Visionary Lecture Series
The Profectum Visionary Lecture Series had its inaugural season in 2023-24, and drew audiences of thousands across the globe throughout the year. Join us for our free public lecture series, running between November 2024 - May 2025, live online via Zoom. Everyone is welcome - the series is open to all! We invite everyone who is interested in DIR and related areas of knowledge and practice to attend.
Last year's series (2023-24):
- Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD and Chandra Ghosh Ippen, PhD
- Nucha Isarowong, PhD, LICSW, IMH-E®
- Pradeep Gidwani, MD, MPH
- Kieran Rose and Amy Pearson, PhD
Demystifying Reflective Practice and Supervision Across Service Sectors
January 23, 2025 | 8:00 to 9:30 pm eastern
Mary Claire Heffron, PhD
Reflective supervision and practice are essential to the delivery of all kinds of attuned relationship focused services that serve families and children in the prenatal-6 age range focusing on the development of healthy relationships to both promote well-being in a preventative sense and to treat current child and family distress, trauma, and developmental needs.
Recent studies have shown both the promise of reflective practice and supervision in terms of improving service quality and increasing staff retention, but also the difficulties of implementation. As leaders evaluate the impact of reflective practices and supervision in existing programs and as services expand to new arenas, it is essential to consider how these services can be adapted and tailored to specific service sectors and populations and through this process creating inclusive and more effective ways of building awareness and the skills to work in a variety of settings with diverse populations.
This lecture will explore the role of leadership and supervisors involved in implementing, supporting, and strengthening the structures, processes, and values that facilitate development of reflective practice and supervision systems and skills in multiple systems and settings. The lecture will be informed by findings from current research and evaluation of reflective practices and supervision, a focus on building understanding about the role of supervisors and consultants and alleviating the frequent us versus them struggles between mentoring and monitoring functions of supervision.
The Border is Here: A Family Preparedness Plan in the Face of Imminent Separation and Loss
March 27, 2025 | 8:00 to 9:30 pm eastern
Carmen Rosa Noroña, LICSW, MSW, MS. Ed., IECMH-E® and Ivys Fernández-Pastrana, JD
Anti-immigration ideology and nativism have permeated all corners of political and media discourse in the United States, making the socio-political climate the most hostile towards immigrant communities in modern history. The impact of displacement and the fear and effects of deportation are multifaceted, multi-generational, systematic, and detrimental to the mental health and well-being of young children in immigrant families and communities regardless of immigration status. With increasing numbers of families forcibly displaced from Latin America and the Global South, it is urgent, timely, and essential for early childhood providers and caregivers to understand the unique needs of caring for newly arrived immigrant families and their young children.
Neuroinclusive Healthcare Across the Lifespan
May 1, 2025 | 12:00 to 1:30 pm eastern
Mel Houser, MD
The average life expectancy for an Autistic person is 36-54 years, with premature cardiovascular disease and suicide as leading causes. The Autistic community has poor access to healthcare, and there is little to no medical education on the healthcare needs of Autistic adults.
This session will review the literature on barriers to healthcare access for Autistic adults. We will also present a novel model for healthcare delivery, using universal design principles to provide neurodiversity-affirming patients across the lifespan. We will discuss lessons learned from the experience of providing healthcare for a community of Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent patients whose needs are unmet by the traditional healthcare system. We will also discuss strategies for Autistic people to be able to access the healthcare they need.
Follow the Joy: How to Use Joy to Promote Development
November 7, 2024 | 8:00 to 9:30 pm eastern
Betty Peralta, MIT, MS-MHC, IMH-E (III)
Joy is the fuel that propels development. Learn how to respond to hard behaviors from children that will help grow their social-emotional development, gain executive function skills, and increase joy for everyone.
About Profectum Foundation
Profectum provides DIR® certification training and education for licensed professionals and educators, and also provides extensive resources for parents and caregivers. DIR® and Profectum provide education, tools and resources to navigate diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sensory Processing Disorders, and other learning and developmental challenges, enabling progress for children, families, and the professionals who work with them.