Events Calendar

This one-day interactive professional development training provides the trauma-informed information and skills needed by personnel working with people and families with experiences of domestic and family violence (DFV), past and current.

This one-day interactive professional development training provides the trauma-informed information and skills needed by personnel working with people and families with experiences of domestic and family violence (DFV), past and current.

This one-day interactive professional development training for legal and justice personnel acknowledges the significant risk of vicarious trauma (VT) and burnout in daily practice and distinguishes between them. In so doing it supports you, professionally and personally, to stay safe, healthy and resilient.

1.5 CPD hours

THIS MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Any interested social worker or student is invited to attend the next meeting of the Environmental Social Work Practice Group.

Please register by 15th September.

Video conferencing available.

Refugees have experienced persecution, torture and other traumatic experiences in the context of organised violence, which has implications for healing from trauma and rebuilding lives in Australia. It is essential that workers have the skills to manage conflict when it arises and provide a safe service provision environment. This practical workshop focuses on understanding and resolving conflict in a trauma-sensitive way. It is informed by latest research in the conflict and trauma field, and aims to draw the link between the two fields. Participants will come out of the training with an understanding of how conflict, violence, the trauma experience and trauma-healing are related, and practical skills of facilitating resolution of conflict in a trauma-sensitive way.

Mindful Self-Compassion is an outstanding workshop. The program consist of didactic and experiential training exercises in mindfulness and self-compassion, to improve professional skills and personal lives.

Rapidly expanding research shows that mindfulness and self-compassion are strongly associated with emotional well-being, lower levels of anxiety, pain and depression, better healthy habits such as diet and exercise, more satisfying personal relationships and enhanced self-care.

* FPS Relevant Activity *

Mindful Self-Compassion is an outstanding workshop. The program consist of didactic and experiential training exercises in mindfulness and self-compassion, to improve professional skills and personal lives.

Rapidly expanding research shows that mindfulness and self-compassion are strongly associated with emotional well-being, lower levels of anxiety, pain and depression, better healthy habits such as diet and exercise, more satisfying personal relationships and enhanced self-care.

* FPS Relevant Activity *

Webinar two in the Student and New Graduate Career Coaching Series

Loss and associated grief are defining characteristics of the refugee experience. This two-day clinical workshop will give participants a greater awareness of the key components of loss and grief counselling when assessing and treating refugee survivors of torture and trauma. It will introduce participants to a model of cross cultural grief treatment and its relevance to the refugee resettlement context associated with the loss of loved ones and homeland, change of social status, and a loss of a sense of belonging, meaning and purpose. It will give participants practical strategies for how to treat grief, including traumatic grief, and assist clients rebuild their lives in Australia.

This experiential and arts based workshop provides a fresh approach to understanding therapists' self care. You will use art based activities to help you recognise the impact your work can have on you, identify your individual self care needs and the strategies which can support you, and plan how to integrate self care into your life.

This one-day interactive professional development training provides practitioners with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to work in counselling and/or therapeutic relationships with adult survivors of complex trauma.

General discussion and sharing of knowledge.

1.5 CPD hours

Food and drinks to be purchased at own cost.

2 CPD hours

SWID is an AASW practice group for social workers working in the field of disability services, both in government and non-government organisations. Its main purpose is to facilitate support, networking, lobbying and professional development. Any social worker in the field of disability, from any organisation is welcome to join.

Video conferencing available.

A gold coin donation is requested, to go towards morning tea for the next meeting

This one-day workshop is designed to put a framework of understanding around the unique issues faced by children and adolescents from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. It focuses on understanding the link between what refugees have been through, the impact of torture and other traumatic events, the stressors of detention, resettlement and cultural transition. It will look at the impact of war and violence from a developmental perspective, with attention paid to attachment and resilience. It explores how to work in a trauma informed and culturally competent way that promotes recovery and fosters feelings of trust, safety and control, while minimising the risk of retraumatisation. Participants will be encouraged to think about how to apply the concepts to their own workplace, and will leave the workshop feeling more confident in utilising their skills and experience with children and adolescents from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds.

