Language is Power: Ethical Practice of Bias-Free Language to Counteract Violence and Oppression

Description:

Because language is power, how we use language to name, describe, represent, and “construct” others is a pressing concern for art therapists in counteracting violence and oppression. This workshop offers practice in examining language reflexively within the larger framework of relational ethics and empathy. Attendees will explore bias in language on race/ethnicity, gender, and disability, and construct bias-free alternatives that serve liberation.

Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

• Describe how norms of race, gender, sexuality, and ability are communicated in language.
• Identify three examples of language that are aligned with the values of inclusion, equity, and anti-oppression.
• Describe one principle of relational ethics that supports reducing bias in how one communicates.

Target Audience:  Art Therapists, Counselors, Social Workers and other mental health professionals interested in expanding their knowledge base regarding bias-free language as a mechanism to counteract violence and oppression in clinical work. Content will be intermediate to advanced.

Schedule:

Lynn Kapitan, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM: Lynn Kapitan is professor of graduate art therapy and doctoral director at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, WI. Lynn is a former executive editor of Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association and a past president of the Association. Lynn has taught, edited, and worked with diverse groups and people over the years, and currently is a cross-cultural community art therapist and research consultant for a non-governmental agency in Central America.

Alex Kapitan: Alex Kapitan is a trainer, speaker, consultant, editor, and activist. Alex is the founder of Radical Copyeditor, an anti-oppressive language project, and the co-founder of the Transforming Hearts Collective, a faith-based LGBTQ healing justice organization. Alex's approach to language is rooted in the truth that language describes and creates reality, so we have a responsibility to describe and create the best possible reality we can imagine.

$ 40 Professionals

$32 (GW alumni, faculty & supervisors) CODE: GWU

Space is limited.

Register here

If you are interested in this training but unable to attend on March 12, please register and we will share the recording and resources with you afterwards.  

Grievance Policy - George Washington University Art Therapy Program

Accessibility Accomodations - GW
 

Contact information:
Please contact [email protected] if you have questions, concerns, or need special accommodations. Space is limited. Cancellations must be received 48 hours prior to the event date to be eligible for a refund.

Course completion & CE info:
Course completion requirements: Social workers must attend the entire course and complete a course evaluation to earn CE credit. Certificates of completion will be emailed within 10 business days of course completion.

The George Washington University Art Therapy Graduate Program, Provider #1708, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The George Washington University Art Therapy Graduate Program maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 4/16/2019-4/16/2020. Social workers completing this course receive 6 Trauma continuing education credits.

The George Washington University Art Therapy Department has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 3053. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The George Washington University Art Therapy Department is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.