Presenter: Jill E. Palmer, DSW, LCSW

CEs: 2 Social Work Contact Hours

The time is now to confront and support each other to move past our deep-rooted division and historical othering that the United States has lived in for centuries. As social workers we have the ethical duty to address inequality and support meaningful change. The trauma-informed care approach provides a framework to address the harm whiteness has inflicted on ourselves, our staff and our clients. Whiteness, as the unearned cultural, social, and structural privileges, will be explored in the context of supervision. Using a TIC approach for supervision increases the opportunity for supervisees to have supported vulnerable conversations about how whiteness shows up in social work, how it is addressed in supervision and the changes that are required. Addressing whiteness is activism as harmful political policies have a greater impact on non-white individuals, families and communities. Trauma-Informed Supervision allows for supervisors to address often ignored topics and better support white and non-white supervisees.

Objectives:

Participants will learn how Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is a framework for supervision.

Participants will learn how the political landscape, workplace environments and cultural expressions impact supervisees and how these can be supported and/or challenged with a TIC supervision approach.

Participants will explore the impacts of whiteness in America and how this impacts our peers and clients. TIC can support an evolution away from ignoring whiteness and empowering authentic connections.

Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40

Last Updated: 06/11/26