Past Counseling & Student Affairs Workshops | Western Kentucky University

Fall 2025

*Clinical Treatment of Children and Adolescents: Best Practices and Considerations

September 8, 2025

Understand relevant assessment procedures and considerations, that include human development theory
Describe evidence-based treatment and intervention models related to children and adolescents
Apply and understanding of treatment plans that include family therapy as an important element of treatment

Instructor: Lance Folske, M.A

The Basics of Sandtray

September 8, 2025

Describe the theoretical foundations and clinical applications of sandtray therapy
Identify essential materials and setup procedures for conducting sandtray therapy sessions
Observe and interpret key symbolic elements in a sandtray process and discuss their relevance to client treatment

Instructor: Bethany Johnson, LPCC-S

*Polyvagal Theory and Working with Children and Adolescents

September 15, 2025

Understand the Polyvagal Theory, including associations with DSM diagnoses
Be able to apply the theory when working with adolescents and parents
Be able to apply the theory and understanding of other brain structures throughout the diagnostic assessment and intervention process

Instructor: Bethany Johnson, LPCC-S

Using the Early Recollections Technique in Counseling Therapy

October 13, 2025

Understand the how and why Adlertian theory is holistic in nature and its historical application
Learn how to interpret early recollections
Apply the early recollections technique as it assists in therapy goals

Instructor: Marina Bluvshtein, PhD LP; MA LMFT

*Early Recollections of Adolescents

October 13, 2025

Describe how and why Adlerian theory is holistic in nature; and its historical application of counseling teenagers and older adolescents
Provide examples of how to interpret early recollections when working with teenagers and older adolescents and from an Adlerian perspective
Demonstrate and explain the purpose and application of the early recollections technique as it assists in therapy goals

Instructor: Marina Bluvshtein, PhD LP; MA LMFT

*Ethical, Legal, and Practical Considerations for Distance Counseling and Supervision

October 28, 2025

Utilize the ethical and legal considerations related to distance counseling and supervision.
Apply the practical and technological considerations to professional practice and supervision.
Identify potential pitfalls and ways to avoid them.

Instructor:
Daniel G. Williamson, ph.D., LPCC-S (KY), LPC (TX), NCC, HS-BCP
Jennifer Nivin Williamson, Ph.D., LPCC-S (KY), LPC (TX), NCC, HS-BCP

Bridging Borders: Advancing the Counseling Compact in Kentucky

November 11, 2025

Utilize the ethical and legal considerations related to distance counseling and supervision.
Apply the practical and technological considerations to professional practice and supervision.
Identify potential pitfalls and ways to avoid them.

Instructor:
Dr. Hannah M. Coyt, LPCC-S, NCC, CCMHC

Working with High-Conflict, High-Risk Individuals and Families

November 17, 2025

Understand the unique clinical and ethical challenges of working with high-conflict or high-risk individuals and families involved in court-ordered services, including dynamics of power, trauma, and systemic resistance to change
Learn practical strategies for maintaining clinical boundaries and personal emotional regulation while engaging with contentious clients or referral sources. This includes fostering professional and community collaborations, using intentional grounding techniques, delivering effective psychoeducation about the profession and your role in this system, and integrating somatic practices such as yoga and mindfulness. General information about recommended clinical training, such as EMDR therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and The Matrix Model, will also be discussed.
Apply trauma informed interventions, including co-regulation strategies and assertive empathy, in both individual and family therapy setting with clients referred by courts

Instructor:
Stefany Vaughn Mack, LPCC-S, NCC

*What is Integrative Healt Care and How Does it Apply to Me?

November 18, 2025

Understand how biological factors that impact mental health, particularly among college aged adolescents
Gain knowledge about how "brain health" contributes to mood and other mental health disorder diagnoses.
Learn specific self-help strategies that support brain and body health, particularly aimed at college students

Instructor:
Cathy Gamm

Spring 2025

For Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: Strategies to Keep Gifted Children and Adolescents Happy, Productive, and Purposeful!

