CICSW Trainings
Domestic Violence Online Training Modules
Simmons Domestic Violence Training
The primary goal of this training is to provide an overview of the essential knowledge about domestic violence that has been amassed through decades of advocacy and research. This training is organized into seven units and includes information on different types of violence, its impact on individuals and communities, appropriate responses and best practices, and resources for additional information. The training will help participants to build their own toolkit to be able to respond effectively when encountering individuals affected by domestic violence. Participants who complete the training are eligible to receive 10 CEUs.
Simmons MA Chapter 260 Training on Sexual and Domestic Violence
The purpose of this training is to educate Massachusetts-based health professionals about domestic and sexual violence (DV/SV) and prepare them for their work with survivors, children exposed to violence, and people who use violence. The training is intended to provide a broad overview of the fundamental knowledge on DV/SV collected through years of research and practice. Please remember this training is not, nor can it be, a comprehensive education on either type of violence. Instead, it is a starting point in what should be a lifetime pursuit of education about these issues.
The training is organized into four units that cover the following aspects of domestic and sexual violence: terminology and guiding framework (Introduction Unit); prevalence and dynamics (Unit 1); indicators, risk factors, protective factors, and health effects (Unit 2); assessment, screening, and response (Unit 3); and community resources and collaboration strategies (Unit 4). The training is designed to be completed sequentially, starting with this introduction unit. Participants who complete this training are eligible to receive 3.5 CEUs; additionally, the training has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to fulfill the Chapter 260 mandate.
2023 Trainings
10am - 12pm ET
This training is hosted in partnership with the National Harm Reduction Coalition. The training will examine the history of the war on drugs and, in particular, how its policies contribute to perpetuating health disparities faced by PWUD, with special emphasis on the impact on
those who identify as women and women of color. RIZE funded.
9am - 12pm ET
This webinar provides interprofessional training on effectively supporting transgender clients seeking health/mental health care. Presenters will discuss gender-affirming evidence-based practice in mental health, the role of social workers in supporting transgender clients, and accessing health insurance coverage.
10am - 12pm ET
This training is hosted in partnership with the National Harm Reduction Coalition. The training will enhance skills to engage clients who use drugs around health care issues and explore systemic and individual contexts in which PWUD seek health care, including the unique challenges to accessing quality care. RIZE funded.
10am - 12pm ET
This training was hosted in partnership with the National Harm Reduction Coalition. The training explored what meaningful involvement of PWUD looks like in various communities and contexts and identified ways of strengthening and broadening involvement by practically applying the principles of harm reduction. RIZE funded.
11am - 12pm ET
This in-person panel discussed public health interventions and approaches used at Project TRUST, a drop-in center for persons who use substances located at the center of the opioid epidemic in Boston—the intersection of Massachusetts and Melnea Cass Avenues. Panel members discussed practical applications of harm reduction services and strategies to engage clients who use substances.
Offered through the HaRT Scholars program.
Simmons MSW students will join a cohort of 99 Survivor Link + Public Health AmeriCorps service members from across the United States. Survivor Link + Public Health AmeriCorps members will work closely with social work experts to build capacity in public health agencies. The goal is to improve knowledge about intimate partner violence and the use of evidence-based interventions for survivors so that agencies and communities can provide sustained and effective intimate partner violence services. The program will also provide future social workers with pathways to public health related careers.
Previous Trainings
Applying Harm Reduction Interventions to Support Women with Substance Use Disorders During Pregnancy, December 2, 2022
A presentation led by Courtney Bailey, LICSW, TCTSY-F about opioid use in pregnancy and harm reduction interventions. Participants had the opportunity to apply their knowledge through case discussions. One free CEU was offered. RIZE funded.
2022 Harm Reduction Summit, October 10, 2022
This virtual summit featured experts in the field (Mary Wheeler of Healthy Innovations; Justin Alves, RN, ACRN of BMC Grayken Center for the Addictions; and Melissa Brown, LICSW of Fenway Health) who discussed the principles and practices of harm reduction in substance use. The summit was funded by RIZE Massachusetts.
