3 Category A CEs from NASW NH

Workshop Description:
In today’s fast-paced and high-demand environments, social workers are often required to focus on immediate, crisis-oriented needs. However, effective, ethical social work practice requires a holistic understanding of clients as full human beings—shaped by complex systems, life experiences, and identities.

Hello, My Name Is: Meeting the Whole-Person Needs of Your Clients is a workshop designed to help social workers enhance their capacity for whole-person engagement and assessment. Participants will examine how systemic barriers, personal bias, stigma, and burnout can inhibit relationship-building, and will learn how to create more inclusive, empowering spaces for clients. Through case-based and interactive learning, this workshop promotes culturally responsive, person-centered, and team-supported practices essential for ethical and impactful client care.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define the concept of "whole-person care."
2. Identify common barriers to engaging clients holistically, including organizational, cultural, and interpersonal factors.
3. Apply culturally responsive strategies to build trust and rapport.
4. Use strengths-based communication techniques to center clients' autonomy and lived experience.
5. Develop a plan to integrate whole-person practices to develop expectations of care and impact development of an inclusive work culture.

About the Presenter

Julie Lago, LICSW is Owner /Lead Consultant at Connections All Ways, PLLC. A lifelong disability advocate, Julie has worked in various roles for 25 years, including direct support, special education supports, residential services, community-based program management, and, for the past 13 years, in mental health clinical leadership and program development. Her commitment has been to enhance continuity of care for those with disabilities and/or brain injuries and mental health needs. Julie’s driving force as an advocate, is being a family member and loved one, encouraging her passion for ensuring equal access to mental health services for all, supporting client-centered care, team-supported care. Julie is an Adjunct Professor at UNH’s MSW program and, also, developed Bookends Therapy™, a model encouraging team-supported, client-driven clinically informed services.