February 10, 2025

Explore the reasons why failure is a necessary facet of growth and the development of grit and resilience
Discuss insights on how to help children develop grit and resilience
Discuss specific ways teachers, counselors and parents can help children and adolescents reframe failure to opportunity and resilience

Instructor: Michele Frey, PhD, LPC, ACS, CPCS, DNASAP

Partner Sexual Betrayal: Consequences and Impact on the Family

March 24, 2025

Gain an understanding of sexual betrayal trauma within couples dyad.
Identify how betrayal trauma can also impact the individual’s functioning as a family member and parent.
Gain knowledge of how relationship betrayal can impact and manifest within children living in the home .

Instructor: Jackie F. Newman, CPTT, LPCC-S

Integrative Mental Health: Self-Care and Awareness for College Students

April 1, 2025

Understand how biological factors impact mental health.
Gain knowledge about how “brain health” contributes to mood and other mental health disorder diagnoses.

Instructor: Cathy Gamm, MA, LPCC-S, CBHC, CIMHP

Eating Disorders: Family Impact and Generational Patterns*

April 14, 2025

Explain ways of recognizing when a child or teen is struggling with eating disorder-related symptoms.
Explain how an individual’s eating disorder impacts family functioning.
Identify the etiology of how and why eating disorders manifest as generational patterns and trends.

Explain ways of recognizing when a child or teen is struggling with eating disorder-related symptoms.
Explain how an individual’s eating disorder impacts family functioning.
Identify the etiology of how and why eating disorders manifest as generational patterns and trends.

Instructor: Susan E. Belangee, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, ACS, DNASAP, NASAP Executive Director

Is Licensure Enough?

April 28, 2025

Evaluate ethical standards of professional responsibility for maintaining boundaries of competence (ACA, 2014, C.2.a.) and following procedures (e.g., informed consent) for incorporating new specialty areas of practice (ACA, 2014, C.2.b.).
Explore the impact and potential risks related to intersecting professional identities from multiple fields of practice using a counseling ethical decision-making model (Remley & Herlihy, 2024).
Discuss implications and pressures related to professional counseling trends that influence decisions to add nonconventional modalities (e.g., reiki, yoga) and additional certifications (e.g., EMDR, SE) beyond licensure.

Instructor: Dr. Rhemma Payne, LMHC (IN), NCC, ACS, BC-TMH

Fall 2024

Clinical Treatment of Children and Adolescents: Best Practices and Considerations

September 9, 2024

Understand relevant assessment procedures and considerations, that include human development theory
Describe evidence-based treatment and intervention models related to children and adolescents
Apply an understanding of treatment plans that include family therapy as an important element of treatment

Instructor: Lance Folske, M.S.

The Triune Brain and Relationships

September 16, 2024

Understanding the Triune Brain Model, and other anatomical structures of the brain associated with DSM diagnoses.
Applying the triune brain model when working with adolescents and parents
Applying the triune brain model, and understanding of other brain structures throughout the diagnostic assessment and intervention process

Instructor: Emilee Payne, M.A.E.

Making Assessment Holistic: Early Recollections with Teens

October 14, 2024

Describing how and why Adlerian theory is holistic in nature; and its historical application of counseling young people
Appropriately demonstrating the interpretation of early recollections when working with adolescents and from an Adlerian perspective.
Verbalizing how early recollections from an Adlerian-based perspective give clinicians, adolescent clients, and parents insight into the purpose behind the adolescents’ lifestyle

Integrative Mental Health: How College Students Can Be Well

October 24, 2024

Understanding how biological factors that impact mental health
Gaining knowledge about how “brain health” contributes to mood and other mental health disorder diagnoses
Learning specific self-help strategies that support brain and body health

Instructor: Cathy Gamm, MA, LPCC-S, CBHC, CIMHP

Domestic Trafficking: What Mental Health Professionals Need to Know

November 4, 2024

Learning what acts constitute sex trafficking in America and what trafficking looks like from the eyes of a survivor and survivor ally
Increasing knowledge of what working with a survivor can look like through assessments and interactions
Discussing several ideas for holistic recovery plans

Instructor: Dr. Azurdee M. Garland, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Phoenix Rising

How to Talk to Children About Child Sexual Abuse

November 18, 2024

Understanding the legal definitions of "sexual abuse"
Becoming knowledgeable about the current statistics related to sexual abuse
Understanding developmentally appropriate ways of introducing and talking to children about sexual abuse

Instructor: Ericka McComas-Church, LCSW

Spring 2024

Counseling Families: HIPAA and Confidentiality Considerations

January 29, 2024

Understanding the dynamics of family functions and the role of the therapist in advocating for the client in a way that is compliant with the laws.
Applying an understanding of HIPAA compliance in mental health and the accompanying privacy act.
Applying an understanding of the specific nature of mental health and HIPAA compliance, not just in reference to keeping and disseminating records.

