Continuing Education Units School of Social Work
Center for Excellence in Social Work, Facundo Valdez School of Social Work, New Mexico Highlands University
Professional Development
e: socialworkceu@nmhu.edu
p: 505-260-6197
c: 505-429-1340
The Center for Excellence in Social Work (Center) is committed to providing accessible and affordable ongoing learning opportunities for students, faculty, community and practicing social workers. Events focus on a variety of topics that help enhance the skills and knowledge for effective practice with the populations of New Mexico. In keeping with the Facundo Valdez School of Social Work’s mission, several workshops focus on working with Hispanic and Native American populations of New Mexico and the Southwest.
Center events that are offered for CEU credit meet the continuing education licensure renewal requirements as set forth by the New Mexico Board of Social Work Examiners (BSWE). For credit for CEU eligible events, completion of a post-event survey is required. Most events are offered via Zoom, allowing participants access to ongoing professional development statewide.
UPCOMING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Open Now
Details: CEUs 6 | Level: Emerging | Cost: Free
Title: Preparing for the ASWB Licensure Examination
Curriculum Developer: Jedediah E. Bragg, PhD, LMSW, ACSW, C-AAIS
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Self-paced w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Click Here
Description: This FREE comprehensive course is designed to help you prepare for the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Masters level exam. This course is tailored to guide you through the key knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to succeed in the exam. The course will delve into crucial topics such as Human Development, Diversity, and Behavior in the Environment, Assessment and Intervention Planning, Interventions with Clients/Client Systems, and Professional Values and Ethics.
September
Date: 9/10/25 & 9/11/25 & Time: 8:30 am–4:30 pm (Mountain Time) Breakfast and lunch will be provided
Details: CEUs 12 Cultural | Level: Intermediate–Expert | Cost: Free
Title: [Institutional Partner] Indigenous Evaluation Framework Training
Facilitator: Dr. Gregory A. Cajete, retired UNM Native American Studies Director and scholar
Organizer: NMHU SOE Institute for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Learning and Teaching (ICLRLT), Indigenous Knowledge Roadmap
Location: Santa Fe Higher Education Center (1950 Siringo Rd., Santa Fe, NM 87505)
Registration: Click Here | More Information: Click Here
Description: The Center for Excellence in Social Work is a CEU provider for the Indigenous Knowledge Roadmap’s “Indigenous Evaluation Framework Training.” This FREE technical assistance training is available to Tribal and Pueblo departments or programs that are looking for an evaluation component based on a cultural framing for “ways of knowing.” The Framework was developed within the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC): Telling our story in our place and time. Indigenous Evaluation Framework (2019). Participants are asked to commit to the full two day event and bring your organization’s strategic plan.
Date: 9/17/25 (Wednesday) & Time: 6 pm–7:30 pm (Mountain)
Details: CEUs 1 Cultural | Level: All | Cost: Free
Title: Social Justice Teach-in: Disrupting Systems of Oppression with Restivism and Radical Self- and Collective Care
Presenters: M. Soña Alaniz Saiz, PhD, LCSW & Sheila Ciminera, LCSW
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Zoom Training w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Click Here
Description: This Social Justice Teach-in explores the ways rest and joy disrupt systems of oppression by affirming humanity, fostering resilience, and nurturing collective care. A discussion will be had about leaning into our ‘ways of knowing’ to discover an authentic approach to self-care. Join us in learning about the concept of radical self-care as a call to action and how rest can be aligned with activism through restivism.
The first hour of this Teach-in will be a facilitated conversation that will be recorded, followed by an unrecorded half hour community conversation. After the real time training and discussions have concluded, enrollment will open for a self-paced asynchronous version of this learning opportunity.
Date: 9/19/25 (Friday) & Time: 9 am–12:15 pm (Mountain Time)
Details: CEUs 3 | Level: Intermediate | Cost: $45
Title: Clinical Perspectives in Relational Violence
Presenter: Leila Kelly, Domestic Violence Specialist, BAIS, LCSW
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Zoom Training w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Click Here
Description: This clinically grounded workshop explores the cognitive, neurobiological, and systemic underpinnings of relational violence, also known as domestic violence. Participants will examine how attachment, trauma, and power shape both the experience and perception of harm, while engaging with key theories and ethical considerations while deepening their capacity to recognize invisible dynamics and hold space for complexity in clinical and support settings.
This workshop’s presenter, Leila Kelly weaves together trauma theory, public health frameworks, and evidence-based practices to foster responses that move beyond the reactive and toward prevention and repair. Grounded in intersectional values and human rights principles, her work centers dignity, complexity, and community care as the foundation for lasting safety.
PAST LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
August
Date: 8/8/25 (Friday) & Time: 1 pm–4:15 pm (Mountain Time)
Details: CEUs 3 Cultural | Level: Expert | Cost: $45
Title: [Workshop] Feminist Multicultural Counseling: Advanced Techniques
Presenter: Linda Najjar, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Zoom Training w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Closed
Description: Feminist multicultural counseling examines intersecting identities and experiences of oppression, is trauma informed, seeks to increase empowerment, operates on the premise of egalitarianism, and views clients as their own best experts from a perspective of positive coping rather than pathology. This workshop will review feminist multicultural techniques with the applied topics of intimate partner violence and body politics. Five major tenets include an examination of privilege and oppression, assessment of trauma, identification of strengths, empowerment, and sociopolitical analysis. It will also include interactive discussion and experiential activities that will facilitate learning how to incorporate feminist multicultural techniques into practice.
