Previous Conference Recordings

The Ethics of Love in Social Work Practice

Presented by: Jessica Saniġaq Ullrich, MSW, PhD
Moderator: Tonie Protzman, MS, LPC, CDC, PSP III
One Ethics Credit
February 14th at Noon AKST

Learn about the historical significance of love in the civil rights movement and how Indigenous connectedness can help us know that at the core of our being is love not as an emotion, but as a sense of spirit, or being. When we come from that place- this can become our renewable energy source, which prevents burnout. This can be how we connect and engage with people in an ethical and genuine way. When we book end our relationships and work with love, we can truly implement social justice wherever we are at in our practice.

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2021 Conference Recordings

Opening Remarks from Rep. Andi Story

Transforming Stigma® into Strength

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

Mike Veny shares his story about living with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He will then introduce The Stigma Cycle™: “Stigma starts with shame. Shame leads to silence. Silence leads to self-destructive behavior and suicide.” The process repeats, and it becomes an endless, downward spiral.

Through this engaging and entertaining keynote, attendees will learn practical tools to help:

• Understand the Stigma Cycle™ and what prevents students from asking for help.
• Understand how to replace shame through self-care.

Utilizing an Intersectional Approach: Working with Military Veterans & Service Members

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

This session will identify ways of working with military veterans and active-duty military with an intersectional lens. Many veterans and military service members have experienced issues of discrimination and oppression individually, as well as the systemic issues of oppression within the military. We will explore issues and identities of marginalized groups and the impact on social work services with these populations.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will explore the history of social justice issues in the military and the effects of those issues on past and present military members (ie. Racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia).
• Attendees will learn about ways to assist veterans and military members and create safety for people to explore these issues and the impact in their current lives.
• Attendees will be able to identify resiliency factors to assist marginalized veterans and service members and identify intersectional approaches to working with these populations.

Overutilization of ES: Addressing Barriers to Care at the Micro, Mezzo, and Macro Level

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

Learning Objectives:

• Breaking down barriers to communication between organizations including data sharing, universal ROI’s, and using a multi-disciplinary approach to care.
• Connecting individuals to proper levels of care through education and reduced barriers to services.
• Use of technology to coordinate care between individuals and providers leading to a reduction in use of emergency services, saving Medicaid dollars.

ASAM Criteria

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

The purpose of this training:

• Increase behavioral health competencies across the State of Alaska.
• Provide education of ASAM criteria to determine appropriateness of care for the person being served.
• Practice functionality of the dimensions. 4. Begin dialog of available resources to the people we serve.

Gaining Cultural Competence through Self-Awareness

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

Learning Objectives:

• Define Cultural Awareness through autobiography.
• Understand how to develop the seven steps of cultural awareness.
• Work through the dilemma of Americanization and Americanism.
• Deliver an understanding of intersectionality and biases.
• Establish the meaning of cultural competence

Preparing the Social Work Workforce in Alaska Through Community Connections

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

The purpose of this panel discussion is to explore the current context of social work education in Alaska and the United States with a focus on how COVID-19 has impacted social work education and practice and to discuss how social work education can be responsive to the current workforce needs in Alaska. The objectives of this presentation are to:

• Explore the national context of social work education States with a focus on how COVID19 has impacted social work education and practice.
• Describe the BSW programs at UAF and UAA and the MSW program at UAA.
• Discuss how the UAF and UAA social work programs can be better responsive to the current and future Alaska workforce needs.

Evaluation of Equity in Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

Learning Objectives:

• Increase awareness of equity issues in practice, particularly as it pertains to homeless populations.
• Gain knowledge on a research method for evaluation of a practice program.
• Learn about limitations in data collection methods regarding equity assessment.

From Charity To Solidarity – Making a More Just World One Relationship at a Time

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

Synopsis: How we navigate power to create justice.

It may feel like we're not all that powerful, but when we recognize our power and the power of regular people around us, it can allow us to change the world...or at least our corner of the world. Drawing on 25 years of experience in activism and community organizing and, on her book, Transforming Communities, Sandhya Jha will share with us some ideas of how to claim our power and heal our communities in the process.

Staying Grounded While Moving Mountains: Mindfulness-Based Practices in Social Work

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

This breakout session will focus on exploring the impact of the past year on us individually and our profession. Throughout an interactive session, we will explore mindfulness-based practices as a way to meet our experiences and to support ourselves and our work in the communities we serve.

Objectives:

• Attendees will have an opportunity to explore the impact of the pandemic and justice issues of the past year on ourselves and our work.
• Attendees will interact with other attendees relating to community and connection in the social work profession with mindfulness-based practices, including the practice of mindful inquiry.
• Attendees will identify ways mindfulness and meditation practices can help us meet the difficulties we face and support our own learning and awareness as social workers in Alaska.

Asset Mapping for the Rest of Us

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

Synopsis: How a classic tool in the public health field is really useful for regular people.

If you've heard of Asset Based Community Development or asset mapping, you may picture a 500-page long book or a semester-long course that goes along with it. But the foundations of community development are people in an underserved community saying "Hey--people keep coming in from outside to tell us what's wrong with us. What if we spend some time focusing on what's right with us instead?" Asset mapping is a doable and powerful tool in helping underserved communities re-orient themselves towards productive solutions to endemic problems. Drop in this workshop to learn more about asset mapping for your own community.

Aging Successfully in SE AK

This session was recorded during the 2021 Alaska chapter of the NASW Biennial Conference.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain a foundational understanding of the idea of successful aging and indicators for successful aging found in available research.
• Participants will learn about this research study finds, limitations, and indicators for use.
• Participants will learn about and discuss strategies on how to promote successful aging on both the individual and community level.