By Chris Hilburn-Trenkle
When Debbie Barrett was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, she remembers seeing a flyer about a guest lecture on psychotherapy.
In the early 2000s, such events were not a regular part of the implicit curriculum, making this a rare opportunity to learn from a practitioner in the community.
The program was so popular that Barrett, who was pursuing her Master of Social Work degree at the time, couldn’t secure a spot. The experience left a lasting impression on her.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to offer more programs like that,’” said Barrett, who is now a clinical associate professor and the director of continuing education at the School of Social Work.
Shortly after graduating Barrett took her own idea to heart. She launched the Clinical Lecture Series in 2005 to give students the opportunity to learn more about clinical skills from practitioners and augment their classroom instruction with more focused clinical interventions and cutting-edge research.
Now celebrating its 20th year at the School, the Clinical Lecture Series has expanded its reach beyond the School community to impact the entire state of North Carolina and beyond. The series offers a diverse array of trainings and lectures delivered by experts in social work, including UNC faculty from various departments, as well as researchers and clinicians from across the country.
“The Clinical Lecture Series is renowned for vitally needed continuing education and for stimulating thought and critical dialogue,” said Dean Ramona Denby-Brinson. “You find that many of the lectures represent innovative practice topics worthy of consideration. Under Dr. Barrett’s leadership, the Clinical Lecture Series has taken on national prominence. Professionals rely on the trusted knowledge and practice perspectives that they glean from the experts that Dr. Barrett consistently assembles. Simply put, the Clinical Lecture Series is as much a part of the Carolina brand as our other vital academic programs.”
Early days
Barrett was surprised at that first clinical lecture.
She knew that the budding lecture series would benefit students if local clinicians were invited to join, creating a richer learning environment with potential networking opportunities. However, she wasn’t expecting the level of attendance that day.
It was Jan. 24, 2005, and the lecturer was David Hawkins, a psychiatrist in group practice and a consulting associate professor of psychiatry at both Duke and UNC. Hawkins, a nationally renowned trainer in group psychodynamic therapy, presented “How We Dare to Do Groups,” offering attendees valuable skills for navigating challenges in group work, including facilitator anxiety and tensions between participants.
Not only had students shown up to that first lecture, but a large number of clinicians did as well. Barrett soon realized she would need to reorganize quickly to account for the level of demand.
She pivoted from a lunch-and-learn classroom format to holding lectures in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building auditorium to accommodate bigger audiences. Around that same time, Barrett partnered with the School’s practicum office to encourage practicum instructors and task supervisors to attend sessions free of charge with their students.
“The clinical lecture series offers our practicum instructors and task supervisors, alumni, and students a front row seat to lectures from top-notch professionals in clinical practice today,” said Clinical Assistant Professor April Parker. “We all get a chance to learn from these innovative clinicians who teach us about current evidence-informed practices and introduce us to emerging ideas and research in the field of social work.”
Barrett also fostered relationships across the wider community. She connected with local professionals over coffee or lunch to discuss potential presentation topics. Additionally, she networked with local organizations, which helped support her dream of hosting an event featuring Irvin Yalom, an internationally renowned author and professor of psychiatry at Stanford University.
Growing Impact
Barrett and her team considered ways to build capacity, particularly in rural communities. Applications Analyst John Anderson created an online portal on the School’s website to help individuals around the country register, and scholarship opportunities were offered for attendees who needed financial assistance.
“In creating that scholarship we’ve gotten to hear from people,” Barrett said. “The form they fill out asks them to tell us something about themselves, and we hear lots of stories. Those tell us about the folks that they’re serving, what their obstacles are, why they’re interested in specific programs.”
These forms are one of the tools Barrett and her team use to inform the lecture series schedule year-over-year. They are part of a process that includes feedback surveys, needs assessments, and consultations with community members to create a roster of programs that combine evidence-based practices with social work values of social justice, intersectionality, and service to marginalized populations. Barrett starts identifying topics and speakers in March and finalizes the schedule and opens registration by August, when students return.
“To be able to offer topics that haven’t been able to be addressed in depth in classes, and in a way that’s deeply social work-valued [is a point of pride],” Barrett said.
By 2015, the lecture series had nearly doubled in scale, having established a successful model that could be expanded. This growth included several new initiatives. In 2015, Director of Digital Learning and Instruction Tina Souders and Clinical Associate Professor Theresa Palmer launched a Clinical Lecture Series for the School’s Winston-Salem program to reward their practicum teams. That same year, Barrett introduced Clinical Institute Programs, offering longer, more in-depth learning opportunities. From the recorded content, Barrett began to amass a library—initially a cabinet of DVDs in the student services suite, and now an online library of self-paced programs that can also be taken for CE credit.
In the years preceding the Covid-19 pandemic, the events became hybrid programs, drawing interest from not just North Carolina attendees, but individuals from around the country. The events drew more than 150 people in person, with around 30 more attendees joining via Zoom. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the series used its platform to hold lectures on ways to use telehealth for practitioners and strategies for navigating anxiety during the pandemic. Barrett anticipated roughly 500 virtual attendees showing up for each of those lectures, but the actual attendance was double that for each.
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, more individuals have opted to attend lectures via Zoom. The 2023 calendar year featured over 20 presentations, with hundreds of attendees often turning in virtually. Although in-person attendance has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, Barrett remains committed to offering in-person options to preserve the sense of community associated with the series.
“We’re really very dedicated to fostering the community. We think it’s important,” Barrett said.
Looking Ahead
On Sept. 30, the Clinical Lecture Series will celebrate its 20th anniversary, which coincides with Barrett’s own 20-year milestone as a faculty member at the School.
The presentation, “Politics Stay Outside of the Therapy Space, or Do They? A Panel on Ethics, Perspectives, and Models,” features three panelists exploring how to create a therapeutic environment that supports open and potentially healing discussions about politics. They will examine strategies for fostering dialogue in therapy sessions, drawing from internal family systems, acceptance and commitment therapy, and the principles of decolonization and liberation therapy.
“It’s part of our role to work with people through the messiness of life, including navigating our own emotions when they may be heightened,” Barrett said.
In looking back at how far the series has come in the last 20 years, Barrett was effusive in her gratitude to the members of the School and the larger community who helped lay the groundwork for its success. She mentioned Anderson’s assistance in creating and maintaining the online platform, and Vimala’s CurryBlossom Café, which has catered most of the events for attendees. She also pointed to her expanded team, which includes Program Manager Marie Finnigan and Graphic designer Rea Aarnio.
But her biggest thanks were to the School’s Computer Information and Technology Unit, which has helped the series evolve and adapt in a changing digital world.
Whether it was Computer Support Analyst Vanessa Mitchell troubleshooting when an issue occurred, Technology Support Technician Thaddaeus Edwards managing livestreams and videos, or IT Manager Phil Kaufman setting up and overseeing each event and prepping the speaker and program staffers, CITU has been instrumental in its work with Barrett.
“They’ve been with me every step of the way,” Barrett said.
“They’re working really hard. There’s stuff happening all the time behind the scenes to make sure all the things work as smoothly as possible; and then when they don’t, which of course happens, to be able to stay cool and troubleshoot through it all. Hats off to them.”
