Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work upcoming events

Early Career Social Work August Meet-up (Saturday, August 29, 2026)

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Early Career Social Work August Meet-up
Colada Shop | 1900 N St NW, Washington, DC 20036
Saturday, August 29, 2026 | 4:00 PM-6:00 PM

You're Invited!
Early Career Clinician Meetup

Join us for a casual social gathering designed to help newer clinicians in the area connect, share experiences, and build community. Whether you're still in school or in your first few years of practice, this is a great opportunity to meet peers, ask questions, and feel supported.

There’s no cost to attend, but you're welcome to grab a drink or bite to eat once you arrive. We'll have a sign so you know where to find us.

We’d love to see you there!

Defining Your Clinical Style: 7 Foundational Concepts (Friday, September 11, 2026)

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Presenter: Robert Taibbi (VA), LCSW

Like it or not, each clinician develops a clinical style, a blend of personality and skills, and, like any style, one built on certain foundational concepts. In this workshop, I offer my own set of concepts, both clinical—relationship triangle, emotional wounds, anxiety style, Bowen differentiated self—and the mechanics of running a practice—treatment maps, stuckpoints, seeing problems as bad solutions—that shape what happens in the room.

Through vignettes and discussion, the goal is to provide food for thought, shake up your assumptions and thinking, and offer something to bounce your own style off of. The hope is that it helps you not only learn something new but, more importantly, more clearly define your own way of working.

Workshop Objectives:

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Describe the relationship triangle & emotional wounds, and their application to relationships.
Define the 3 major anxiety styles and how they affect diagnoses.
Describe how process shapes problems and implications for clinical practice.
Describe how treatment maps increase the effectiveness and efficiency of clinical treatment

About the Presenter:

Robert Taibbi is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 50 years of experience primarily in community mental health working with children, couples and families as a clinician, supervisor and clinical director.

He is the author of 13 books in the areas of anxiety, family and couple therapy, brief therapy, clinical supervision, as well as over 300 magazine and journal articles. He writes an online column for Psychology Today entitled Fixing Families that has received over 21 million views, as well as regular contributions to several online mental health websites and advice columns.

In addition, Robert provides trainings both nationally and internationally in couple therapy, family therapy, brief therapy, and clinical supervision. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and the University of South Carolina, and has served as adjunct professor at several universities. He is currently in private practice in Charlottesville, VA.

Camera-on required. GWSCSW is committed to verifying that the same standards are as applicable for virtual workshops as in person workshops. The participant must be observed as present and attending both; therefore virtual workshop attendance requires participants to keep their video camera on for the duration of the presentation, except during scheduled breaks, to receive CEUs.

DC, VA, MD Social Work -- Category 1 | 2.0 CEUs

Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in is DC, Maryland, and Virginia to sponsor social work continuing education learning activities and maintains full responsibility for this program.

NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider -- 2.0 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.

Psychosensory Approaches to Trauma: An Introduction to Havening Techniques (Friday, September 18, 2026)

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Presenter: Erika Neil, LCSW

This workshop is for all levels of clinicians from beginner to advanced. No prerequisites are required and it can be understood by non-clinicians as well.

Psychosensory techniques are methods that use sensory input to create physical and emotional healing. The term psychosensory was coined by Havening Techniques® creator Dr. Ron Ruden. Havening uses the sensory input of soothing touch, and the name “Havening” comes from the term “haven” or safe place. Havening amplifies a sense of internal safety. It changes the brain’s encoding of traumatic events and augments resilience and other positive states.

Havening is used to treat PTSD, phobias, panic disorder, prolonged distress, and chronic pain. It helps overcome obstacles to confidence, mastery, and relaxation. In this workshop participants will learn Havening Touch and how it is applied by individuals and in a therapeutic setting. Havening blends well with other modalities and approaches. It is efficient, pleasant, and safe as well as powerfully effective.

Workshop Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Define psychosensory therapies.
Demonstrate Havening Touch.
Describe the electrochemical effects of Havening.
List 5 different types of distractions.
Identify the steps of Havening with distractions.

Agenda

10-10:10 am Introduction to psychosensory therapies
10:10-10:20 Science of Havening
10:20- 10:30 Havening Touch
10:30-10:45 Havening with distractions
10:45-10:55 Havening Techniques applications
10:50-11:20 Demonstration of therapeutic use of Havening
11:20-11:30 Review and questions

About the Presenter:

Erika Neil is a psychotherapist and trainer experienced in working with clients who are experiencing anxiety, depression, PTSD, low self-esteem, or significant stress, and who find that these issues are diminishing their ability to enjoy life. She has additional specialized training in Havening, EMDR, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Emotional Freedom Technique, Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, the Flash Technique, and Reiki. Her style is collaborative, warm, and solution-focused. She often uses mind-body techniques to accelerate awareness and change. With compassion and understanding, she works with individuals to help them build on their strengths and attain personal growth and well-being.

Erika is a Havening Techniques® Trainer. She has taught mindfulness meditation classes in yoga, recreation, and health centers. In addition to her mental health experience at outpatient centers, hospitals, and schools, Erika has worked at a career outplacement firm and a college career center. Prior to being a clinical social worker, Erika was a child abuse and neglect attorney for seven years. Erika has a long standing interest in Eastern and Western philosophy and psychology.

Camera-on required. GWSCSW is committed to verifying that the same standards are as applicable for virtual workshops as in person workshops. The participant must be observed as present and attending both; therefore virtual workshop attendance requires participants to keep their video camera on for the duration of the presentation, except during scheduled breaks, to receive CEUs.

