Professional Development
We offer more than 200 continuing and executive education programs each year to help you increase and refresh your skills. Whatever your area of practice, Prof Dev has something for you!
Brown School Professional Development provides a constantly changing array of lectures, workshops, and courses, as well as skill-building certificate programs.
Focused on key areas of clinical practice, management, and evaluation, our programs enroll professionals in social work, public health, and related fields. We serve the professional community with a commitment to innovation, providing opportunities to renew skills and integrate new learning into practice.
If you have questions or need directions, please see our policies, directions, and FAQs. For other inquiries, contact us at brownprofdev@wustl.edu.
Activities
Certificates
Our workshop series offers weekly trainings throughout the year, usually in a convenient Friday format. Taught by respected local professionals, Brown School faculty, and visiting instructors, our workshops address a wide range of topics and competencies covering the latest research, evidence-based interventions, management, self-care, suicide prevention, ethics, cultural competency, and more.
We invite you to our “Open Classroom” – a series of free, one-hour lectures and panels delivered live online by faculty, alumni, and community professionals. These offerings will allow you to connect with experts on a broad range of topics. Sessions are recorded and posted on the site for future learning and to share with others. Open Classroom is free and open to all.
Brown School faculty have developed online lectures addressing specific areas of social work and public health practice. Videos can be streamed on-demand, so you can learn and earn CEUs — at a time and place convenient for you.
Each June, the Brown School offers a selection of five-day courses designed to build specific skills in management and leadership, data analysis and communication, cultural competency, and fundraising. The focused, results-oriented coursework appeals to Brown School alumni, working practitioners and academics, as well as graduate students.
Ready for something more? Apply to our Advanced Learning Certificates program for robust, cohort-based learning to advance your career.
Ethics in Action: Applying the NASW Code of Ethics to Common Dilemmas in Social Work
Social workers often find themselves navigating tricky situations and challenging decisions. This online, self-paced lecture will explore how to use the NASW Code of Ethics as a way of guiding your decision making when navigating ethical dilemmas with clients and colleagues. We will highlight all six ethical principles and standards, including various ethical decision-making models, focusing on the key components between them.
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Introduction to Play Therapy: Engaging Children in Therapy and Child Centered Approaches
November 3 – 4, 2023, In Person
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM, Both Days
This 2-day intensive training workshop will provide an in-depth introduction to play therapy. We will learn the therapeutic powers of play, help you to gain an understanding of how and why play therapy works, learn play-based interventions, and we will dive into the theory of child-centered play therapy and the evidence behind this approach.
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Animal-Assisted Interventions: Assistance Dogs, Facility Dogs, and Therapy Dogs
December 1, 2023, In Person
8:30 – 11:30 AM
This interactive workshop, held off campus at Duo Dogs, will introduce participants to the growing field of service animals and highlight the different types of assistive and therapeutic tasks specially trained dogs can provide, including evidence-based practice on the utilization of animal-assisted interventions.
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Leveraging the Adult Learner Model in Your Staff Training Approach
Whether it’s job orientation, compliance training, or skill-building, most workplaces make significant investments in their teams, however, all too often these approaches are designed without knowing how adults learn new skills. This in person workshop will enhance participants’ understanding of how adult employees like to be engaged. We will discuss formal and informal learning opportunities.
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October 6, 2023
8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
3 CEUs/CPH Units Available
Effective Engagement Across Difference: Exploring Dialogue, Diversity, and Accountability
Many of us were raised to avoid conversations that focus on our differences. This workshop will explore the societal need for us to become more effective in our communication. We will build skills to hold ourselves and others accountable for our actions. Dialogue is intended to lead to healing, and there is no healing without accountability.
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October 6, 2023
8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
3 CEUs Available
