35th Annual Wellness Conference April 4-5

The 35th Annual Casper College Wellness Conference will be held April 4-5 in the Walter H. Nolte Gateway Center, Robert and Ruth Dove Conference Center, Room 225. Thursday’s sessions are free and open to the public, and no registration is required. Friday’s session and workshop have a registration fee and require preregistration.

Hosted and organized by the Casper College Wellness Center, this year’s conference will examine various wellness topics. Presentations will begin Thursday and Friday at 9 a.m.

“Casper College’s Annual Wellness Conference is a wonderful way for community members and providers to network, expand their knowledge, and get exposed to some of the most current topics,” said Erin Ford, director of counseling.

Thursday’s sessions include “Providing Self-Regulation Skills to Children and Youth and will be presented by Kyree Chambers, Conscious Discipline senior instructor, at 9 a.m. At 10:30, Amy Adwalpalker will present “Cultural Values: Examining How Worldview Shapes Therapeutic Relationships.

The third session, “Setting Boundaries in Theory and in Practice,” by Kristen Rigoni, will begin at 1 p.m. “Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation,” by Dr. David Martorano, will follow at 2:30.

At 6 p.m., the PBS documentary “Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness” with Casper College alumna Kee Dunning will be shown. A Q&A with film participants will follow the film.

The Friday sessions are designed for mental health professionals, according to Ford. The cost for both sessions is $35 and includes suicide and ethics continuing education units. Preregistration is required to attend the two sessions.

The first session will begin at 9 a.m. Dunning will present “The Kee Concepts of Communication.” The second session, starting at 10:30 a.m., is titled “Ethical Principle of Social Justice: Application to Practice,” presented by Bethany Cutts. The final session will begin at 1 p.m. and feature Amanda DeDiego discussing “Suicide Risk Assessment and Risk Management.”

According to Ford, each attendee is responsible for their own lunch, but refreshments will be provided throughout the conference.

A complete schedule for both days can be found here. A total of 12 CEUs, including three suicide and 1.5 ethics credits, are available. For more information, contact Ford at 307-268-2255 or erin.ford@caspercollege.edu. The Walter H. Nolte Gateway Center is located on the Casper College Campus.

This year’s wellness conference is sponsored by the True Care Women’s Resource Center: Wyoming Behavioral Institute: Specialty Counseling and Consulting, Pro-Choice Wyoming Education Project; the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences, Division of Social Work; Banner Health Wyoming Medical Center: and Casper College.