Gettin’ By: How Poverty Changes the Brain, Which Changes Everything presented by Linda Riddell MS (08/26/2026)

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Description:

The most important and overlooked aspect of poverty is how it changes the brain. In this session, you will experience how poverty changes the brain by playing the game Gettin' By. Developed by an epidemiologist who specializes in poverty, and after five years of testing, this training is shown to shift attitudes toward poverty. You will learn the science behind the game, and the hidden impact of poverty on the brain, body, and behavior. Using a research-based checklist, you will learn how to look at your own work with "awkward" eyes and how to think about what you don't naturally.

Once we know better, we can do better. With more knowledge about poverty’s impact, we can find ways to more effectively help people living in the crisis of poverty. You will leave this session seeing poverty in a new way and with new tools to make your work more effective.

Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

Describe how poverty influences brain function, decision-making, and health and education outcomes.
Explain factors that interfere with a person’s ability to receive, process, and act upon new information while living in poverty.
Demonstrate applying an evidence-based framework to evaluate the mental and other demands that a service imposes on people

About the Presenter:

Linda Riddell is an epidemiologist specializing in poverty. Writing about and presenting brain science concepts has been a focal point for her work. From her years working as an epidemiologist and specializing in poverty, she created “gettin’ by”, a training program to help professionals work more effectively with low-income people. The centerpiece of the program is a game that puts the players’ brains through the same changes that happen to a person living in poverty.

In 2019, after five years of testing and development, she brought the program to national and regional conferences. She is an experienced and enthusiastic public speaker. She speaks at several events each year and gets positive reviews.

Her undergraduate degree is in English from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her master’s degree in health policy and management at the University of Southern Maine, Muskie School for Public Service. She has also completed courses at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in social epidemiology and biostatistics.

Registration closes August 22nd, 2026

This course is approved for 2 CE hours for LMHCs, LMFTs, LCSWs, and all associate-level licensees in Washington State

Washington Mental Health Association (WMHCA) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 2079. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. WMHCA is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

WMHCA Cancellation Policy

To receive a refund, less a $15 cancellation fee, cancellations must be made by contacting WMHCA at least 48 hours prior to workshop date. There will be no refunds within 48 hours of the workshop date. Please make sure you have the link 24 hours prior to the event starting.

AI, Attachment, and the Counseling Relationship: Understanding Subtle & Acute Risks of Large Language Models in Clinical Practice and Supporting Ethical, Trauma-Informed Use Presented by Jocelyn Skillman, LMHC MHP CMHS (09/11/2026)

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Description:

Clients are increasingly turning to AI chat platforms and companions for emotional support, identity exploration, and relational processing. This training provides counselors with foundational understanding of how large language models (LLMs) function in relational contexts, how synthetic attachment forms, and how to recognize when AI use is stabilizing versus when it introduces subtle or acute psychodynamic risk. Participants will learn how to assess client AI use during intake, provide trauma-informed and culturally responsive AI literacy, and support clients in reconnecting to human relational networks. The workshop also highlights ethical innovation pathways through real-world examples including the presenter’s work innovating ShadowBox and TendMessages.io.

Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

Explain how large language models differ from human understanding.
Distinguish acute safety risks from subtle cumulative mental health risks in client AI use.
Assess client AI use through curious, non-shaming clinical inquiry.

About the Presenter:

Jocelyn Skillman, LMHC, MHP, CMHS is a psychology instructor, therapist, clinical supervisor, and relational design ethicist based in Washington State. She specializes in the psychological and developmental impacts of AI-mediated communication, particularly among youth, trauma-impacted populations, and clients navigating attachment needs being met through AI conversation. Jocelyn develops trauma-informed AI relational tools including ShadowBox and TendMessages.io, and teaches clinicians how to assess, understand, and safely educate emerging AI issues into therapeutic treatment with cultural, ethical, and relational care at the center.

Registration closes September 7th, 2026

This course is approved for 2 CE hours for LMHCs, LMFTs, LCSWs, and all associate-level licensees in Washington State

WMHCA Cancellation Policy

Washington Mental Health Counselors Association upcoming events

Gettin’ By: How Poverty Changes the Brain, Which Changes Everything presented by Linda Riddell MS (08/26/2026)

AI, Attachment, and the Counseling Relationship: Understanding Subtle & Acute Risks of Large Language Models in Clinical Practice and Supporting Ethical, Trauma-Informed Use Presented by Jocelyn Skillman, LMHC MHP CMHS (09/11/2026)