Political polarization prevails in the United States as well as in other areas of the world (Boxell et al., 2021). While political action is inherent in democratic cultures, over-politicizing issues strains the social ties that strengthen families, communities, and nations. It interferes with finding sustainable and durable solutions to our most challenging problems. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the perils of politicizing social issues; people are making choices about mask-wearing, vaccines, and social distancing based on their political stance (Kerr et al., 2021). Unnecessary politicizing exposes programs and solutions to risks of repeal and replacement when political opponents are subsequently elected. The attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act reflects such risk. Social workers and other professionals work across the ecosystem to promote programs and practices that are evidence-based.

Social work proceeds at the speed of trust. Open inquiry that invites viewpoint diversity is more likely to produce greater trust, less politicized outcomes, and more durable solutions. One critically important place that this can be practiced is in the social work classroom. However, ideological domination of social work faculty and students (Ringstad, 2014) can compromise trust among professionals and within the discipline. Professionals need not take an ideological orthodox position to be effective in their practice (Lerner, 2020) but this requires peaceful pluralism and prioritizing people over politics. In this presentation, participants will learn to 1) enhance viewpoint and political diversity in education and practice; 2) recognize the basis for political and viewpoint diversity in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics (2021) as well as within other respective disciplines; 3) understand specific strategies and frameworks to serve politically diverse constituencies, including moral foundations theory (Graham, Haidt, and Nosek, 2009). The desired outcome is trust focused dialogue essential to social work practice and education. Although we contextualize our discussion within the field of social work, the presentation may provoke dialogue across disciplines. 

Presenters: 

Matthew Watson, MSW, LCSW
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family Services – Manager of Administration

Zander Keig, MSW, LCSW
2020 NASW National Social Worker of the Year
Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism

As therapists, we frequently support our individual clients with the pains and stressors of their most important relationships. Romantic relationships, because of their unique nature, can feature prominently in our work with individual clients. If we aren't careful, however, a whole host of tendencies, both clinical and human, can push us into unethical places as we strive to support our individual clients in their work. Thankfully, with a few guiding frames, we can be sure to support our client both fully and ethically. While this workshop is specifically geared towards individual clients in romantic partnerships, there is also applicable information for clients navigating family and community relationships.

Jess Cleeves, LCSW

Jess Cleeves' practice specializes in supporting high-challenge partnerships to stabilize and thrive. As a PACT Level 2 therapist, Jess has the opportunity to consult with many individual therapists about individuals in the partnerships she supports. These conversations have been powerful revelations about how individual therapists can help or hurt their individual clients who are struggling in their primary romantic relationships. 

This course is for Students who are preparing to graduate and take a licensing exam.

We will cover:

All times are in mountain time. This is a virtual & in person course. 
Details for the virtual stream will be provided in February.
Please verify ​the format you are registering for.
 

Member Costs
$120 with book
$80 without book

Non-Member Costs
$150 with book
$100 without book

We welcome and encourage all NASW-Utah members to join us as we discuss legislative issues and how we can addres any chalanges and provide support.

You MUST be an NASW-Utah member to join. Your membership will be verified before you can enter the zoom.

The legislative committee meets on the fourth Wednesday at 4 PM in the months of October, December, February, April, June, August.

We meet at 3 PM Mountain Time

LINK TO ZOOM

Join NASW-Utah on Friday, March 10th for our Annual Conference. 

​This event is hybrid so we will be ​in person at the Sheraton in Salt Lake City and streaming virtually.

This year our theme is, "A Voice for the Voiceless" We will cover topics such as: Homelessness, Substance Abuse, Aging, Corrections, Juveniles, Chronically Ill, Medically Underserved, & BIPOC.

With 7 CEU hours including keynotes on Suicide Prevention & Ethics.

Register early HERE

LOCATION:

The in person event is at ​The Sheraton Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah
150 W 500 S
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

8:45 AM - 10:15 AM

• Morning Keynote (1.5 Suicide Prevention CEU): " From Death Education to Live On: Suicide in Utah and the State of Suicide Prevention," with  Michael Staley, PhD

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

• Breakout 1 (1.5 CEU): " Homelessness: Choice versus Circumstance," with  Randy M. Huntington, LCSW,  Monte S. Memmott, CMHC, and  Fred Sheehan, Peer Support Specialist
• Breakout 2 (1.5 CEU): " Invisible Disabilities: Providing Behavioral Health Support for People with Chronic Health Conditions," with  K. Todd Pehrson LCSW, and Taylor Berhow, LCSW

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

• Lunch Panel (1 CEU): " Dynamic Social Worker - Deepen Your Professional and Leadership Skills," with  Dr. Terri Nicole Sawyer, LCSW, CFLE,  Shandy Clark,  Mark O. Bigler, LCSW, PhD, Jeff Scott, LCSW, and Annika Hunt, MSW, LCSW

1:15 PM - 2:45 PM

• Afternoon Keynote (1.5 Ethics CEU): "