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| Education &
Training |
Philosophy |
Conferences & Programs |
Internship &
Mentorship
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Philosophy
of Clinical Education and Training at
SunServe
At SunServe we understand that the best
approach to assuring that the LGBTQ
community gets the best in care includes our
commitment not only to providing quality
direct services but also to equipping other
care providers in our community to serve the
needs of LGBTQ clients. SunServe has built a
comprehensive education and training program
for mental health and social service
professionals, including clinical training
opportunities at our facility, as well as
opportunities for trainings at other
agencies. We sponsor an annual CEU granting
training conference and have an innovative
registered internship program.
All SunServe training programs are delivered
by seasoned clinicians with substantial
expertise in meeting the needs of the LGBTQ
community. In addition, each training:
• Benefits therapists and other health care
professionals at any level of experience
serving the LGBTQ community.
• Increases competency and confidence.
• Includes bibliographies and websites
linking to the best resources.
• Includes innovative, interactive and
participatory designs.
• Provides opportunities to network and
share experiences.
• Identifies community resources for
clients.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Health
Care Professionals:
Most of SunServe’s training opportunities
provide CEUs for all mental health
professionals (Social Workers, Mental Health
Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists
and Psychologists). In addition most
trainings provide CEUs for RNs, ARNPs, LPNs
and CNAs. Training CEUs are automatically
reported to the state boards through
CEBroker.
SunServe is CEBroker provider #50-5251.
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Annual Training
Conference
SunServe presents an annual training
conference each November with a series of
topics for mental health and nursing
professionals, both those new to the field
of LGBT care and those who are more
experienced in serving our community. Below
is a summary of this past year's conference.
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Eighth Annual Professionals Conference a
Huge Success |
Dr. James Lopresti and
Dr. Marilyn Volker
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Bridging the Gap Between Theory & Practice
GLBT
Conference for Mental Health
& Nursing Professionals
November 11, 2011
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Nearly 90 mental health
professionals attended SunServe's 8th Annual
CEU Conference. Workshop topics covered a
wide range of tropics, including a special
focus on services for transgender youth and
adults, skills enhancement for serving LGBT
seniors and couples and seminars on advanced
topics in mental health for gay men and
lesbians.
The 2011 Valuing Our Families Professional
Services Award was given to longtime LGBT
advocate Dr. Marilyn Volker who offered a
very moving reflection on her journey of
advocacy toward equality.
The Conference was co-presented by
SunServe and the Florida Chapter of the
National Association of Social Workers,
sponsored by Wellington Retreat in West Palm
Beach and hosted by The Pride Center. |
Partnerships in Education and
Training
SunServe frequently partners with other
organizations and associations to provide
quality continuing education programs,
including NASW/FL, Office of Prevention
Programs of Broward County Schools, ChildNet,
Broward County Children’s Services Council,
Women in Distress of Broward County, Safe
Schools South Florida, SAGE’s National
Resource Center on LGBT Aging, The Pride
Center, The Pride Institute at Fort
Lauderdale Hospital, Broward County DOH,
DJJ, and various other hospitals, health
care organizations as well as youth and
family service agencies and programs.
Ongoing Consultation and Cultural
Competency Training Options
SunServe’s commitment to training and
support of health and social service
professionals does not stop when the
training workshops end. We always make
ourselves available to the agencies we train
for ongoing organizational consultation to
assist agencies in becoming more LGBT
competent through policy and procedures
alignment to the best practices for LGBT
care.
We also frequently serve as clinical
consultants for staff in various agencies
seeking professional assistance for specific
case needs, whether it is a family
struggling with the coming out process or a
facility seeking the best way to serve the
needs of a gender variant resident.
We also design cultural competency training
packages to meet the needs of various
healthcare, mental health and educational
organizations. That package can include
specialized training for front line and
support staff as well as administrative and
supervisory personnel.
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Registered
Internships at SunServe
We are able to serve the whole community of
persons who have little ability to pay for
treatment in large part because of the
generous professional assistance of Florida
registered interns who are volunteer staff
therapists. Oftentimes current Florida
registered interns in social work, mental
health counseling and marriage/family
therapy have previously completed their
graduate program clinical placement at
SunServe and choose to remain with us for at
least an additional two years of service.
In exchange for providing clinical service
at SunServe, registered interns are afforded
full supervision toward Florida licensure, a
series of in-service training programs and
case conferencing to hone their skills as
therapists for the LGBTQ community of youth,
adults and seniors. Registered interns have
opportunities for individual, couples,
family and group counseling and therapy as
well as cost free training in required post
graduate topic areas. Over the years the
registered internship program has prepared
dozens of mental health professionals now
serving the greater community with a special
expertise in LGBTQ care.
Mentorship and Other Non
Professional Volunteer Services Training
A community thrives when its members support
and encourage each other. That is especially
true in our community when so many struggle
in non accepting environments. SunServe is
equipped to teach peers how to mentor and/
or support one another. That can mean
readying adults to address a multitude of
questions from teens in High School GSAs or
preparing teens in our groups how to guide
each other to the right resources when
urgent issues arise, or training fully
transitioned trans men and women how to be
guides for those who are new to the process
of transitioning.
Click here for flyer on our
Making it Better Project!
If you are interested in
receiving training as a Making it Better GSA
mentor,
email
aforester@sunserve.org for an interview.
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For more information contact:
Jim Lopresti, PhD, LMHC
Director of Clinical Education,
Senior Clinical Supervisor
954.957.5616
jlopresti@sunserve.org
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