The Employee Assistance Programme’s counselling team leader has two new credentials and an award for diversity and inclusion under her belt.

After Julita Peniston completed her doctorate of social work at Simmons University in May, she was selected for an accolade.

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Intersectionality, Power Analysis and Antiracism award is given to students who develop innovative capstone projects with a notable social justice emphasis.

Her project was called “Emerge & Empower: A DEIPAR-guided Decolonised Trauma-Informed Practice Training for Bermuda’s Practitioners Serving Black, Indigenous and People of Colour Domestic Violence Survivors”.

It is a web-based training programme is designed for practitioners working with BIPOC domestic violence survivors in Bermuda.

It worked on the premise that trauma is not experienced uniformly.

“Culture, race, gender, family history, social positioning and access to resources all shape how an individual such as a survivor understands their situation, and whether they feel safe enough to seek help,” Dr Peniston said.

“The training encourages practitioners to slow down, look at themselves and bring a curious lens rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.”

She said it affirmed that cultural responsiveness and socially-just practice is not optional, but a necessity in social work.

Riding on the heels of that, she this month received her Certified Employee Assistance Professional certification.

To achieve this designation, she had to complete a candidate orientation course and pass five CEAP learning modules. At the end of each module, she had to pass an assessment with an 80 per cent or higher grade.

EAP executive director Latisha Lister-Burgess said their organisation is the only accredited employee assistance programme on the island, and employs the only three CEAPS in Bermuda.

“We are proud of Dr Peniston for her dedication and hard work and view this achievement as a continued commitment to best practice and aligning with international standards,” she said.

Dr Peniston emphasised that it was never about adding another title after her name.

“I wanted to look at how EAP looks through an intersectional, clinical lens and how it ties into workplace culture, ethics and risk management as well,” she said.

She left banking and hospitality in 2006 wanting something more from her career.

She joined the Department of Child and Family Services as a social work assistant before becoming the third Duperreault fellow in 2008.

After earning a master’s in social work at Fordham University, she returned to Bermuda in 2010.

Along the way she became a licensed clinical social worker in Florida. She also became an internationally certified alcohol and drug counsellor, a certified clinical trauma professional and a registered addiction counsellor.

“Education is my self-care,” she said.

She felt fulfilled to have finished her doctorate and EAP certification and is now working on embedding DEIPAR principles into EAP training for local employers.