Restorative Practices for Youth in Care: How Creativity Inspires Resilience

This training will focus on how, through social-emotional learning, youth in care develop self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills. This training will discuss and explore the concept of self-soothing and how creativity can calm the mind and body, thus creating opportunities for building healthy connections. Participants will enjoy an overview of practical techniques that help develop resilience and self-compassion. This training promotes emotional and physical regulation through arts-based activities.

Participants will:

• Gain insight into a mindful approach to working with clients.
• Enjoy an overview of practical techniques for developing self-compassion and resilience.
• Learn strategies for incorporating strengths-based creative activities for children and families.

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