Continuing Education

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TRAUMA-INFORMED FORENSIC INTERVIEWING 

About the Presenter

Shawna Paris-Hoyte, ONS, KC, MSW, RSW, BCCH, a distinguished African Nova Scotian, leads this course. She is a private practice trauma specialist and licensed social worker. Shawna has practiced law for 30 years and clinical social work for 20 years. She designs and facilitates adult training courses and workshops on various aspects of forensic social work. Shawna founded the National Institute of Forensic Social Work in Canada in 2016. She is the first international member of the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work in the United States. With her extensive experience and expertise, Shawna provides valuable insights and practical guidance to help learners master trauma-informed forensic interviewing techniques.

Overview

Join our dynamic and interactice three-week online course designed to equip justice system professionals with essential skills in trauma-informed forensic interviewing. This course takes a broad approach to the term "forensic interviewing." It blends foundational knowledge with practical application, ensuring the learner can effectively and compassionately conduct interviews within the scope of many justice-related professional roles. This course is designed for people with different levels of social work skills and experience, as well as social services professionals and generalists involved in the justice system. It is also suitable for individuals who conduct interviews across all age groups to gather information about interactions with the justice system.

What is Trauma-Informed Forensic Interviewing?

Trauma-informed forensic interviewing is a method of conducting structured interviews that considers the interviewee's trauma history and its potential impact on their behaviour, memory, and communication specific to legal matters. The trauma-informed approach creates a safe and supportive environment, ensuring the interview process does not re-traumatize the individual. By recognising and responding to trauma symptoms, professionals can gather accurate and comprehensive information while maintaining the dignity and well-being of the interviewee. This method is particularly crucial when working with Indigenous people, racialized people, newcomers to the country, and other vulnerable populations, such as children, survivors of abuse, or those who have experienced significant psychological distress.

Gain the knowledge and confidence to conduct interviews that respect and support those affected by trauma.

Goals and Objectives

Throughout this three-week online course, the primary aim is to equip professionals with the skill and knowledge to conduct trauma-informed forensic interviews effectively. Learners will gain a deep understanding of trauma and its impact, learn how to implement trauma-informed care principles, recognize signs of trauma, master interview techniques, handle challenging scenarios with empathy, apply advanced skills, promote self-care and resilience, work across the life span, consider ethical issues, and integrate cultural competency into their practice. These goals and objectives are carefully designed to ensure that professionals can conduct interviews with integrity, sensitivity, and professionalism, ultimately positively impacting the justice system.

A trauma-informed cultural competency component is incorporated into each module so participants will develop a deeper understanding of how culture intersects with trauma and forensic interviewing, particularly concerning Indigenous peoples and those of other cultures, ethnicities and ancestry. This holistic approach to training will foster greater sensitivity, respect, and effectiveness in conducting trauma-informed interviews across diverse cultural contexts. 

Target Audience

This course is suitable for individuals at all levels of social work, social service practitioners, justice system navigators, community legal workers, students, policing services professionals and all those involved in the interviewing process within the justice system. 

Join us to transform your interviewing approach and impact the justice system meaningfully.

Course Structure

Module 1: Introduction to Trauma-Informed Care

• Explore trauma-informed care principles with a focus on cultural sensitivity, recognizing the diverse cultural backgrounds of interviewees, including Indigenous people, those from racialized communities, and age, ability and gender groups.
• Discuss how trauma manifests within different contexts, considering the unique experiences and challenges faced by individuals from racialized communities.
• Engage in cultural competency exercises to develop skills in recognizing and respecting cultural differences during interviews, especially when working with individuals from racialized backgrounds.
• Understand trauma and its impact on behaviour and cognition.
• Learn the principles of trauma-informed practices, approaches and care.
• Recognize signs and symptoms of trauma through interactive exercises and case studies.

