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  • Friday, May 16, 2025 9:16 AM | Edward Geraty (Administrator)

     https://www.gwscsw.org/event-6153739

    ·        When

    Friday, June 20, 202

    9:30 AM - 1:30 PM

    ONLINE ZOOM

    Registration

    ·        Member – $100.00

    $25.00 per credit hour

    ·        Nonmember – $160.00

    $40.00 per credit hour

    ·        State Affiliate Member – $100.00 

    ·        Student/Graduate/Retiree Member – $60.00

    $15 per credit hour

    Presenter: Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC

    CEUs:  Category 1 | 4 CEUs -- 4 Continuing Education Hours (CEUs), including 1 hour approved for Ethics credit -- Recorded version will be available with Category 2 CEUs 

    A 4-Hour CEU Workshop for Early-Career Therapists, their supervisors and owners/operators of a private practice

    Starting and operating a private practice brings challenges to a therapist beyond simple logistics. Despite finishing graduate school, getting licensed and having spent time in other settings, you need to consider important concerns, including:

    ·        How do you reconcile profit and service, or deal with the psychological issues that are inherent in money?   

    ·        What is the best way to quickly supervise yourself, session by session, to make sure that you feel confident in your clinical work?

    ·        What ethical red flags exist primarily for those in  private practice—and how can you avoid them?

    ·        How can you help clients stay long enough to complete their treatment?


  • Thursday, May 15, 2025 3:57 PM | Edward Geraty (Administrator)

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ONLINE REGISTRATION: What is Narcissistic Abuse and How Do We Intervene? A Clinicians Guide 

    Mark your calendars for the GWSCSW event listed below.  Register today and save your spot!  

    What is Narcissistic Abuse and How Do We Intervene? A Clinicians Guide
    Online ZOOM
    Sunday, June 22, 2025 | 10:00 AM-1:00 PM 
    Cost:  $45 Retiree/Graduate/Student | $75 Member | $120 Nonmember (Please make sure you are logged in to get the correct member pricing)

    After you Register Online for GWSCSW Events -- you will have the option of paying by credit card or sending in a check.  If you send a check your profile will be updated when the check is received.  All checks can be mailed to:  PO Box 711 | Garrisonville, VA  22463

    Presenter Ed Geraty, LCSW-C (MD), LICSW (WV), LCSW (VA), LICSW (DC) 

    CEUs: Category 1 | 3.0 

    Synopsis this presentation will explain the patterns of the traumatizing narcissist and the relational system of subjugation; discuss the origin of the Narcissistic ABUSE CYCLE ; and describe how victims of the traumatizing narcissist can be helped to recognize the nature of the abuse and learn to recover from damage to the sense of self.

    Workshop Objectives:

    Upon finishing this training, participants will be able to:

    1. Define narcissistic abuse and its clinical presentation
    2. Identify signs and patterns of narcissistic abuse in clients
    3. Understand psychological effects on survivors
    4. Learn evidence-based therapeutic approaches
    5. Discuss treatment challenges and clinician strategies


  • Thursday, May 15, 2025 12:14 PM | Edward Geraty (Administrator)


    1. United Healthcare offers a program called Real Appeal that provides weight loss coaching and support and may offer reimbursement for weight loss programs like Noom.
    2. Blue Cross Blue Shield offers a health insurance program called Blue365 which provides discounts on health and wellness and weight loss programs here. Some BCBS plans including Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts may also offer weight loss reimbursement for the cost of Noom.
    3. Aetna health insurance offers a program called the Aetna Weight Management discount program here, which provides discounts on weight loss programs and products. Some Aetna plans may also offer weight loss reimbursement like Noom.
    4. Cigna? Cigna has a program called Healthy Rewards for up to 30% off weight management and nutrition, but Noom is not listed as one of the programs

    You may be able to use your FSA, HSA (Health Savings Account), or HRA to pay for the cost  if you have a letter of medical necessity from your doctor, or if your plan specifically includes Noom as a qualifying weight loss program.


  • Thursday, May 08, 2025 11:09 PM | Anonymous

    Notice Regarding Nondeductible Portion of GWSCSW Membership Dues: In accordance with the requirements of Internal Revenue Code §6033(e), we are notifying you that a portion of your GWSCSW dues is attributable to lobbying and is therefore not deductible to you as an ordinary and necessary business expense for federal income tax purposes. Based upon GWSCSW’s anticipated lobbying expenses and a good faith estimate of dues payments received through the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, you should consider 47.25of your dues payment nondeductible.

  • Monday, April 28, 2025 10:53 AM | Edward Geraty (Administrator)

    DC offers online CE courses that meet these requirements for DC licensed social workers.   https://www.dcrxce.com/ 

  • Monday, April 28, 2025 10:19 AM | Edward Geraty (Administrator)

    Ketamine found effective in treatment-resistant depression — Harvard Gazette - https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/05/ketamine-found-effective-in-treatment-resistant-depression/

  • Tuesday, April 08, 2025 3:16 PM | Edward Geraty (Administrator)

    Follow-Up on 7 Cups

    April 8, 2025

    By Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director of Policy and Practice

    Thanks to all of you who have contacted me to let me know you have sent messages to 7 Cups that you would like to be taken off their list. Please continue to check if your name is on the 7 Cups list. CSWA is working with the Psychotherapy Advocacy Network (PsiAN) to expand the number of clinicians who respond to 7 Cups. This effort is more complex than our work with CareDash was because 1) it has been in place and gathering clinicians’ information for much longer, and 2) it mixes peer counseling and licensed professionals together without acknowledging the differences in scopes of practice, training, and regulation.

