Self-Study Sessions

Building Resilience Following Trauma (Recorded Event)

Presented by Gary Behrman, PhD, LCSW

3.0 Clock hour

Resilience is the ability to bounce forward and create a life we love. It is not going backwards and surfacing old wounds. Employing Frankl’s logotherapy and motivational interviewing techniques, participants will be exposed to new understandings of how to build resilience in our clients.   

By the completion of this seminar, participants will:
  • Understand what can make a brain disease traumatic.
  • Learn the bio-psycho-social-spiritual impact of brain disease.
  • Identify characteristics and traits that enhance resilience. 
  • Apply skills and strategies to improve health following a mental health crisis.

Ethical Issues with Vulnerable Populations (Recorded Event)

Presented by Gary Behrman, PhD, LCSW

3.0 Clock hour

* This course meets the Ethics requirement for licensure renewal in Missouri. *

The NASW Code of Ethics provides valuable tools and insights into acting ethically. However, the needs of vulnerable populations such as persons with life threatening illnesses, brain disease, poverty, unemployment, homelessness, minority status, and others, can be exploited and overlooked. This workshop, which meets the clinical licensure requirements, will closely examine our responsibilities when working with vulnerable populations and how to be both sensitive and effective in meeting their goals.

Educational Objectives:

  • Identify what it means to be empathic, compassionate, and ethical.
  • Understand how vulnerable populations can be disenfranchised by the healthcare system.
  • Explore how to build character to act ethically.
  • Apply Code of Ethics principles to working with vulnerable populations.


Ethics, Social Justice, and Weight Stigma (Recorded Event)

Presented by Nancy Ellis-Ordway PhD, LCSW

3.0 Clock hour

* This course meets the Ethics requirement for licensure renewal in Missouri. *

Increased stigma is an unanticipated consequence of the overwhelming and contradictory information about food, eating, weight and health. Weight stigma affects people of all sizes in ways that are personal, cultural, economic, and social. As agents of social change, what is our responsibility to engage with this dynamic? How do we do so?

Participants will be able to:

  • Define the ways that weight stigma distracts from social determinants of health. 
  • Identify ways that weight stigma violates the NASW Code of Ethics.
  • Describe responses that incorporate the values of the NASW code of Ethics. 

Lowering the Risks for Suicide (Recorded Event)

Presented by Gary Behrman, PhD, LCSW

3.0 Clock hour

* This course meets Suicide Prevention requirement for licensure renewal in Missouri. *

For over a decade, the suicide rate in Missouri has been higher than the national rate.  Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. with suicides outnumbering homicides by more than two to one. With the increase in opiate addictions, it is critical that social workers are educated in how to assess, treat, and refer to appropriate levels of care to lower the risks for suicide.

By the completion of this seminar, participants will:

  • Recognize the warning signs of suicide risk.
  • Address family concerns with at-risk clients.
  • Incorporate behavioral health screens and safety plans.
  • Apply best practices that facilitate resilience and improve health outcomes.
  • Identify resources and recent research for suicide prevention.