Continuing Education2025 ADAMH Training Series

BRIDGING OUR TEMPLES THROUGH HEALTH, HELP, HEALING & HOPE | CARE FOR OUR COMMUNITY

Thursday, May 29, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel Columbus OSU (In-person).
(Check-in will open at 8:30 a.m.)

6.5 CE credit hours available for social workers, counselors, marriage & family therapists, and treatment providers in Ohio.

Register Here

Registration for this training has reached capacity. Please email us at cswce@osu.edu to be added to the waitlist.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, May 21, at noon.

This all-day seminar will be broken into 3 parts to include a panel of faith leaders with discussion, a lunch keynote, and an afternoon keynote session. A continental breakfast and plated lunch will be included for all participants.

Conference Description:

When does ministry draw the line to avoid crossing into the clinical space? What is the difference between spiritual care and clinical care? These are questions that faith leaders and mental and behavioral health practitioners often grapple with. This training will equip participants with information to assist in navigating these questions to support individuals seeking help. Through interactive segments and straightforward conversations, participants will hear from a panel comprised of faith leaders who represent perspectives from a variety of faith traditions. Discussions will include doctrines and how leaders teach these to families, congregations, constituents and communities at large. Panelists will also share their personal journeys to evolve beyond the barriers and stigma that have historically existed in the faith community. The “lunch and learn” facilitator will challenge participants to work from within to care for themselves. Participants will gain practical information and tools enabling them to better understand religious barriers to treatment, recognize queues and overcome obstacles to support those in their care.

Lunch Keynote Description:

Faith leaders today carry an extraordinary weight spiritually, emotionally and relationally. As leaders of their communities, they are often sought out for strength, wisdom and stability, even while navigating personal struggles. This keynote is designed to create space for rest, reflection and renewal centered around the deeply transformative power of humility and faith. Drawing from research, lived experience, and emotional wellness principles, this message will encourage leaders to slow down, listen inwardl,y and care for the vessel God has called to serve others. Through this session, attendees will be invited to return to the posture of humility — not as weakness, but as a radical act of strength, faith and trust in God.

Afternoon Keynote Description:

This interactive and practical session will focus on evidence-based best practices in contemporary mental health that are grounded in the mind, body and spirit. Participants will learn how being grounded in this perspective can empower and enhance clients’ wellness and clinicians’ depth of skill in the areas of grief and loss, suicide, crisis and substance use. The session will share a diverse and inclusive view of spirituality, religion and meaning making through case studies, experiential learning and self-other reflection.

Learning Objectives:

• Create safe spaces for clients, patients and colleagues to receive necessary mental and behavioral health services; support and to eliminate possible barriers caused by religious beliefs and teachings.
• Recognize key words (such as scriptures and phrases) used by clients, patients and colleagues to relate and foster trust in more intentional and meaningful ways.
• Prepare for encounters with clients, patients and colleagues who subscribe to various faith traditions.
• Equip faith leaders with a faith-based understanding of humility as a source of strength and restoration.
• Encourage sustainable self-care practices rooted in scripture and research.
• Highlight the importance of nurturing personal well-being and family relationships to strengthen leadership impact.
• Inspire leaders to create grace-filled, emotionally healthy communities through vulnerable and humble leadership.
• Apply clinical skills grounded in a body, mind and spirit approach.
• Apply three new clinical skills related to grief, suicide and crisis management and substance use treatment.
• Create meaning-making experiences for personal growth to better support clients and communities.

About the Presenters:

D Malone holds a Bachelor of Science in Christian Ministries and a Master of Organizational Leadership from Mid-America Christian University. She joined the ADAMH team in June 2021. In her current role as vice president of Advocacy and Engagement, Malone is responsible for actively engaging key stakeholders, elevating ADAMH’s thought leadership role and leading ADAMH’s efforts in the areas of legislative awareness, advocacy and intentional engagement with their diverse community. Her career spans over 30 years, including service in senior leadership in the Offices of the Governor and Treasurer for the State of Ohio and the Office of the Mayor for the City of Columbus. Prior to joining ADAMH, Malone was the community liaison for the CelebrateOne initiative to reduce infant mortality in central Ohio. She also served as director of career development for Dress for Success Columbus and membership services director for First Church of God, Columbus. She serves as a commissioner on the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority Board and has served local and national community organizations and boards leading faith-based efforts and advocating for the equity, health, safety and security of Columbus and Franklin County residents.

James Knight, EdD, is an educator, coach, mentor, consultant, author and strategist. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College, a Master of Education degree and a Doctor of Education Leadership degree from Ashland University. He also holds a graduate certificate in diversity, social justice and inclusion from the Ashland. Much of his work revolves around leading with humility and partnering with other leaders to build dynamic and inclusive communities and spaces where people collaborate, innovate and engage in fearless dialogue. Knight works with leaders, schools, organizations and individuals in corporate, nonprofit, governmental and academic sectors to develop frameworks rooted in humility. The primary goal of his work is to assist others in building safe environments where everyone can thrive and bring their best selves. As an author, Knight has written three books, including his latest release, Heart: A Journey Toward Cultural Humility, which is a manual and guide for any leader, student or person looking to develop greater awareness and to increase their emotional and cultural intelligence. Knight has a passion for people and sees himself as a servant leader. His personal mission is “education + empowerment = elevation,” and his number one goal is to elevate those he serves through education and inspiration.

