Do you want to learn some strategies for writing clients' notes in under 5 minutes that are brief, meaningful, and ethical? Then this training is for you!

This training has been described by many as highly valuable, intense, and fast-paced. An ethics event with Dr. Dawn McBride is packed with ample information dedicated to helping you refine your session note style so you can make your notes even more ethical, useful, and efficient (ideally, written in under 5 mins.). Yes! It can be done!

Examples in the training will be focused on adult, one-to-one work with limited reference to working with couples, groups, and/or youth/parents (these are topics covered in the specialized modules–part #3 of the DPS ethical training series.).

Anyone is welcome to this training.

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

In this full, intense learning day you will learn that obtaining consent goes way beyond having a client sign a form!

This training has been influential in helping many participants update their consent forms as well as refine how they seek consent. As many participants powerfully noted on their exit feedback forms, "consent is so much more than getting a client's signature"!

In this jampacked, training, we will examine how to convey that consent is about educating your clients about their rights. In addition, we will identify many consent topics that, if conveyed to the client in a meaningful way, might prove quite valuable when navigating the complexities and dilemmas we face in the counselling world.

Examples in the training will be focused on adult, one-to-one work with limited reference to working with couples, groups, and/or youth/parents (these are topics covered in the specialized modules–part #3 of the DPS ethical training series).

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

We know it can be terrifying for counsellors to receive a subpoena. This training offers information to increase your confidence when interacting with the legal system and responding to third-party requests.

The good news is that many participants have remarked that this intense (potentially triggering) training gave them confidence to navigate the unfamiliar territory of the legal system. Further, we regularly receive feedback that this training was also useful when navigating other third-party systems such as responding to an ethical complaint or testifying at hearings (e.g., child protection).

This training has two important sections:

COURT: Dr. Dawn will share information to help counsellors make informed decisions about how they could respond to Canadian court orders and subpoenas and offer tips for counsellors testifying as a fact witness. This training is not relevant for expert witnesses.

RELEASE OF CLIENT INFORMATION - VIA THIRD PARTY REQUESTS: Dr. Dawn will offer suggestions to showcase how principles of informed consent apply to a release of information form. In addition, attention will be paid to responding to third-party requests that are not legally binding but need responses that promote collaboration and preserve your client's dignity.

The training is currently offered online as a 3-hour module with one rest break.

To attend this training you must have attended, within the last five (5) years, at Dawn McBride's (DPS) two core ethics trainings (each of which are usually offered numerous times during the year):

• 1. Ethics - #1 of 3: Writing Efficient, Useful, & Ethical Session Notes

• 2. Ethics - #2 of 3: Informed Consent - It is much more than you think!

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

This module will address your questions about the documentation of risk of harm to self or others and/or the disclosure of abuse.

Time will be devoted to an open discussion of the ethical challenges of consent and documentation when helping clients who present as high risk or disclose abuse. This is for frontline counsellors who have a general practice who have taken basic suicide assessment and prevention training.

Dawn will share her overall ethical and therapeutic stance when working with high-risk clients and a protocol to follow when there is a duty to report. She will examine actions a counsellor could take to attempt to minimize the harm to the therapeutic relationship in these circumstances.

There will be a focus on when a minor discloses abuse and the need to promote care, safety, transparency, minimize harm, and stay in our own lane of competency when handling this situation.

The training is currently offered online as a 3-hour module with one rest break.

To attend this training you must have attended, within the last five (5) years, at Dawn McBride's (DPS) two core ethics trainings (each of which are offered numerous times during the year):

• 1. Ethics - #1 of 3: Writing Efficient, Useful, & Ethical Session Notes

• 2. Ethics - #2 of 3: Informed Consent - It is much more than you think!

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

Many complex consent challenges can arise when providing counselling services to parents/guardians and their youth. This intense, jampacked training aims to answer many of your consent and documentation questions when working with families.

Some of the topics included in this module are, but not limited to, tips and strategies for gaining consent particularly when one parent/guardian is absent, the Mature Minor doctrine, and documentation and file management issues that are unique to the context of working with minors and their parents/guardians. Throughout, time will be devoted to discussing the ethical challenges that can exist when working with families.

The training is currently offered online as a 5-hour module with at least one rest break.

To attend this training you must have attended, within the last five (5) years, at Dawn McBride's (DPS) two core ethics trainings (each of which are usually offered numerous times during the year):

• 1. Ethics - #1 of 3: Writing Efficient, Useful, & Ethical Session Notes

• 2. Ethics - #2 of 3: Informed Consent - It is much more than you think!

