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Presented by Cheryl Mefferd, BSN, RN

1.0 Clock Hour

This presentation delves into the phenomenon of parental alienation, an underrecognized but devastating form of psychological abuse that fractures parent-child relationships. Parental alienation occurs when one parent manipulates a child to reject the other parent through tactics such as rewriting memories, instilling fear, or fabricating accusations. With an estimated 22 million parents affected in the United States alone, this issue demands attention, particularly from social work professionals who often serve as frontline advocates for families in crisis.

Through personal narrative, research-based insights, and practical tools, this session equips participants to identify, understand, and address parental alienation in their practice. Cheryl Mefferd, BSN, RN, founder of Parental Alienation Speaks, shares her family’s lived experience with this form of abuse, highlighting the emotional toll and the systemic challenges faced by alienated parents. Cheryl also explores the psychological mechanisms behind alienation, drawing parallels to wartime tactics used to manipulate perceptions and relationships.

Participants will examine the profound emotional and developmental consequences for children subjected to alienation, including anxiety, depression, impaired relationships, and long-term identity struggles. They will also gain insight into how these behaviors affect the brain’s development, tying parental alienation to broader adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

This presentation aligns closely with the core values of social work, particularly those of service, social justice, and the importance of human relationships. Social workers play a pivotal role in safeguarding family dynamics, promoting healthy relationships, and advocating for vulnerable populations. By enhancing their understanding of parental alienation, social workers can better identify subtle signs of this abuse, implement effective interventions, and advocate for systemic changes that protect families from its long-term effects.

Through this engaging and informative session, attendees will gain the knowledge and tools needed to address parental alienation in their work, ensuring that children and parents alike can rebuild and sustain meaningful, healthy connections.

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Presented by Linda Richards, MSW, LCSW

**This course meets the Missouri Licensure Requirement to supervise for the licensure process.**

Educational Objectives and Outcomes:

• Explore styles and techniques of supervision and assess your learning style and personality type
• Know your ethical and legal boundary issues when providing supervision for licensure or if supervising employees
• Tips and techniques to document the supervision process
• Learn how to stay personally excited about being a supervisor and avoid burnout
• Learn to evaluate the effectiveness of your supervision
• Review rules for licensure supervision in Missouri
• Explore the responsibilities of work-related supervision versus licensure supervision

Prerequisite: Attendees must download and read state statutes/rules prior to attendance. To obtain this information please use this link: http://s1.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c2263-2.pdf .

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Presented by Nancy Ellis-Ordway, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, PhD

3.0 Clock Hour

How does the social work code of ethics overlap with cultural competence, diversity, equity and inclusion? The way that weight stigma, which is rooted in racism, contributes to oppression and inequality makes it a lens for exploring the intersections of marginalized identities. Cultural competence requires imagination to understand life experiences from multiple perspectives. Even with the best of intentions, we bring our own biases to the work that we do. Unexamined, unacknowledged weight stigma can result in inadvertent racism and classism. When we understand the origins of those biases, we can move past them into increasingly inclusive practice that more closely adheres to our professional ethics.

Social work practice, whether it is direct service, community organization, policy development or agency administration, should always strive for justice and the eradication of oppression and discrimination. In order to accomplish that, we must endeavor to understand and address the attitudes and dynamics in the dominant culture that lead to preconceptions and inadvertent assumptions in our own views. This workshop fulfills the requirements for ethics OR cultural competence/diversity equity and inclusion.

Participants will be able to: 

• Explain the relationship between racism and anti-fat bias 
• Describe three ways to make an agency practice more weight-neutral 
• Articulate four ways that the Code of Ethics applies to weight stigma 
• List three ways that neoliberalism and anti-fat bias impact public policy 
• Define cultural competence as it applies to nutritional access

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Presented by Steffeny Feld, MSW, LCSW, EMDRIA Approved Consultant

1.0 Clock Hour

Therapy intensives are transforming the landscape of mental health care, offering an innovative format that delivers focused, impactful therapeutic experiences. This continuing education training equips social workers with the skills to determine when therapy intensives are clinically appropriate and how to structure them to meet diverse client needs.

