Webinar: Social Work in the Shadows: Forensic Social Work Ethics and Solitary Confinement
Date: Monday 2/3, 6-9 pm
CE Hours: 3.0
Description
This workshop is designed for social service workers who are interested in learning more about navigating complex ethical dilemmas, and acquiring the tools needed for resolving these dilemmas. In particular, the concept of “dual loyalty,” a conflict between loyalty to the workplace and loyalty to the client, will be considered. Using the setting of a corrections-based solitary confinement unit, the webinar will provide an overview of this practice, and the role of social workers and other health care professionals who provide treatment in these units. Led by members of Social Workers & Allies Against Solitary Confinement with direct experience, this webinar will walk participants through the guidelines of ethical practice, highlighting the conflict between a social worker’s commitment to client versus commitment to their practice setting/employer. Through the combination of lecture, case example, guided questioning, and the testimony of a solitary survivor, participants will be engaged in the resolution of this ethical dilemma and will acquire the skills that may be used to resolve any ethical dilemma that may arise, regardless of the setting.
Target Audience
This live interactive webinar is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Social Workers, Counselors, MFT’s and Addiction Professionals, and anyone else who is interested. It can be taken for CE credit or not. Participants must be a registered member of SSEU Local 371.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this webinar, attendees will be able to:
Demonstrate understanding of the practice of solitary confinement
Articulate the dangers of prolonged solitary confinement and how this practice is antithetical to social work ethics
Define an ethical dilemma and the concept of dual loyalty
Demonstrate an advanced understanding of how to use an ethical decision-making framework for resolving complex ethical conflicts and dilemmas
Presenters
Mary Buser, LCSW, Author, Co-Director of Social Workers & Allies Against Solitary Confinement
Ali Winters, DSW, Associate Professor of Practice in the College of Social Work at
the University of Tennessee
Member of Social Workers & Allies Against Solitary Confinement Advisory Board (with lived experience)
Presenter Bios
Mary Buser, LCSW, is the author of the award-winning book, Lockdown on Rikers: Shocking Stories of Abuse and Injustice at New York’s Notorious Jail, which is based on her work as an assistant mental health chief at Rikers Island. After leaving Rikers, she became an advocate for the incarcerated, especially the mentally ill and those held in solitary confinement. She received her MSW from Columbia University and is the Co-director of Social Workers & Allies Against Solitary Confinement.
Ali Winters, DSW, LCSW is an Associate Professor of Practice in the College of Social Work at
the University of Tennessee. With over 30 years of direct social work practice experience, Dr.
Winters’ primary areas of social work practice have been forensic social work in corrections and juvenile justice, direct trauma-based service delivery, program development and evaluation, and behavioral health in healthcare settings. Dr. Winters has also been active in providing clinical supervision and leadership since earning her LCSW in 2005. Her areas of research interest include mental health and solitary confinement, forensic social work ethics, trauma-informed care, and secondary traumatic stress. She has been a member of Social Workers & Allies Against Solitary Confinement since 2015.
CE Information
For LCSWs/LMSWs: MPG Consulting LCSW, PLLC, SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0119.
For LMHCs: MPG Consulting LCSW, PLLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0044.
For LMFTs: MPG Consulting LCSW, PLLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0030.
For LCATs: MPG Consulting LCSW, PLLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0024.
For LPs (Psychoanalysts): MPG Consulting LCSW, PLLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts. #P-0034.
