Creative Approaches to Managing Anxiety Around Transitions

This training will teach about various evidence-based approaches for managing anxiety around transitions for children in care and explore strategies for creating structure through transitions, coping with loss and grief, and building healthy connections. Participants will enjoy an overview of practical arts-based techniques that enhance emotional well-being and make connections for caregivers and children in care.

Participants will:

• Identify and explore four core social-emotional concerns for children during transitions.
• Learn about evidence-based activities for reducing anxiety and creating structure through transitions.
• Practice several arts-based exercises for children and families for self-exploration, building healthy connections, and problem-solving.

About the trainer:

Stacey Billups, MSW, is licensed as an LMSW in New York State. She earned her Master of Social Work (MSW) at Howard University. Stacey knows firsthand the social-emotional experiences of being a child in the foster care system. Therefore, she made a personal commitment to working with children and youth who have experienced trauma. Her experience includes working in foster care and hospital settings and over twenty-five years as a school-based social worker.

Stacey specializes in the strengths-based approach to working with students and families, social skills training for children and adolescents, self-regulation strategies, behavior intervention planning, and utilizing creative arts to engage youth in the academic setting demands.

Stacey is a mother of two and a professional artist with a ten-year art studio practice. Stacey believes that marrying the creative arts with counseling has many benefits, including healing trauma, heightening self-awareness, developing social skills, and building community connections.

To be eligible for this training:

Participant must be staff, caregiver or volunteer working directly with foster, adoptive or probation involved children, youth and their families in Alameda, Solano, Mendocino, Lake, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Tuolumne and Calaveras only. ALL participants unless a caregiver/resource family must register with a work email address that can be verified; unless the participant is a caregiver. Participants outside of these areas aren't eligible.

Event Venue

Online