All Webinars

The abuse of older adults is a serious issue in Canada affecting up to 8.2% of older Canadians (55+) living in the community (“Into the Light: National Survey on the Mistreatment of Older Canadians”, 2015, NICE). This means up to 17,500 older Manitobans could be experiencing abuse. The abuse can be physical, emotional, financial, sexual as well as neglect. Join us for a virtual presentation on March 28th from 12-1:30 pm CT and 1-2:30pm ET!

Learning Objectives: 

• How to recognize Elder Abuse
• Types of abuse
• Responding to Elder Abuse
• Prevention Strategies and case examples
• Highlight of A & O programs and services

This webinar is offered in partnership with the Manitoba College of Social Workers.

Join us for A Fireside Chat with Social Workers at the Senate, an intimate and engaging conversation with two esteemed social work Senators the Honourable Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard and the Honourable Senator Tracy Muggli. This event offers an opportunity to gain firsthand insights into their experiences in the Senate and their work in shaping social policy that impacts communities across Canada.

In a relaxed fireside chat format, the Senators will be interviewed by two passionate social work students who will lead an informal yet thought-provoking dialogue that bridges the gap between policy and practice.

Social workers can expect to:

• Hear the Senators' journeys from social work practice to the Senate, and how their professional values inform their policy work,
• Learn about key social policy issues being addressed at the national level and the role of social workers in shaping legislative change, 
• And engage with the next generation of social work leaders as they explore the intersection of advocacy, policy, and practice.

This fireside chat is an opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired by the critical work being done to influence social change from within Canada's highest legislative body.

Register today to be part of this important conversation!

It is well known that there are large disparities in health and mental health outcomes for Indigenous peoples across Canada. Closing the gaps of these health outcomes is the subject of advocacy for First Nations, Inuit and Metis people across Turtle Island and comprises several sections of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action (2015).   

Despite the pressing need for effective care, research on empirically supported treatments for Indigenous peoples remains limited (Gone et al., 2019; Beckstead et al., 2015; Braveheart et al., 2020). One proposed solution is the Etuaptmumk, or Two-Eyed Seeing framework. Etuaptmumk is a term proposed by Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall that describes taking the strengths of both indigenous and mainstream worldviews to maximize benefits and outcomes for people and the environment. In a healthcare perspective, Cyr and Riediger (2021) describe Etuaptmumk as an epistemic concept that has “the power to elevate health initiatives and overall well-being for indigenous peoples and communities”.   

Drawing on this framework, Anangkwe, Charity Fleming, has developed an indigenous adapted 12 session CBT model. Integrated into the model are key indigenous adapted CBT interventions including Indigenous Adapted Mindfulness Practice and Indigenous Adapted Imagery Techniques. Join us in this webinar to learn through experience, best practice, and strengthen your toolkit; emerging stronger in your journey of providing culturally responsive care to FNMI peoples.

This webinar provides an in-depth exploration of the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in social work interventions, emphasizing its impact on client care and outcomes. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of both the potential benefits and risks of AI technologies, as well as their implications for mental health and social work practice.

The session will focus on how AI-driven tools can be effectively utilized in direct practice, enhancing treatment planning, streamlining case note writing, and advancing data analysis to improve client engagement and treatment outcomes. Critical ethical and humanistic considerations will be addressed, including safeguarding client privacy, ensuring informed consent, and maintaining the therapeutic alliance. Through practical strategies and actionable insights, participants will learn how to integrate AI tools into their practice in a way that prioritizes client well-being while upholding social work values and ethical standards.

Webinar Key Objectives:

• Examine how AI technologies, such as therapeutic chatbots and deep fakes, can enhance and potentially harm mental health, and understand the implications for clinical practice.
• Analyze critical ethical considerations, including privacy issues, informed consent, and the risk of misuse of AI technologies, and explore the need for advocacy to shape legislation and research.
• Gain practical insights into utilizing AI-driven tools, such as AI-generated CBT homework and therapy analysis applications, to enhance client care while maintaining client-centered.

This webinar is designed to introduce social work professionals to the transformative potential of generative AI technologies. It is tailored to provide participants with a comprehensive foundation in AI applications across all levels of social work practice—from micro, mezzo, to macro practice.

The workshop will engage participants in critical discussions about the ethical implications of using AI in social work, emphasizing the importance of social work ethics such as privacy, confidentiality, awareness of bias, and maintaining human-centered approaches while using generative AI. This will also be an interactive session complete with live demonstrations enabling participants to develop the skills necessary to integrate and adopt AI technologies into their everyday social work practices. All participants will receive a Generative AI Prompt Guidebook tailored for Social Work Practice, designed to aid in the practical application of AI tools in various social work settings. This webinar is an opportunity for social work professionals eager to enhance their practice with innovative AI solutions while adhering to ethical standards and promoting human-centric approaches.

Webinar Key Objectives:

1. Participants will gain a foundational understanding of generative AI technologies, including how these tools are developed and their potential applications within different levels of social work practice (micro, mezzo, and macro).