Cannabis Use and Adolescent/Young Adults, April 14, 2022
Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction TTA collaborated with CIBER at Simmons University to offer a training on cannabis use amongst adolescents/young adults. The training reviewed the trends and health impacts of cannabis use in this population. Participants were able to receive one free CEU. HRSA funded.
Integrated Suicide and Substance Use Intervention for Adolescents in Substance Use Treatment, March 24, 2022
This training provided a background on the empirical literature related to substance use and suicide among adolescents. Dr. Sellers engaged in a discussion around her research project funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. HRSA funded
Opening Our Clinical Notes to Patients with Substance Use: A Values Based Approach, December 9, 2021
This training presented an approach to partnering more directly with patients who are dealing with substance use. Led by Stephen O'Neill, LICSW, BCD, JD this training provided a values-based framework to guide clinicians, including the impact of shared clinical notes. O'Neill focused on lessons learned from sharing clinical notes directly with his patients for over 30 years, as well as his research on the effects of this method on patient care.
2021 Harm Reduction Summit, October 29, 2021
This virtual summit featured experts in the field discussing the principles and practices of harm reduction in substance use. Melissa Brown, LICSW focused on the "nuts and bolts" of harm reduction, grounded in real-life methods, case examples, discussion, and resources. Patrick Steacie, BS shared his lived experience with substance use and trajectory to harm reduction work in the field through personal stories, including a question and answer session. Justin Alves, ACRN, CARN, BSN provided learners with practical skills in harm reduction that could be used and effectively implemented in behavioral health settings.
Bridging the Digital Divide in the Time of COVID-19, March 2, 2021
This training introduced and familiarized people with the Digital Divide and its impact on education both generally and during the pandemic. Mike Langlois, LICSW and Dr. Daren Gravesexplored how it impacts children and adolescents developmentally, and how tech disparities connect with racial disparities in terms of access. What has the pandemic revealed about how we do and don't learn well? How can emerging technologies help us understand and address educational disparities? How can social workers engage the educational system in this time of remote learning and dismantle systemic racism?
Addressing Social Determinants of Health Needs in Rural Communities: A Community-Based Behavioral Health Services ApproachOuter Cape Health Services, January 14 & 21, 2021
This training provided learners with the background of the social determinants of health (SDOH) challenges that occur in rural communities, the unique challenges they present to healthcare providers, and strategies for addressing them through community-based behavioral health services. Topics included an overview of SDOH, health equity issues, SDOH needs assessment, service coordination, integration of SDOH, behavioral health, and primary care services, and building and strengthening effective inter-agency collaborative relationships. Inter-professional teams that include community health workers, primary care clinicians and social workers were considered. Strategies were introduced for addressing needs at the individual (micro), organizational (meso), and community-wide (macro) levels. Funded by HRSA.
Signifyin' with Memes & Hashtags: The Power of Black Twitter, November 10, 2020
This training introduced and familiarized people to Black Twitter and its relevance to social justice and social work. The training explored how social media provides innovative opportunities for psychological healing, community, and activism against both systemic and "everyday racism." How does Black Twitter help us understand and address racial health disparities? How can Black Twitter be engaged to authentically encounter the interior lives of Black people? Dr. Gary Bailey, Asst. Dean for Community Engagement and Social Justice; Globe Columnist Renée Graham, CEO/Founder of C-Suite In Living Color and President of the Simmons African-American Alumnae Association Kenyora Parham; and Mike Langlois, LICSW, had an informal discussion about the power and impact of Black Twitter.
