Full Course Description

The Global Pandemic Through the Lens of Trauma

Program Information

Objectives

Appraise the clinical benefits of creating connection for your trauma clients.
Utilize various strategies to help kids and adolescents experience emotional safety.
Demonstrate activities to use in clinical practice that can help trauma clients from re-experiencing past traumas.

Outline

A global pandemic through the lens of trauma
Helping kids and adolescents experience emotional safety
Ways of keeping traumatized children from re-living past trauma

Copyright : 06/08/2020

Help Kids Foster Personal Power and Internal Safety: Yoga and Mindfulness Practices for School & Home

Program Information

Objectives

Integrate yoga and mindfulness practices that interrupt intrusive thoughts and increase self-compassion
Discover how increased self-awareness and embodiment can support anxiety reduction and change children’s relationship to stress.
Implement practices that support increased sense of safety and reduce overwhelm.
Apply simple practices that build students’ sense of personal power and agency.

Outline

Reducing Overwhelm

Orienting practices to build safety: Layers of Sound, Sensory Check In
Increasing attuned connection without contact: Imaginary Ball Pass

Soothing the Nervous System

Grounding practices to manage escalating emotions: Hugging Breath
Building personal power to reduce anxiety and increase agency: Feeling my Strength

Managing Intrusive Thoughts

Reducing the intensity of intrusive thoughts and interrupting rumination: Naming My Thoughts
Replacing fear-based thoughts with self-compassion: Kind Wishes

Copyright : 05/08/2020

Oppositional Defiance or Faulty Neuroception: Disruptive Behaviors through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory

Program Information

Objectives

Categorize specific behaviours as they relate to each of the three basic pathways of the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
Utilize neuroception-informed interventions, including physiological co-regulation and interpersonal engagement, to treat oppositional behaviour.
Appraise the efficacy of integrating the Polyvagal Theory into “behaviour management” programs.

Outline

Behaviour Challenges: Intentional Choice or Stress Response?

What the Polyvagal Theory brings to the “behaviour management” table
The autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Neuroception: How children’s brains perceive safety and stress (and what that means for behaviour)
Is ODD a behaviour disorder, or a nervous system looking for relational safety?

Clinical Strategies for Building Relational Safety and Security

Getting started: Matching a given behaviour to corresponding ANS pathway
Discerning between an intentional behaviour and a stress response
Co-regulation, warmth and interpersonal engagement
How to reach the “unreachable” kids and teens
What about behaviour contracts and incentive plans?

Copyright : 05/08/2020

Coping Skills for Kids and Tweens: How to Manage Big Feelings in an Uncertain Time and Beyond

Program Information

Objectives

Determine how the pandemic has impacted students socially and emotionally and integrate strategies for better focus.
Apply coping skills for kids to try either at home or school to implement safe ways to express anger.
Develop students' relaxation and coping skills to manage anxiety.

Outline

Anxiety, Stress, and Anger in a Pandemic

Explore how the pandemic has impacted the social and emotional lives of our children
Why Social Emotional Learning is important now more than ever
How our needs and windows of tolerance have changed

Coping Skills for Anxiety

Deep Breathing Ideas
Mindfulness Strategies
Relaxation/Calming Activities for Kids

Coping Skills for Stress

Scheduling to reduce stress
The importance of play and downtime
Using your senses to manage stress

Coping Skills for Anger/Frustration

Understand that anger is often just the tip of the iceberg - a lot of feelings hide beneath
Safe ways to express anger with movement
Setting up individual calm down kits for kids

Copyright : 05/08/2020

When Worry Shows Up at School: A Primer for Educators, Administrators, and Counselors

Program Information

Objectives

Distinguish the signs and symptoms of school related anxiety.
Appraise the concept of the worry loop as is relates to children.
Create effective accommodations for anxiety to ensure they are beneficial, dynamic and temporary.

Outline

Three Key Concepts About Anxiety

Anxiety is the normal byproduct of an internal alarm system
Sometimes the alarm is triggered by mistake
The goal is not to get rid of the alarm system but to learn to respond differently

Recognizing Anxiety at School

“Normal” versus “problematic” anxiety
Manifestations of fight, flight or freeze
The process of anxiety versus the content of anxiety

What is the Worry Loop and Why Does It Matter?