2. Identify and discuss the ethical challenges associated with AI use in social work practice with strategies for navigating these issues responsibly.

3. Develop practical skills in utilizing generative AI tools through exercises and live demonstrations, empowering participants to apply AI solutions effectively within their specific social work contexts while maintaining a client-centered, ethically responsible approach.

Cognitive restructuring is a hallmark of CBT. An entry point into this nuanced, creative and dynamic intervention is an exploration of cognitive distortions and use of the thought record or thought journal. Once mastered, this intervention can be used in a host of contexts from negative automatic thoughts to rules for living, to schema work…and beyond. This tool is made all the more potent when elements such as imagery, creativity, metaphor, and culture are employed.            

This foundations webinar will teach participants the essential skills of cognitive restructuring through learning the rules so that they can be appropriately broken. The use of creativity, imagery and metaphor will also be introduced to help move the impact of cognitive restructuring from head to heart.

After this webinar participants will:

• Understand the power of this essential element of cognitive behavioural therapy
• Be able to utilize practical techniques to facilitate cognitive restructuring with clients
• Engage in interventions that deepen the impact of cognitive restructuring – moving from logic to feeling
• Have practical tools and resources to use in practice

Asking good, thought provoking (Socratic) questions is a keystone to CBT. Using Socratic Dialogue is a powerful approach that facilitates discovery and learning between the client and the therapist – this is often called Guided Discovery or Guided Empiricism. This approach is used in an variety of different way and requires a certain level of skill and risk on the part of the clinician, as asking open ended questions opens us up to uncertainty.

In this webinar we will explore Socratic Dialogue and Guided Discovery from a theoretical and practical level. Participants will come away with new thoughts and tools to use in their practice of asking good questions.

In this webinar participants will:

• Learn the importance of guided empiricism (discovery) in CBT
• Discover the power and risk of Socratic Dialogue
• Engage with developing the skill of asking good, Socratic questions and practicing guided discovery.
• Acquire practical resources to help them in their developing practice.

The history of racism in Canada has unfortunately led to an embedded and persistent reality of daily race-based traumatic experiences for Black individuals, families, and their communities today. Black mental health requires immediate and unique attention, which first requires all mental health practitioners to understand and respond to Black mental health concerns as a shared responsibility.

This webinar aims to provide a brief overview of racism in Canada as it relates to Black communities, and how its impact has created barriers to mental wellness systemically. We will also explore the unique stressors and mental health challenges many Black communities face as a result of racial trauma. Finally, to help participants learn best practices in supporting Black mental health, we will explore decolonizing psychology, cultural humility, and adopting an Africentric care model to better support in holding safe and transformative spaces for Black communities on their mental wellness journey.

Webinar Learning Objectives: 

• Understand systemic factors impacting Black mental health.
• Recognize the unique stressors and mental health challenges faced by Black communities.
• Identify ways decolonize psychology and increase cultural humility to reduce barriers to mental health care for Black communities.
• Learn practices grounded in Africentric care to provide mental health support tailored to Black clients.

Historically CBT has been viewed as overly rigid, paternalistic, cold and overly focused on a narrow perception of cognition. This foundations workshop will explore the basic tenants of CBT from a more current lens which conceptualizes CBT as a creative, flexible and client-centered approach that not only focuses on cognition but also feelings, spirit, culture, body and heart.             

From there participants assessment and case conceptualization (critical first steps in any CBT process) will be explored, using a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-cultural perspective. Case conceptualized will be a focus as it is a flexible, evolving, collaborative foundation to CBT treatment. Participants will come away with knowledge and hands-on (handouts and worksheets) resources to use in practice.

At the end of this webinar participants will:

• Be aware of the basic tenants of CBT in a “3rd Wave”, 2025 Context
• Understand the beginning steps in a CBT process namely connection, assessment and conceptualization focusing on a bio-psycho-social-spiritua-l-cultural approach
• Appreciate the various levels of case conceptualizations and its role in treatment planning
• Attain practical conceptualization models and worksheets for use in practice.

This two-hour workshop, "Foundations for Reconciliation in Social Work," provides an overview of the work being undertaken at MCSW to achieve its strategic pillars of Regulation, Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Public Awareness. It offers social workers insight into key foundational documents such as the TRC Calls to Action, UNDRIP, MMIWG Calls to Justice, Spirit Bear Plan, and Bill C-92, highlighting their relevance to social work practice. The workshop explores how these frameworks inform MCSW's strategies and the role social workers play in advancing reconciliation, cultural safety, and equity.

Webinar Key Objectives:

• An overview of Two-Eyed Seeing worldview and its relevance to social work practice
• Exploration of the TRC Calls to Action, UNDRIP, MMIWG Calls to Justice, Spirit Bear Plan, and Bill C-92
• Understanding the shift from Cultural Safety to Cultural Competence
• Review of Power Dynamics in Social Work
• Identifying Actionable Commitments towards reconciliation, cultural competence and equity