This year, the 2015 Educational Forums will be held in St. Catharines on September 25, 2015 and Barrie on October 15, 2015. Don’t miss this opportunity to:

Touch base with the College
Learn valuable tools to help you in your practice
Connect with your peers

If you live in St. Catharines, Barrie, or the surrounding areas, take advantage of this benefit of membership and sign up below!

St. Catharines

When:	Friday, September 25, 2015
Time:	12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where:	Four Points by Sheraton St. Catharines 3530 Schmon Pkwy, Thorold, ON L2V 4Y6
Schedule:	12:00 – 1:15 p.m. – Buffet lunch 1:15 – 1:45 p.m. – College update 1:45 – 2:00 p.m. – Break 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. – Keynote address with Steven Solomon 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. – Q&A and wrap-up

Working with LGBTQ Youth/Gender Independent (GI) Children and their Families – Practice Challenges for Social Workers & Social Service Workers
Steven Solomon, PhD, RSW

Without question, there is growing acceptance regarding diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. However, it is important to recognize that such growing acceptance requires consistent care and attention to the continuing needs and aspirations of LGBTQ/GI children, youth, families and those who love them. As practitioners working in a variety of settings on multiple levels of intervention, we must remember that homophobia and transphobia persist. This session will provide an overview of the issues, along with strategies to enhance our practice possibilities with LGBTQ/GI youth and their families, with attention to “gender independent” kids.Steven Solomon, PhD, RSW

For nearly 16 years as the school social worker with the Human Sexuality Program at the Toronto District School Board, Steven provided individual, family and group counseling support for LGBTQ, 2 Spirit and Gender Independent students and families as well as social work support to the Triangle Program, Canada’s first high school classroom for LGBTQ students. Alongside counseling and professional development, Steven delivered anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia workshops across the school board, kindergarten to grade 12. In 2010/2011 Steven launched GIG – the Gender Independent Group for students 5-9 years old, providing a supportive space for Gender Independent kids to meet each other as well as an opportunity for parents and guardians to connect and provide peer support. In 2012, Steven’s work was formally recognized with the TDSB Excellence Award and the Professional Support Services Personnel Leadership Award.

In June 2013, Steven’s book, entitled “Homophobia, Deal with It and Turn Prejudice into Pride”, was published by James Lorimer & Company Ltd. In July 2015, Steven successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, entitled, “Run Like a Girl? That’s So Gay: Exploring Homophobic and Sexist Language Use Among Grade 7 & 8 students in the Toronto District School Board ». Steven currently holds a sessional teaching appointment with the School of Social Work of Ryerson University and is the Interim Coordinator/Counselor with the Counseline Program at the University of Toronto.

Click here to download Steven Solomon’s PowerPoint presentation in PDF format

Barrie

When:	Thursday, October 15, 2015
Time:	12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where:	The Barrie Country Club 635 St. Vincent St. N., Barrie, ON L4M 4V1
Schedule:	12:00 – 1:15 p.m. – Buffet lunch1:15 – 1:45 p.m. – College update1:45 – 2:00 p.m. – Break2:00 – 3:30 p.m. – Keynote Address with Lisa Pont3:30 – 4:00 p.m. – Q&A and wrap-up

We Are All Connected: Working with Clients Who Overuse Technology
Lisa Pont, MSW, RSW
Technology is a part of daily life for most of us and impacts the way we work, love and play. Some online activities, such as gaming, gambling and social networking can be particularly compelling and create imbalance in both our own and our clients’ lives. This presentation will explore the impact of technology overuse on our clients and allow participants to reflect on their own use. Information about the prevalence of this issue, risk factors, screening/assessment and current treatment practices will be discussed.Lisa Pont, MSW, RSW
Lisa Pont started at the Problem Gambling Service at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as the Older Adult Specialist in 2007. Prior to that, she was hired at CAMH in 2002 to develop and coordinate the Telephone Support Line.

Lisa’s experience in counseling, outreach, community work and training led her to her position as a Trainer/Therapist at the Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario at CAMH. Currently, she is involved in responsible gambling industry training and specializes in the area of online gaming, gambling and Internet overuse. Lisa continues to provide group and individual counseling and develops and delivers customized training programs.

Lisa teaches both in professional development and continuing education programs at two Ontario universities and presents at domestic and international conferences. Her expertise has been sought out for print, radio and television. She has a Bachelor of Social Work from Ryerson University and a Master of Social Work from York University.

Click Here to download Lisa Pont’s PowerPoint presentation in PDF format