The “Worry Loop”
Safety Behaviors “feed” anxiety, keeping it going
School-based accommodations often inadvertently support Safety Behaviors

How to Create Effective Accommodations

Making supportive statements (acknowledging and encouraging)
The role of exposure
Ensuring that accommodations are beneficial, dynamic, and temporary

Copyright : 05/08/2020

Creating Psychological Safety in the Face of Uncertainty: Family Based Interventions and Skills

Program Information

Objectives

Utilize three practical strategies to increase the sense of psychological safety for parents.
Demonstrate the PACE model for developing connection with children and adolescents.
Develop strategies for parents and children to reflect, regulate their affective states, and relate to one another.

Outline

Psychological Safety in the Face of Uncertainty

Losses and challenges faced by parents today
- Isolation
- Lack of stabilizing routines
- Dysregulated functioning in children
Reflection and affective regulation skills in parents
Why psychological safety is needed to develop new skills

Family-Based Interventions and Skills

Strategies for parents to talk to their children about stress and anxiety
Demonstrating PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, empathy)
Creating a schedule that meets the needs and desires of all family members
Skills for developing children’s’ resilience and readiness to turn to parents for support and comfort
Considerations for tele-mental health therapy

Copyright : 06/08/2020

Reframing Children’s Traumatic Experiences: Playful, Embodied Interventions to Restore, Regulate & Connect

Program Information

Objectives

Develop effective ways to help children understand and process on what is happening in their body as a result of traumatic stress.
Evaluate how embodied interventions can reframe trauma experiences and connect to a mind-body awareness.
Analyze how sensorimotor processing can alleviate the re-experiencing of trauma.
Apply specific movement, breathing, interoceptive, and mindfulness techniques that can help children and families gain mastery over their lives.

Outline

Stress response patterns as survival strategies

Hyper- and hypo-arousal and the window of tolerance
The impact of trauma on somatic experiencing and the sensory system
Mirror neurons, empathy and connecting with others
Importance of co-regulation
Therapeutic powers of play

Applications Suitable for the Treatment of Recent Traumatic Events

Practice and adapt playful and embodied techniques for a variety of settings, abilities & age levels, in order to…

Restore the capacity to play through games & creative movements
Increase trust & build healthy attachments through healthy touch
Integrate dance and music with embodied play therapy principles to decrease dysregulation & improve distress tolerance skills
Select playful interventions to help children experience the present moment, reducing emotional numbing, depression, and dissociation
Help children gain mastery over their lives with mindfulness techniques that can reduce intrusive images and “stuck” memories
Expand capacity for self-awareness with breathing exercises and interoceptive cues

Copyright : 06/08/2020

IFS and Parenting: Help Kids Transition Forward to a Calm Centered Place

Program Information

Objectives

Demonstrate how parents can effectively communicate with their children from a calm, centered place.
Demonstrate how parents can facilitate children's self-awareness, confidence, and control of challenging circumstances.
Create ways to encourage parents toward compassion and empathy in challenging moments instead of guilt and shame.

Outline

What IFS Brings to Parenting

Incorporating parts language in the Family
Positive intentions of all parts

When Parents Are Not at Their Best

Reactive moments
The different triggering scenario’s
When parents overidentify with their children

Correct It, Don’t Perpetuate It

Direct access parenting
Getting to the root of the reactivity
Connecting with empathy

Improving the Co-Parenting Experience

When parents aren’t aligned
Creating a “Triggering Agreement”
Reactive to Responsive

Copyright : 06/08/2020

Adolescence in Crisis: Racial Trauma and Identity (A Trauma-Focused DBT Perspective)

Program Information

Objectives

Apply a racial trauma-informed treatment framework to existing and future clients.
Appraise how a DBT-informed approach can support clients who have experienced racial trauma.
Utilize DBT strategies to overcome resistance to discussion, racial identity exploration and formation among adolescent clients.

Outline

The Racial Trauma Survival Lens

The impact of racial trauma on the developing mind
Key features of healthy racial identity and its impact neurologically
Common defensive survival strategies in racial trauma
Historical traumatic wounds, hidden wounds, and microaggressions

Racial Trauma-Informed DBT Interventions

Looking through the racial identity “life worth living” lens
An ethnopolitical approach to racial trauma
Utilize DBT to overcome resistance to discussion, racial identity exploration and formation among youth
Learn how to balance validation, secure attachment, and DBT change strategies

Copyright : 06/08/2020

Helping Parents Through Crises: Avoiding Pitfalls & Amplifying Opportunities

Program Information

Objectives

Devise two interventions that interrupt anxious routines in families.
Compose three cognitive patterns to target in anxious families.
Appraise the efficacy of utilizing a family-centred approach to working with children.

