TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS: W.I.S.E. Up! Train the Trainer

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W.I.S.E. Up!, a signature program developed by C.A.S.E., is an empowerment workshop for families to help children respond to intrusive questions about being adopted. It is intended as a face-to-face training (approximately 2 hours) where one facilitator works with parents on understanding what their children may be experiencing while other facilitators work with children learning the W.I.S.E. Up! skills, doing crafts and role-plays in which children practice W.I.S.E. Up! skills. The workshop then brings the parents and kids together to share their learnings. C.A.S.E. authorizes agencies to be W.I.S.E. Up! sites by training their staff to facilitate the W.I.S.E. UP! workshops with families through a Train the Trainer Model. W.I.S.E. Up! Train the Trainer is provided virtually via Zoom to agencies interested in offering W.I.S.E. Up! to families in their community. Professionals in this training will learn how to offer the W.I.S.E. Up! concurrent workshops for children and parents and become certified W.I.S.E. Up! trainers. Agencies must commit to train a minimum of three staff and can include up to 5 staff in the training. We ask that at least one of the participants have a clinical background since the content can be triggering for children. This training is interactive and program materials are provided. New organizations also receive the WISE Up! Starter Kit with materials used in the parent/youth workshops and 10 copies of the WISE UP! Powerbook.

Presenter

Mari Itzkowitz, LCSW, serves clients through teletherapy throughout the states of Virginia. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science in Education, and received her Masters of Social Work from The Catholic University of America. Mari is an Adoption Competent Therapist and Trainer and has over 20 years of experience providing clinical services to families who have adopted both domestically and internationally.

Mari provides individual, family and group therapy to adopted children, teens, adults and their families, as well as pre-adoption therapy for children and families moving toward finalization. Her specialty is grief and loss, and attachment issues. Mari works from a family systems perspective and believes that strengthening the family bond is the most effective way to bring about change.

Mari is a leader of the C.A.S.E. Training Team, providing training and education to adoption, child welfare, mental health and school professionals as well as parent groups, both locally and nationally. Mari is a key facilitator of the “Train the Trainer” program for C.A.S.E.’s Training in Adoption Competency (TAC) program, created to increase the adoption competence of mental health professionals around the country. To date, she has trained over 50 trainers nationwide who are teaching the TAC Curriculum to clinicians in their communities.

Cost: 

$1, 500 for 5 staff members to participate and additional staff can be added for $250/person.

Contact: 

Lauren Lynch, lynch@adoptionsupport.org