News
A new Tips and Tools document, Starting a Private
Practice, Frequently Asked Questions by NASW Members,
has been revised to
help guide clinical social workers (CSWs) through the process of opening a
private practice. This document provides answers to common questions on
licensure, liability, insurance credentialing, and many other topics to help
CSWs get started.
Starting
a Private Practice: Frequently Asked Questions by NASW Members
SPS Webinars
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 (1 - 2:30 pm ET)
Presenter: Adam McCormick, PhD, MSSW
Youth in foster care face disproportionately high rates of trafficking vulnerability due to experiences of trauma, placement instability, homelessness, congregate care placement, and disrupted attachment. This workshop explores how systemic failures within child welfare can unintentionally create pathways into exploitation, with a particular focus on the heightened risks faced by LGBTQ+ youth. Drawing from qualitative research with foster care alumni and survivors of trafficking, participants will examine how rejection, disconnection, institutionalization, and unmet belonging needs increase vulnerability while identifying trauma-informed and affirming strategies that promote safety, permanency, and healing.
Objectives:
- Examine how trauma, placement instability, congregate care, and disrupted attachment contribute to trafficking vulnerability among youth in foster care, particularly LGBTQ+ youth.
- Apply trauma-informed and affirming social work practices that strengthen safety, belonging, permanency, and protective factors for youth involved in child welfare systems.
- Evaluate social work policy and practice strategies aimed at reducing reliance on congregate care and disrupting pathways from foster care to exploitation, homelessness, and criminalization.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
Tuesday, November 17, 2026 (1 – 3 pm ET)
Presenter: Paige Hector, LMSW
CEs: 2 Social Work contact hours
As social workers, we serve in diverse settings, many of which can be prone to high stress and conflict. It can be tough when a client, family member, or colleague expresses intense emotions or conveys their needs as criticism or a demand. Our social work education prepares us to use active listening and respond with empathy. Yet, when emotions run high, we may find ourselves resorting to communication habits such as becoming defensive with and judging others. These reactions exacerbate an already difficult situation, weakening our collaborative relationships with persons served and colleagues, and can even result in formal complaints. In this session, we’ll consider various social work practice scenarios that illustrate these conflict engagement patterns. Drawing on our understanding of human behavior in the social environment and our commitment to the NASW Code of Ethics, we’ll explore how application of Nonviolent Communication principles can strengthen empathy for ourselves and others amid conflict; support our emotional self-regulation during these high-stress interactions; and enhance our capacity to transform conflictual communications into collaborative dialogue with clients, families, and colleagues.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
Tuesday, December 1, 2026 (1 – 2:30 pm ET)
Presenter: Stephanne Cline Thornton, LICSW
Forensic social work has deep roots in early 20th‑Century reform and now plays a vital role in courtroom and legal settings. This webinar introduces how social workers support individuals, families, and communities across legal and child-welfare systems, drawing on trauma‑informed assessment, life‑history investigation, and contextual storytelling grounded in a Just Practice Framework. Participants will evaluate the ethical framework of NASW’s 2025 death penalty policy in relation to social work’s core values of dignity and worth of the individual. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how social workers contribute to holistic defense and align with community‑based justice movements that advance dignity and human rights.
Objectives:
- Describe the evolution of forensic social work from early 20th‑Century reform movements to modern roles in legal and child welfare settings.
- Explain core social work functions in legal contexts drawing on social work’s core values and key practices such as trauma‑informed assessment, life‑history investigation, and contextual storytelling that support holistic defense and humanize clients in court‑involved systems.
- Evaluate the ethical implications of social work roles in legal settings including high-stakes legal environments by examining NASW’s 2025 position on the death penalty in relation to social work’s core values and ethical principles.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
SPS Panel Discussion
When Advocacy Gets Emotional: Building Trust Between Families and Helping Professionals
Monday, November 2, 2026 (11 am – 12 PM ET)
Sponsored by the Mental Health Specialty Practice Section
Exploring how past experiences with systems can shape emotional responses and family-professional relationships, and how social workers can recognize bias, strengthen communication, and build trust with families.
Register in advance for the LIVE meeting only: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/z0_tx25FSl-ezBJiaLOSDw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Open to all NASW Members. For Information Purposes Only. No CEs will be issued.
Panel discussion will be recorded and made available here.
Meet Social Workers like you with MyNASW
If you are an SPS member, you are already a member of at least one of these MyNASW online communities and can participate now:
Children, Youth and Schools
For members of the Child Welfare; Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults; and School Social Work Specialty Practice Sections
Clinical Social Work, Aging, and Health
For members of the Aging; Mental Health; Private Practice, and Substance Use Disorders and Other Addictive Behaviors Specialty Practice Sections
Social Justice, Administration, and Courts
For members of the Administration/Supervision; Social and Economic Justice & Peace; and Social Work and the Courts Specialty Practice Sections