Description

Upon completion of this conference, participants will be able to:

1. Describe what is currently known in the literature about concurrent personal and professional trauma among helping professionals and discuss implications for social work education and practice.
2. Examine key theoretical perspectives—including resilience theory, relational-cultural theory, and experiential learning theory—and their relevance for understanding concurrent trauma among social workers.
3. Explore a holistic practice application approach to address concurrent trauma and its relevance to ethical, sustainable professional functioning in social work.

 

Presenter Bio:

Joy Alexakis is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Qualified Clinical Supervisor residing in southwest Florida. Joy earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Auburn University in 1996, and her Master of Social Work degree in 1998 from the University of Alabama. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Doctor of Social Work program at the University of Kentucky with an emphasis in social work education.

With more than 30 years of experience in the field, Joy brings an integrative practice-informed perspective to social work leadership, practice, and education. Her professional background includes mental health services, adoption work, higher education, consultation, clinical supervision, program development, and administrative leadership.

Joy currently serves as the Director of Naples Vet Center, where she provides program leadership, oversight, and clinical care to veterans and their families. In addition, she serves as an adjunct instructor in social work at both Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of Kentucky.

Joy’s research interests include holistic wellness approaches for helping professionals, justice reform related to the juvenile sex offender registry, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Her capstone project examines the intersection of personal and professional trauma in social work through the development of a holistic professional education framework addressing concurrent trauma. She has disseminated this work through a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations. She intends to further advance the field through continued scholarship, practice-based application, and a forthcoming retreat and book aimed at addressing concurrent trauma for both emerging and experienced social workers.

 

Delivery Method: Live Interactive Training via Zoom Video Conferencing

Credit Hours: 1.0 (ACE)

Target Audience: This conference is intended for social workers and students.

Accreditation: University of Kentucky College of Social Work, Provider # 1377, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 9/29/25-9/29/28. Social workers participating in this conference will receive up to 15 general continuing education credits.

Claiming CE Credit: Instructions for claiming CE credit will be disseminated at the beginning of each session.

Questions: If you have any questions regarding CE credit or to report a grievance, please contact Christina Krantz at Christina.Krantz@uky.edu. For technical assistance, please contact lmshelp@uky.edu.

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these presentations are those of the individual presenters and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the University of Kentucky or the College of Social Work. The inclusion of any topics, perspectives, or discussions is intended for academic engagement and does not constitute endorsement by the institution.