UNH is proud to partner with the Fordham Graduate School of Social Services to provide free seminars to settlement house staff that include continuing education credits for licensed social workers. All staff are encouraged to attend and learn. This partnership is invaluable as seminars such as these are usually expensive and difficult to find, and UNH tailors topics to ensure they are of interest for the settlement house workforce. This past academic year, UNH offered nine workshops that provided a total of 446 continuing education credits to licensed social workers from settlement houses and UNH. There were 460 attendees across the nine classes (with 186 unique staff).

Classes offered this past academic year included:

Trauma Informed Social Work Practice

A workshop that  provided an understanding of trauma, adversity, and a trauma-informed approach in social work setting. Participants explored concrete steps to integrate the trauma-informed approach in their daily work. 

Motivational Interviewing

A workshop that enhanced motivational interviewing skills. Effectively using MI is achieved through developing rapport that is based on coaching instead of advice giving. This workshop addressed ways participants could provide supportive constructive feedback.

A Million Little Things: Addressing Microaggressions with Micro Acts of Allyship

Participants explored the subtle ways bias and microaggressions show up in social work practice, and discussed the impacts of microaggressions and practical strategies to address them and advance equity in the field.

Comm-UNITY Action: A Step in the Right Direction

This workshop highlighted the importance of community organizing and inclusive engagement. Participants had the chance to learn more about grassroots initiatives that strengthen communities, have national impact, and change legislative policy.

Bringing Generations Together: Assets and Challenges

This workshop highlighted different concepts of intergenerational and multigenerational programming initiatives in practice. Faculty also discussed new initiatives that focus on the increasing roles that multigenerational programming plays in the service delivery system. 

Painting the House while the Porch is Ablaze - A Service Delivery Tale

Participants examined their service delivery process for client readiness to engage in care. Participants examined why clients do not engage in services, are not able to utilize the full extent of care available, or end services prematurely.  Participants reviewed the structure of an intensive assessment of the individual’s inner world, including psychodynamic conflicts processes and use of ego defenses. 

In Step with Leadership

In this workshop, leadership was explored as a progressive set of skills built and implemented over time and demonstrated regardless of one’s position in an organization or society. This presentation described how leadership is about risk-taking, emotional management, and focusing on collective growth.

ACES

Participants learned the importance of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) research and its impact on children and families, as well as the importance of risk and protective factors and strategies for families to build resilience, especially in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. Adverse Childhood Experiences refers to events that are traumatic for children before 17 years of age. 

Self-Care

This workshop incorporated a variety of Ayurvedic practices (yoga’s sister science) that social workers can incorporate into a sustainable and effective self-care plan, that helped participants recognize their own “bandwidth” and offered suggestions for effectively identifying one’s needs and asking for help.