Date: 8/30/25 (Saturday) & Time: 9 am–12:15 pm (Mountain Time)
Details: CEUs 3 Cultural & Ethics | Level: Intermediate | Cost: $45
Title: [Workshop] Foundations in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Social Workers
Presenter: Marisa L. C de Baca, LMSW
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Zoom Training w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Closed
Description: The re-emergence of therapeutic uses for mind-altering, psychedelic drugs has brought the field of mental health to a new frontier in research, practice, and policymaking. In the past two decades dozens of clinical trials investigating therapeutic applications of psychedelics—including MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine—have shown promising results in the treatment of trauma-related disorders, some forms of anxiety, and depression. These substances have also garnered preliminary support from the Food and Drug Administration, which has fast-tracked their development. As the field of psychedelic science continues to grow, a serious consideration of these novel treatments in the context of social work practice and values is imperative.
July
Date: 7/12/25 (Saturday) & Time: 9 am–4:30 pm (Mountain Time) with a one-hour lunch on your own
Details: CEUs 6 Ethics | Level: Intermediate | Cost: $90
Title: [Workshop] Healing from Empathic Distress through the Code of Ethics
Presenter: Sheila Ciminera, LCSW
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Zoom Training w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Closed
Description: The NASW Code of Ethics states our mission of supporting and empowering individuals who are oppressed and vulnerable, details the values we must uphold, and asserts the change we strive for in our society. However, as professionals, we often experience oppression and harm from the behavioral health system we have committed to being part of. These conditions can create empathic distress (commonly referred to as compassion fatigue). Participants will learn the symptoms of and contributing factors to helping-induced stress and trauma. We will use the Code of Ethics values to create reasonable expectations of ourselves, boundaries with ourselves, and compassion practices for ourselves (and our profession as a whole!).
Date: 7/19/25 (Saturday) & Time: 9 am–12:15 pm (Mountain Time)
Details: CEUs 3 Cultural & Ethics | Level: Emerging–Intermediate | Cost: $45
Title: [Workshop] The Ethical Case for Delivering Affirming Care and Advocacy for Trans and Gender Expansive People
Presenter: Lee Westgate, MSW, MBA, LCSW-C
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Zoom Training w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Closed
Description: In this continuing education session, enrollees will be provided with timely, evidence-based information and theoretical frameworks (e.g., trauma-informed care, minority stress) on supporting Transgender and Gender Expansive (TGE) populations, on navigating care-related challenges through the use of case studies examples as well as ethical decision-making models that highlight the relevant ethical codes provided by guiding professional associations such as the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Participants will also be provided with authentic insights about the challenges of being, serving, and advocating on behalf of trans and gender expansive communities as well as the enduring tradition of resiliency deeply embedded within TGE communities.
Date: 7/25/25 (Friday) & Time: 9 am–12:15 pm (Mountain Time)
Details: CEUs 3 | Level: Emerging–Intermediate | Cost: $45
Title: [Workshop] Make Social Work Work for You: Career Fulfillment for Social Workers
Presenter: Nicki Sanders, MSW, is Founder and CEO of Nicki Sanders Leadership Consulting
Organizer: Center for Excellence in Social Work
Location: Zoom Training w/ Canvas Learning Platform
Enrollment: Closed
Description: The opportunities to excel and make an impact in the social work profession are vast, however both new and seasoned social workers often feel confusion and limitation about how to build a long-term successful social work career. The three pillars in the Strategic Career Management framework–clarity, credibility, and congruency–will be explored to determine how you can incorporate social work skills and training into the career advancement process. Social work skills are highly transferable, high-income skills, and this learning opportunity will show social workers how to “social work” their social work careers while also tackling potential barriers to career advancement that can originate from the traditional social work education, training, and belief systems.
Training Enrollment, Payment, and Cancellation
Enrollment for Paid Trainings:
Everyone must enroll and pay online. The last day to enroll in a training with a live Zoom meeting is one day prior to its start date. A confirmation email will be sent verifying enrollment.
Payment:
Payment is due online at the time of enrollment. There is no fee for students enrolled in a social work program located in New Mexico. If you have questions regarding your eligibility for free workshop participation under the current student option, please email socialworkceu@nmhu.edu.
Cancellation:
If you must cancel your attendance, please inform the Center for Excellence in Social Work’s Professional Development immediately by email at socialworkceu@nmhu.edu. This will allow someone else to attend if the training is filled.
No refunds are given unless the Center for Excellence in Social Work cancels the training. If a training is canceled due to low enrollment, participants will be notified via email at least three days before it takes place.
Interested in presenting a topic?
Apply for Center Funded Opportunities to Share your Expertise: NMHU FVSSW Center for Excellence in Social Work Professional Development Workshop Proposal
Contact Information
Professional Development
Center for Excellence in Social Work
Facundo Valdez School of Social Work
New Mexico Highlands University
e: socialworkceu@nmhu.edu
p: 505-260-6197
w: nmhu.edu/ceu