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Programs

Autumn 2008
PDP Workshop Descriptions

Clinical Supervision: Tending the Professional Self
Friday, September 19, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, September 10, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Downtown, Gleacher Center

Instructor: Jill R. Gardner

Professionals often advance to supervisory roles with little or no formal training in ways to conceptualize the supervisory process. In this workshop, we will approach clinical supervision as an activity focusing on the development, consolidation, and maintenance of the supervisee's professional self. Emphasis will be on supervision as a relationship and on the importance of focusing on the inner experience of the trainee. Concepts from self psychology and other theoretical perspectives will be used to describe models of supervision. Through a combination of lecture and large-group and small-group discussion, we will address how to do the following: manage supervisees' anxiety and self-esteem, deal with defensiveness, balance administrative and clinical demands, integrate empathy with limit setting, and engage in effective feedback. Participants will be encouraged to share and examine their current supervisory experiences in the context of the conceptual frameworks presented.

This workshop will emphasize work with students and recent graduates; however, participants will find much of the conceptual material applicable to supervisory relationships with employees as well. The workshop is appropriate for both new and experienced supervisors.

Please Note: Upon completing this workshop, participants are welcome to attend the follow-up to this session, Clinical Supervision: Integrating Theory and Practice, which will be offered in spring 2009.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations
Friday, September 19, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, September 10, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Downtown, Gleacher Center

Instructor: Janice Pyrce

Marketing is of increasing interest to nonprofit organizations, both public and private. Nonprofit organizations often become aware of marketing when their environment undergoes change. Increasing competition, changing client needs, and diminishing financial resources are challenges faced by many non-profit organizations today.

This workshop will explore the application of marketing principles to the nonprofit sector. To survive and succeed, nonprofit organizations need to understand their client needs and markets, attract sufficient financial resources and convert their resources into services that meet client and community needs.

The workshop will cover the steps in developing a marketing plan and a marketing program including market segmentation, target marketing, promotion, service line development/management, and pricing. The unique characteristics of marketing nonprofit organizations - multiple publics, multiple objectives, intangibility of service provision and public scrutiny - will be presented. Case examples will be discussed and several tools will be introduced to the participants for utilization at their respective organizations.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Legal Aspects of Clinical Practice - Canceled
Friday, October 3, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, September 24, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructors: Helene Snyder

This workshop will address issues of confidentiality and mandated reporting for mental health professionals. Specific legal duties are imposed on mental health professionals regarding (i) the confidentiality of mental health records and communications and (ii) the reporting of suspected abuse and neglect of children and of the elderly to designated legal authorities. Statutes and relevant court cases concerning confidentiality and mandated reporting will be analyzed. In addition, the proper procedures for record keeping and responding to subpoenas and requests for information will be discussed.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Policy Advocacy for Human Service Nonprofit Agencies
Friday, October 3, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, September 24, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - Noon
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Jennifer Mosley 

Managers of human service nonprofit organizations play a large and growing role in promoting and shaping social change, at both the policy and community level.  This workshop is intended to help participants explore important issues to consider when starting or expanding an advocacy program at a human service nonprofit. The workshop will review both top-down and bottom-up advocacy models from the perspective of a nonprofit manager, exploring the benefits, challenges, and implications of a variety of strategies. It will also address the "business" of social change, including issues such as leadership, working with the media, fund-raising, and legal implications.  The workshop will include a combination of presentation on relevant research, discussion of management issues related to policy advocacy, and practical skill-building exercises.  

Tuition: $75
CECs: 3

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Borderline Personality Disorder: A Biosocial Perspective - Canceled
Friday, October 3 & Saturday October 4, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, September 24, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. both days
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Paul Holmes

The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) was first considered a designation for dysfunctional persons who did not fit into the standard classifications of neurosis and psychosis. It is now more often than not reserved by mental health workers for persons who are difficult to engage or who are "treatment resistant." More recently, arguments have been made to discard the diagnosis entirely or to have it reclassified as an Axis I disorder.

In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a biosocial model of emotion regulation. BPD will be presented as a more severe form of emotion dysregulation comprised of four characteristics: affective instability, impulsivity, dysregulation of private experience, and interpersonal turmoil. Recent findings will be presented suggesting that rather than being a well-defined disorder, BPD may represent a spectrum of disorders associated with affective instability, impulsivity, and a sense of self under public control.

