This Center of Excellence provides learning opportunities for practitioners focused on the best and latest practices to decrease behavioral health disparities impacting LGBTQ+ children, youth, young adults, adults, and older adults. All eligible live and recorded sessions offer free continuing education credits (CECs), accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. To access past sessions, visit our recorded opportunities page.
The UConn School of Social Work is approved by the Connecticut Department of Public Health to provide continuing education credits (CECs) for social workers. The School is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The University of Connecticut is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
Sign up for an account or log in to the Innovations Learning Management System to register for our live and recorded sessions.
Our “Ask Our Experts” and panel discussions connect practitioners with experts from across the country who provide technical assistance on a variety of subjects.
Words Matter Wednesdays: Advancing Equity Through Language
Every Wednesday in May
From: 3:00-4:00 EST
Please join us for a series this May that will explore equitable terminology that promotes social justice for populations where language has often been used to shame individuals, patronize, enforce prejudice, or limit visibility. Each session will provide updated language that helps advance equity within their population of focus.
May 1st: Promoting Equity when Speaking About, and with, Families
May 8th: Promoting Equity for Black and African American Populations
May 15th: Promoting Equity for Older Adult Populations
May 22nd: Promoting Equity for LGBTQIA2S+ Populations
May 29th: Promoting Equity for Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Populations
We encourage behavioral health professionals and those who interact with or write about these populations, including those leading other Centers of Excellence, Technology Transfer Centers, and others administering programs aimed at increasing assess to mental health care to attend. Together, we hope to move forward in advancing equity through language.
Our live webinar series offers a deeper dive into specific topics as well as implications for behavioral health practice.
Intermediate Session
Tuesday, April 9th, 2024
From 1:00-2:30pm ET
Presenter: Dr. Meg Paceley & Dr. Melissa Santos
Ethical Practice with Transgender Youth & Families in the Context of Bans on Gender Affirming Care in the U.S.
This presentation will start with an overview of the state of gender affirming care bans, and threats to ban gender affirming care, across the U.S. Presenters will highlight the harms that come from prohibiting access to gender affirming care for transgender youth and identify strategies for mental and behavioral health practitioners to support transgender youth and their caregivers across sociopolitical contexts.
Advanced Session
Tuesday, May 14th, 2024
From 1:00-2:00pm ET
Presenter: Dr. Beth Maclin & Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier
Defining and Screening for Transphobia-driven Intimate Partner Violence
This webinar is aimed at practitioners and researchers interested in supporting transgender and gender expansive survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Newly published research examines subdomains of transphobia-driven IPV, a unique form of IPV that leverages systemic transphobia in the context of intimate and romantic relationships. In this webinar, the sub-domains will be defined alongside quotes from survivors to ground these concepts in lived experiences. Further, participants will learn about existing transphobia-driven IPV screening tools and understand which are best suited to capture all aspects of this phenomenon.
Interested in building foundational knowledge on LGBTQ+ behavioral health? Start here with our animated short and 101 webinar recordings! We strongly recommended that these materials are viewed prior to attending our live webinars.
Recorded 101 Webinars
Presenters:
Lyndsay Smith (she/her)
Jabari Lyles (he/him)
Sexual Orientation & Behavioral Health 101
This webinar enables behavioral health service providers to be more equipped to support, treat and advocate for people with diverse sexual orientations. Considering a general lack of LGBTQ+-affirming knowledge among healthcare providers, along with data and research which suggests LGBTQ+ people are at higher risk for poor health outcomes, this webinar offers institutions the skills they need to minimize gaps. Participants will define sexual orientation and explore related terms and concepts in human sexuality, become more intimately aware of the unique experiences of people who have diverse sexual orientations, learn specific behavioral health disparities, including risk and protective factors for people of various sexual orientations, and gain a toolkit of best practices for applying this knowledge in the field.
Presenters:
Lyndsay Smith (she/her)
Ezra Halstead (they/them, he/him)
Gender Identity, Expression & Behavioral Health 101
This webinar provides foundational knowledge about gender identity and gender expression, and how to best provide services for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals across the lifespan. Participants will learn concepts relating to gender identity and expression, as well as the process of transitioning, and respectful terms. Important terms that will be defined include but are not limited to: transgender, cisgender, nonbinary, intersex, and pronouns. Social, legal, and medical types of transition will be reviewed, as well as potential interpersonal/familial and systemic barriers to transition. Risk factors and behavioral health disparities for adults and children in this community will be reviewed, as well as best practices service providers can use to create a respectful and welcoming environment.