Alumni Continuing Education Day

This essential course will discuss the profile of elder victims, the symptoms behind elder abuse and the profile of the typical perpetrator. Physical, emotional and financial abuse will be examined in depth and theories of the causes of elder abuse will be explored: ageism, “payback” and caregiver burnout.  Finally, abuse prevention strategies and care for victims will be discussed. The session will be delivered through the innovative use of videos and interactive small groups. By successfully completing this course and interacting with classmates during the session, participants will gain a stronger understanding of the various forms of elder abuse which occur within and without the family system and be able to both diagnose and utilize social work related prevention and/or intervention strategies designed to eliminate or reduce the various forms of elder abuse.

Prof. Elhanan Marvit is the Director of the Brooklyn Learning Site and Administrative Services at the Graduate School of Social Work. He received his B.A. from University of Massachusetts - Boston, B.JEd from Hebrew Teachers College and his M.S.W. from Adelphi University. He also holds an Advanced Certificate in Field Instruction from the Columbia University School of Social Work, as well as a certificate in Non Profit Management from Columbia University’s Institute for Non Profit Management. He has extensive experience in field instruction and

advisement. Immediately prior to assuming his positions at Touro, he served as an adjunct Field Advisor at Columbia University, Fordham and Adelphi University.        His areas of clinical expertise include grief, loss, and mourning, as well as working with the elderly across a wide- range of life circumstances. He has worked with and treated countless World Trade Center survivors. He recruits and heads the school-wide effort in counting the homeless New Yorkers for Project H.O.P.E. He is also active in community religious and social service organizations. Prof. Marvit has led many seminars and professional presentations, both here and abroad, on the topic of working with the homebound elderly. He has written for publications as varied as the Abstracts for Social Workers, Journal of Volunteer Administration, Flatbush News and the Jewish Week. He maintains a clinical and administrative consulting practice in NYC.

Working with children is often challenging, particularly those with mental health issues. This workshop with provide the participants with information on various disorders affecting children such as ADHD, Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, Depression, Dysregulated Mood Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Communication and Learning Disorder. The audience will be provided with case scenarios that highlight the nuances in diagnosing and treating children with mental health issues. The attendees will also gain deeper insight, concrete skills and techniques that will enable them to learn how to properly assess for disorders affecting children and intervene and treat children appropriately.

Professor Folusho Otuyelu has worked for prominent non-profit organizations and in the public sector, holding myriad positions, from direct practice to administrative and clinical supervisory

roles. Before joining the Touro Social Work faculty full time, Dr. Otuyelu taught at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services. Dr. Otuyelu teaches foundation and advanced practice courses, social work practice with children and adolescents and Human Behavior and the Social Environment and Issues: Perspectives in Psychopathology. She is a consultant to the Children’s Aid Society, a member of several child welfare and children’s mental health councils and works with the Administration for Children’s Services towards improving child well-being and staff competencies. Dr. Otuyelu’s commitment to social work practice recently earned her the NASW-NYC Image Award in Direct Practice.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a validated approach to treating a range of disorders in children and adults. This course will review the basic concepts and skills for integration into practice. Case presentations will be utilized to demonstrate the application of the treatment model for both childhood and adult disorders such as Separation Anxiety, Illness Anxiety, Selective Mutism, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic with Agoraphobia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Professor Roberta Shiffman has more than 20 years’ experience working in the area of field education. In addition, she specializes in treating anxiety disorders in children and adults utilizing cognitive-behavioral therapy, and has both taught and presented on these disorders. Prior to working in field education, Professor Shiffman held a variety of administrative positions including program director, training specialist and executive director in several not-for-profit organizations.

The unconscious has a long and storied history in psychology and psychotherapy. For a variety of reasons, modern theories have all but discarded the unconscious in exchange embracing concepts such as automatic thoughts, learned behaviors, emotional regulation, schemas, and scripts. However, many aspects of psychopathology and clinical treatment seem almost inexplicable without this idea. Clients presenting with multiple diagnoses or with problems that have no established treatment are particular challenging, as it is difficult to conceptualize their psychological difficulties, target maladaptive processes, and select effective treatments and interventions. Clearly, an overarching theory that includes the unconscious is needed. Dual process models conceptualize psychological processes as containing two interrelated

information processing and decision making systems, a “quick-and-dirty” and intuitive associative system and an effortful and deliberative reflective process. The session will review dual process models, the research supporting them, and their relevance to clinical phenomena. Recent advances in clinical treatment that are consistent with this framework will be reviewed and specific recommendation for clinical practice will be offered. Attendees will learn about recent theoretical advances in understanding human behavior, an integrative model of psychotherapy practice, as well as specific cognitive psychology-based clinical social work skills.

Steven Tzvi Pirutinsky has a B.T.S. from Beth Medrash Govoha, an M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College – Columbia University, and a Ph.D. Columbia University. He joined Touro Graduate School of Social Work in 2016. Dr. Pirutinsky is a licensed clinical psychologist whose practice has included a variety of different services such as individual and group psychotherapy for adults and children, psychological and educational testing, risk assessments, family and couple's therapy, foster care services, treatment of youth with sexual behavior problems, and career counseling and assessment. Before joining the Touro faculty full time, Dr. Pirutinsky taught at Columbia University, Georgian Court University, and Ocean County College. His research focuses on the intersections between spirituality, religion, culture, mental health, and well-being particularly within the Orthodox Jewish community. He frequently publishes peer- reviewed research in journals such as Criminal Justice and Behavior, the Journal of Affective Disorders, Health Psychology, the Journal of Family Psychology, and the Journal of Positive Psychology.