Did you know that 92% of low-income families do not receive adequate assistance for their civil legal problems?

Families experiencing poverty and housing insecurity face at least 2-3 legal issues every year, but navigating the inherently complex and under-resourced legal system is often out of reach. The Virginia Legal Aid Society (VLAS), in partnership with Legal Link, is inviting clinicians, providers, and community partners to join the Community Justice Worker Program. This program utilizes Legal Link’s unique Legal First Aid® curriculum to train non-lawyer, client-serving professionals to confidently identify legal issues and connect clients to crucial resources.

What to Expect & Certification

In this comprehensive training, VLAS staff will provide an overview of basic legal system concepts and the everyday legal challenges most commonly faced by communities experiencing poverty. Participants will learn how legal resources are allocated, discover where to find help, and receive a succinct methodology for addressing legal issues. The course also features an orientation to web-based referral tools, including VaLegalAid.org’s online guide, alongside interactive practice opportunities. Upon completion, attendees will become certified in Legal First Aid and will receive ongoing support from VLAS staff to seamlessly integrate these best practices into their daily workflows.

Key Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be prepared to:

• – Effectively surface and identify the legal issues that their clients face.
• – Sufficiently connect clients to timely and relevant legal tools and resources.
• – Confidently understand the support they can provide as a community justice worker and how to apply the Legal First A.I.D. method to clients’ legal issues.

Registration & Contact Information

To register for the training or to request more information, please click here. 

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This 4-hour virtual workshop will provide an introductory overview to the foundations of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp). It will provide an introduction to CBT, explore how this approach is applied to working with individuals with both long-standing and early psychosis, and introduce key CBTp skills.

Date: September 22nd, 2026 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Hosted by: Jennifer Gottlieb

Meet your trainer:

Jen Gottlieb, Ph.D

Jen Gottlieb, Ph.D. is a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Consultant, Supervisor, and Trainer with particular expertise in CBT for Psychosis (CBTp), First-Episode Psychosis, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in people with severe psychiatric conditions, and other empirically-supported interventions for schizophrenia and other psychoses –as well as in training in the provision of CBT-based clinical supervision. She is a licensed psychologist and a Diplomate within the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

A member of the Cambridge Health Alliance faculty, Dr. Gottlieb is the Evidence-Based Psychosocial Initiatives Specialist within the Division of Population Behavioral Health Innovation in the Department of Psychiatry, and a Teaching Associate at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Gottlieb also provides training and consultation to study abroad agencies/universities and their staff to better manage student mental health challenges and build staff confidence in supporting students in their study abroad experience.

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Treating imposter syndrome involves actively rewiring how you process success and failure. 

Date: September 29th, 2026 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Hosted by: Dr. Lillian Gibson

This training will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn and practice how to integrate CBT and ACT modalities into the treatment of Imposter Syndrome.

Meet your trainer:

Lillian Gibson, PhD.

Dr. Lillian Gibson is a highly sought licensed clinical psychologist in the Dallas, Texas area often referred to as a “mood make-over” expert. For the past decade she’s guided clients away from feeling overwhelmed, hurt, confused, frustrated, and sad into a life of peace and happiness.

As a seasoned therapist, Dr. Gibson feels it is her job to attentively listen to understand her clients’ unique difficulties. Her ability to provide helpful feed-back along with specific recommendations is appreciated by those who seek her services. She enjoys helping clients solve their problems through individual, group, and couples counseling for emotional healing and restoration.

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Join us as Dr. Sheppard guides learners through enhancing their understanding of and ability to effectively respond to suicidal and self-harming youth.

Attendees will learn to:

• -Assess risk and intervene in a manner that ensures the safety of young suicidal and self-harming clients
• -Apply motivational techniques that engage teens in their treatment and help them sustain and maintain recovery
• -Incorporate multiple systems the client functions in, including school and peer groups, to improve treatment outcomes
• -Develop coping skills in adolescents, and young adults suffering with NSSI and suicidal ideation using interventions informed by CBT, DBT, and interpersonal neurobiology
• -Maximize support among family members with techniques that promote problem solving and communication, and help young people feel in control and part of the therapeutic process.

Date: October 7th, 2026 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Location: Virtual via Zoom

CEUs available!

Meet Your Trainer

Tony L Sheppard, Psy.D., CGP, FAGPA, specializes in using group psychotherapy to treat young people suffering from psychiatric issues including self-harm and suicide. A licensed psychologist and certified group psychotherapist, Tony brings over 15 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and young adults to his clinical practice. In addition to his private practice, Groupworks, he has trained hundreds of clinicians, educators, nurses, and physicians across the country in the treatment of self-harm and suicide, and is the author of a training curriculum in group psychotherapy. Tony’s clinical approach draws from interpersonal neurobiology, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, solution focused brief therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and positive psychology. His creative and interactive delivery style will draw you into the dire nature of youth suicide and self-harm and have you leaving feeling confident and prepared to handle this most important work.

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Strengthen your competency in navigating and treatment of substance abuse by learning how to implement trauma informed approaches into treatment.

Date: October 20th, 2026 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Hosted by: Marta Cofone, LPC, NCC

Attendees will develop a stronger awareness of the relationship between trauma and substance use and learn how to approach substance treatment with a trauma informed perspective.

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Through this training, learners will be able to more effectively recognize and address religious trauma.

Date: November 10th, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Hosted by: Dr. Lillian Gibson

Attendees will receive training on specific interventions to aid them in exploring, identifying, and processing religious traumas with clients.

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Learners will engage in an exploration of the intricate relationship between trauma/PTSD and SMI and the treatment challenges that present for this population, including a recommended brief user-friendly screening process for effective use with clients.

Date: November 17th, 2026 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Hosted by: Jennifer Gottlieb

Register Here

A focused training on the cultural applications, considerations, and adaptations of Narrative Therapy when working with BIPOC communities, families impacted by systemic trauma, and clients with intersecting marginalized identities.

Date: December 16th, 2026 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Hybrid
In-person at Harbour View Training Center
7025 Harbour View Blvd Suite 119 Suffolk, VA 23435
OR virtually via Zoom
Trainer: Sharde’ O’Rourke

Please choose if you want to attend this training online, or in-person. You will then be brought to a new page to complete your registration.