Sharing Social Work Skills
Learn more about motivational interviewing, child sexual exploitation, child welfare services, implicit bias, mental wellness, and equity and inclusion.
View a full list of training and programs offered CLICK HERE for our Course Catalog.
Register for our upcoming training and events CLICK HERE to view our Eventbrite.
The content presented in these topics are general in nature and widely applicable for education purposes only. They are not intended to be particularized to the needs of one company/institution. If you need training or consulting particular to your company/institution please contact Marya Wright to discuss your needs.
I am currently accepting facilitating and training requests through 2023. Please e-mail [Support@MaryaWrightConsulting.com] for scheduling.
I accept training topic requests and curriculum development for agency-specific needs.
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Available Training Topics
Half-Day: Three-hour training
Full-Day: Six-hour training
Understanding the Benefits of Motivational Interviewing
In this training, participants will gain a generalized concept of MI. Participants will be introduced to the spirit of MI, four processes of MI, sustained talk, discord and change talk, OARS (open-ended, affirmations, reflections, and summary), and DARN CAT (desire, ability, reasons, need and commitment, activation and taking steps0. Participants will have the opportunity to work in small groups, engage in various activities, and receive tangible examples to use during their work with clients. This training has many activities, handouts, and videos to support all learning styles.
Building Client-Centered Relationships with Multisystem-Involved Youth and Families
Attendees will gain a basic understanding of the spirit of MI and ways to implement it with multi-system-involved youth and families. Participants will learn practical ways to implement MI skills into their current work to collaborate with youth and families, how to engage youth and families’ current motivation to change a particular behavior, and how to use MI OARS to further enhance or consolidate the client’s level of motivation.
Advance Practice for Professionals Using Motivational Interviewing When Working with System-Involved Youth—Focusing on OARS and the Righting Reflex
This is an intermediate course developed for case managers who have a basic understanding of MI. This course will provide practical skills and strategies to support the knowledge gained from an introductory MI course. Participants will increase their understanding of OARS. The content explores each interviewing technique in-depth to enhance the case manager’s tool kit of MI responses with their clients. Participants will be able to apply the tools learned in this course to establish reports, collaboration, and understanding for their current clients.
Learning How to Resist the Righting Reflex
This is an advanced course developed for case managers and clinicians who have a basic understanding of MI. Participants will build on the knowledge gained from an introductory MI course. This course will provide practical skills and strategies to resist the righting reflex when met with client resistance. Participants will increase their understanding of the righting reflex. The content explores MI four guiding principles, represented by the acronym R.U.L.E. Participants will gain a general understanding of how resistance may show up when working with system-involved youth and families. The course will provide strategies on appropriate response to resistance. As well as what could be said in response to resistance rather than using the righting reflex.
Developing Tools for Working with CSEC Youth in Child Welfare (CSEC 101)
Half-Day: Three-hour training
Full-Day: Six-hour training
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) 101 is an introductory course developed for community providers, social workers, probation officers, advocates, foster care providers, and those who work with at-risk children and transitional age youth. CSEC 101 is designed for those who work with girls, boys, and gender non-conforming youth and wish to have an understanding of risk factors and signs of exploitation. This course will provide an in-depth overview that includes statistics, legal framework from the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and common myths about involvement in CSEC. Participants will be able to identify the demand, recruitment, pathways, and precursors to involvement in CSEC. This training also provides an overview of the physical, emotional, and social impact of CSEC through survivor stories, images, and videos to illustrate victim identification, engagement, and service needs for CSEC youth.
Improving Our Support and Response to Child Welfare System-Involved Families
Half-Day: Three-hour training
In this training, participants will gain a basic understanding of the Child Welfare System (CWS) and Child Protective Services (CPS). Participants will learn about the process of CPS once a report has been filed; timelines, expectations, and guidelines when involved in the CWS; the reasons why questions are asked during a CPS investigation; and the importance of accurate information. Participants will also learn how to engage and provide support to families involved in CWS.