Workshop topics include:

Introduction to BPD

  • A non-dualistic model of mind based on relevant literature in philosophy of mind
  • Findings in the neuroscience of emotion and consciousness
  • Biobehavioral studies of BPD

Review of the biosocial model of BPD

  • Biological factors
  • Environmental factors

Brief overview of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) as an empirically validated treatment of BPD

Tuition: $280
CECs: 12

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Consultation Groups for School-Based Social Workers
Tuesdays: 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
October 7, 14, 21, 28; November 4, 11, 18; December 2, 9, 16
OR
Thursdays: 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
October 9, 16, 23, 30; November 6, 13, 20; December 4, 11, 18
(Registration deadline is September 24, 2008)
Hyde Park, SSA

Supervisor: Paulette Freed
Supervisor: Jack G. Cox

School social work is a unique and diverse area of practice within the broad field of the social work profession. Due to the complex and challenging issues that children and adolescents often face in the school setting, the demand for school social work professionals who can further the mission of the school and provide comprehensive academic and social supports for students and their families is expanding. 

The purpose of the clinical consultation groups for school-based social work professionals is to provide a supportive environment for participants to focus on professional development issues that are of particular interest when working directly in a school setting. Groups are comprised of no more than five participants and will meet with an experienced licensed clinical social worker in two-hour sessions for ten weeks, primarily using a case-based format. Each participant will present at least one case for discussion and clinical consultation, in addition to engaging in ongoing opportunities to learn practical promotion, prevention, and intervention strategies for use in a school environment.

Consultation Group Goals:

  • Enhance case presentation skills and use of professional self
  • Strengthen assessment, treatment planning, intervention skills, and knowledge
  • Provide opportunities for hands-on application of theory to practice
  • Promote effective practice at the macro and micro levels

Please Note: Hours in a consultation group may be applied toward LCSW supervision hours. Early registration is encouraged.

Requirements: Degree from an accredited graduate school of social work, proof of Type 73 certification, and proof of liability insurance.

Tuition: $525*
* PDP discounts are not available for this offering.

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Fundamentals of Psychodynamic Theory and Practice
Friday, October 17, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 8, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: William Borden

This workshop provides an introduction to contemporary psychodynamic theory and the ways in which relational perspectives inform clinical practice. The first part identifies the defining features of psychodynamic understanding and explores the growing emphasis on interdisciplinary study and evidence-based practice in the field. The overview traces the development of psychoanalytic theory and introduces core concepts and essential concerns in the relational schools of thought that shape contemporary psychotherapy. 

The second part, focused on clinical practice, introduces basic principles of treatment and methods of intervention. An integrative approach provides orienting perspectives for assessment, establishment of the therapeutic alliance and the holding environment, formulation of goals, use of interactive experience, interpretive methods, and termination procedures. Concepts of therapeutic action emphasize the role of the clinician as participant-observer and sources of experiential learning over the course of intervention. Case reports bridge theory and practice, emphasizing pragmatic application of concepts and methods in psychosocial intervention. 

Topics will include:

  • Student learning patterns
  • Designing and evaluating learning experiences
  • Developing a healthy and productive teaching/ learning alliance
  • Supervision
  • Providing constructive feedback

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Social Work, Reflective Practice: An Introduction to Civic Reflection
Friday, October 17, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 8, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - Noon
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Adam Davis

This workshop will introduce participants to civic reflection, a practice that can help individuals and organizations engaged in service and other forms of civic work talk comfortably about values, think more deeply about choices, and respond more imaginatively to the needs of their communities. In an era of budget cutbacks and increasingly greater workloads, civic reflection provides an opportunity for needed conversation about the profound experience and challenge of service to others.

Participants will engage in exercises to support their work and to bring a fresh and needed perspective to such basic questions of service and philanthropy as: Whom do we serve in this work and to what end? What do we expect of those we serve, and what happens when those expectations are not met? To whom are we accountable? What is the larger good toward which we are working?

Please Note: Upon completing this workshop, participants are welcome to attend the follow-up to this session, "Social Work, Reflective Practice: Facilitating Civic Reflection" on Friday, October 31.*

Tuition: $75
CECs: 3
*One-time registration discount for both workshops: $190, 9 CECs by Wednesday October 8, 2008

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Understanding and Treating Anxiety Disorders: An Overview
Friday, October 17, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 8, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Scott M. Granet 

In a given year, an estimated forty million adults in the United States are believed to suffer from one of the anxiety disorders. The cause can be quite variable, ranging from genetic factors, brain chemistry, personality, and life events. While anxiety is a normal and necessary emotion, the anxiety disorders themselves can create tremendous fear and lead to considerable dysfunction. It is also known that they can worsen if left untreated, and may co-occur with other disorders such as depression and substance use. The primary focus of this workshop is to define the various anxiety disorders, explore related factors such as prevalence and comorbidity, and to provide an overview of treatment considerations.