Instructor: Jamie E. Cole, LCSW

Building an Effective Child Welfare System: Critical Touch Points When Working with Children and Families

February 5, 2024

Understanding the critical touch points in child welfare when working with children and families.
Describing current barriers and relevant opportunities for engagement as professionals working with children and families.
Applying an understanding of strategies to engage child welfare involved service providers.
Applying an understanding of strategies to engage child welfare involved systems (e.g., legal, educational, medical, etc.)

Instructor: Austin Griffiths, Ph.D., MSW, CSW

Counseling and Being a Resource for LGB Teens

February 12, 2024

Explaining the impact of contexts impacting LGB youth.
Identifying the risks/challenges to LGB youth.
Demonstrating how to develop interventions (micro/mezzo/macro) to assist LGB youth.

Instructor: Gayle Mallinger, Ph.D., MSW

Practice and Opportunities: Working with Families and Youth in Juvenile Court

March 11, 2024

Identifying the goals and philosophy of juvenile courts of rehabilitation in contrast to prosecution in “adult” courts.
Describing approaches to risk and needs screening and forensic mental health evaluation of youth in juvenile courts.
Describing the role of clinicians working with youth and families to implement recommendations from evaluations.

Instructor:

Parenting of and Raising a Child with a Disability

March 25, 2024

Applying an understanding of the parent situation in counseling/therapy with parents.
Recommending to parents’ strategies for raising their child with disabilities.
Articulating and describing what parent coping is for parents of children with significant disabilities.

Instructor: Tim Hartshorne, PhD

Sex Addiction and Trauma Among Adolescents and Teens

April 1, 2024

Gaining an understanding of sexual addiction and understand how symptomatology manifests in adolescents and teens.
Discussing how sexual addiction is treated in adolescents and teens.
Discussing how to support the individual and how it effects the family system.

Instructor: Jackie F. Newman, CPTT, LPCC-S

Supervising LPCAs Who Work with Children and Teens: Critical Touch Points

April 22, 2024

Describing the ethical codes specific to working with kids and teens (ACA, AMHCA, ASCA)
Understanding reporting requirements federal and state (parental rights, mandated reporting, etc.)
Giving details of child and adolescent development and the importance of staying current on trends with children and teens
Discussing the different types of clinical interventions utilized with children and teens

Instructor: Jeff Hughes, EdS, LPC, Certified Professional Counseling Supervisor

Fall 2023

Teens, Vaping, and Substance Use

May 9, 2023

Understanding why teens vape,
Identifying the dangers of vaping and how it serves as a gateway process to other drugs, and
Identifying evidence-informed prevention and intervention strategies.

Instructors: Whitney Harper, Ph.D., LCSW

The Gift of Failure: Helping Gifted Children and Adolescents Succeed

September 11, 2023

Explore the reasons why failure is a necessary facet of growth and the development of grit and resilience.
Discuss insights on how to help children develop grit and resilience.
Hear personal accounts of how parents, children and teachers have recognized the benefits of learning from failure.

Instructor: Dr. Martha Day

The Triune Brain and Family Dyads

September 18, 2023

Understand the Triune Brain Model
Be able to apply the triune brain model to working with families and familial dyads.
Be able to apply the model to their own familial relationships.

Instructor: Jill Duba Sauerheber, PhD
LPCC-S, NCC, EMDR Cert., BRAINSPOTTING Cert., Somatic Experimental Practitioner, Certified Brain Health Professional

Early Recollection of Adolescents

October 16, 2023

Describing the use of early recollections historically and their relevance to different theories.
Appropriately demonstrating the interpretation of early recollections when working with adolescents and from an Adlerian perspective.
Verbalizing how early recollections from an Adlerian-based perspective give clinicians, adolescent clients, and parents insight into the purpose behind the adolescents’ lifestyle.