2026 Annual Conference

NASW New Hampshire 2026 Annual Conference

May 17 - 19, 2026
Mount Washington Resort
Bretton Woods, NH

The Omni Mount Washington Resort is a historic luxury resort hotel in Bretton Woods, near Mount Washington. You can book your rooms now at a special conference rate! Rooms are running low so grab yours soon! 

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Agenda: 

Sunday

12:45 - 4:00     Pre-Conference Workshop with Elaine de Mello, LCSW
                          The Connect Program: Best Practices for Suicide Prevention
                          3 CEs in Suicide Prevention (can be purchased as a stand-alone)

Monday

8:00am        Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:45am        Welcome
9:00am        Keynote
10:00am      Break
10:30am      Concurrent Workshops Block A
12:30pm      Lunch
1:45pm        Concurrent Workshops Block B
5:00pm        Day 1 End
               6 CEs Available

Tuesday

7:30am        Hot Breakfast
8:30am        Concurrent Workshops Block C
10:30am      Break
11:00am      Concurrent Workshops Block D
1:00pm        Lunch
1:30pm        Closing Presentation
3:30pm        Conference Wrap-Up and Raffle Drawing
3:45pm        Conference End
                6 CEs Available

Pre-Conference Workshop

The Connect Program: Best Practices for Suicide Prevention with Elaine de Mello, LICSW

Social workers are often on the front lines of suicide prevention efforts. A unique, community-based, public health approach, Connect training increases the competence of providers in recognizing and responding to individuals who are suicidal or at risk for suicide. This training includes National Best Practice protocols, interactive case scenarios, discussion, exercises, PowerPoint, and related materials. Content will include suicide prevention strategies for both professionals and community members, and a comprehensive suicide risk formulation for clinicians.

Keynote

Research as Resistance: Strengthening Social Work Practice in Uncertain Times with Valerie Arendt, MSW, MPP, Executive Director Society for Social Work and Research

In an era marked by threats to constitutional rights, deepening inequities, and the erosion of social safety net programs, social work practice is increasingly called upon to defend both individual well-being and collective justice. This keynote explores how social work research strengthens practice by grounding decision-making in evidence and supporting ethical, effective responses across clinical, community, and policy settings.

The presentation highlights the connection between research and everyday social work practice, showing how evidence-based approaches improve services, inform advocacy, and shape mental health and social policy. Participants will be encouraged to view research as an essential tool for accountability, credibility, and collective action in uncertain times.

Workshops Block A          

A1: Ethics as Lived Practice: Supporting Thriving, Justice, and Life-Affirming Social Work in Marginalized Communities               
Nicole Sublette
This workshop explores how mental health professionals and social workers can fulfill their ethical duty to care for communities facing systemic oppression. Practice becomes revolutionary when it moves beyond survival to joy, liberation, and collective empowerment. Participants will learn to integrate joy, pleasure, and embodiment as acts of resistance, foster collective strength and life-affirming practices, and reframe resilience as thriving and radical care, moving beyond deficit-focused models. Drawing on Black feminist theory and culturally responsive frameworks, this session shows how providers can center human dignity, nurture liberation, and make ethics a lived practice that upholds the rights and humanity of marginalized communities. 

A2: Suicidality: Assessment and Treatment
Samantha Dutra
This course will identify what suicidal thoughts and behaviors are and what safety measures are important to know. This course will also examine how to assess and plan for safety with patients that have suicidal thoughts. Treatment planning of suicidal ideation will also be analyzed within this course

A3: Supporting Children's Grief in Schools
Michelle Jones
1 in 12 New Hampshire children will lose a parent or sibling by the age of 18. With this statistic in mind, the goal of this presentation is to equip social workers with practical, compassionate, and hands-on skills to support grieving children in the school setting. By focusing on the power of reflective listening, this training will help social workers foster safe spaces for grieving students and empower them to connect in meaningful ways.