Outline

The importance of a family-centred therapy approach to treating children.

The patterns that are emerging in families during this societal crisis.

The 3 cognitive patterns to target when working with parents in treatment and how to work with them.

Copyright : 04/06/2020

Attachment Centered Family Therapy: Interventions for Improving Parent-Child Connection and Attunement

Program Information

Outline

Attachment-Based Treatment: Principles and Goals

Attachment Theory – and what it means for trauma-informed treatment
Elements of the social engagement system
Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy
Theraplay: Structure, Engagement, Nurture & Challenge

Getting Started: Assessment and Engagement

Discern underlying motives/feelings underneath a child’s behaviours
Facilitating a safe, active dialogue between parent and child
How to engage caregivers who are traumatized, too reduce defensiveness and increase empathy

Clinical Interventions to Create Connection, Regulation, and Attunement

PACE - Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy
In-SENC based on individual child’s needs (Structure, Engagement, Nurture, Challenge)
How to gently redirect mis-attuned or critical caregivers
Facilitating face-to-face interactions between parent and child
Increase warm facial expressions, synchronized movement and rhythm
Calm a dysregulated child and engage a withdrawn child
Activities to increase warm facial expressions and synchronized, rhythmic movement

Objectives

Determine the principles of Attachment Theory.
Demonstrate the PACE model to engage caregivers in effectively responding to their child(ren).
Determine the elements of the social engagement system as it pertains to the parent child relationship.

Copyright : 16/06/2020

LEGO®-Based Play Therapy Techniques: Unlocking Creativity to Strengthen Relationships, Encourage Flexible Thinking, and Promote Problem Solving

Program Information

Objectives

Appraise the history, research, and rationale of incorporating LEGO® in play therapy and counselling.
Utilize five play therapy interventions with individuals, groups, and families.
Differentiate when to utilize directive versus non-directive LEGO® based interventions.

Outline

LEGO®101: The (Literal) Building Blocks of Play
History and empirical rationale of LEGO® based play therapy
What makes building with bricks a therapeutic task?
Who may benefit from LEGO® based play therapy?

Let’s Build! Creative LEGO® Based Play Therapy Interventions
Individual and group interventions for children and adolescents
Directive and non-directive interventions to improve:

Communication
Engagement
Problem solving
Social skills
Flexible thinking
Conflict resolution
And more!

Families who build together, stay together – how to use LEGO® with families

Copyright : 03/06/2020

Tech Addiction in Children & Adolescents: Brain-Based Interventions to Optimize Digital Health in Today’s Screen Culture

Program Information

Objectives

Formulate the neurological, dopaminergic, and hormonal/adrenal impact of screen time on children, adolescents and young adults.
Analyze the emerging research related to behavioural interventions for technology overuse.
Designate how tech overuse can impact pre-existing mental health disorders.
Utilize strategies for parents/caregivers to work with problem screen usage within the home including boundaries, discipline and communication.

Outline

Screen Culture: Origins and Impact on Mental Health

The origins of “indoor children”
From passive TV viewing to immersive and interactive screen experiences
What the research is telling us about technology and mental health
Limitations of the state of the research
Depression and social media
Screen time’s impact on ADHD, increased aggression, and thought disorders

Neurological Impact of Screen Time and Tech Overuse

Dopamine’s role in addiction
How brains are impacted by the dopaminergic effects of screens
The HPA Axis and adrenal “fight or flight” impact of screen stimulation
Brain imaging and the effects on the frontal cortex

Technology in the Classroom: Helping or Hurting Educational Outcomes?

Ed Tech: a $60 Billion annual industry
The latest research on technology and education
Screens’ impact on reading and comprehension
Phones in the classroom and standardized test scores

Practical Solutions and Recommendations to Manage Screen Time

Classroom strategies for technology use
Treatment programs and interventions
Recommendations for every family

Copyright : 19/06/2020

Crisis Teaching Strategies for Teachers and Parents During COVID-19: Successfully Transition K-12 Students to Remote/Digital Learning

Program Information

Objectives

Utilize strategies to deliver relevant, engaging and authentic learning experiences for students.
Modify lesson plans, activities and exercises for productive, virtual and at-home learning.