    CSWA will be writing a letter to the 7 Cups Legal Department to demand that the ways our professional information is being used without our permission, as well as confused with unlicensed people, be stopped. We will be sending more information on how to fight this attempt to make clinicians join the 7 Cups network or risk losing potential patients. Here is a summary of what we know so far.

    The following letter has been sent to many clinicians when they ask to be removed from the 7 Cups list:

    Thank you for contacting 7 Cups. 7 Cups is the world’s largest mental health community. We have over 570,000 trained volunteer listeners across 189 countries that provide support in 140 languages. We have reached over 73 million people. Often, we need to make referrals to licensed clinicians, shelters, and food pantries. That is why we built our provider directory and local support service. We are now starting to make referrals to local clinicians.

    The goal of the local support systems (7cups.com/local) is to connect people online to services offline so they can get better help. We believe therapists are an important part of local support systems.

    I understand that you may have reasons for wanting to be removed, but I wanted to share some additional context that you might find helpful. 7 Cups sends out thousands of free referrals to therapists every month. If someone were to complete the contact form on your profile, we would forward their information to you for follow-up. This would essentially be a free referral for you. We operate similarly with food pantries and shelters, as our goal is to connect people with local resources in their community.

    We are providing therapists the option of a free premium month of being listed on 7 Cups to gain additional referrals. We are also providing this premium service to therapists free of charge if they cannot afford it as we think it is important for therapists to get referrals and build their practice. We want to feature as many therapists we can as part of the local support system.

    If you do not wish to have your profile listed and decide not to become part of our local support network then please let us know and we will delete your profile within 48 business hours.

    When members have checked to see whether their names were in fact removed, often they were not within the 48 hours as 7 Cups said they would. One malpractice insurer has recommended the use of our information without our permission be considered internet fraud and that a complaint be filed with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (https://www.ic3.gov/). This can be added to the list of actions to be taken to oppose 7 Cups from our previous post.

    CSWA will continue to provide information about this unfair and possibly illegal activity as we have it.

    Clinical Social Work Association
    The National Voice for Clinical Social Work


  • Monday, April 07, 2025 7:22 PM | Edward Geraty (Administrator)

    https://gwscsw.org/event-6128565


    April 2025 - Implicit Bias Training/Anti-Oppressive

    Social Work Practice

    (Meets new MD Board of Social Work requirements)

    • When

      Sunday, April 27, 2025

    •  

      10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

    • Location

      Online ZOOM

    • Spaces left

      73

    Registration

    • Members – $75.00

      $25 per credit hour

    • Nonmember – $120.00

      $40 per credit hour

    • Student/Graduate/Retiree – $45.00

      $15 per credit hour

    • VASCSW Member – $75.00 

    Presenter Ed Geraty, LCSW-C (MD), LICSW (WV), LCSW (VA), LICSW (DC) 

    CEUs: Category 1 | 3.0 (this training meets the Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice content requirement and will be noted on the CEU certificate)

    The purpose of this Implicit Bias Training, also referred to as Unconscious Bias Training, is to raise awareness about individuals' implicit biases and provide them with tools and strategies for impartial decision-making, thereby reducing the influence of these biases. Implicit bias affects the way we make choices, engage with others, and conduct ourselves.

    Research has consistently shown that implicit bias is linked to several adverse consequences, including lower-quality healthcare provision (e.g., treatment recommendations and empathy), unequal disciplinary actions in schools (e.g., suspensions and expulsions), discriminatory workplace practices (e.g., hiring, promotions, and retention), and racial disparities in criminal justice responses (e.g., arrests, law enforcement-involved shootings, and legal sentencing).

    Hence, it is essential to recognize and actively work towards mitigating implicit bias to ensure that our decisions, interactions, and conduct are equitable and devoid of discrimination. Furthermore, this training supports clinicians in their professional practice by enabling them to implement culturally informed approaches that mitigate the impact of implicit bias.

    Workshop Objectives:

    Upon finishing this training, participants will be able to:

    1. Articulate the concept of implicit bias and its underlying origins.
    2. Recognize the ramifications of implicit bias in both workplace and clinical settings.
    3. Engage in conversations about methods for self-exploration and for tracking and managing their individual implicit biases.
    4. Explain the process of implementing culturally sensitive frameworks and utilizing evidence-based strategies to address implicit bias within organizations and clinical practice.

      Agenda:

      • Intros
      • Pivotal Implications of unconscious biases
      • how to Address Blind spots and Racial Bias in a Session
      • Break
      • How To Reduce Implicit Bias
      • Promoting Inclusivity.
      • Different types of bias
      • Closing


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    PO Box 711 | Garrisonville, VA  22463 | 202-478-7638 | admin@gwscsw.org

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