Participants will explore how therapy intensives differ from traditional weekly therapy and learn to assess which clients may benefit most from this approach. By condensing meaningful therapeutic work into a shorter timeframe, intensives can create significant client breakthroughs, particularly for those managing chronic stress, trauma, or relational challenges.

This training also addresses practical considerations for implementation. Participants will identify barriers to integrating intensives into their practice, such as logistical concerns or clinical readiness, and develop strategies for organizing client-centered, ethically grounded intensives. The session emphasizes the flexibility of intensives, empowering social workers to tailor them to individual and systemic needs.

Ultimately, therapy intensives honor the social work values of holistic, client-centered practice and self-determination by allowing clients to take an active role in choosing a format that meets their unique needs and goals.

Objectives:

• Participants will be able to classify who may be a good fit for therapy intensives and differentiate this from the format of weekly therapy.
• Participants will be able to explain the benefits that therapy intensives offer to clients and assess who can utilize this format.
• Participants will be able to recognize barriers of implementation in new practices of including intensives in their practice and how to organize intensives that work for clients.

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Presented by Tamitha R. Ague, ACSW, CSWM, LBSW-IP, BSBA

3.0 Clock Hours

This presentation explores how the principles and lessons learned from equine-assisted practices can be applied to support clients experiencing grief and loss, even when direct access to horses is not available. Participants will gain insight into how the unique qualities of horses—such as their sensitivity, ability to mirror emotions, and grounding presence—can inspire strategies and techniques that foster connection, mindfulness, and emotional resilience in grief work. 
 
Key topics include the stages and manifestations of grief, practical equine-inspired activities that can be adapted for traditional office or community settings, and strategies to help clients process emotions and rebuild a sense of stability. The presentation also emphasizes the ethical responsibilities of social workers, including maintaining boundaries, obtaining informed consent, and addressing dual relationships, ensuring alignment with professional standards. 
 
Case studies, reflective exercises, and evaluation tools will provide participants with actionable insights to enhance their work with clients in grief, even in non-equine settings. Additionally, strategies for social worker self-care are included, recognizing the emotional demands of supporting individuals in grief. 
 
This presentation is ideal for social workers and allied professionals seeking innovative and ethically grounded approaches to supporting clients through grief and loss, using equine-inspired principles in creative and accessible ways.

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Presented by Nigel Darvell, ACSW, LCSW

3.0 Clock Hour

This Presentation will introduce the ACT model to help those who are facing anxiety and Depression in their lives.  This presentation will address how to apply the ACT Model and feature strategies and interventions to move the client from being stuck to a new level of freedom. Unblocking levels of Fear that can keep us from living our values. 
 
This workshop will go beyond the basic Stress Management techniques to incorporate Life Compass and Values assessment. Developing a deeper understanding of resistance and the true purpose of why we struggle.
 
At the end of this presentation you will be able to move the client from resistance to freedom from Fear to Living while at the same time uncover their personal power to manage anxiety and uncertainty in their lives.
 
Mindfulness and strategies to respond not react to fear and anxiety and to move from Depression to hope and intention living life fully and free from being held hostage by Fear and Uncertainty and self-doubt. 
 
ACT will transform the individual from Living a life of Fear and Hopelessness to a Life of Freedom and Intention to Embrace life and live in ways you never thought possible.
 
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

1. Understanding the Value of resistance and why we struggle.
2. Introduce the Model and Application of ACT
3. Apply the ACT Model to Anxious and Depressed Clinical Populations
4. Provide a Treatment Plan and Clinical Roadmap to work with Clients
5. Provide Templates and  Handouts to work with Clients
6. Assist Clients in understanding why resistance and struggle only teaches our problems to grow.
7. Client case studies detailing ACT interventions will also be featured.
8. An understanding and Working Knowledge of ACT to use immediately with your next client.