Outline

Create a Productive, Virtual and At-Home Learning Environment

Shift smoothly from parenting, teaching and working

Coping strategies for stress, frustration and burnout

Create engaging, authentic learning experiences

Ways to support services that are still legally required

Everything doesn’t have to happen on the computer

What teachers want parents to know about home learning

Adapt Instruction for Remote/Digital Learning

Create and deliver asynchronous, online content

Facilitate collaborative, synchronous lessons

Learning plans to avoid frustration and burnout

New ways to do familiar things, like grading homework

Tackling the ‘Digital Divide’

Integrate Google Classroom/Meet/Hangout, Zoom, Skype, Screencastify, GoToMeeting

Host live, synchronous online lesson plans

Dispersing effective, high-quality video lessons

Apps with features like grading, rubrics, private commenting

Embedding synchronous moments

Copyright : 06/05/2020

Executive Function: Brain-Based Tools & Strategies to Help Kids and Families Cope with the Unexpected

Program Information

Objectives

Appraise the impact of significant, unexpected life changes on kids’ brain function.
Implement brain-based interventions to reduce anxiety, depression, and dysregulation in kids.

Outline

Cause to Pause: When Kids’ Internal Compasses Have Been Shifted

Something has happened – and it has activated BIG feelings, including grief
Kids have experienced sudden, significant shifts in their lives
The body and brain are reacting and adapting constantly!
How does this affect the brain: Default mode network, the stress response, and the corticostriatal loop

Brain Tools & Strategies: Guiding Kids & Families Toward a New Normal

The Thinker and the Caveman
Don’t dominate – collaborate!
“Front of Mind” Goals
Journaling, drawing, painting, writing, and colouring
Establish new routines, rhythms, rituals, and schedules
Storyboardthat.com
HEDYDT? “how exactly did you do that?”
Increase BDNF and GDNF
Green time v. screen time
And more!

Copyright : 14/05/2020

Telehealth Meets Play Therapy: Treating Children and Adolescents in a Virtual Setting

Program Information

Objectives

Determine the benefits of providing play therapy on a digital platform.
Apply directive and non-directive play therapy interventions to use in telehealth therapy sessions with children and adolescents.
Develop interventions for challenging clinical scenarios in telehealth, including resistance and crisis intervention.

Outline

Optimizing Your Telehealth Sessions from the Start

Setting up your space (and why it matters)

Preparation for virtual sessions

Games that require little-to-no material
Planning ahead for connectivity disruption
Boundaries and child-centred limit setting

How to structure a teletherapy session

Adjusting expectations and outcome

Creative Teleplay Interventions for your Virtual Toolbox

Demonstrations and resources, including:

Movement and regulation
Creative and expressive arts
Interactive choice boards, like PPT
Sandtray
Games, LEGO®, and other play techniques
Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT)
Mindfulness techniques
And more!

Troubleshooting Common Scenarios

What to do when: Resistance, hyperactivity, limit testing, crisis intervention, and more

Teleplay with non-verbal children

Clinician self-care (screen time is exhausting!)

CBT Strategies for Kids and Adolescents: Supporting Students with ADHD and Anxiety

Program Information

Objectives

Determine the unique characteristics and challenges that students with anxiety or ADHD have with respect to coping with the academic and social demands of the school environment;
Utilize evidence-based interventions to help the anxious or ADHD student make a positive adjustment to re-entering school subsequent to a prolonged absence due to COVID-19 quarantine.
Develop interventions for teaching executive functioning skills to children and adolescents with ADHD.

Outline

School Anxiety: Why Avoidance is not the Solution

A problem on a continuum: From early morning pleas to stay home to chronic absences
Common triggers for avoidance
4 functions of school refusal; CBT interventions designed to match each one
Therapist – parent – school cooperation

ADHD: More Than a “Behavior Problem”

7 executive functioning (EF) skills deficits underlying ADHD
Guidance for teachers and parents to teach EF skills
Interventions for motivation, time management, problem-solving, emotional self-control, and more

Build Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth in Kids & Community: Mindfulness Practices for Therapists, Educators and Families

Program Information

Objectives

Measure the impact of stress on learning, mental health and behaviour in kids.
Implement techniques to boost resilience following isolation.
Integrate playful mindfulness practices to rebuild social and emotional intelligence.