Learning Objectives: 

  • Gain a thorough understanding of the diagnostic criteria for each of the anxiety disorders
  • Recognize considerations for differential diagnosis
  • Identify cognitive and behavioral manifestations of each
  • Explore considerations for treatment, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, and medications

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Leadership Style in Nonprofit Management
Friday, October 31, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 22, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Norah Blackaller

Each organizational leader has a characteristic way of influencing, overseeing, and coordinating the work of others. This is often referred to as "leadership style." Leadership style is influenced by our preferences - the habitual choices we make each day.

In this workshop, participants will use the well-established self-assessment tool - the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - to help identify his/her characteristic leadership style. The presentation will aim to enhance participants' perceptions of their "blind spots" as leaders of groups. It will also strive to identify strengths associated with various leadership styles and ways in which each "leadership type" can improve or develop.

Please Note: Participation in this workshop will require completion and return of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) at least one week prior to the date of the workshop.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Social Work, Reflective Practice: Facilitating Civic Reflection
Friday October 31, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 22, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Adam Davis

Social service administrators who are responsible for creating their organization's vision and scope of services, and social service providers who implement that mission through their work with clients, can greatly benefit from the practice of civic reflection. This workshop will train participants to facilitate civic reflection discussions. In addition to teaching attendees how to plan a civic reflection conversation, lead the conversation, and select appropriate readings, participants will engage in hands-on facilitation practice in small groups. Readings from The Civically Engaged Reader and other materials will provide participants with the necessary resources to incorporate the process of civic reflection within their own organization.

Please Note: This workshop builds directly on the material presented in the introductory workshop, "Social Work, Reflective Practice: An Introduction to Civic Reflection," offered on October 17 and is open only to those who have previously completed that workshop.*

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6
*One-time registration discount for both workshops: $190, 9 CECs by Wednesday October 8, 2008

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 The Gottman Method of Couples Therapy: Level I Certification
Friday, October 31 & Saturday, November 1, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 22, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. both days
Hyde Park, SSA 

Instructor: Michael A. McNulty

This workshop is an intensive overview of The Gottman Method, an evidence-based approach to couples therapy developed by John Gottman, a leading relationship researcher. The presentation will feature research on how couples sustain their relationships - in contrast to common myths and misconceptions; successfully deal with conflicts -without destroying their connections; build lasting friendships - that lead to romance, passion and good sex; and deepen their intimacy - by sharing their values, roles and goals.

The workshop will help participants identify key points in couples' interactions when interventions will be most effective; strategies to help partners shift from attack to connection; methods to help couples solve their own problems; skills to empower couples to dialogue about their worst gridlocked issues, and tools to support couples' friendship and intimacy.

Certificates of completing Level I will be awarded through the Gottman Institute. Tuition includes the cost of a 570 page manual with research, assessments, and interventions.

Tuition: $430
CECs: 12

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Psychosocial Aspects of Chronic Disease
Friday, November 7, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 29, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Northbrook, Hilton Northbrook

Instructor: Gary Gilles

The prevalence of chronic illness is redefining how healthcare is delivered today. As the life span increases and the baby boom generation reaches retirement, greater numbers of people will be living with chronic conditions. New pharmacological discoveries and advances in technology are often effective in treating the physical aspects of chronic disease, but these treatments address neither the psychosocial needs of patients, family members, and caregivers, nor the emotional, relational, and psychological burden they encounter in living with and taking care of a chronically ill person.

This workshop will identify those psychosocial needs, the toll they take on each party, and practical ways to facilitate self-management. Using a combination of lecture and discussion-based learning, the workshop will explore the definition and implications of chronic illness, the experience of loss, common emotional and social symptoms of patients of various ages, and barriers to compliance with the prescribed treatment regimen. Application of the learning will be applied to several chronic conditions.