Module 2: Techniques for Trauma-Informed Interviewing

• Learn techniques for creating culturally safe interview environments that honour the values and traditions of interviewees, particularly those from Indigenous, racialized, ability and gender-based communities.
• Explore appropriate communication strategies and language use during interviews, focusing on effectively engaging with individuals from marginalized backgrounds. 
• Practice trauma-informed interviewing techniques through case scenarios that specifically address interviewing individuals from Indigenous, racialized and gender-identified communities, considering their cultural needs and perspectives.
• Master techniques for creating a safe interview environment.
• Develop cultural competency for trauma-informed practice in forensic interviewing.
• Develop practical communication skills and handle challenging scenarios using case studies.

Module 3: Application, Ethics and Skills

• Examine ethical considerations specific to interviewing individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, including those from racialized communities, and develop strategies to ensure culturally competent and ethical practices.
• Integrate trauma-informed principles into advanced questioning techniques and strategies for managing sensitive disclosures, recognising the importance of cultural understanding in fostering trust and rapport.
• Explore community engagement and collaboration approaches, emphasizing the importance of partnering with organizations serving racialized communities to ensure culturally responsive forensic interviewing practices. 
• Focus on self-care and resilience as a professional dealing with trauma.
• Explore follow-up and treatment services for individuals.
• Conduct a self-recorded 10- to 15-minute trauma-informed interview simulation.
• Develop a personal action plan for continuous improvement.

Key Features

Our course offers a range of key features designed to enhance your learning experience and ensure your mastery of trauma-informed forensic interviewing techniques. You will engage with high-quality video lectures, participate in case studies, and take several quizzes to test your knowledge. You wiill refine your skills through thought-provoking critical thinking exercises and engage with peers in discussion forums to exchange experiences and broaden perspectives. You will also have an option to leverage your learning with regular communications with the instructor for extra guidance.

This course also emphasizes ethical considerations integral to trauma-informed forensic interviewing. Learners will gain insight into ethical guidelines and principles governing professional conduct within the justice system. You will explore ethical dilemmas commonly encountered during interviews and learn strategies to nagivate them with integrity and professionalism. Through the case studies and online discussions, learners will develop a nuanced understanding of moral responsibilities in interviewing vulnerable populations. By incorporating ethical considerations into your practice, you'll ensure that your interviews uphold the highest standards of fairness, confidentiality, and respect for individuals.

Format

This course includes three weekly modules. Each module requires approximately 4 hours of online work.

Speed of learning and ease with technology will affect the time it takes to complete the course exercises. Basic technical and computer skills are required to watch online videos, post questions and comments, and navigate the website.

Participants are required to complete a minimum of 80% of the course content to receive a completion letter. Participants who complete the course will also receive a Certificate of Completion from the National Institute of Forensic Social Work. 

There are no scheduled lecture times. The course site is available 24/7.

12 Continuing Education Credit Hours.

THE HEART OF HELPING: UNDERSTANDING VICARIOUS TRAUMA & COMPASSION FATIGUE

About the Presenter

Lynda Monk, MSW, RSW, CPCC, is a Registered Social Worker and a Certified Life Coach with over 20 years experience teaching in the areas of burnout prevention, vicarious trauma, change management, stress management, work-life balance, resilience, self-care and therapeutic journaling for wellness for helping professionals, healers and change agents. Lynda has worked with hundreds of individual clients and supported many client organizations within the social and human services, healthcare, government and non-profit sector in various jurisdictions in Canada.

She is the co-author of Writing Alone Together: Journaling in a Circle of Women for Creativity, Compassion and Connection, as well as co-editor of the forthcoming book, Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Counsellors and Clients: A Complete Guide to the Benefits of Personal Writing (Routledge, 2021).  You can learn more about Lynda’s work at http://lyndamonk.com and https://IAJW.org.

Summary

Vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue are common occupational hazards for social workers, counsellors, healthcare professionals, educators, and others in high-care fields. This 4-week online course is designed to teach those in the helping, human service and healthcare professions about these work-related risks that can result from the very nature of the work itself.  You will gain a deeper understanding of vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue: what they are, how they manifest and how to prevent and/or intervene with the negative effects that can flow from the heart of helping.  Discover how to balance caring for yourself while caring for others, in order to stay healthy while you make a difference.

