NEAFAST 2024 Spring Conference:
Family Therapy in Community-Based Settings
                                                                                               
May 17, 2024, 8:30am-4:30pm ET
Live on Zoom | 6 CEs
                                                                                               
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
                                                                                               
Purpose:
The 2024 New England Association for Family and Systemic Therapy (NEAFAST) Spring Conference is designed to educate and support clinicians working in in-home therapy and community-based settings, expand awareness of the importance of family, relational, and systemic therapy, and provide tools for improving outcomes to emerging professionals in mental health.

                                                                                                                                                                                                
Timeline:
  • Workshop Request for Proposals (RFP) Accepted: Starting October 16, 2023
  • Deadline for Submissions: December 1, 2023
  • Deadline for Virtual Informational Meetings with Applicants: December 8, 2023
  • Registration for Spring Conference Begins: January 9, 2024
Conference Background
Overview:
Since its inception in 2019, The New England Association for Family and Systemic Therapy (NEAFAST) has dedicated itself to increasing training opportunities, advocacy and clinician connectedness in New England. As part of these efforts, NEAFAST is proud to host agency professionals for a day of education and collaboration to increase clinical competence in the delivery of systemic therapy services.
Conference Audience:
  • New and seasoned master’s level and licensed mental health professionals working in community-based settings
  • Bachelor’s level direct care clinicians seeking to increase understanding of systemic care and improve service delivery
  • Clinical supervisors, agency management, and agency staff seeking to increase systemic thinking within their practice
  • Students preparing to enter into community-based fields of practice
  • Agency professionals seeking to increase awareness of their services and current areas of research
General Workshop Information:

NEAFAST is seeking proposals for six to eight workshops to address our audience of mental health professionals. Workshops should be designed to support systemic thinking in therapy, address clinician and agency needs, and include elements which can be implemented in practice upon conference completion. 

Criteria for Evaluation:
  • Must be delivered in a 2 hour window.
  • Have clear connection to the goal of enhancing family/relational/systemic therapy.
  • Are relevant to the practice of ethical community-based therapy.
  • Introduces ideas and concepts which will enhance competence in clinical practice.
  • Must be delivered in a virtual format.
  • Must contain practical and actionable tools and techniques.
  • Are supported by research and/or have evidence-based foundations.
  • The Conference Committee will meet with Applicants for introductions, review of content, answering questions, and determining fit for conference.
Logistics:
  • Workshops will be 2 hours long.
  • Workshops will be held on April 28, 2024 10:15 am-12:15 pm; 1:15 pm-3:15 pm.
  • Presenters will participate in a closing panel discussion from 3:30-4:30 pm.
  • You will need a device with access to the internet (laptop, desktop, iPad, etc), webcam, Zoom, and audio through your computer or a phone to be able to present to the attendees.
Workshop Categories:

NEAFAST is looking for this year’s conference to target categories which address clinician needs within community-based agency settings, provide clinicians with education to improve systemic awareness within therapy, and increase collaboration between licensed professionals within the mental health field. To directly address these needs, NEAFAST is looking for proposals within the areas below.

Topic Areas:
1.    Best Practices for Family, Relational, and Systemic Therapy
     a.    Treating the family system and relationships as the client
     b.    Managing distress and conflict in the therapy room and within the family system
     c.    Joining and developing trust within a family system
     d.    Provider collaboration
     e.    Balancing multiple perspectives in the room
     f.     Comprehensive care, including sexuality, substance use, co-occuring medical conditions, disabilities
     g.    Impact of larger systems (i.e. schools, agencies, communities) on family therapy process
 
2.    Therapist Development
     a.    Addressing countertransference and other self-of-the-therapist issues 
     b.    Recognizing and supporting the management of provider burnout
     c.    Identifying and delivering quality clinical supervision 
     d.    Balancing multiple roles and managing stress
 
3.    Ethical and Safety Concerns
     a.    Managing dual relationships
     b.    Setting healthy boundaries within client, collegial, and supervisory relationships
     c.    Addressing therapist safety in community settings
     d.    Appropriate use of disclosure, both self-disclosure and reporting mandates
     e.    Awareness of and adherence to scope of practice
 
4.    Cultural Humility 
     a.    Recognizing and dismantling oppressive (racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, ageist, etc.).                      
            practices
     b.    Addressing clinician biases
     c.    Building alliances and developing strategies with families
     d.    Unique needs of diverse populations
     e.    Impacts of systemic oppression on access to and success of treatment
Proposal Contents:

RFPs must be submitted online at www.neafast.org/in-home-therapy-conference-2024. To help you prepare, all the information requested in the proposal is listed below.

Workshop Information:
  1. Workshop title. 
  2. Workshop category -  Best practices for family and relational therapy, therapist development, ethical and safety concerns, cultural humility.
  3. What is the goal of this workshop? How will attendees be able to apply what they learn from your session directly to their work? (200 word limit)
  4. What are three techniques that workshop participants will receive?
  5. Who is the ideal audience for this workshop? Please address experience level, professional category, and organization size. 
  6. Please note which times you are available to conduct the workshop.
Presenter Information – required for each presenter (max of 3)
  1. Contact information – name, phone, email, pronouns
  2. Organization or affiliation
  3. Bio – 100 words limit, use third person
  4. Headshot

Course Schedule:
8:30-10:00: Introduction
10:00-10:15: Break
10:15-12:15: Course 1
1)
2)
3)
12:15–1:15: Lunch
1:15-3:15: Course 2
1)
2)
3)
3:15-3:30: Break
3:30-4:30: Wrap-up

Questions & Additional Information
NEAFAST thanks you very much for your interest! Please contact Jeremiah Gibson at [email protected] with any questions.
Submit your proposal Here
 

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