Professional
Continuing Education
Since its inception, SWORPS has provided support services to numerous regional
continuing education providers such as coordinating conferences for the Tennessee
Foster Care Association and the National Association of Social Workers, Tennessee
Chapter, and conducting post-Vietnam stress workshops.
The Professional Continuing Education program is now in its ninth year since being
restructured in July 1994 with new leadership, a statewide needs assessment, and
advisory groups. The mission of this program is to deliver exceptional opportunities
for lifelong learning to alumni and other human service providers across the state.
We now have advisory groups in Athens, Chattanooga, Jackson, Johnson City,
Knoxville, Memphis, Morristown, and Nashville. As this program continues to grow, it
is always open to sharing new ideas and skills for future training with others in the
helping professions. Its offerings are evaluated by participants and updated
regularly, and the majority of programs and facilitators continue to receive very
positive evaluations.
SWORPS is fortunate to partner with the University of Tennessee College of Social
Work’s faculty, staff members, and alumni along with other local community partners
and cosponsors, providers of social work and human services, professional
continuing education programming. Very effective relationships have been established
with numerous providers of continuing education, which include
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The National Association of Social Workers, along with its statewide and
regional Tennessee chapters
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The Hospice Foundation of America (Washington, DC)
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The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, St. Jude Children’s Hospital,
Memphis City Schools, and West Tennessee Area Health Education Center
(Memphis)
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Tennessee Wesleyan College and Daystar Counseling Center (Athens)
JThe University of Tennessee Memorial Hospital and its Graduate Schools of
Medicine, College of Nursing, Home Care Services, Pastoral Care Services, and
the Nursing Education Department (Knoxville and Memphis)
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Comprehensive Community Services and the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs
Medical Center (Johnson City)
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Cookeville Regional Medical Center (Cookeville)
JPathways Behavioral Health Services (Jackson)
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Human Services Specialist Program at Chattanooga State Community College
and Family and Children’s Services (Chattanooga)
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Knox County Health Department, Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service, the
Middle East Tennessee Region of the Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare,
and the Knox County Sheriff’s Department (Knoxville)
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Alive Hospice, First Hospital Corporation, Belmont University and Vanderbilt
University departments of Social Work, Family and Children’s Services, and
St. Thomas Health Services (Nashville)
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The University of Tennessee Chattanooga, The University of Tennessee Martin,
and The UT Medical School (Memphis)
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The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
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Various baccalaureate social work programs across the state
These collaborative efforts allow the resources and expertise of SWORPS staff
members and the skilled professional facilitators who participate in these continuing
education efforts to expand the availability of high-quality educational offerings for
practicing social workers and allied health professionals across disciplines. By
partnering and sharing sponsorship, the resources of the College of Social Work that
support professional, lifelong learning programs are maximized. All participant fees
are used to offset program costs.
SWORPS now offers between 30 and 40 professional offerings yearly across the state.
Program staff members also assist the College of Social Work with its special
homecoming events for returning alumni and friends. Most conferences and workshops
are face-to-face, but some are offered through distance-learning technologies that
link professionals across the state. SWORPS averages three teleconferences per year
and hosts them in a variety of sites, including Chattanooga, Jackson, Martin,
Nashville, and Knoxville.
During fiscal year 2002, the number of participants who attended fall and spring
offerings increased by 25 percent. Our statewide offerings included training on
psychological trauma, ethics, short-term couples therapy, defusing hostility, public
speaking, tai chi, workplace violence and street smart survival, web-page
construction, organizational culture and climate, influencing congress through
legislative genius, solution-focused therapy, advanced clinical skills, animal abuse
and human victimization, crisis intervention, supervision, and risk management.
Other topics included learning to work with abused and neglected children,
addiction, depression, grieving clients, preparing for the LCSW exam, and the
highly-acclaimed
Living With Grief
teleconference.
The Professional Continuing Education staff are members of a number of professional
organizations including the National Association of Social Workers and the Tennessee
Conference on Social Welfare and serve on the local Knoxville steering committees as
well as several state-related committees of these organizations. Staff members are
active on a number of boards and coalitions and make frequent professional
presentations statewide as a way of giving back to the communities who so
generously share their time and resources with this program.