A4: Helping Social Workers Navigate Sexualization by Clients
Ellen Smith
A challenging aspect of practice for social workers to navigate is the client’s expression of sexual or romantic feelings for them. From a feminist perspective, sexualization by clients may be seen as an expression of gendered power dynamics. Historically, the emergence of sexual or romantic feelings on the part of the client has been conceptualized as erotic transference. This workshop will help participants to navigate sexualization by clients, and to provide effective supervision about this complex issue. It will explore the range of potential meanings and interpretations of sexualization by clients. It will present a framework to understand the various aspects of power dynamics that can play out between clients and social workers, including those related to gender, race/ethnicity, and role in the relationship. Implications for social workers with personal histories of sexual trauma will also be addressed. Case examples will be used to illustrate the concepts that are presented.

A5: Clinical Supervision in the Age of AI
Alison Mitchell
GenerativeAI is firmly part of our collective operating environment now. The question is not if we incorporate genAI into Social Work practice as much as it is how we incorporate it ethically. Students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are learning the skills, qualities, and knowledge base of the Social Work profession in the context of AI.  Are you ready to be their supervisor? During this seminar, we will consider NASW ethical standards that might guide use of AI in SW practice, and frameworks for decision-making. The session will include information about how genAI operates, and will provide hands-on opportunities to test several AI platforms. We will collectively evaluate the responses we generate from the perspective of a clinical supervisory role. The session ends with a series of questions meant to engage participants in reflexive practice, so participants can begin to formulate and articulate their stance on how to incorporate generative AI into Social Work practice.

Workshops Block B      

B1: Contextual Use of Self, Countertransference, and SoulCollage®: Creative Exercises for Clinicians to Explore & Manage Their Own "Stuff"
Jennifer Wolfe, LICSW
We are living in complex times where clinical considerations of Use of Self are...tricky. While countertransference has always been an important clinical aspect to be aware of and explore, these days our own parts are extra vulnerable - this warrants increased self-reflection and new tools to use for keeping our own "stuff" in check. SoulCollage® can be a helpful creative tool for clinicians to utilize in their own self-reflection to deepen their understanding of themes that contribute to countertransference. In this hands-on workshop participants will dive into their own experiences with countertransference, explore and identify aspects of themselves that contribute, and engage in creativity via SoulCollage® as a means to deeper understanding of themselves in order to aid in their clinical work.

B2: Ethical Leadership Through Supervision: Addressing Moral Injury and Burnout in Social Work
Sara Dupont, LICSW, MLADC
Moral injury, and burnout are increasingly recognized challenges within high-stakes professions like social work, often leading to staff demoralization, retention issues, and diminished effectiveness (Haight et al., 2016; Reamer, 2022). Social workers are exposed to morally complex environments, and the failure to address issues of moral injury in both  practitioners can leave individuals struggling with guilt, shame, and hopelessness (Haight et al., 2016). Moreover, social work organizations have an ethical imperative to address burnout and professional impairment (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). This workshop will equip social work supervisors with the conceptual clarity and practical strategies necessary to understand and respond ethically to moral injury and burnout in themselves and their supervisees. A central focus will be on the supervisor's role in creating supportive, resilient, and ethically humble organizational environments (Losim et al., 2022).

B3: Ethics Under Pressure: Supporting  LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health in the Current Climate
Sara Sullivan, MA, LCMHC
The current sociopolitical climate directly impacts the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth. This training will examine the factors that impact mental health and will build skills and resources for clinicians to support resilience and emotional wellbeing. Through interactive case studies and group discussion, attendees will explore the practical application of social work ethics within this challenging climate.

B4: Utilizing Solution Focused Therapy to measure progress and determine when to terminate
Susan Lee Tohn
During this workshop, participants will learn how to utilize Solution Focused scaling to measure progress toward treatment goals. Different types of Solution Focused scaling determine when it is time to terminate or create new treatment goals. Participants will learn the 13 Solution Focused assumptions, which determine the content of therapy sessions and the language clinicians use to formulate questions and validations. Participants will leave this workshop energized and capable of integrating Solution Focused scaling immediately into their practice.

