A Lamp, A Lifeboat, or a Ladder: A Call to Heal (Virtual Event)
Presented by Lee Westgate, MBA, MSW, LCSW-C
1.0 Clock hours
Helping professionals occupy a pivotal moment in human history – one defined by absolute precarity, a global health pandemic, division, and institutional disruption. Added to this are the rising elements of the erosion of human rights, the fanning of fanaticism, the erasure of bodily autonomy and self-determination, and the essential compromise of the cohesion between people. With the onslaught of macro-based shifts and continued instability, each of us within the world of service provision are continuously asking, "What's next?" Every day brings with it the recognition that we need to re-examine the way we see and experience the world and the way that we conceptualize what it means to serve as healers that have sustained our own wounds as a result of this relentless turmoil. This presentation will explore what it means to be a helping professional in this moment and how essential it is to ethically ground in our own calling to serve.
By the end of this keynote presentation, attendees will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the current landscape and the unique challenges faced by helping professionals
- Highlight potential key ethical challenges and practice challenges embedded in their practice
- Share insights, experiences, and lessons learned within the context of societal disruption.
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- Review recommendations about areas of opportunity to ground in our calling to serve.
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Lee Westgate, MSW, MBA, LCSW-C (he/ him/ his) is an out transgender advocate with more than 15 years of professional experience in social work policy, practice, research, and education. He is a board approved clinical supervisor in the state of Maryland, has held numerous organizational leadership roles, and has served as an educational consultant to a variety of associations and organizational clientele. He has served as a medical social worker in the fields of oncology, critical care, as well as in integrated behavioral health settings. Mr. Westgate has participated in a CSWE-sponsored National Trauma Task Force work-group that focused on the intersection of ethics and trauma-informed practice and he was awarded an immersion fellowship through Boston University to study addiction and behavioral health. He has participated in AIDS Education and Training Center on behalf of the University of Maryland, School of Social Work, Baltimore, MD since 2017 and participated in the MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Workgroup on COVID and HIV. Mr. Westgate continues to serve as a Clinical Instructor at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work and his scholarship includes integrated behavioral health, clinical work with LGBTQIA+ populations, working with individuals with chronic and life-threatening illness, healthcare policy, and health equity. As a faculty member, he has received numerous teaching awards including the Camara Jones Faculty Award of 2022, Innovation in Social Work Award of 2022, Exemplary Faculty Member of the Year Award along with the Dean’s Teaching Award for several consecutive semesters. He has been published in The Social Worker, The Journal of Employee Assistance, Infusion Magazine, Provider Magazine, and Social Work Today.
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