Online courses
Welcome to our Online Course Library! Our online course library was created to address the training needs of social workers and other health professionals. Explore our CE course library, which includes options for fulfilling required hours in ethics, pain management, and human trafficking. The CE courses are organized by practice area. Search by topic using the filter button at the top of the page.
For social workers: One-half (1/2) 22.5 CE hours may be taken by self-study, on-demand, or in another format that is not considered live.
Ableism in Social Work (1 CECH)
Ableism is the faulty assumption that disabled people are not as important or as valuable as non-disabled people. While overtly negative attitudes toward people with disabilities may be rare in the social work profession, many social workers have not examined the accessibility of their own practices to people with disabilities. Beyond wheelchair ramps, we need to think broadly about the assumptions we have about disability. In this online session, Kathryn Wright, MA, MSW suggests ways that social workers can work in solidarity with people with disabilities, including ideas for how to make your practice accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities.
ACEs (Adverse Childhood Events): The impact of toxic trauma on human development, health and wellbeing
In this training, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Tehmina Shakir, MD will discuss relevant research, the impact of toxic stress and adverse childhood events on human development, health and wellbeing; risk and protective factors that affect the impact of adverse childhood events; prevention strategies to minimize adverse childhood experiences; the management and treatment of toxic stress and impact of multiple adversities during childhood; and compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma: how to take care of our own mental health while working with survivors of ACEs.
Ethics and Boundaries in Home Visiting (1 CECH in Ethics)
"Professional Ethics and Boundaries in Social Work Home Visiting" presented by Carla Barron MSW PhD, this CE course will discuss the uniqueness of home visiting work and share information and strategies useful to social workers who do home visits.
Cultural Humility and Cultural Competence (3 CECH)
Led by Cassandra Bowers, PhD, LCSW, this training will examine the basic concepts of cultural competence and cultural humility, the impact each has on the child and family systems of care, and the concept of positionality when providing services. As a result of this workshop, participants will be prepared to recognize implicit biases contributing to discrimination, plan for improved practice related to cultural competence; nurture intrapersonal, interpersonal and system-level cultural humility simultaneously; and develop an awareness of personal cultural beliefs while examining perceptions of cultural differences.
Data Use and Exploration (1 CECH)
Danielle Hicks, MSCJ, LLMSW presents "Data Use and Exploration for Social Work". This course will discuss the importance of data in social work and the different types of data agencies might collect. Participants will review a pre-existing, de-identified data set provided by the Center for Social Work Research to develop research questions about the data, then manipulate the data for analysis. The purpose is to offer exposure to data files for idea-generating and data usage.
Data Visualization (1 CECH)
Kendra Wells, LLMSW presents "Telling your Data's Story: Data Visualization Techniques" with special guest Stella Resko, PhD. This course teaches the importance of data visualization in social sciences and provides basic techniques for creating visually appealing and meaningful infographics, visual abstracts, and reports.
Effective Not-For-Profit Leadership (1 CECH)
In the "Effective Not-For-Profit Leadership: Understanding Organizational Needs and Capacity" presenter Jason Carbone, PhD, presents the ways in which organizational leadership and organizational life cycle interact and how they relate to organizational capacity. This session is designed to foster leadership, professional growth, and provide recommendations that are informed by current organizational leadership and organizational life cycle.
Embracing Wellness and Daily Self-Care
Led by licensed clinical social worker, WSU alumni board member, and social innovator Adijat Ogunyemi, DSW, LMSW, this training aims to increase a culture of wellness amongst the child and family system. It will examine potential warning signs and risk factors for burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma and equip practitioners in developing a workable self-care plan.
Ethics (1 CECH in Ethics)
This CE course will explore the Michigan Social Work Licensure process and the connection between the Michigan Public Health Code, Social Work Code of Ethics and social work ethical practice. Participants will look at situations that may place social workers at risk of ethical missteps and review resources to assist practitioners to practice ethically.
Grief and Loss (1 CECH)
Kirk Guanco, LMSW, CAADC presents, "A Clinician's Guide to Grief and Loss". This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of grief and loss issues, grief reactions, dynamics related to death and dying, and effective interventions.