B5: Beyond the Container: Robust Resource Building for Safer EMDR & Trauma Reprocessing
Rebecca Rondeau
Resource building is a vital stage in most therapeutic orientations, including trauma reprocessing. In EMDR Basic trainings, Phase 2 emphasizes this work, but many clinicians leave with a narrow focus on containers and safe spaces. In practice, clients often need more than that to be ready. Without thorough, client-centered preparation, reprocessing may start too soon, leading to flooding, stalled progress, and frustration.

This workshop reframes resourcing as a multi-domain, titrated phase of treatment. It is an essential process in EMDR and all trauma-informed care. We’ll explore readiness across domains such as affect tolerance, somatic awareness, metacognition, needs fulfillment, relational safety, and self-concept.

You’ll learn how to match interventions to each area using attachment-informed and parts-based approaches, including imagery, grounding tools, and strategies that frame resourcing as measurable progress. This is not a detour—it is the work itself.

Workshops Block C

C1: Healing After War: Best Practices in the Work Place For The Worlds Newest Citizens
Ababa Abiem
A trauma-informed, culturally grounded workshop led by two social workers with lived and professional expertise. This workshop explores a brief history of South Sudan, an introduction to PTSD, and how trauma and immigration experiences can show up in U.S. nonprofit workplaces—particularly for South Sudanese professionals. Participants will learn trauma-informed strategies to support staff, strengthen cultural understanding, and build workplaces where resilience, belonging, and wellbeing come first.

C2: Working with Peer and Paraprofessionals: The Future of Behavioral Health
JoAnne Malloy
The UNH Institute on Disability has been training peer and paraprofessional level staff for over 5 years to provide high-quality care coordination to children, youth and families impacted by mental health and substance use disorders through its Building Futures Together program.  Given extensive workforce shortages in the field, people with lived experience and paraprofessional level staff are critical members of the social services/behavioral health workforce, and yet many of them do not feel fully included as members of interdisciplinary teams.  This workshop will include the voices of Building Futures Together graduates who will talk about what they need from their employers and colleagues to be the most effective staff and members they can possibly be.  The presentation will also share data about this peer/paraprofessional program, which includes and on-the-job training component.  The workshop participants will engage is a discussion about their own experiences in this space.

C3: The Genius of Language: Top Down and Bottom up Conversations
Lisa Friedlander, LICSW
"Language lights the darkness of our inner worlds. Elements from NLP, Erickson hypnosis, motivational interviewing, narrative therapy, poetry, etc., used to finetune conversational choices--activate inner resources, enhance neural plasticity/stability, and broaden behavioral repertoire: The evolutionary neuroscientific gift of grammatical language.

C4: Ethics in Perinatal Social Work: Navigating Complex Decisions With Compassion & Clarity
Sonali Zoracki, LICSW
This interactive workshop explores the ethical challenges and decision-making processes faced by social workers working with clients during the perinatal period - encompassing pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.  Participants will engage with real-world case studies and have an opportunity to share their own cases and ethical quandaries.  Through guided discussions and collaborative exercises, participants will deepen their understanding of the NASW Code of Ethics, ethical frameworks, and cultural considerations that shape perinatal mental health care.

C5: Unique Considerations When Children and Adolescents Sexually Harm Siblings
Tanya Rouleau Whitworth, PhD
"This session will provide an overview of current research on sibling sexual abuse (SSA), including prevalence, demographic variation, and associated family dynamics. The range of possible sexual behaviors between siblings will be covered, from developmentally appropriate sexual exploration to clearly abusive behavior, with the goal of helping participants identify situations that need professional intervention. Research will be presented establishing that the negative impacts of SSA on child and adult well-being are similar to other types of child sexual abuse.

This topic will be covered from the perspective of the harmed child, the child who caused harm, and the whole family, including other siblings and caregivers. Prevention and intervention strategies for SSA will be presented, including skills and information that can be communicated to parents. Guidance will be provided on when siblings need to live separately and when family reconnection or reunification can be considered."

Workshops Block D      

D1: Breaking Confidentiality, Not Rapport: An Ethical Response to Mandated Reporting
Kevin Blanchette, LifeStance Health
Mandated reporting is not just a legal obligation, but also an ethical one. Training often only covers the legal responsibility to report and how to file a report. This workshop will focus on the ethical and human side of mandated reporting. The ethical considerations of making a report will be reviewed to identify how our different obligations interact with each other, and at times can contradict each other. Through a review of the code of ethics and research on mandated reporter experiences, we will discuss how to ethically work with the client before and after reportable information is disclosed. 