The aim of this course is to enable the achievement by all participants of a satisfactory level of competence for supervising social work staff in an effective, efficient and sensitive manner. The course will focus on the development of supervisory skills, techniques and knowledge using a variety of methods, including presentations, small group discussion and experiential learning assisted by the use of video.

Attend this workshop and articulate the benefits of happiness to our physical health, emotional well being, relationships and job performance. Administer specific practices to cultivate gratitude, compassion, self compassion and connection and understand how to integrate these practices effectively into treatment.

This one-day workshop is designed to put a framework of understanding around the unique issues faced by children and adolescents from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. It focuses on understanding the link between what refugees have been through, the impact of torture and other traumatic events, the stressors of detention, resettlement and cultural transition. It will look at the impact of war and violence from a developmental perspective, with attention paid to attachment and resilience. It explores how to work in a trauma informed and culturally competent way that promotes recovery and fosters feelings of trust, safety and control, while minimising the risk of retraumatisation. Participants will be encouraged to think about how to apply the concepts to their own workplace, and will leave the workshop feeling more confident in utilising their skills and experience with children and adolescents from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds.

1.5 CPD hours

Slavery is illegal worldwide, however more people live in slavery now than ever before. It is estimated over 40 million people live in slavery, two thirds are in our region and one quarter are children.

The session will explore the landscape of modern-day slavery highlighted by Australian and international examples. It will also inform social workers of the current avenues being used to tackle this issue. The session will invite social workers to consider how to respond to modern-day slavery from a direct client perspective and systemically.

Keynote speaker – Professor Jennifer Burn, NSW Anti-Slavery Interim Commissioner, Professor of Law at the University of Technology Sydney and former director of Anti-Slavery Australia at UTS

War On Slavery – co-founders Jane Jeffes and Becky Honey. War On Slavery is a not-for-profit organisation with the aim to raise public awareness on modern-day slavery.

Do you support people who have experienced trauma and abuse?

Many people who experience mental distress have experienced trauma in their lives. Trauma can result from family dysfunction, school, or workplace bullying, violence and conflict, neglect and abuse. Trauma survivors are at risk of being re-traumatised in social service and health care settings that are trauma informed. Services that do not understand and respond effectively to the impacts of trauma risk compounding the effects and create further harm. This course is designed for workers within the mental health and community service sector who support people who may have experienced abuse or trauma in the context of human relationships.

This practical one-day training workshop begins with a brief review of historical approaches to couples therapy and how research has revealed the ineffectiveness in those approaches. Ari will then present some of Gottman’s (leading couples therapy researcher) findings about destructive patterns in couple relationships and their predictive validity as well as those aspects that enhance satisfying and enduring relationships.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This two-day clinical workshop is informed by STARTTS’ research and is focused on the unique challenges of working clinically with children from refugee backgrounds under six years of age and their parents/caregivers who have experienced war and violence. It will explore how direct and indirect traumatic experiences impact on the mother and child pre- and post-natally. Consideration will be given to influences such as the developing nervous system, memory and attachment, potential delays in all areas of development as a result of the complex interactions of refugee-related trauma, ways to overcome barriers to engaging young children from refugee backgrounds and their parents in therapy; the importance of balancing structure with child-centred / relationship based following of the child, regulating emotions, using play, music and movement. Attention will also be given to how to act as a role model, mentor and supporter for parents. The workshop will discuss incorporating the family’s cultural beliefs in therapy and how to integrate an interpreter into sessions.

2 CPD hours

The Bathurst Social Workers' Practice Group is open to qualified social workers and social work students living, working or studying in the Bathurst region.