I feel like I have a clearer understanding of vicarious trauma, chronic fatigue, and burnout as well as my where I am at with own self-care, my responsibility and my organization's responsibility. This course was wonderful. ~ course participant

You will have the opportunity to learn, reflect and connect with others in a caring, dynamic and respectful online learning environment.  This course uses transformative learning principles and combines video teaching, engaging reading assignments, and reflective learning activities such as journaling exercises, guided meditation, coaching tools and assessments to support participants to deepen their learning, enhance resiliency and forward their action specific to replenishing from within and reducing the risk of vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue in order to thrive personally and professionally.

It was a fantastic reminder of the importance of self care… Even completing the course was a form of self care." ~ course participant

Overview

Week 1:  The Occupational Hazards within Helping Professions

• Getting started, introductions and course learning objectives
• Definitions, descriptions and distinctions of the relevant occupational hazards: job stress, burnout, primary trauma, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue
• Motivation for entering the field/anticipated results and impact

Week 2: Risk Factors, Warning Signs and Symptoms of Vicarious Trauma (VT) and Compassion Fatigue (CF)

• Nature of the work and risk for vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue
• Risk and resiliency factors for VT and CF
• Signs and symptoms of VT and CF
• Self-assessment
• Relax and renew:  techniques for grounding and replenishing

Amazing feedback! I learned so much from the question and answer action happening in the discussion boards. The instructors replied promptly and with insightful responses to questions." ~ course participant

Week 3:  Self-Care and Wellness for Helping Professionals | Walk the Talk Inspiration

• What is self-care, really?
• Assess your current self-care in for key dimensions of wellness – emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual with a Whole Person Self-Care Assessment
• Addressing and transforming vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue
• Walk the Talk inspiration

Week 4:  Wellness and Resiliency in Caregiving Organizations | Self-Care to WE Care | Gifts, Joys and Hope in Practice

Vicarious trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue are not just concerns for individuals.  The impact of these costs of caring are also high in organizations in terms of lost productivity, absenteeism, employee turnover and conflict in the workplace.  Workplace wellness strategies can help to mitigate these risks and they are proven to offer both employees and employers greater productivity, enhanced engagement, less stress, increased quality of work, as well as contributing to a positive overall workplace culture where helping professionals can DO and BE their best.

• Explore the key factors for wellness in caregiving organizations
• Shifting from self-care to WE care
• Taking stock and taking action
• Time for you – comfort and renewal
• Gifts, joys and hope in practice – connect with a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in within helping work

Today, I focus on a simple truth:  To be kind to another, I need to be kind to myself." ~ Gail Straub

Format

This course includes four weekly modules. Each module requires approximately 3 hours of online work.

Speed of learning and ease with technology will affect the time it takes to complete the course exercises. Basic technical and computer skills are required to watch online videos, post questions and comments, and navigate the website.

There are no scheduled lecture times. The course site is available 24/7.

12 Continuing Education Credit Hours.

COUNSELLING SKILLS LEVEL 1 (CERTIFICATE PROGRAM)

About the Presenters

Barry McClatchey and Jill Ceccolini founded Halifax Brief Therapy in 2003. Since that time, they have been providing training, supervision, and consultation in solution focused practice to clinicians, supervisors, and organizations throughout the Maritimes.

Jill Ceccolini, MSW, RSW is a social worker, educator and therapist utilizing a collaborative, strengths-based approach in her clinical practice and in her work as a supervisor and trainer. She has a private practice working with individuals and couples. Since 1996, Jill has been teaching various levels of counselling skills, through the School of Social Work degree programs and through the Continuing Education program.

Barry McClatchey, MSW, RSW has many years of experience as a clinical therapist, counselor, and trainer. Barry completed his BSW degree at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, and received his MSW degree from the School of Social Work, Dalhousie University. Barry has utilized a solution focused approach in his work with individuals, couples and families for over twenty years and has completed training in a variety of locations in North America. He is also a certified trainer in Feedback Informed Treatment practices through the International Center for Clinical Excellence in Chicago, Illinois.