DC, VA, MD Social Work -- Category 1 | 1.5 CEUs

NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider -- 1.5 Credit Hours

Ethical TeleBehavioral Health: Best Practices for Clinicians (Sunday, September 20, 2026)

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:00:00 GMT

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

CEUs: Category 1 | 3.0 ETHICS CREDIT

The ethical delivery of behavioral health services via technology includes therapy, assessment, medication management and is delivered through video, phone, or messaging.Ethical practice requires adaptation of traditional clinical skills. Teletherapy expands access to underserved populations, reduces transportation and scheduling barriers, supports continuity of care during disruptions, and allows treatment in natural/home environment.

Workshop Objectives:

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Define telebehavioral health and delivery modalities
Identify benefits and limitations of telehealth
Apply legal and ethical standards in practice
Implement telehealth into clinical workflows
Develop risk management and emergency protocols

Agenda:

10:00 - 10:15 | Introductions
10:15 - 11:00 | Define telebehavioral health and delivery modalities
11:00 - 11:30 | Identify benefits and limitations of telehealth
11:30 - 11:45 | Break
11:45 - 12:15 | Apply legal and ethical standards in practice
12:15 - 12:35 | Implement telehealth into clinical workflows
12:35 - 1:00 | Develop risk management and emergency protocols
1:00 - 1:15 | Q/A discussion

Recommended Reading:

TeleHealth for Behavioral Healthcare
https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/best-practice-guides/telehealth-for-behavioral-health HHS.GOV
The Value of Applying Ethical Principles in Telehealth Practices: Systematic Review
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8044738/ PubMed
Ethical issues raised in using online tele-mental health (OTH): a review of studies
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8044738/ PubMed

DC, VA, MD Social Work -- Category 1 | 3.0 CEUs

NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider -- 3.0 Credit Hours

ALTERED STATES CONTINUING BONDS PROTOCOL: We do not have to erase a relationship in order to adapt to a death (Sunday, October 11, 2026)

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

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

CEUs: Category 1 | 3.0 ETHICS CREDIT

The Altered States–Continuing Bonds Protocol (AS-CBP) is an integrative clinical framework for helping clients process grief through focused attention, hypnosis, guided imagery, emotional expression, memory, continuing bonds, and meaning reconstruction.

This presentation examines the protocol’s clinical foundation, ethical and safety considerations, detailed session sequence, post-session processing, integration practices, documentation guidelines, and structured four-session model.

Participants will learn how AS-CBP helps clients explore unresolved emotions, unfinished conversations, relational memories, and the enduring influence of a deceased person while maintaining client autonomy and a non-directive therapeutic stance.

The presentation emphasizes transforming the bond with the deceased into a psychologically adaptive connection that supports meaning, values, legacy, and continued engagement with life.

Workshop Objectives:

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Describe the clinical foundation and five therapeutic processes of the Altered States–Continuing Bonds Protocol (AS-CBP).
Identify ethical principles, safety considerations, clinical cautions, and contraindications associated with altered-state grief interventions.
Explain and apply the major stages of an AS-CBP session, including preparation, induction, experiential contact, emotional expression, continuing-bond development, reorientation, and grounding.
Use post-session processing questions and between-session practices to support meaning reconstruction, legacy development, values-based action, and healthy continuing bonds.
Describe the four-session AS-CBP model and document the interventions, client responses, clinical outcomes, and ongoing treatment plan appropriately.

Agenda:

10:00 - 10:30 | Apply the major stages of an AS-CBP session, including preparation, induction, experiential contact, emotional expression, continuing-bond development, reorientation, and grounding.
10:30 - 11:00 | Identify ethical principles, safety considerations, clinical cautions, and contraindications associated with altered-state grief interventions.
11:00 - 11:30 | Describe the four-session AS-CBP model and document the interventio:00ns, client responses, clinical outcomes, and ongoing treatment plan appropriately.
11:30 - 12:00 | Use post-session processing questions and between-session practices to support meaning reconstruction, legacy development, values-based action, and healthy continuing bonds.
12:00 - 12:15 | Break
12:15 - 12:45 |Understanding Meaning reconstruction and how it integrates loss into the life story

Recommended Reading:

Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas (Healing Your Grieving Heart series) by Alan D. Wolfelt PhD
How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies by Therese A. Rando
Grieving with Hope: Finding comfort as you Journey through Loss by Samuel J. Hodges IV and Kathy Leonard

DC, VA, MD Social Work -- Category 1 | 3.0 CEUs

NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider -- 3.0 Credit Hours

Developing a Marketing Strategy for Your Private Practice (Sunday, October 18, 2026)

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

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

CEUs: NO CEU's are available for this FREE workshop

This FREE practice marketing seminar developed by Ed Geraty LCSW-C, LICSW is designed for

The new clinician who is beginning to consider private practice, but who has had no mentoring or education on the steps to do this.
Those clinicians who are currently in private practice, but they need to improve in basic marketing skills. Many experienced clinicians dislike, are fearful, or have difficulty with internet marketing strategies.

Workshop Objectives:

Participants will receive an introduction and overview of Internet marketing strategies including; how to:
1. Create a website
2. Access Facebook page and groups
3. Create a profile on Psychology Today
4. Join LinkdIn pages and groups
5. Create a blog
6. Create a YouTube channel
7. Create a Podcast

Agenda:

1st hour
1. Create a website
2. Access Facebook page and groups
3. Create a profile on Psychology Today
4. Join LinkdIn pages and groups

2nd hour
5. Create a blog
6. Create a YouTube channel
7. Create a Podcast
8. Q/A

Recommended Reading:

My Private Practice Consulting Page

https://bit.ly/4mzDVXT