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Session Title: Shifting Ethics in Dual Relationships: Creating a Framework for Navigation in Diverse Communities
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Traditional ethical frameworks often fail to account for the complexities of navigating dual relationships in culturally rich, interconnected, and under-resourced communities. This workshop invites social workers and mental health practitioners to examine how our understanding of ethical boundaries is evolving — especially in communities of color, immigrant populations, LGBTQ+ spaces, and rural areas where roles overlap by necessity and trust is built through relationship.
Together, we’ll explore the limitations of “one-size-fits-all” ethical models, contrast them with liberatory and culturally responsive approaches, and develop a practical framework for navigating dual relationships with clarity, care, and integrity. This session offers case-based reflection, values clarification, and an equity-centered lens that honors community needs without compromising professional responsibility.
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Speaker Bio:
Jamila J Walker, is a visionary therapist, business strategist, and founder with over 25 years of experience in social services, including 13 years as a trauma-informed clinician. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Africana Studies from Tennessee State University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee.
Founder & Clinical Leader
Since 2018, Jamila has served as the Founder, Owner, and Director of Clinical Practice Administration at Nashville Emotional Wellness (NEW) Counseling, a group mental health private practice rooted in trauma-informed care, cultural humility, and equity-centered healing. Her clinical work focuses on grief and loss, anxiety, depression, and core challenges related to self-worth, confidence, and self-love—particularly when shaped by relational and generational trauma. She is certified in Somatic Trauma Therapy, Progressive Counting, and Brainspotting Phases 1 & 2, integrating powerful mind-body modalities into her work to support deep, embodied healing. Known for creating expansive, affirming spaces, she centers authenticity, safety, and transformation in every room she leads.
Business Coaching & Ecosystem Development
As a business coach and clinical business strategist, Jamila supports therapists and wellness entrepreneurs in launching, growing, and scaling values-driven group practices. She helps clients dismantle limiting beliefs, implement sustainable systems, and develop visionary business models that prioritize both access to care and clinician well-being. Her business development offerings span from DIY and DWY (done-with-you) support to fully executed, done-for-you infrastructure and strategy.
Leadership, Strategy & Collective Advancement
An alumna of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (GS10KSB) program, Jamila brings a sharp strategic lens to every aspect of her work—combining clinical expertise with business innovation. She is also an active member of BrainTrust, a national collective of Black women entrepreneurs, where she serves as co-leader of the Women of Color Vertical, a space for leadership cultivation, community-building, and legacy creation among women of color business owners across industries. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of the University of Tennessee College of Social Work and the Belmont University School of Social Work, contributing her voice and experience to shape the future of social work education and practice through a lens of inclusion, excellence, and innovation.
Educator, Mentor & Advocate
As an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, Jamila mentors the next generation of social workers and clinicians by bridging academic learning with real-world clinical and business acumen. She is deeply passionate about mentoring and believes in building liberatory frameworks of mental health care—models that ensure access, support healing, and honor the financial and emotional sustainability of clinicians.
Personal Life & Values
At her core, Jamila is a mother, mentor, and movement-builder. She is raising two phenomenal children on the cusp of adolescence and adulthood. She finds joy in traveling, dancing, long walks, reading, writing, and being outdoors and in community with family and friends. Whether she’s in the therapy room, classroom, boardroom, or leading a circle of women business owners, she brings presence, purpose, and a deep belief in healing, leadership, and business as powerful tools for transformation.