Bob Ahern, Ph.D., LISW-S, has taught in The Ohio State University College of Social Work for over 20 years, winning both college and university-wide teaching awards. He is in private practice at Atlas Counseling and Wellness in Dublin, Ohio, where he specializes in the treatment of trauma, depression, anxiety and sex addiction, which includes work with betrayed partners and couples. Ahern has worked in the mental health field for 35 years in many leadership and therapist roles, and he has a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University and MSW and PhD degrees from Ohio State. His social work career has been centered on the integration of mind, body and spirit interventions, along with Gestalt, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Jungian and Internal Family Systems models. He loves poetry, jazz, art and all the performing and fine arts. He is married to Renee Ahern, Ph.D., LPCC-S.

Reverend Dr. Aimee Hurst Anderson serves as the presiding elder of the Columbus District within the Ohio South Ohio Annual Conference. Previously, she served as pastor of the Historic Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Delaware, Ohio, and executive pastor of the Historic St. Paul AME Church in Columbus, Ohio. Anderson holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio; a Master of Divinity degree from Methodist Theological Seminary in Delaware, Ohio; and a Bachelor of Science degree in speech pathology and audiology from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the Columbus Chapter of The Links Incorporated, the Columbus Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and serves as a contingent chaplain at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Hurst Anderson is the founder and ministry leader of Sanctuary Selah, a non-profit ministry dedicated to providing support to ministers and individuals in servant leadership positions. Her literary contributions have been published in the AME Church Voice of Missions and the Ohio Laity Prayer Journal, with a notable publication titled “In Times Like These.” She appeared as a guest preacher on The Roland Martin Show, where she had the privilege of standing alongside United States Congresswoman Joyce Beatty during the Souls to the Polls virtual celebration.

Deacon Dave Bezusko has been the director of charities for the Diocese of Columbus since January 2025.  He came to the Diocese after 22 years at United Way, with the last 10 years as the executive director of the United Way of Logan County in Bellefontaine, Ohio. He lives in Marysville with his wife, Carrie, and three children. Bezusko was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in November 2016 and is assigned at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Marysville, Ohio. 

Reverand Dr. Ben Huelskamp (he/they) is the executive director of LOVEboldly. He is a pastor, public intellectual, author, activist and lifelong church geek. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs and a Doctor of Education in Leadership, with a focus on religion and ministry. He wrote his dissertation on the leadership of LGBTQIA+ people in the church. Huelskamp is currently studying for a Master of Theological Studies with a concentration in theology (focusing on definitions and constructions of humanity and what we call “human”) at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. They are a voracious reader, avid Star Trek nerd and an alumnus member of Phi Mu Delta fraternity. If he ever got a tattoo, it would be of the Oxford comma. In his “free time,” Huelskamp serves as pastor of Blue Ocean Faith Columbus, a small, affirming congregation and enjoys spending time with friends and family, particularly his nephew, Jack. He serves on the board of The Buckeye Flame and on the steering committee of the Columbus and Central Ohio LGBTQ+ Leadership Roundtable. 

Dr. C. Dexter Wise III has gone from the “hood” of Baltimore, Maryland, to the top of his class at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a preacher and pastor, Wise was called to preach at the age of 12, licensed to preach at 16 and ordained to the gospel ministry at 19. He has served as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Columbus, Ohio’s historic Shiloh Baptist Church, and is presently pastor of Faith Ministries Interdenominational Church in Columbus, Ohio. As a scholar, Wise received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Arts degree from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, an honorary doctorate degree of humane letters from Virginia College and Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Wise leads a school of ministry that can be accessed online, on video or through live classes. His self-proclaimed greatest achievements are being the husband to his wife, Dr. Shirley D. Wise, for more than 50 years, the father of three daughters, Sybil, Sheri (James) and Shonna (Isaiah), one son Ceylon (Ashley) and the “Grandpa” of nine grandchildren.

Timed Agenda:

• 8:30 a.m. 
  • Doors Open: Participant Sign In at Registration & Visit Vendor Tables
• 9 a.m. 
  • Welcome, Housekeeping & Announcements
• 9:15 a.m. 
  • Faith-Based Panel Discussion Part 1
• 10:30 a.m.
  • 15-minute Break & Vendor Tables
• 10:45 a.m.
  • Faith-Based Panel Discussion Part 2
• Noon
  • 15-minute Break
• 12:15 p.m.
  • Lunch Keynote: Humbled & Whole: The Power of Faith & Humility to Heal Ourselves, Our Families and Our Communities, presented by Dr. James Knight
• 1:15 p.m.
  • 15-minute Break & Vendor Tables
• 1:30 p.m.
  • Afternoon Keynote Part 1: Habits of the Heart: Behavioral Health in the Here and Now, presented by Dr. Bob Ahern
• 2:45 p.m.
  • 15-minute Break & Vendor Table
• 3:00 p.m.
  • Afternoon Keynote Part 2
• 4:15 p.m.
  • Wrap-up, Final Announcements & Conference Evaluations
• 4:30 p.m.
  • Closing & Participant Sign Out at Registration

This training is approved for continuing education for counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists, accepted by the Ohio CSWMFT Board. This training is approved for continuing education for Ohio CDP Board substance use treatment counselors in domains C2 (2.75) and TR1 (3.75).

This training is approved by The Ohio State University College of Social Work and accepted by The State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist (OCSWMFT) Board.   

The Ohio State University College of Social Work, (Provider: 50-24068), is an approved provider for The Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals (OCDP) Board.