Cascadia Training for Professional Development

Ethics of Simple Self-Care in Nature
2025-10-03 09:00 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONE-Olympia, 7400 Gallagher Cove Road NW, Olympia, WA, 98502, United States
Law & Ethics CEs!
The Ethics of Simple Self-Care in Nature
Presented by: Dr. Brenda Butterfield, EdD, MSW, LMHC
When: Friday, October 3rd, 2025 | 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Pacific Time
Where: Live in person at the ONE Center (7400 Gallagher Cove Road NW, Olympia, WA 98502)
Lodging Options: If you are coming to the area from out of town, several lodging options at reduced rates for Cascadia attendees are available, including staying at the ONE Center. For all lodging accommodation options, please visit the ONE Center website here and email the ONE Center at ournewexperiences@gmail.com.
Continuing Education Credit Hours: 6 Law and Ethics CEs | $199.00
All 2025 Dates for The Ethics of Simple Self-Care in Nature at the ONE Center:

Friday, May 2, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, June 6, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, July 18, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, August 22, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, September 19, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, October 3, 2025: Click here for more info >>>

This is a nature based workshop in the gardens, forest and by the water, walking slowly (less than 1 mile total) on uneven ground at times, rain or shine.
It is finally here, the opportunity to take time to practice what we preach so often to clients, “Take good care of yourself.” Let us do it together at the beautiful ONE Center on the South Salish Sea just outside Olympia, WA, ONE is an incredibly special place designed just for healthcare providers like you! This day of learning supports OUR health and well-being. Finally, we have full permission to tend to our own health and well-being WHILE earning ethics credits.
This workshop is retreat-style, nature-based, and experiential. We’ll be walking slowly, short distances, and pausing all along the way because we’ve created this workshop for you to experience simple self-care practices to use anywhere and anytime. Some colleagues have come multiple times because this learning feels good, body, mind, and soul, AND because when we’re grounded, we can teach our clients to feel more connected to themselves, each other, nature, and the beyond human world too.
Providing mental health care in the past several years has required more from us than ever before. In addition to significant work-related changes, the added stress from so many daily challenges in our personal lives has been exhausting. Now providing telehealth, it’s common for colleagues to feel isolated and disconnected from others. If you have been running on empty for a while, pushing on to keep meeting the needs of others even though you know you need to pause and rest, you are not alone. Come to ONE for a soft, gentle landing and warm welcome. The ONE Center is a refuge, a sanctuary created specifically for those of us providing care to others. We’re building this community of care by reimagining mental health care, starting with caring for professional care providers. We got your back…we’re here for you.
Quite recently, the National Association of Social Workers updated the NASW Code of Ethics reflecting an ethical imperative to practice self-care. Now, all codes of ethics formally recognize clinician self-care as essential to providing quality care to others. The codes provide mandates to tend to one’s well-being and permit us to do just that through professional development. The Codes of Ethics are in alignment with current research findings indicating the therapist’s psychological health and well-being directly relate to treatment outcomes for clients. Yes, how we show up in the room with clients does indeed matter. Therefore, finding ways to practice caring for oneself is not only a personal responsibility and a gift to oneself, but also an ethical obligation for mental health clinicians. We explore this and so much more during our time together at ONE.
We start the day experiencing Nature Therapy through practices like Sit Spotting, What’s in Motion, and Pleasures of Presence. These practices are influenced by shinrin yoku in Japan and supported by research to decrease anxiety and depression, boost the immune system, and lower blood pressure. Together we experience mindfulness through practices taught in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) including breathing techniques, mindful movement, mindful meditation (sitting and walking), and self-reflective inquiry. From the practice of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) we explore the Self-Compassion Break, Soothing Touch, and Soles of the Feet. All are simple, easy-to-use, effective, evidence-based ways to practice caring for oneself that nourishes body, mind, and soul. The importance of developing a daily self-care practice will be explored along with ways to assess your well-being both in the moment and over time.
We know that practicing self-care improves our health and well-being. As it turns out, self-care benefits not only us but all those around us – including clients, coworkers, and family and friends too. Indeed, it is an essential prerequisite to providing care for others, care that helps them heal.
We hope you come this season of care to pause, drop in, and begin tending to what you need as a human being first and the mental health professional second. Come, like so many others have done, to find solace in the company of colleagues gathering in small groups outside in nature. Come and experience the healing power of the place we call ONE, a nature-based health and wellness center on the shore of the beautiful South Salish Sea. Come, be a part of this community of care.
Objectives
• Explore experientially a variety of ways to practice simple self-care
• Learn about the ethical implications of practicing self-care
• Understand research correlating clinician health and well-being to treatment outcomes for clients
• Assess your current overall health and well-being
• Assess your professional quality of life
• Identify lifestyle choices that are supportive or undermine health and wellbeing
• Develop a realistic action plan for improved health and wellbeing
What attendees of this workshop are saying:
“The beautiful time in nature and SLOWING DOWN! Thank you for curating a safe and nourishing environment to just BE.”
“Where to start! I enjoyed the land! The atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. The experiential approach. The connection to ethics. The opportunities to connect with ourselves and peers. The worksheets for reflection and self-assessment. I loved everything!”
“The beautiful and nurturing environment allowed everyone to feel safe and be vulnerable. I admire the bravery and ability of the other attendees to open up and share their experiences, struggles, and challenges. It helps us all feel less alone.”
“This workshop – and the ONE Center – is truly a gift that every mental health professional should give themselves! Hands down, this is the best continuing education workshop I’ve ever attended.”
REGISTER HERE