HIPAA Compliance in Social Work Practice (2 CECH in Ethics)
This online workshop, presented by Janet Joiner, LMSW, PhD, will discuss the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the revised NASW Code of Ethics with an emphasis on the use of technology in direct practice, the development of organizational statements, such as social media and technology use policies, and the role of cyber liability insurance in direct practice.
How to Handle a Crisis Call (1 CECH)
Time is critical when dealing with a caller in crisis. This CE course, presented by Patricia Dixon, LMSW, will explain the techniques to use with callers who are in a crisis. Participants will also identify how to refer and link callers to ongoing support in the community.
Advancing Racial Justice in Our Communities (2 CECH)
John H. Jackson, Ed.D., J.D. presents "Advancing Racial Justice in Our Communities: Organizing Together for Racial Justice Online Lecture", which explores current issues on racism, particularly in the wake of increased violence, police use of force, and unrest on college campuses. Jackson speaks on the need to address shifting the thought from "achievement gap" to "opportunity gap" when explaining the differences in accomplishment along racial, ethnic, and gender lines.
Human Trafficking (1 CECH)
Learn about human trafficking, the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. This course is presented by the Wayne County Medical Society of Southeast Michigan and is required for all health care professionals.
Impact of Policy on Agency Programs (1 CECH)
Kristina Nikolova Ph.D, MSW presents "Impact of Policy on Agency Programs II" online Lecture, which provides an overview of the policy process at both the federal and state level, including how policies are funded. Nikolova explores how policies impact existing disparities and inequalities (either by exacerbating them or by attempting to fix them) and speaks to how social workers can influence policy.
Infant Mental Health (1 CECH)
Wayne State University's Training Series in Infant Mental Health: Part I: Attachment Theory (1 CEU) is presented by WSU Associate Professor of Social Work Carolyn Joy Dayton, Ph.D., LMSW, IMH-E®(IV). When young children experience close and caring relationships, their brains, bodies and social capacities grow and mature. When they do not, their capacity to form connections with others and learn about the world in ways that promote school readiness is compromised. This online course focuses on the ways in which parents and caretakers nurture young children to provide the building blocks for their healthy development and what happens when healthy early caretaking is absent or compromised.
Introduction to Program Evaluation (1 CECH)
Neva Nahan, Associate Director of the Center for Social Work Research presents "An Introduction to Program Evaluation". This course provides the opportunity to develop a logic model and program evaluation plan for a program with which the participant is familiar.
Introduction to SPSS (1 CECH)
Kendra Wells, LLMSW presents "An Introduction to SPSS Software". This course provides an introduction to IBM SPSS statistics software, starting with opening and navigating the program, to running frequencies.
Macro Programmatic Assessment and Evaluation (1 CECH)
Jason T. Carbone, PhD, MSW presents " Programmatic Assessment and Evaluation: A Primer ", which describes the different types of evaluations, CDC framework, and the seven tasks for evaluation.
Mind, Body, and Spiritual Practices in Social Work
Integrative body-mind-spirit practice is an emerging approach that is not widely included in social work education. However, evidence for mindfulness-based interventions is well-established for treating depression, stress, anxiety, and other diagnoses such as sleep disorders/problems, substance abuse, schizophrenia, PTSD, and developmental disabilities. Join us in this presentation by Caitlin Brown, LMSW as she discusses various complementary and alternative practices and their research efficacy.
Neuroscience for Social Workers (2 CECH)
Shantalea Johns EdD, LMSW presents "Neuroscience for Social Workers: Integrating the Brain into Practice", which provides an overview of the importance of neuroscience in social work – training, research, and intervention.
No Time for Goodbye; When a Loved One's Death is Traumatic (1 CECH)
Felecia Berry, L.M.S.W. presents "No Time for Goodbye: When a Loved One's Death is Traumatic: A Clinician's Guide to Helping Surviving Heal". This workshop will serve as a clinician's guide to helping survivors heal from the traumatic death of a loved one by utilizing therapeutic support and culturally appropriate community resources.
Opioid Epidemic & Pain Management (2 CECH in Pain)
This workshop focuses on common types of pain and how to differentiate the signs and symptoms of pain. It will consider pain management strategies and the impact of the opioid crisis on treating patients.
