• Continuing Education
BOURNE ANEW
presents
Diagnosing Survival: Ethical and Culturally Responsive Differentiation of Disorder and Adaptive Response in Black Boys and Men
Saturday, September 19, 2026
9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET
Interactive Synchronous Distance / Live Interactive Webinar
💻Hosted on Zoom
3.0 CE Credits
EARLY BIRD: $79 - Through Aug. 30 | STANDARD: $99 Aug. 31 - Sept. 13 | Final Registration: $115 Sept. 14 - Sept. 18 at 11:59p.m.
Course/session description
Black boys and men are frequently assessed through diagnostic frameworks that do not fully account for racialized stress, environmental adversity, and culturally mediated survival responses. As a result, behaviors such as hypervigilance, emotional guardedness, reactivity, and withdrawal may be prematurely interpreted as evidence of psychopathology rather than adaptive responses to chronic threat.
This intermediate-level workshop equips social workers with a clinically grounded approach to differentiating diagnosable mental disorders from adaptive survival responses while recognizing that adaptation and clinical impairment may coexist. Integrating applied neuroscience, current research on racial stress and trauma, social work ethics, and contextual case formulation, participants will examine how systemic factors influence symptom presentation, diagnostic decision-making, treatment planning, and therapeutic engagement.
Grounded in Kenneth Bourne's symptoms live in systems perspective, participants will analyze clinical case studies, strengthen culturally responsive assessment practices, and apply practical strategies to reduce diagnostic bias and develop more ethical, contextually informed formulations for Black boys and men.
target audience:
This intermediate-level course is designed for social workers and other behavioral health professionals who assess, diagnose, treat, or support Black boys and men, including:
Clinical social workers
School social workers
Counselors and therapists
Psychologists
Mental health clinicians
Case managers
Behavioral health professionals
School-based mental health professionals
Clinical supervisors
Learning Objectives:
1. Differentiate trauma-related survival responses, culturally mediated behavior, environmental adaptation, and symptoms associated with diagnosable mental disorders when assessing Black boys and men.
2. Analyze how racialized stress, environmental threat, systemic oppression, and developmental context influence neurobiological and behavioral presentation.
3. Apply social work ethical principles to diagnostic assessment, documentation, treatment planning, consultation, and referral decisions involving Black clients.
4. Evaluate clinical case formulations for assumptions, bias, missing contextual information, and potential misinterpretation of adaptive behavior.
Meet Your Instructor
Kenneth L. Bourne Jr., MSW, LSW
TEDx Speaker • Author • Licensed Social Worker • Professor
Kenneth L. Bourne Jr., LSW, is a TEDx speaker, author, professor, and Founder and CEO of Bourne Anew. Through his Design-Centered Systems Method, Kenneth helps leaders and organizations move beyond managing individual symptoms to redesign the systems and environments shaping human behavior, well-being, belonging, culture, and performance.
Named the 2024 Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers–Pennsylvania Chapter, Kenneth has delivered keynotes and professional learning experiences for schools, universities, government agencies, and national organizations across the country. His work challenges conventional thinking about behavior through one central idea: behavior is not the problem—it is the receipt.
Kenneth is the author of Anger Management for Black Male Teens and a forthcoming graduate-level social work textbook. He also teaches social work at Widener University and the University of Tennessee and leads the Bourne Anew Institute, where professionals learn to identify root causes and design conditions in which people and communities can genuinely thrive.
Course Agenda:
9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. | Welcome, Course Orientation & Attendance
9:45–10:20 | Survival or Disorder? Differentiating Adaptive Response and Psychopathology
10:20–10:30 | Applied Neuroscience: Stress, Threat & Behavioral Presentation
10:30–10:40 | BREAK — 10 min, not counted
10:40–11:20 | Symptoms Live in Systems: Understanding Behavior in Context
11:20–12:00 | Ethics in Assessment, Diagnosis & Clinical Decision-Making
12:00–12:10 | BREAK — 10 min
12:10–12:30 | Ethical Case Analysis: Bias, Context & Adaptive Behavior
12:30–12:40 | From Formulation to Practice: Contextually Responsive Clinical Application
12:40–12:50 | Integration & Q&A
12:50–1:00 | Course Evaluation & Administrative Close
regsistration info & deADline(s)
Course Fees:
Early Bird Registration — $79
Register through September 27, 2026.
Standard Registration — $99
September 28–October 18, 2026.
Final Registration — $115
October 19–26, 2026.
Registration includes participation in the live interactive course, course materials, and a continuing education certificate upon successful completion of all course requirements.
University and organizational registration: Custom group registration is available by contacting Bourne Anew, LLC.
Registration closes October 26, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET.
Questions, Concerns/Grievances, & ADA Accommodation
Please contact:
Bourne Anew, LLC
bourneanewllc@bourneanew.com
for questions, concerns, or grievances regarding this course.
Cancellation and refund information
Space is limited. Registration fees are non-refundable. Participants who are unable to attend may request a one-time transfer to a future offering of the same course if requested at least 48 hours before the scheduled start time. If Bourne Anew cancels the course, participants will be offered a full refund or transfer to a future offering.
Diagnosing Survival:
Ethical and Culturally Responsive Differentiation of Disorder and Adaptive Response in Black Boys and Men
Course Interactivity: This live, interactive course is delivered via Zoom and includes instructor-led discussion, guided reflection, questions and answers, and clinical case analysis.
System Requirements: Participants need a computer, tablet, or compatible mobile device with reliable internet access, audio capability, and access to Zoom.
Course Completion & Certificate
Course Completion Requirements: Participants must attend the entire course and complete the course evaluation to receive continuing education credit.
Certificate: Certificates of continuing education credit will be emailed within 10 business days of successful course completion.
Diagnosing Survival: Ethical and Culturally Responsive Differentiation of Disorder and Adaptive Response in Black Boys and Men, course #3761, is approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program to be offered by Social Work World as an individual course. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE course approval period: 09/01/2026 – 09/01/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 1.0 ethics and 2.0 cultural competence continuing education credits.