SWORPS Continuing Education
Fall 2000–Spring 2001 Offerings
Date(s) Workshop Title Location Co-Sponsor(s) Target Audience # Attending
08/31/01 Tai Chi Chattanooga Chattanooga State Technical Community
College, Human Services Specialist Program Health, mental health, and social service providers 16 09/14/01 Influencing Congress through Your Legislative
Genius Nashville Tennessee Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Health, mental health, and social service providers 9
09/20/01 Public Speaking Sevierville None Health, mental health, and social
service providers 12
09/21/01 Workplace Violence and Street Smart Survival Knoxville None Health, mental health, and social
service providers 10
09/25/01 Social Work Ethics and the Use of Psychotropic
Medication in Children Knoxville None Health, service providers mental health, and social 40
09/28/01 Black Clouds, Blue Skies Cookeville None Health, mental health, and social
service providers 11
10/02-10/03/01 Practical Magic: Understanding and Responding to the Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect Athens Daystar Counseling Center Health, mental health, and social service providers 17
10/05/01 Black Clouds, Blue Skies Knoxville None Health, mental health, and social
service providers 8
10/09/01 Supervision, Licensure, and Risk Management
for Concerned Practitioners Memphis Community Memphis City Schools Berclair Mental Health Foundation of Greater Memphis, Center, and the National Association of Social Workers—West Tennessee Branch
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 41
Date(s) Workshop Title Location Co-Sponsor(s) Target Audience # Attending
10/19/01 Web Page Construction for Health
Professionals Nashville None Health, service providers mental health, and social 10
11/02/01 Solutions in Action: Experiential Techniques
for Solution-Focused Therapy Memphis Community Memphis City Schools Berclair Mental Health Foundation of Greater Memphis, Center, and the National Association of Social Workers—West Tennessee Branch
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 33
11/08/01 Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in Work With
Older Clients Nashville None Health, service providers mental health, and social 67
11/17/01 Animal Abuse and Human Victimization:
Recognizing the Chain of Abuse Knoxville The Knoxville Police Department; The East Tennessee Regional Office, State Department of Health; Tennessee Humane Association; Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley; UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center; UT Colleges of Social Work and Veterinary Medicine; and the UT University Studies Program
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 400
02/13/02 Post Trauma Stress Reactions: Yours, Mine, and
Ours Memphis Community Memphis City Schools Berclair Mental Health Foundation of Greater Memphis, Center, and the National Association of Social Workers—West Tennessee Branch
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 48
02/15/02 Tai Chi and Mental Health Athens Daystar Counseling Center and Tennessee
Wesleyan College Health, mental health, and social service providers 13 02/20/02 Short Term Couples Therapy: Principles,
Models, and Techniques of Brief Therapy Chattanooga Chattanooga State Technical Community College, Human Services Specialist Program, and Family & Children’s Services of Chattanooga, Inc.
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 39
02/22/02 Psychological Trauma: Diagnosis and Treatment Knoxville None Health, mental health, and social
Date(s) Workshop Title Location Co-Sponsor(s) Target Audience # Attending
03/04/02 Ethics and Addiction Knoxville The Center for Applied and Professional Ethics Health, mental health, and social
service providers 33
03/14/02 Ethical Dilemmas in Clinical Practice Johnson City James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Southern Highlands Council of Healthcare Social Workers
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 65
03/18/02 Defusing Hostility: Responding to Difficult
Behaviors Knoxville None Health, service providers mental health, and social 33
03/22/02 Psychological Trauma: Diagnosis and Treatment Nashville TVA University, Office of Education, Training,
and Diversity Health, mental health, and social service providers 22 04/03/02 Transforming Vicarious Trauma: Strategies for
Individuals and Teams Johnson City None Health, mental health, and social service providers 8
04/19/02 Making Metaphors… Knoxville None Health, mental health, and social
service providers 8
04/10/02 Ethics and Addiction Cookeville Cookeville Regional Medical Center Health, mental health, and social
service providers 17
04/12/02 Organizational Culture and Climate: The Power
of Where You Work Knoxville None Health, service providers mental health, and social 12
04/17/02 Applied Ethics: An Introduction to Ethical
Decision Making in Social Work Practice Athens Daystar Counseling Center and Tennessee Wesleyan College Health, mental health, and social service providers 23
04/19-04/20/02 LCSW Licensure Exam Preparation Cookeville None Health, mental health, and social service providers 28 04/23/02 Ethical Healthcare Practices in Managed Care:
Is That an Oxymoron? Nashville Vanderbilt Work Department University Medical Center Social Health, mental health, and social service providers 74 04/24/02 Living With Grief Teleconference: Loss in Later
Life Knoxville The Chaplain’s Office and the Department of Case Management at the University of Tennessee Medical Center
Health, mental health, and social
Date(s) Workshop Title Location Co-Sponsor(s) Target Audience # Attending
04/24/02 Living With Grief Teleconference: Loss in Later
Life Martin The Departments of Social Work, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at the University of Tennessee, Martin
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 6
04/24/02 Living With Grief Teleconference: Loss in Later
Life Nashville Hospice Foundation of America; Alive Hospice, Nashville Health, mental health, and social service providers 46 05/10/02 Conducting a State of the Art Suicide Risk
Assessment Chattanooga Chattanooga State Technical Community College, Human Services Specialist Program, and Family and Children’s Services of Chattanooga, Inc.
Health, mental health, and social
service providers 39