David Keegan, President of the AASW NSW Branch, will be conducting a series of visits to meet with social workers in regional NSW to provide an update on the activities of the AASW and to learn more about the issues that are important to social workers in our state.

The meeting will include a presentation, questions and networking.

Please RSVP to this event via the AASW website.

Please note this meeting will be held on 17 October, not September as previously advertised. Apologies for any confusion.

Motivational interviewing is a collaborative, goal-oriented style of communication with particular attention to the language of change. It is designed to strengthen personal motivation for, and commitment to, a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person’s own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. Motivational interviewing utilises the principles and practices of person-centred counselling to engage a person in a conversation about change.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This 2 day training affords a detailed focus on increasing clinical competence in Open Dialogue and dialogical practice. It builds upon the introductory training and is informed by dialogical and systemic theory and practice. There is a particular focus on Core Elements including reflecting and other dialogical processes and Core Dialogue including the use of self. Training methods include: role plays, experiential exercises, and reflection on the nuanced and sophisticated skills of dialogical practice.

* Discount to AASW members *

How can we differentiate bipolar disorder from borderline personality disorder (BPD), obsessive-compulsive disorder from obsessive compulsive personality disorder, or a cognitive lack of empathy from the emotional lack of empathy that is part of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)? Although personality disorders are often talked about, their symptoms can be difficult to recognise - particularly by novice therapists who may be baffled by behaviours associated with personality disorders. This seminar will provide an understanding of the ten DSM-5 listed personality disorders, with an emphasis on: learning to identify the symptoms; understanding the lived experience of consumers; and learning to manage some of the difficult behaviours.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

Delivered by one of Blue Knot Foundation’s most experienced and revered facilitators, Dragan Zan Wright is a transgender psychotherapist and trainer who has worked extensively in the fields of Gender Diversity, Complex Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care and Practice.

The unpredictability of mood swings and rages associated with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) can be confusing and challenging for family, friends, co-workers and therapists alike. This seminar will provide an in-depth understanding of BPD and NPD.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This one-day interactive professional development training, informed by current research, provides the information, understanding and skills needed by people working in any health or human service role. This training equips anyone working with people impacted by historical and intergenerational trauma to build on a compassionate and nuanced understanding of the challenges faced by particular groups in Australian society.

Narratively oriented therapists take the position that our lives are shaped by stories. We never see the world as it is, we always see through a narrative ‘lens’, we give value to certain aspects of experience and neglect other aspects, we are constantly interpreting what is happening in, to and around us. It is through the stories we have about ourselves, others and life in general that we make sense of things and navigate our way in the world. And how we see the world clearly shapes how we act in the world.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This training will introduce participants to the Open Dialogue model of care (Finland) and the dialogical clinical practices that underpin and emerge from this model.
There will be a particular focus on the role of open network meetings in Open Dialogue, as well as working therapeutically with families and wider systems in a variety of clinical contexts.

* Discount for AASW members *

This one-day interactive professional development training provides the trauma-informed information and skills needed by personnel working with people and families with experiences of domestic and family violence (DFV), past and current.

1.5 CPD hours

Agenda includes acknowledgement of Blue Knot Day.

Training: Working with adult survives of childhood trauma.

Presenter: Sue Partridge, AMHSW and Certified Neuropsychotherapy Practitioner

There will be times when people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds talk about their previous traumatic experiences of war and violence to workers and volunteers; or get angry or upset, or display other types of trauma reactions. This workshop has been designed to give workers not trained as counsellors some basic tips and skills for how to recognise and deal with difficult behaviours in the workplace. It is mostly practical and focuses on a series of case studies and role plays to develop skills in dealing with trauma reactions. It is assumed that participants have attended an introductory workshop by STARTTS such as the Core Concepts or equivalent.

Why are some people ageing with a great sense of freedom and others with a sense of despair? Is it just a matter of attitude? What does the current research say about ageing with resilience? Evidence suggests that emotional wellbeing generally increases with age unless the older person is experiencing some major health issue or disadvantage (Centre for Mental Health 2014).