Participants will learn to distinguish chronic from acute illness; understand developmental issues and stressors facing patients with chronic illness; weigh the emotional and physical impact chronic illness care takes on families and caregivers; apply the developmental and emotional issues to case studies; identify principles of compliance and non-compliance among chronically ill patients; and to apply methods for enhancing patient and family self-management of chronic illness.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Stress Management and Neuroplasticity:  A Psychophysiological Approach to Treatment
Friday, November 7, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 29, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Northbrook, Hilton Northbrook

Instructor: Nancy Good

This workshop is an introduction to the psychophysiology of stress and its relationship to mental and physical disorders. Human beings have a unique capacity to change physiology. Participants will learn how the brain plays a role in healing the mind and body and will learn specific techniques in treating stress-related mental and physical disorders. Topics will include an overview of the brain and brain functions; how stress affects the mind and body (e.g., anxiety, headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders, and pain); and techniques used to reduce physiological and psychological reactions to stress, including progressive relaxation training, imagery, autogenic training, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

This is an experiential workshop. Participants will learn how to reduce their own symptoms of stress and learn techniques that can be integrated into their current treatment approaches with clients. The goal is to teach techniques that can be integrated into our everyday lives.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Surviving Suicide: Moving beyond the Trauma
Friday, November 7, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 29, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - Noon
Northbrook, Hilton Northbrook

Instructor: Nancy B. Perlson

According to the most current statistics (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2008), over 32,000 people die every year by suicide in the United States. It is estimated that for every suicide, there are six individuals intimately affected by the death. Translated, that's approximately 192,000 new survivors of suicide annually joining millions of others already struggling to make sense of this devastating loss. Considering the many social, business, and community circles in which a person is involved, that number grows exponentially.

This workshop will explore the complicated grieving process of those dealing with the death of a loved one by suicide. As helping professionals in the field, there is an unfortunate probability that mental health professionals will be confronted with a suicide death. Understanding personal reactions to suicide, the facts surrounding suicide, and the risk factors associated with it are important to help clients begin to process and move forward through their individual grief journey. Using current research and best practice recommendations, this workshop will provide participants with tools and resources to work more effectively with this population.

Tuition: $75
CECs: 3

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Essential Tools for Field Instruction
Friday, November 21, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, November 12, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Susan Knight

Field Education is the signature pedagogy of social work education and, as such, is central in facilitating connections between theory and practice. The process of educating social work students in the field is both complex and rewarding, and involves a unique set of skills and responsibilities. 

This workshop will provide both clinical and social administration field instructors with practical strategies to:

  • Understand student learning patterns
  • Design and evaluate substantive learning experiences
  • Develop a healthy and productive teaching/learning alliance
  • Design effective supervisory meetings
  • Create a strengths-based focus, while challenging students to grow professionally
  • Optimize relationships between student, field instructor, and field liaison to support student learning

The workshop is strongly recommended for field instructors who have been working with students in a supervisory capacity for four or fewer years.  

Please Note: This workshop is free of charge to current SSA field instructors. To avoid a $25 late fee, please register by Wednesday, November 12, 2008.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Introduction to Self Psychology
Friday, November 21, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, November 12, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Jill R. Gardner

From its origins in psychoanalysis, self psychology has evolved as a theory of normal development, psychopathology, and the therapeutic process which has broad applicability to the diverse problems, settings, clinical populations, and treatment modalities clinicians confront in today's practice. The principles of this theory may be particularly helpful in gaining insight into individuals who have difficulty maintaining self-esteem, regulating internal tension, and accomplishing life goals.

This workshop is intended for people who are seeking an introduction to or review of basic concepts in self psychology. We will discuss in depth the core concepts of self-object experience and the empathic mode of observation. Traditional psychoanalytic concepts of defense, resistance, transference, and countertransference will also be explored from a self-psychological perspective.

Viewing clinical data through the lens of these concepts has direct implications for psychotherapeutic intervention. The workshop will emphasize the integration of theory and practice by using illustrative clinical material supplied by the instructor.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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Motivational Interviewing with Difficult-to-Engage Clients
Friday, November 21, 2008
(Registration deadline is Wednesday, November 12, 2008)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hyde Park, SSA

Instructor: Stanley G. McCracken

This introductory session will orient attendees to the key principles and applications related to motivational interviewing. The training will include an overview of stages of change, as well as the principals, goals, and strategies of motivational interviewing. This experiential workshop will provide attendees an opportunity to practice skills and discuss approaches to working with clients who are not ready for more intensive treatment approaches.  This workshop is appropriate for practitioners in substance abuse, mental health, health care, employee assistance programs, and senior services settings.

Please Note: Continuing education credits available for LSW, LCSW and LCPC professionals. Credits for CADC-licensed professionals applied through IAODAPCA.

Tuition: $140
CECs: 6

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