D2: Building Hope in Times of Adversity
Lucy Pilcher
 In a time marked by political tension, global uncertainty, and subsequent personal challenges, maintaining hope can feel increasingly difficult—for both social workers and the clients we serve. This workshop explores the impact of current stressors on emotional well-being and introduces practical, evidence-based tools to cultivate hope, resilience, optimism and joy. Drawing from Positive Psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), participants will learn strategies to strengthen hope, foster meaning, and sustain compassion in their professional and personal lives.

D3: Rural Ethics: Navigating Unique Dilemmas in Mental Health Practice
Peggy S Gregory, LICSW
This workshop provides mental health professionals with essential strategies for addressing the unique ethical dilemmas encountered when practicing in rural areas. Participants will explore challenges such as maintaining confidentiality in tight-knit communities, managing limited resources, and balancing professional boundaries. Through case studies and interactive discussions, attendees will develop practical tools to make ethically sound decisions and improve service delivery in rural settings.

D4: Working with Children and Families Affected by High Conflict Separation / Divorce Dynamic
Jude Currier, LICSW
Divorce is always difficult on children, but never more than when their parents’ conflict becomes complicated by poor communication, lack of trust, escalating litigation and the creation of loyalty struggles. Mental health clinicians working with these families are often poorly prepared for the shifting effects that this conflict has on children, and the complex parent-child relationship issues that form as a result. Clinicians can easily and unwittingly become involved in this dynamic such that they become siloed by one side or the other, distracting them from the needs of their client. This training will introduce social workers to the world of parent-child contact problems, alienating behavior, resist-refuse dynamic the role of the voice of the child and will better prepare them to be of service to children and families struggling in high-conflict divorce situations

D5: Social Work through an Ecofeminist Lens
Jenny Everett King, LICSW
This workshop examines social work's interest in and advocacy for marginalized groups from the perspective of critical ecological feminism, which places systemic oppression in the context of colonization and destruction of the natural world. To meaningfully counter the oppression our clients experience, we need to understand the broader impact of colonization in their lives and in their environments. This includes increasing awareness of power differentials in practice and promoting nature access for clients in urban environments.

About Our Presenters

Ababa Abiem is a South Sudanese Ethiopian who resides in Massachusetts. She holds a Master's in Social Work from Boston College and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Health Sciences with a focus on Trauma-Informed Care. She’s an Assistant Professor and Director of Field Placement of Social Work at a local college.

When she is not in the classroom you can find her spending much of her time volunteering at church and with the South Sudanese in Massachusetts where she sits on the board of directors of the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families.

Valerie Arendt, MSW, MPP is the Executive Director of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), a role she has held since September 2025. She brings more than a decade of experience in social work association leadership, with a strong record of advancing evidence-informed social policy. Prior to joining SSWR, Valerie served for seven years as Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers North Carolina Chapter, where she led a professional association of more than 5,000 members and oversaw major legislative victories. Most notably, she led advocacy efforts that resulted in the passage of key legislation in North Carolina, including the Social Work Licensure Compact in June 2025. Valerie holds a Master of Social Work and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota and is deeply committed to strengthening the visibility, impact, and policy relevance of social work research at a time when rigorous science is more essential than ever.

Kevin Blanchette graduated from Lesley University in May of 2020 with a degree in Mental Health Counseling with a focus in Holistic Studies. Throughout his time in graduate school he worked as a residential counselor at a group home for teenagers whose families were involved with DCF in Massachusetts. Upon graduation he worked in Community Mental Health at Center for Life Management in New Hampshire as an Adult Clinician, and then a Clinical Supervisor. He has been licensed in the state of New Hampshire since 2023. Currently he works as a Clinician with LifeStance Health and also as an Adjunct Professor at New England College. He as works as a trainer with Connections All Ways, supporting others in learning the evidenced based practice of Bookends Therapy.

