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Continuing Education Webinar: Decolonizing Mental Health – Benaias Esayeas  – August 17

CEU event graphic Decolonizing Mental Health with Benaias Esayeas

Date: Thursday, August 17, 2023
Time: 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET //
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT
Location: Live Zoom webinar
Presentation Title
Decolonizing Mental Health

Cost – $30

Logistics
Zoom information will be emailed to participants the afternoon before and morning of the event. Registration will close two hours before the event start time. This event is live and will not be recorded.

Discounts
To request a discount code, please follow the instructions below. One discount allowed per purchase.

  • UTCSW Alumni: 25% – please email your graduation year and the program you completed to cswcep@utk.edu.
  • UTCSW Field Instructors: 50% – please send an email using your agency email address to cswcep@utk.edu.
  • UTCSW Faculty/Staff: 100% – you may have already received this info; please check your inbox before emailing cswcep@utk.edu to request the code.
  • UTCSW Students: 100% – please contact your program staff member for access.

Course Description

This course is designed for social workers and social work students who are interested in promoting culturally sensitive and empowering mental health care in their practice. The course explores the ways in which colonization and white supremacy have impacted mental health and how decolonization can lead to more effective and equitable mental health care. Students will learn about the social, political, and cultural contexts that shape mental health and the role of social work in promoting decolonization in mental health care. The course will also examine the limitations of the Western model of mental health care and explore alternative approaches that are more culturally sensitive and community-based.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will:

  1. Understand the concept of decolonization and its relevance to mental health care;
  2. Identify the historical and current impacts of colonization and white supremacy on mental health care and social work practice;
  3. Critically evaluate the limitations of the Western model of mental health care and its impact on social work practice;
  4. Analyze alternative approaches to mental health care that are more culturally sensitive and empowering;
  5. Recognize the importance of community-based and culturally sensitive mental health care in social work practice; and
  6. Explore strategies for promoting decolonization in mental health care in their social work practice.

CEUs

Participants are eligible to earn 2 continuing education units.

Target Audience

People in the field of mental health and social work. People impacted by the social health and mental health system.

Accessibility

There is space on the event registration form to indicate accommodations required. We work with the university’s Office of Equity & Diversity and Office of Student Disability Services to make arrangements and ask that you allow us adequate time to communicate with them about any services needed.

It is a priority to make our events inclusive and accessible. For any questions or to notify us of a request, please email cswcep@utk.edu at least three business days prior to the event.

Refunds

To request a refund, please email cswcep@utk.edu. Full refunds will be granted up to 48 hours prior to the event. In the event this program is cancelled, full refunds will be issued to all registrants.

About the Presenter

Benaias Esayeas is an Ethiopian American living, studying, and organizing in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in neuroscience from Amherst College and is the co-founder of the Black Mental Health Alliance of Nashville. As the excessive director, he is working to change the narrative about mental health in the Black community by offering an antiracist, trauma, and oppression-informed model of mental health and mental illness. Through the use of data, community-based interventions, and psychedelics psychotherapy, the Black Mental Health Alliance of Nashville is working to decolonize mental health and decrease stigma in the Black community.

Benaias is also passionate about healthcare and medical education reform, upstream health equity interventions, and investment in social determinants of health as a framework for improving health outcomes, reducing violence in marginalized communities, and decreasing the rates of incarceration.