Instructors were excellent. Very engaged during the entire course, and interested in seeing us do well. Would take more courses with Jill and Barry in a heartbeat. ~ course participant

Summary

The certificate program, Counselling Skills Level 1, has been adapted for online delivery. Counselling Skills Level 1 blends counseling theory with practice to develop counselling skills for individuals working in a helping profession. Mini lectures, discussions, reflective exercises, skill building activities, role-play, and case studies are used as methods to guide participants in their learning. Since this is an experiential class, participants are invited to share their experiences from their workplaces and to actively participate in the program.

Objectives

This was a wonderful and practical course. ~ course participant

Format

An adult education learning approach is used in the delivery of the program. Since the course is intended to be an experiential program, the methodology includes activities to engage participation. Participants are invited to practice counselling skills by participating in various exercises and simulations. This is accomplished through online group discussions, posting in a discussion form, viewing and discussing of videos, participating in and recording role plays, assigned reading materials and creative reflective exercises.

There are 6 modules in the Counselling Skills Level 1 online program. To receive a certificate at the end of the program, it is expected that participants will complete 1 module per week with a minimum of 5 hours of participation per week. Modules are designed so that learning is incremental throughout the 6-week program. 

This program is designed to allow participants to fit their studies into their busy schedules. Participants may log onto the course site at any time to complete the course work. Counselling Skills Level 1 includes some activities which require participants in small groups to log in at a specified time. The online meeting times are determined by the group members.

I loved that this course briefly covered some of the theoretical pieces, but most content was focused on practical skills that we started learning early in the course. ~ course participant

There are no scheduled lecture times. There are no required textbooks. All course materials are provided within the course site. The course site is available 24/7.

Enrollment is limited to 30 participants.

30 continuing education credit hours.

OCD & RELATED CONDITIONS: TREATMENTS THAT WORK

About the Presenter

Dr. Martin M. Antony is Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. Previously, he was founding director of both the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic and the Psychology Residency Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.  He was also Clinical and Training Lead for the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and he is a past president of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. He has published 34 books and over 300 scientific articles and chapters in areas related to cognitive behavior therapy and anxiety-related disorders. He has given more than 425 presentations to audiences across four continents, and has been interviewed, featured, or quoted more than 450 times in various print, radio, television, and online media outlets, including BBC News, CBC, Chatelaine Magazine, CNN, CTV, the Globe and Mail, National Post, New York Times, O (Oprah) Magazine, Prevention Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Scientific American Mind, Toronto Star, USA Today, Washington Post, and many others.

Summary

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common condition associated with unwanted thoughts, images, or urges (obsessions) and repeated behaviours aimed at reducing anxiety or preventing danger (compulsions). This workshop will provide step-by-step cognitive and behavioural strategies for treating OCD. Participants will learn about the theoretical foundations and practical application of well-established behavioural approaches (e.g., exposure and response prevention) and cognitive approaches (e.g., experiments, cognitive restructuring), as well as emerging acceptance and mindfulness-based approaches. Assessment strategies will also be reviewed. Although the focus will be primarily on treating adults, adaptations for children will also be covered. The class will also discuss the evidence concerning key treatment decisions and modalities (e.g., group vs. individual treatment; teletherapy; combining CBT with medication; intensive treatments; clinician-supported self-help, etc.).  Methods for enhancing motivation and engagement will be reviewed. Finally, the course will discuss the features and treatment of other obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, including hoarding disorder, body-focused repetitive behaviors, body dysmorphic disorder, illness anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive personality traits.

Target Audience

This course is aimed at those who work in mental health care, including social workers, psychotherapists, psychologists, and other professionals who work with individuals with obsessive-compulsive and related conditions.

Learning Goals and Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to describe:

1. Core descriptive features of OCD and related disorders in DSM-5-TR
2. Effective cognitive approaches, such as Socratic questioning and experiments
3. Effective behavioural approaches, such as exposure therapy and response prevention
4. Mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches
5. Strategies for managing ambivalence and disengagement

Format

This course includes four weekly modules. Each module requires approximately 4 hours of online work.

Speed of learning and ease with technology will affect the time it takes to complete the course exercises. Basic technical and computer skills are required to watch online videos, post questions and comments, and navigate the website.

There are no scheduled lecture times. The course site is available 24/7.

16 Continuing Education Credit Hours.