Jude Currier, LICSW, is a social worker with over 30 years of experience, licensed to practice in six states, and a NASW member since 1992. His diverse experience includes child protective services, home-based psychotherapy, emergency room psychiatric assessment, and community mental health. Jude's private practice currently focuses on assisting parents in creating and maintaining healthy home environments for their children, particularly those impacted by family conflict and divorce. As one of few Spanish-speaking clinicians in New Hampshire, he is committed to providing accessible mental health services to individuals of all races, cultures, orientations, and faiths.

Sara Dupont, LICSW, MLADC, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work at Plymouth State University and a Clinical Supervisor with Aspire 365, currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education. Licensed across seven states, she brings over 17 years of experience in mental health, substance use, and dual diagnosis treatment for adolescents and adults. Her background spans correctional facilities, community agencies, hospitals, and emergency services, with specialized expertise supporting adolescents and pregnant or postpartum women facing substance use challenges. Combining academic and clinical practice, she utilizes a solution-focused, CBT-based approach that emphasizes practical tools, compassion, and humor. In addition to her teaching and clinical roles, Professor Dupont advances the profession through conference presentations and service as a board member for the New Hampshire Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors Association.

Elaine de Mello, Suicide Prevention and Postvention Advisor at NAMI NH, is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in the mental health field since 1978 as a clinical program manager in inpatient and community settings. Elaine also served as an emergency services clinician and director of Quality Improvement. Additionally, Elaine worked for seven years as a school counselor and taught on the faculty at Plymouth State University for 18 years. Elaine also teaches in the Child Impact Program teacher at Riverbend Community Mental Health Center.

Elaine has worked with NAMI NH since 1999 where she had a lead role in the development of the Connect Suicide Prevention and Postvention Program, a national best practice. Elaine has provided training and consultation in mental health and suicide prevention throughout the United States and Canada in a variety of settings including state and tribal entities, community coalitions, schools and campuses, health care facilities, and military and paramilitary organizations. She serves as a trainer for the NH Police Standards and Training Council, and is also a master trainer in AMSR, CALM and Connect and has been certified in conducting psychological autopsies through the American Association of Suicidology. Elaine serves on the NH Suicide Fatality Review Committee and was the co-chair of the NH Youth Suicide Prevention Assembly from 2003-2024. She has served on the national faculty for Zero Suicide.

Elaina DeStefano is a social worker dedicated to the advancement of organizations, recognizing, and uplifting the assets of each and every organization and community. She has experience with implementing programming and supporting nonprofits in creating a process to measure and evaluate their programming and overall mission. After moving to India, where she worked for an NGO measuring the restoration of survivors of forced labor, she developed a passion for creating trauma-informed provider networks. She has her MSW and resides in NYC. As a true Leo, she is down for any and all activities and travel and has 50+ countries on her CV. It is so important for her to bring 100 percent of herself into the work and she lives by the motto "Let the beauty we love be what we do".

Sara Dupont, LICSW, MLADC, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work at Plymouth State University and a Clinical Supervisor with Aspire 365, currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education. Licensed across seven states, she brings over 17 years of experience in mental health, substance use, and dual diagnosis treatment for adolescents and adults. Her background spans correctional facilities, community agencies, hospitals, and emergency services, with specialized expertise supporting adolescents and pregnant or postpartum women facing substance use challenges. Combining academic and clinical practice, she utilizes a solution-focused, CBT-based approach that emphasizes practical tools, compassion, and humor. In addition to her teaching and clinical roles, Professor Dupont advances the profession through conference presentations and service as a board member for the New Hampshire Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors Association.

Dr. Samantha Dutra is a doctor of education, licensed mental health counselor and higher education instructor in Boston Massachusetts. Samantha has an earned doctorate in education from Endicott College in Higher Education and Leadership. Samantha has been an instructor both online and on ground at Middlesex Community College, Endicott College Van Loan School, Lasell University, Fitchburg State University and Bay State College. She currently teaches at Southern New Hampshire University and owns her own private practice in Arlington, Massachusetts. She also is founder and CEO of Studio CE, a national continuing education company providing trainings to several psychology and addiction professionals for licensure renewal.

