Description

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

1. Describe how culturally meaningful food practices support emotional regulation, psychological safety, and healing within Black communities.
2. Explain how the Culinary Healing Model expands traditional trauma-informed social work practice through culturally grounded and community-based approaches.
3. Identify ethical strategies for integrating culturally grounded food-based interventions into clinical, community, and organizational social work settings.

Presenter Bio

Syerra Lynn Donaldson, MSW, DSW Candidate, is a social worker, substance abuse and dual-diagnosis clinician, and Doctoral Candidate in Social Work at the University of Kentucky, with a concentration in leadership and administration. She practices as a mental health and substance abuse therapist while leading community-based wellness initiatives that integrate culturally responsive and healing-centered approaches.

Ms. Donaldson’s research interests focus on mental health equity, culturally grounded interventions, trauma-informed practice, and substance use within Black communities. Her doctoral capstone project examines how culturally grounded food practices can function as trauma-informed interventions to improve mental health outcomes among Black populations. Through this work, she is developing a Culinary Healing Model that bridges social work theory, empirical research, and community-based practice to expand nontraditional healing pathways. Her scholarship is informed by Black Feminist Thought, resilience theory, anti-oppressive practice, and trauma-informed care, with an emphasis on translating research into practical tools for clinicians, organizations, and policy stakeholders. Ms. Donaldson’s professional background includes extensive experience working with individuals impacted by severe mental illness,
substance use disorders, and intergenerational trauma. Ms. Donaldson’s work has received recognition through national media features and professional distinctions, including being named an award-winning Food Network champion and being featured by regional and national media outlets for innovative, culturally grounded approaches to wellness and community healing. At present, she has no peer-reviewed publications but intends to disseminate her capstone findings through conference presentations, practitioner training, applied scholarship, and community-engaged programming.

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.