligned interventions that complement medical treatment without minimizing physical symptoms

Qur-an Webb, MSW
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Live Webinar
2 pm – 4 pm (ET)
2 CECs

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

This webinar explores the dynamic intersection of social work, sports, and societal issues, focusing on how athletics can serve as a platform for addressing social challenges. Participants will examine the mental health needs of athletes, the impact of race and gender in sports, and the crucial role of social work in supporting athletes, coaches, and officials.

Topics include mental health awareness and resilience-building and relationships within athletics. The training will also look into race while preparing participants to foster positive societal change through the lens of sports and social work.

Learning Objectives:
• Explore the role of social work in athletics and the fundamentals of mental health in sports
• Discussing the importance of fostering healthy relationships amongst the spectators, athletes’ coaches, and officials
• Explore diversity, inclusion, and strengthening self-worth and integrity in individual and team dynamics
• Develop strategies for managing goals, their impact on motivation, maintaining focus and achieving long-term success

Jennifer Berton, PhD, LICSW, CADC-II

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Virtual
9:00 am – 12 pm (ET)
3 CECs

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

Link to webinar will be included in your email confirmation

Ready to take your private practice to the next level? This interactive workshop is designed exclusively for clinicians who have completed “Building Your Private Practice” and are eager to confidently apply what they’ve learned. Join Dr. Jenn and fellow professionals to tackle real-world challenges, troubleshoot obstacles, and refine your systems—so your practice not only survives, but truly thrives. Bring your questions, roadblocks, and ideas for a supportive, hands-on experience that turns insight into action.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify and analyze common challenges faced in private practice, including workflow, client management, and business growth
• Develop personalized strategies for overcoming obstacles and optimizing key practice systems
• Apply workshop insights to troubleshoot specific issues in your own practice, with feedback from peers and Dr. Jenn
• 4. Strengthen confidence in maintaining, developing, and evolving a sustainable, client-centered private practice.