Lisa Friedlander, LICSW, has a 30 year private practice, following years in agency settings, and writes creative nonfiction. She taught full time at Russell Sage College and then Tufts University for 13 years in the creative arts in human services field. Her passion for the written word, for movement, and for the science and art of conversation—the beam of light through which human beings translate each other—come together in a holistic experience. Degrees: MA Dance/movement therapy (1976), MSW Clinical Social Work (1983), and MFA (2010). 

Jenny Everett King, LICSW holds a Master of Social Work from the University of New Hampshire (2018) and a Master of Science from Antioch University of New England (2025), where she is currently enrolled as a doctoral student in Environmental Studies. Her research interests include nature-based interventions for urban populations, decolonizing social work policy, and supporting agencies in implementing anti-oppressive social work practices. 

Jenny is an LICSW and has provided individual and family therapy for children, adolescents, and adults since 2017, and provided clinical supervision for interns and pre-licensed social workers since 2023.

Lisa Friedlander, LICSW, has a 30 year private practice, following years in agency settings, and writes creative nonfiction. She taught full time at Russell Sage College and then Tufts University for 13 years in the creative arts in human services field. Her passion for the written word, for movement, and for the science and art of conversation—the beam of light through which human beings translate each other—come together in a holistic experience. Degrees: MA Dance/movement therapy (1976), MSW Clinical Social Work (1983), and MFA (2010).

Jessica Goff, MSW (she/her) is the Education and Training Director with New Hampshire Outright, a nonprofit organization that serves, supports, and advocates for LGBTQ+ youth across New Hampshire. As part of this role, she coordinates educational opportunities and spaces within schools, organizations, and the broader community that aim to increase the visibility of LGBTQ+ youth and foster the implementation of supportive practices. Jessica graduated with her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of New Hampshire in 2022. She has worked within the nonprofit sector for the past decade, continually seeking to create intersectional safe spaces in her work with youth, unhoused folks, individuals with Developmental Disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community.

Peggy S Gregory, LICSW - 1984 Bachelors Degree Psychology, SUNY Geneseo
1984 -1985 Mental Health Worker, Brattleboro Retreat
1985-1988 Behavioral Technician, Brattleboro Retreat
1990 Masters Degree, Simmons College School of Social Work
1992 Licensed in Vermont
2022 Licensed in Florida
United Counseling Service of Bennington County:
1989 - 1994 Direct Service Clinician
1994-2003 Program Manager
2003 -2016 Director of Outpatient Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
2016 - 2019 Director of Wellness, Green Mountain College
2019 - Present Independent Clinical Social Work Practice
2019-2023 Prov Consultant to Long Trail School to develop school based mental health services
Field Instructor for Antioch University, SUNY Albany, University of Vermont, and Simmons College School of Social Work.
Provide clinical supervision and oversight to the Behavioral Health Team at the Vermont Veteran's Home in Bennington Vermont

Corinna Jenkins Tucker, PhD, CFLE is the Director of the Sibling Aggression and Abuse Research and Advocacy Initiative (SAARA) at the University of New Hampshire. Her primary interests are sibling relationships, parenting, and mental health in childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. She has a particular expertise in sibling aggression and abuse experiences across the lifespan. Dr. Tucker is a Professor Emerita, Human Development and Family Studies, and a Certified Family Life Educator. She continues to publish in top-ranked scientific journals across several disciplines, including public health, psychology, and medicine, and regularly presents to research and practitioner audiences on sibling aggression and abuse. Dr. Tucker earned a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University in 1998.

As the Grief Support Coordinator and Child Life Specialist at the Center for Grieving Children, Michelle Jones is responsible for coordinating bereavement services, supporting volunteers and families, and providing outreach and community support.

As a child life specialist, Michelle has worked in a variety of healthcare settings to provide psychosocial support to pediatric patients and their families. Michelle has experience working with a wide variety of multidisciplinary teams and advocating for the emotional needs of children navigating hospitalization, illness, and loss. Michelle received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and has a Master’s degree in Child Development and Family-Centered Care.

JoAnne Malloy - phd, education, 2011; msw, 1981