Moving Towards Racial Equity Through Social Work Collaborations That Promote Client Strengths and Autonomy and Employ Trauma Informed Practices

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: N/A

Room: Plaza A

Floor: Lobby Level

What can our collaborations with social work colleagues, or other professionals in mental health professions, who have unique training and skill sets not taught in law school settings, teach us about trauma, client self-determination, professional boundaries and equity that can advance our social and racial justice aims? A social work perspective helps law students see aspects of their client’s that are often missed or misunderstood. Because most clients who seek the services of a non-profit law office have experienced some form of trauma, trauma impacts the way clients build relationships with their legal team and participate in their legal case. Sometimes participation in a legal case can exacerbate trauma, particularly for BIPOC clients who are too often labeled as uncooperative, non-compliant, or difficult. Social workers’ significant training in trauma and healing brings a trauma-responsive, restorative focused perspective, which is often counter to the traditional approach in legal work. In this workshop we will discuss different models of social work collaborations within a variety of clinical legal settings (including special education, disability advocacy, criminal defense, and parole) and explore how the creative integration of social work training and practices has advanced racial equity through techniques like strength-based assessments, motivational interviewing, cultivating community resources and trauma-responsive practices. Strength-based, trauma-responsive, interdisciplinary collaborations create transformative attorney-client and attorney-social worker relationships that promote equity, autonomy and dignity and build trust. In this interactive session, panelists, including an in-house clinic social work supervisor, will offer case examples and lessons from their experience with various collaborations between lawyers/law students and social workers/social work students. Participants will also be invited to share their own experiences, insights and questions.