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Two-Day Experiential Workshop
Clinical Strategies for Mindfulness and Stress Reduction
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Dates, Times & Location
Day 1: Friday, November 6, 2026
Day 2: Friday, November 20, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM on both days
Lunch: A 30-minute lunch break each day
Location: Online via Zoom
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Presenter
Allison Kirsch, MSW, MS
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Continuing Education
Category 1 | 8 CEU Credits Total
Four hours of instruction each day, excluding the 30-minute lunch break, for a total of eight hours across both sessions.
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Description
Mindfulness has become one of the most widely researched and effective approaches for reducing stress, improving emotional regulation, and supporting mental health. However, many clinicians struggle with knowing when, why, and how to integrate mindfulness into psychotherapy beyond simple breathing exercises or meditation.
This two-day experiential workshop provides social workers with practical, evidence-based strategies for incorporating mindfulness into clinical practice with diverse populations. Participants will explore the neuroscience of mindfulness, stress physiology, attention regulation, compassion, and nervous system functioning while learning interventions that can be immediately integrated into therapy sessions.
Taking place on Friday, November 6, and Friday, November 20, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM each day, the workshop includes a 30-minute lunch break each day and offers 8 CEU credits total. Day 2 builds on the concepts, experiences, and practices introduced on Day 1.
During the two weeks between sessions, participants will complete a brief daily mindfulness practice, keep a simple reflection log, and develop one clinical application to bring to Day 2. Participants will return with personal practice experiences, observations, and questions to discuss as they deepen their clinical integration skills.
Drawing from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), stress reduction research, somatic approaches, and contemporary neuroscience, this workshop emphasizes practical application rather than meditation instruction alone. Participants will leave with a toolbox of adaptable techniques suitable for clients experiencing anxiety, trauma, chronic stress, burnout, chronic pain, and emotional dysregulation.
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Two-Day Workshop Outline
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Friday, November 6, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Day 1 — Understanding and Experiencing Mindfulness
Theme: From automatic reactivity to mindful awareness
Primary goal: Establish the science and experiential foundations of mindfulness, while introducing a clinical framework for understanding stress and changing one's relationship with internal experience.
Format: 60% conceptual; 40% experiential
Includes a 30-minute lunch break.
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Two-Week Practice Assignment
Between Day 1 and Day 2, participants will:
- Complete a brief daily mindfulness practice.
- Keep a simple reflection log of their experiences and observations.
- Develop one clinical application to bring to Day 2.
Participants will return to the second session prepared to discuss their practice experiences, explore questions and challenges, and connect their learning to clinical work.
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Friday, November 20, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Day 2 — Clinical Applications and Therapeutic Integration
Theme: From personal practice to intentional clinical intervention
Primary goal: Help participants develop the judgment and facilitation skills to incorporate mindfulness into psychotherapy safely, effectively, and with attention to individual and sociocultural differences.
Building on Day 1 and the two-week practice assignment, participants will discuss their experiences and use those reflections to inform clinical application and therapeutic integration.
Format: 40% conceptual; 60% experiential
Includes a 30-minute lunch break.
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Learning Objectives
At the end of the two-day workshop, participants will be able to:
- Explain the neurobiological mechanisms through which mindfulness influences stress, attention, emotional regulation, and resilience.
- Differentiate among mindfulness interventions and determine when each is clinically appropriate.
- Utilize experiential mindfulness practices to improve clients' emotional awareness and self-regulation.
- Adapt mindfulness interventions for clients with trauma histories while recognizing common contraindications and challenges.
- Integrate mindfulness-based strategies into treatment planning across a range of clinical presentations.
- Use reflections from personal mindfulness practice to inform clinical judgment and adapt interventions with attention to individual and sociocultural differences.
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Recommended Reading
Treleaven, D. A. (2018). Trauma-sensitive mindfulness: Practices for safe and transformative healing. W. W. Norton & Company.
Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2018). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
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Registration Fees
Rates below cover the complete two-day, eight-credit workshop.
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GWSCSW Student / Graduate / Retiree Member
$15/CEU × 8 credits
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$120.00 |
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GWSCSW Member
$25/CEU × 8 credits
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$200.00 |
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State Affiliate Member
$25/CEU × 8 credits
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$200.00 |
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Nonmember
$40/CEU × 8 credits
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$320.00 |
Member Pricing: Please log in to your GWSCSW account before registering to receive the applicable member rate. State Affiliate Members require a registration code.
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Camera-On Required
GWSCSW is committed to applying the same attendance verification standards to virtual and in-person workshops. Participants must be observed as present and attending; therefore, virtual workshop attendance requires participants to keep their video camera on for the duration of the presentation on both days, except during scheduled breaks, to receive CEUs.
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GWSCSW Clinical Education Institute
Continuing Education Information
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DC, VA, MD Social Work — Category 1 | 8 CEU Credits
Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in DC, Maryland, and Virginia to sponsor social work continuing education learning activities and maintains full responsibility for this program.
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NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider — 8 Credit Hours
Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7880. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
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Clinical Education. Professional Community. Stronger Practice.
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Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work
PO Box 711 | Garrisonville, VA 22463 | 202-478-7638
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