Overdose Prevention through Harm Reduction (4 CECH)
In this course Brad Ray, PhD will outline his community-engaged research efforts at understanding and addressing the overdose crisis. These efforts span criminal-legal, treatment, and public health systems focusing on overdose prevention through harm reduction, defined as any positive change. This lecture will focus on trends in overdose patterns from current surveillance systems, focusing on fentanyl and a critical assessment of the use of Naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, in these surveillance systems.
Pain Management (2 CECH in Pain)
Chronic pain can be disabling, detrimental to functioning and at the very least, distracting. How do we treat it? Do opiates help? Why would the Michigan Legislature pass a law establishing a right to adequate pain relief? This one hour course will begin to answer these questions. Research will be cited to help wade through the myriad of treatments. Traditional medicine, complementary and alternative medicine, psycho- social methods and other approaches will be presented. Specific techniques will be reviewed. And finally, not only will this course meet the requirement for one hour of pain management education every three years, but it will also help you understand where the requirement came from.
Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) (2 CECH)
This course was designed by the Wayne State University SBIRT team - College of Nursing and School of Social Work – who has trained health professionals, faculty, preceptors, and students to become SBIRT service providers and increase access to and availability of care, reduce behavioral health disparities, and promote the use of SBIRT in medically underserved communities in Michigan.
Sleep and Stress: A Bi-Directional Relationship (2.5 CECH)
During this session, licensed professional counselor Zeina Ghoul, PhD will explore the multifaceted relationship between sleep and psychological well-being. We will delve into the physiological and psychological consequences of sleep deprivation and examine how it impacts the overall health of clients, including their cognitive functioning and emotional regulation.
Social Determinants of Health (1 CECH)
The Social Determinants of Health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live and age. They have a large influence on our health. It also determines health inequities, which is the unfair and avoidable health difference between different groups of people. In this online session, Jason T. Carbone, PhD, MSW define the social determinants of health and how it impacts health and specific recommendations for improving your organization's work to advance health equity.
Social Work & the Overdose Epidemic: Naloxone Workshop (2 CECH in Pain)
This workshop focuses on the recent opioid epidemic, including the role of opioids, and how to identify and administer naloxone to reverse an opioid-related overdose. It takes a train-the-trainer approach and considers harm reduction and public health strategies to reduce overdose.
Suicide Assessment - Confidence to Make the Call (2 CECH)
In this session, Scott James Smith, PhD, LMSW will discuss the most up-to-date research on the risk factors for suicide, how to assess for risk, and how to develop a plan of action.
Supervision (1 CECH)
"Social Work Supervision: How supervision can enhance your work and professional growth" presented by Carla Barron, PhD, LMSW, IMH-E®, will explore practice standards in social work supervision and social work ethical practice. Participants will also learn ways to advocate for high-quality social work supervision.
Trauma Bonding: What's the Connection? (3 CECH)
Why would anyone want to stay in an intimate relationship in which they will be the recipient of mental, physical, emotional or sexual abuse? Why do some individuals engage in emotionally charged relationships resulting in abuse and victimization? What is the impact of this on the populations social workers serve? Felecia Berry, L.M.S.W. will explain the disturbing topic of trauma bonding in this 3 CE course.
Understanding Elder Abuse (1 CECH)
This CE course, presented by Joy Ernst Ph.D. MSW will explore elder abuse. Participants will learn the signs, and, how to determine if their client may be a victim of elder abuse.
Understanding Telehealth (2 CECH)
Presented by Lauree Emery MSW Ph.D, this online session is designed to help providers become more proficient and confident while using telehealth services with clients. Attendees will develop awareness of the benefits and challenges of using telehealth technology in clinical practice.
Understanding Youth Violence and Victimization (2 CECH)
Youth violence is a serious social and public health concern, and numerous studies have documented risk factors associated with youth's exposure to and experiences in violence occurring in multiple contexts. The aim of this class is to enhance social work practitioners' understanding of youth violence and how various types of violence impact children and adolescents. The major focus will be on child maltreatment, school bullying and victimization, and juvenile justice involvement. We will explore the associated risk factors and outcomes, particularly among diverse children and adolescents (i.e., racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants, LGBTQ, special education, etc.) and the strengths and drawbacks of the current programs and policies.