Suicide Prevention: Screening and assessment in integrated behavioral health settings Friday, November 6, 2020
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death overall and the second leading cause of death for individuals aged 10-34. Early identification and treatment of individuals at heightened risk of suicide is a key suicide prevention strategy. This training introduced students to suicide screening and assessment in integrated behavioral health settings. Students first learned the epidemiology of suicide. Students then learned how to detect individuals at risk for suicide through the use of the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) tool. The ASQ is a rapid 4-item screening tool. Students engaged in role play to practice the ASQ. Students also learned how to complete a brief suicide safety assessment (BSSA) by engaging with the NIMH developed BSSA guide. Students role played to develop skills in completing a suicide safety assessment.
An Overview of Methamphetamine Use Disorder, October 20, 2020
Justin Alves RN, ACRN, CARN provided an overview of methamphetamine use disorder. The training included the epidemiology of people who use methamphetamines, stigma, strategies for managing patients who are actively using, screening for methamphetamine use, and treatment and harm reduction strategies.
Racial Justice and Emerging Technologies in Social Work Practice, October 6, 2020
The series was hosted by Visiting Scholar Mike Langlois, LICSW and examined how race impacts health and behavioral health disparities, and how emerging technologies can amplify or heal them. The training discussed the interplay of race and mental health in the treatment room and in a world amplified and accelerated by technology. Dr. Johnnie Hamilton-Mason and Mike Langlois, LICSW, Black and white clinicians, engaged in a dialogue informed by their individual practice experiences, interpretations of theory from differing racial perspectives, and their shared interests in internalized racism and subjectivity, psychological liberation and resistance.
Reducing Harm in the COVID Era, September 24, 2020
Daniel Hogan MPH, LICSW and Daniel Rodrigues LICSW looked at how recovery services, user experience, and the overall experience engaging in harm reduction services has transformed through COVID-19. They compared the experience in the urban setting of Boston, MA as well as the non-urban experience on Cape Cod. Topics included exploring changes to the market, availability of services, unique opportunities that have emerged, as well as the shifting stressors and challenges faced by clinicians and clients.
Innovations in Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment during COVID, August 3, 2020
Presenter Andrea Caputo (DNP FNP-BC, CARN-AP) examined the adaptations and innovations that have been made to the treatment of substance use disorders in the setting of COVID-19. The training reviewed changes to connecting to care, initiation and ongoing management of medications for the treatment of substance use disorders, the federal and state regulations made to substance use treatment, and the emerging role of telehealth. Strategies for providing patient-centered care, including to special populations such as those recently released from incarceration and those experiencing homelessness, in the era of COVID were also discussed.
Low Threshold Behavioral Health Services for People with Complex Needs, July 29, 2020
Kellan McNally, MSW, LICSW discussed the development and adjustment of Fenway Health's low threshold behavioral health services to meet the changing needs of complex patient populations. Special attention was given to the role of flexible and unscheduled integrated care as a strategy for engaging and retaining unhoused adults who use drugs.
Telebehavioral Health Program in Rural Schools, May 18, 2020
Presenters Maureen Donovan, M.Ed., Amy Moran, LICSW, and Christina Cutting, CHW, introduced a telebehavioral counseling program in rural high schools located in the North Quabbin region of Central Massachusetts. The program is funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Evidence-Based Telebehavioral Health Network Program. Maureen and her team discussed their program, their experience working with telebehavioral counseling in rural communities, and a range of adaptations made amidst the present COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the presentation, attendees and presenters had an open discussion addressing successes and challenges of the program.
Access the Training Recording (contact [email protected] for accessible version)
Telebehavioral Health 101, April 13, 2020
Miryam C. Gerdine, MPH, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Social Science Research Analyst, Behavioral and Public Health Branch provided an introduction to this presentation by framing the state of telehealth use and training across the region. Presenter Reid Plimpton, MPH, from the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center (NETRC) discussed telehealth services and technology with the goal of giving attendees a "starter kit" of knowledge to take back to their organizations and practices. Content included a brief background on the NETRC and their role in assisting with telehealth planning and implementation, an introduction to specific telehealth technology, and telehealth best practices. At the end of the presentation, CIBER Scholar Mike Langlois, LICSW, joined the conversation to share his experiences utilizing telehealth in a behavioral health private practice setting.