NASW/CT 33rd Annual Spring Conference 

REGISTRATION FEES:

• NASW Member: $155.00 ($175.00 after Wednesday April 6, 2018)
• Non-Member: $195.00 ($225.00 after Wednesday April 6, 2018)
• Full-time Student: $65.00 ($85.00 after Wednesday April 6, 2018)
• Presenters: $35.00 (lunch fee)
• Registered Exhibitors (1/2 workshop attendee): $77.50

Conference Program Booklet

(click here)

Every day the 650,000 social workers in this country act as leaders, advocates, and champions and today, in 2018, it is more important than ever that social workers stand up to make our society a better place to live.  Trained to look at situations in a holistic way, social workers bring people together with others and with their communities to find ways to address both individual and societal problems.  We use this logo and theme, created by the National Office of NASW, for our Annual State Conference to acknowledge the profession’s role in working to meet the basic needs of all people, especially the most vulnerable in our society.  Social workers are present in our government, our schools, our communities, the military, and in healthcare and mental health organizations.  Social workers are present in times of crisis; they push to protect and ensure human rights, working to solve social problems within their communities and bring about positive change.  This is not always an easy job, especially when funding for services is being cut and health care is under threat and the government seeks to weaken certain hard fought rights.  We applaud all the social workers in Connecticut who are Leaders, and Advocates, and Champions within their lives, their work, and their communities and honor the work you do.

Keynote Speaker

Charles Atkins, MD

Board-certified Psychiatrist, Author, & Trainer

Charles Akins, MD, is well known to many in Connecticut as a Speaker and a Trainer and we are fortunate to have him as our Keynote Speaker for our 33^rd Annual Statewide Conference.  Dr. Atkins is the Chief Medical Officer for Community Mental Health Affiliates (CMHA), a multi-site non-profit agency that provides behavioral health and substance abuse services for children, adolescents, and adults.

Dr. Atkins received his BA from NYU and went on to Emory University to earn his Doctor of Medicine degree.  He interned at the Hospital of St. Raphael and his Psychiatric Residency was at Yale.  Dr. Atkins worked at Waterbury Hospital for a number of years and was then employed at the Western Connecticut Mental Health Network as Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer before returning to Waterbury Hospital Health Center as Attending Physician/Psychiatrist.  His work took him from geriatric psychiatry and prolonged and persistent mental illness, to oversight of WCMHN clinical initiatives and participation on state-wide committees, to substance abuse and dual diagnosis treatment and medication-assisted treatment of opiate dependence to supervision of agency staff, program development, and statewide initiatives.  He has written books on Bipolar Disorder, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Disorders as well as hundreds of articles and columns for magazines, newspapers, and journals.  In addition, Dr. Atkins writes paranormal fiction, including for Young Adults, under the pen name, Caleb James.  He is a member of the Yale University School of Medicine Adjunct Clinical Faculty and a popular trainer at the Connecticut Women’s Consortium.

Dr. Atkins’ keynote will address Humor, Healing, and the Power of the Positive.  We know that stress kills but what about the flip side?  What about love, laughter, joy, prayer, meditation, and exercise?  How might these impact all dimensions of wellness and contribute to resiliency?  The plenary session will explore the emotional, spiritual, and physiologic changes that accompany positive states.  Delve into the powerful literature on mindfulness and exercise with Dr. Atkins and explore the roles that humor and laughter can play, even, and perhaps especially, in the face of stress, sadness, and suffering.