🌟 Presenter: Lisa Townsend, Ph.D.
🗓️ Date: 6-8 p.m. ET Monday, Sept. 14, 2026
🛜 Location: Zoom
💰 Cost: $35 » Register
📚 CEUs: 2 hours

Learning objectives:

• Participants will understand the impact of social determinants of health on people and their companion animals as well as the human-animal bond as an important relationship that goes unaddressed in standard needs assessments.
• Participants will apply a public health framework to interventions directed toward people and their pets.
• Participants will adapt standard needs assessment/mental health evaluations to consider clients' relationships with their companion animals.
• Participants will curate local resources to address human and animal needs and preserve the human-animal bond.

About the presenter

Lisa Townsend, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the divisions of adolescent medicine and psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University/VCU Health systems.

She provides psychotherapy for youth and young adults who struggle with chronic suicidal ideation and self-harm. Her research interests include preserving the human-animal bond through human-animal support services and studying the effects of animal-assisted interventions on human and animal health and well-being.

Registration is closed for these sessions.

🌟 Presenters: Cassie DeSena Jacobs, D.S.W., LCSW; Klara Prachar, M.S.W., LCSW
🗓️ Date: 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET Friday, Sept. 18-Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026
📍 Location: Academic Learning Commons  3100
💰 Cost: $210, lunch included ($175 for field liaisons/instructors and alumni)
📚 CEUs: 14 hours

Clinical supervision training is designed to fulfill the Virginia Board of Social Work and Counseling’s requirement for Licensed Clinical Social Workers to provide clinical supervision to social workers and counselors pursuing their LCSW. This training is designed to offer high-quality, interdisciplinary and interactive supervision training through multiple learning modalities such as case study, didactics, videos, self-assessment and discussion.  

Virginia LCSWs interested in providing clinical supervision are eligible to attend. Topics covered in the training include:

• The supervisory relationship
• Methods and techniques for supervision
• Models and theories of supervision
• Roles and functions of a supervisor
• Ethical and legal issues in supervision
• Tele-supervision
• Group supervision
• Assessment, evaluation and gatekeeping
• Critical cultural competence

This training session will be offered over two days (14 total hours) for LCSWs. This includes three hours of asynchronous engagement prior to the first synchronous training day. CEU certificates will be provided through National Association of Social Workers approval, and the total hours will include 2 ethics hours.

About the presenters

Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W., LCSW, M.S., is an assistant professor in teaching and director of mental health initiatives at the VCU School of Social Work. She is a clinical social worker with over 18 years of experience in New York and Virginia. Cassie’s work has focused on trauma-informed, anti-racist and culturally competent care in various communities, including acute hospital work, community social work and direct practice in New York and Virginia. 

Klara Prachar, M.S.W., LCSW, is an assistant professor in teaching at the VCU School of Social Work. She teaches clinical courses in the M.S.W. Program and has 15 years of experience working in community mental health, including crisis mental health, serious mental illness, trauma, substance abuse, incarcerated individuals and veterans. She currently serves on the NASW-Virginia Board of Directors and provides clinical supervision toward licensure.

🌟 Presenter: Chanda Bass, D.S.W., LCSW, C-SSWS, CCTP, CATP
🗓️ Date: Oct. 1
💰 Cost: $35 » Register
🛜 Location: Zoom
📚 CEUs: 2 hours

The Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) is a widely utilized, evidence-based group treatment that has been adapted for use with students from various cultural backgrounds. Input from school staff members, parents and clinicians in the Richmond, Virginia, area was utilized to update and adapt the CBITS to reflect the cultural identities and experiences of local students. The modified intervention, the RVA CBITS Update, will be discussed, and suggestions for implementing similar adaptations in other localities will be shared.

Learning objectives

• The participant will be able to describe general methods for culturally adapting an evidence-based intervention for youth.
• The participant will be able to describe the general format, purpose and strengths of the CBITS group intervention for youth. 
• The participant will learn two tenets of community-based participatory methods aimed at engaging community stakeholders in trauma-informed school based approaches.

About the presenter

Dr. Chanda Bass has worked in public schools for the past 27 years as a school social worker.  She is a recent graduate of the Doctor of Social Work program at California Baptist University.  She completed her final research project on culturally adapting an evidence-based trauma intervention for use in schools in her region. She earned a Master of Social Work degree in 1998 from Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Bass served as a subject matter expert for the national certification program, Culturally Informed Responses to Grief and Loss. Dr. Bass enjoys educating and supporting social work students.

🌟 Presenters: Cassie DeSena Jacobs, D.S.W., LCSW; Klara Prachar, M.S.W., LCSW
⏰ Time: 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET 
🗓️ Dates: Friday, Feb. 5-Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027  🛜  Location: Zoom  |  9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET Friday, April 2-Saturday, April 3, 2027 📍 Location: Academic Learning Commons  3100
💰 Cost: $210, lunch included ($175 for field liaisons/instructors and alumni)
👉 Register: Feb. 5-6  |  Register: April 2-3
📚 CEUs: 14 hours

Clinical supervision training is designed to fulfill the Virginia Board of Social Work and Counseling’s requirement for Licensed Clinical Social Workers to provide clinical supervision to social workers and counselors pursuing their LCSW. This training is designed to offer high-quality, interdisciplinary and interactive supervision training through multiple learning modalities such as case study, didactics, videos, self-assessment and discussion.  

Virginia LCSWs interested in providing clinical supervision are eligible to attend. Topics covered in the training include:

• The supervisory relationship
• Methods and techniques for supervision
• Models and theories of supervision
• Roles and functions of a supervisor
• Ethical and legal issues in supervision
• Tele-supervision
• Group supervision
• Assessment, evaluation and gatekeeping
• Critical cultural competence

This training session will be offered over two days (14 total hours) for LCSWs. This includes three hours of asynchronous engagement prior to the first synchronous training day. CEU certificates will be provided through National Association of Social Workers approval, and the total hours will include 2 ethics hours.

About the presenters

Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W., LCSW, M.S., is an assistant professor in teaching and director of mental health initiatives at the VCU School of Social Work. She is a clinical social worker with over 18 years of experience in New York and Virginia. Cassie’s work has focused on trauma-informed, anti-racist and culturally competent care in various communities, including acute hospital work, community social work and direct practice in New York and Virginia. 

Klara Prachar, M.S.W., LCSW, is an assistant professor in teaching at the VCU School of Social Work. She teaches clinical courses in the M.S.W. Program and has 15 years of experience working in community mental health, including crisis mental health, serious mental illness, trauma, substance abuse, incarcerated individuals and veterans. She currently serves on the NASW-Virginia Board of Directors and provides clinical supervision toward licensure.