*This training may qualify for Focused Psychological Strategies (FPS) CPD. Please refer to the Dept. of Health website for more information.

This training is designed for practitioners who work in a counselling and/or therapeutic relationship with complex trauma clients, and utilise clinical assessment, case formulation and treatment/care planning in their daily practice. This two-day interactive professional development training presents the three-phased approach for working ‘bottom up and top down’ with clients who have complex trauma histories.

Webinar three in the Student and New Graduate Career Coaching Series

At this Art Camp, you will be able to learn and enjoy creative ways of working with clients ( Children, Adolescents, Adults) and groups (Families, Corporations) , using Art Journals, Sand Play, Drawing, Drama Therapy, Body work, Masks, Paintings, Land Art, and more.

This course will present a mindful approach to working through loss, grief when learning new ways to cope with a changed world. The workshop will draw on John Kabat Zinn’s (2016) work which suggests that ‘The challenge of mindfulness is to work with the very circumstances in which you find yourself regardless of how discouraging and stuck you feel.’

*This training may qualify for Focused Psychological Strategies (FPS) CPD. Please refer to the Dept. of Health website for more information.

Non verbal and creative interventions with clients are shown to have many benefits. Making an altered book in a therapeutic context can provide a framework for exploring a variety of themes, experiences and narratives, whilst supporting changes in perspectives and encouraging a sense of agency. For social workers, learning how to facilitate altered book making offers the opportunity for a new way of engaging with clients, which can be a catalyst for further therapeutic work.

This workshop explores how both supervisors and supervisees provide input towards key processes in supervision.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This two-day workshop presents a highly practical and interactive workshop (case-based) for treating PTSD patients; the content is applicable to both adult and adolescent populations.

* FPS Relevant Activity *

Complex trauma is highly damaging but frequently unrecognised and inappropriately treated. While current research in the neurobiology of attachment has major implications for treatment of trauma, the potential of these insights is not widely operationalised in clinical practice and confusion about the differences between ‘complex’ and ‘single incident’ trauma persists.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

AASW Conference 2019 Challenging Inequality: Working together for a just society will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia from 7-9 November 2019.

Early bird registrations available until 7 August.

Recent developments and research in neuroscience indicate that direct attention to and work with the emotions is necessary for effective therapeutic change. More particularly, ‘affective embodied experiences are central for change to occur’ (Schore 2012).

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This one-day workshop is designed to put a framework of understanding around working with people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. It focuses on understanding the link between what refugees have been through, the impact of torture and other traumatic events, the stressors of detention, resettlement and cultural transition. It explores how to work in a trauma informed and culturally competent way that promotes recovery and fosters feelings of trust, safety and control, while minimising the risk of retraumatisation. Participants will be encouraged to think about how to apply the concepts to their own workplace, and will leave the workshop feeling more confident in utilising their skills and experience with people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds.

This one-day interactive professional development training builds on the principles of trauma-informed care and practice.

In this two-day workshop, the first day gives theory and practice of group therapy. The term 'group therapy' can be applied to a variety of theoretically and practically different kinds of groups from the psychoanalytic to the CBT.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

2.5 CPD hours

The AASW NSW Aged Care Practice Group meets bimonthly at locations across Sydney. Social workers across the public and private sector working in the field of aged care are welcome to attend.

The purpose of the group is to discuss relevant issues affecting social work practice in aged care, provide a networking platform for workers across NSW and provide ongoing professional development.

Teleconferencing available

The emphasis of this two-day training program is upon imparting practical, accessible skills to use immediately with survivors of complex trauma (especially child abuse and neglect).

* FPS Relevant Activity *

Dr Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb brings her well received 1-week summer Gestalt Therapy residential straight from Italy to Tallows Beach Retreat Centre between the Teatree Lake and the Pacific Ocean!

The EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Certification is a 3 day engaging and deeply interactive course. Over the 3 days you will learn how to use EFT for yourself, with individual clients and in groups. There is also a short pre training to complete online. The wide range of benefits of EFT as a therapeutic tool is being increasingly recognised, largely due to numerous research studies conducted to assess the benefits of the modality. You will learn to use EFT to reduce stress, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, cravings, pain, phobias and more…

The EFT Certification is suitable for participants from all levels of the Social work profession – from student to advanced practitioner.

*AASW member discount**

This course will teach you the fundamentals of CBT, guided imagery, counselling, stress management and relaxation. The emphasis is on using a positive approach with your patients.

* FPS Relevant Activity *

This seminar aims to enhance counselling practitioner’s knowledge, sensitivity and awareness for working with transgender people. Some of the topics covered will be; awareness of language when referring to transpeople, scales of sex and gender, the current DSM gender dysphoria diagnosis, referral requirements for treatment and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards. Specifically, this training addresses background information, terms & definitions, diagnosis criteria, the prevalence of gender diversity & aspects of assessment.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This 2 day workshop covers the core concepts and techniques of family therapy practice, providing an overview of the influence of the major schools of thought on contemporary practice. The emphasis will be on applying theory as systemic practice, through teaching, demonstration, video, role play, case illustrations, group discussion and small group exercises.

The Adolescent Culture workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to engage and be a part of an informative and experiential/interactive session about young people today. This workshop will include discussions, activities and information on adolescent culture, highlighting what young people are experiencing, feeling, participating in and experimenting with. In addition, participants will walk away with a tool belt with skills and strategies to best engage with and motivate young people.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This workshop will draw from the work of Paul Gilbert, founder of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and Dennis Tirch, founder of The Centre for Compassion Focused Therapy. The healing properties of compassion have been written about for centuries, including the Dali Lama who connects compassion with happiness. CFT is an integrated and multimodal approach that draws from evolutionary, social, developmental and Buddhist psychology, and neuroscience.

* This training may be considered Focused Psychological Strategies. Please refer to the DoH website for further information

This one-day interactive professional development training alerts attendees to the possibility that their clients and/or co-workers may have experiences of childhood and/or other past or current trauma(s), which are affecting their health, wellbeing, daily interactions and functioning.

2 CPD hours

SWID is an AASW practice group for social workers working in the field of disability services, both in government and non-government organisations. Its main purpose is to facilitate support, networking, lobbying and professional development. Any social worker in the field of disability, from any organisation is welcome to join.

Video conferencing available.

A gold coin donation is requested, to go towards morning tea for the next meeting

This one-day interactive professional development training explores the nature, dynamics and risks of vicarious trauma (VT), contrasts it with burnout and compassion fatigue, and supports you to stay healthy and safe in your work with people impacted by diverse traumas.

This Graduate Certificate in Bereavement Counselling and Intervention (GC BCI) is highly sought after qualification that will give practitioners theoretical and clinical skill to support patients and clients with both normative and complicated grief reactions. The course is post graduate level and a nationally recognised VET qualification designed for counsellors, social workers, psychologists and other allied health professionals wanting to specialise in bereavement counselling and intervention.

Do you find working with couples a challenge? Would you like to feel more confident to be able to work with couples? Being an effective couple therapist requires us to develop skills that may not come naturally. This two day workshop teaches participants the fundamental skills of couple therapy and explores the challenges of working with adults who present with relationship problems and the particular issues they bring to the counselling room.

*FPS relevant activity *

** AASW Member discount **

Do you find working with couples a challenge? Would you like to feel more confident to be able to work with couples? Being an effective couple therapist requires us to develop skills that may not come naturally. This two day workshop teaches participants the fundamental skills of couple therapy and explores the challenges of working with adults who present with relationship problems and the particular issues they bring to the counselling room.

*FPS relevant activity *

** AASW Member discount **