Outline

Strengthen physical, psychological and social functioning
Mindful movement and eating practices for physical health
Positive psychology techniques to boost cognitive clarity and functioning
Relational practices to set boundaries and reconnect with peers

Build resilience and post-traumatic growth
Connect with existing personal and community strengths to build resilience
Discover ways to overcome feelings of helpless and loss of control
Capitalize on new strengths and skills learned in isolation

Foster self-regulation and cultivate connection through co-regulation
Basic co-regulation exercises for therapists, educators and families
The power of rituals and routines, games and play for co-regulation
Engaging mind and body-based self-regulation skills for all ages

Ethics with Minors: An Essential Guide for Mental Health Professionals

Program Information

Objectives

Assess select ethical and legal issues unique to working with minors.
Determine how to effectively navigate codes of ethics, laws, and licensing rules when working with minors.
Utilize recommended methods for reducing risk and avoiding problems.

Outline

Navigate Challenging Situation with Minors: How to do it!

The five key perspectives and how to use them
Consultations: Two important types
Essentials of how to document your decision

Boundaries and Multiple Relationships: “Thin Ice!”

Social media & communication policies
Power differentials and why they matter
Virtual relationships
Texting and messaging
Vignette: Ashley’s Tweets: Social media hazards
Vignette: Client in a Bind: Multiple Relationships

Legal Matters: Consent, Records and Reporting

Consent vs assent
Who can provide consent and when?
Parents’ rights
Special rules for older adolescents
Informed consent process
Mandatory reporting of abuse
Vignette: Robert’s separated parents

Strategies for Avoiding Problems and Reducing Risk

Establishing your role at intake
Keep all involved on the same page
Determine if HIPAA or FERPA applies
Obtain the parenting plan before treatment
Use psychotherapy notes when appropriate
Know state laws about minors’ rights
and more!

Nutrition and Mental Health in Kids & Teens: What Every Mental Health Professional Needs to Know

Program Information

Objectives

Appraise the impact of the common foods of the Standard America Diet on mental health.
Integrate nutrition-specific questions into the initial intake/assessment.
Develop general nutritional recommendations for caregivers and families to support optimal mental health.

Outline

Nutrition Today – and What It Means for Mental Health

The Standard American Diet (SAD)
“Fake nutrition”
Sugar, sugar, sugar
Inflammation – causes and how to quiet it down
Leaky gut = leaky brain

Nutrition for Optimal Brain Function and Mood Management

Protein, fats, and pre/probiotics
Supplements 101
Guidance and resources to share with caregivers
Recommendations for common barriers to good nutrition

Navigating Youth Mental Health in Today's Educational Setting

Program Information

Objectives

Assess for achievement and determine educational placement for students.
Formulate how disruption to a child’s schedule impacts their mental health.
Apply emotion regulation interventions to increase focus and academic achievement.
Demonstrate cognitive behavioural interventions to decrease symptoms of anxiety, ADHD and depression.
Employ behavioural strategies to increase engagement with students in virtual learning settings.

Outline

Integrating student mental health into virtual and/or physical classrooms

Assessing for level of knowledge and catch up plans
The impact of routine disruption on mental health
Medication incompliance while away from the classroom
Individual interventions for students struggling the most
Connecting students and parents/caregivers with outside resources for counselling and support

Virtual and Physical Classroom Strategies

Student engagement strategies
- Tantrums and Attention Seeking
- Depression
- Anxiety
- ADHD
Assessing symptoms of mental health challenges and providing support virtually

Provider Self-care and Support

Suicide and Self-Harm in Children and Adolescents: Assessment Tools and Treatment Approaches to Help Young People Heal

Program Information

Objectives

Utilize screening and assessment tools to determine which clients or students present the highest risk for suicide.
Appraise the efficacy of utilizing a multi-systemic approach for supporting suicidal and self-harming children and adolescents.
Integrate alternative coping strategies to help self-injuring clients or students manage triggering situations without engaging in self-harm.

Outline

Suicide, Suicidality, and Non-Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI): Separate but Related
Similar concepts but with crucial differences
Why a multi-systemic approach is necessary
6 key components of treatment

Non-Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI)
Risk factors, course, and types of self-injury
What motivates someone to self-injure?
NSSI screening and assessment tools
4 factor model of NSSI
The do’s and don’ts of NSSI intervention

Suicide and Suicidality
Risk factors and important terminology
Individual and relational factors
Ideation, Plan, Intent, Means
Suicide assessment tools
Safety planning do’s and don’ts