Implicit Bias
Available Training Topics
Half-Day: Three-hour training
Full-Day: Six-hour training
The Impact of Implicit Bias within Clinical Supervision and Manager Roles
Attendees will gain a general understanding of implicit bias in the workplace, review the definition of implicit bias, and reflect on how it impacts the clinical and manager roles within the child welfare system. The course will identify structures and systems impacted by racism, as well as environmental impacts for system-involved youth and families. Attendees will practice strategies to mitigate implicit bias in clinical practice and management, increase self-awareness, and identify how biases affect actions. The training will illustrate how first impressions and unknown faces cause implicit bias to leak into everyday interactions; list seven strategies to interrupt implicit bias during clinical supervision or management roles; and identify six ways to modify organizational accountability to support better practice. This training will also review the impact of implicit bias and stereotype threat.
Understanding Implicit Bias and Unconscious Decision-Making
The course will review how research has measured implicit beliefs and how the Implicit Association Test has been used as a tool to measure implicit biases. The training will review what is implicit bias, how attendees can evaluate how this may occur in their practice, how we make decisions, and the impact our decisions have on our practice. Attendees will be able to describe the difference between explicit and implicit bias. The course will list three examples of explicit and implicit biases, illustrate the impacts of implicit bias in the workplace, and encourage participant discussion on reducing the impact. Attendees will develop awareness to implicit bias and the impact it has on system-involved youth and families and will compare cultural values and backgrounds on how they impact biases.
Understanding How Implicit Bias Affects Case Management
Attendees will review evidence of implicit bias through illustrations of the neuroscience of implicit bias; will be able to describe the types of bias; and will discuss stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination, in-group favoritism, aversive racism, and stigma. This course will assess how implicit bias creates barriers for clinicians working with system-involved youth and families and identify four objective processes to engage the families. This training will support clinicians with identifying bias in writing and reading of client documentation, comparing a stereotype threat to implicit bias, and outlining the effects and examples of stereotype threat. Attendees will review hidden biases and have a discussion on how biases influence their practice.
Repairing the Relationship after a Rupture
Half-Day: Three-hour training
This course will describe ruptures in relationships by recognizing, repairing, and resolving conflict. Attendees will review the importance of repairing a relationship, discuss relationships, and assess behaviors and building connections. The course will identify three ways to develop conflict resolution and respond to conflict and will allow attendees to practice asking questions after a rupture has occurred to support and repair a relationship. This training will provide a list of questions to ask someone who has been harmed from a rupture and ways to respond to conflict that causes ruptures. This course provides a list of six responses to conflict, assesses motivation to repair a relationship after a rupture, and assesses what is needed to prepare for a restorative talk with a peer or system-involved youth or family. This course will list communication strategies and restorative questions and describe the importance of creating an agreement to repair a relationship after a rupture.
Understanding the Trauma of Domestic Violence
Half-Day: Three-hour training
This introductory training will provide trainees an overview of domestic violence. The training will provide a general overview for trainees to understand the trauma caused by domestic violence and how it impacts client outcomes. The training covers the cycles of violence and how to describe this to clients. During this training, participants will discuss and share resources for domestic violence related issues such as, survivor, perpetrator, and children. The training will discuss how the cycle of violence has negative risk factors for children and how to hold these discussions with clients. Trainees will be able to develop a trauma-informed approach to supporting clients who are involved in a domestic violent relationship.
Understanding the Needs of Youth Experiencing Depression
Half-Day: Three-hour training
During this introductory training, participants will have an overview of depression as it relates to youth. The training will provide a brief overview on the causes of depression and what possible symptoms are for youth. Participants will gain practical skills to assess, respond to, and support a youth who is experiencing depression symptoms. By attending this training, participants will engage in a collaborative discussion regarding common services and support for parents and caregivers of youth who are experiencing depression. This training will support service providers with an understanding of how depression shows up for a youth as it relates to their mood, physically, and cognitively.
Office Hours
Thirty minutes
One hour
Office hours are available to training participants. If you would like to book office hours after attending a training session with Marya Wright Consulting, please email for availability. Office hours provide an opportunity for participants to review concepts, ask direct questions related to the training content, and apply recent case content to the material with Marya’s support.
Consulting, Human Resources, and Support
Do you have a question about ways to take care of yourself, listening to your mental health needs, or ensuring that people in your workplace and community are treated equally? If so, contact me! I would love to discuss ways we can work together and provide support.
Mentorship, Coaching, and Advising
I am available to social work students and professionals.