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

This module will offer opportunities to dive more deeply into ways to refine your documentation and session notes practices to make them even more efficient, ethical and useful. There will be ample examples and practice exercises. Participants will be given Dawn's/DPS' letter template package to use in their practice. Dr. Dawn will offer her ideas of how to ethically respond to requests that require documentation of a client's suffering, such as victim impact statements; letters for insurance purposes; and client requests to forward their file to their lawyer. This module is NOT relevant for those who are in the role of completing formal assessments.

The training is currently offered online as a 3-hour module with one rest break.

To attend this training you must have attended, within the last five (5) years, at Dawn McBride's (DPS) two core ethics trainings (each of which are usually offered numerous times during the year):

• 1. Ethics - #1 of 3: Writing Efficient, Useful, & Ethical Session Notes

• 2. Ethics - #2 of 3: Informed Consent - It is much more than you think!

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

Group or couple therapy have unique–often challenging–complex issues related to consent and documentation. This training has two foci.

In the focus on couple counselling, Dr. Dawn will share a long list of recommendations designed to help counsellors navigate the many ethical dilemmas that could emerge when helping couples meet their goals for change, and she will invite an open discussion on ethical issues in couples therapy. Time will also be spent on examining documentation issues and file management.

In the focus group counselling, Dr. Dawn will discuss the unique consent and documentation issues associated with group counselling. Strategies for making the note-taking process more efficient for group therapists will be offered alongside a discussion of the various ethical issues inherent in group counselling.

The training is currently offered online as a 3-hour module with one rest break.

To attend this training you must have attended, within the last five (5) years, at Dawn McBride's (DPS) two core ethics trainings (each of which are usually offered numerous times during the year):

• 1. Ethics - #1 of 3: Writing Efficient, Useful, & Ethical Session Notes

• 2. Ethics - #2 of 3: Informed Consent - It is much more than you think!

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

While professionally fulfilling and an important part of developing future generations of therapist, supervision can be a risky service to offer due to vicarious liability. This module will outline various consent topics to address prior to engaging in a supervisor-supervisee relationship. Dawn will share how she prepares her supervisees for the supervision journey, and how she documents the supervision process. There will be open time to discuss the ethical challenges we face as supervisors.

The training is currently offered online as a 3-hour module with one rest break.

To attend this training you must have attended, within the last five (5) years, at Dawn McBride's (DPS) two core ethics trainings (each of which are offered numerous times during the year):

• 1. Ethics - #1 of 3: Writing Efficient, Useful, & Ethical Session Notes

• 2. Ethics - #2 of 3: Informed Consent - It is much more than you think!

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

These wonderfully supportive educational coaching circles are reserved for those who have taken all of Dawn's ethics trainings (#1 to #3). These are offered several times a year, and many times Dawn doesn't even charge a fee.

These small group (max. 3 to 10 participants), online educational coaching circles are informal/unstructured opportunities to discuss various ethical complexities associated with consent and documentation issues in the counselling profession.

Each educational coaching group will be different since the group unfolds organically based on the needs and interests of the participants. Any topic related to consent and documentation that frontline counsellors face are welcome–including issues associated with supervisees, group members, couples, parents/youth, adult clients, and so on. This group educational coaching opportunity is offered as a one-time event and does not imply an ongoing educational coaching relationship with Dawn/DPS.

The training is offered online as a 1 to 2-hour sessions.

To attend this training you must have completed all of Dawn's/DPS' ethics trainings (each of which are offered numerous times during the year):

• 1. Ethics - #1 of 3: Writing Efficient, Useful, & Ethical Session Notes

• 2. Ethics - #2 of 3: Informed Consent - It is much more than you think!

• 3. All of the Ethics #3 trainings (modules)

Have you ever been asked to run a group, or wanted to? Have you ever wondered why your past groups were so much work, and so little fun?

IF YES, this workshop is for you! This counselling intervention PD workshop, offered over 3 days, is filled to the brim -full of experiential, hands-on learning and is led by Dawn and another experienced trainer - such as registered psychologist Alyson Worrall.

It is a fantastic opportunity to learn and enhance group skills and discover new interventions. This training is offered by all of us sitting in a virtual, or in-person learning circle! As literature for teaching group counselling stresses the need for experiential learning, this workshop limited to 20 helping professionals to ensure ample time for discussion and processing.

The emphasis in this training will be the development and refinement of your process skills as it relates to stages of group development and attachment theory as well as some somatic experiencing trauma informed approaches.

We will show you how group process skills integrate well with various counselling approaches (e.g., CBT, DBT, NT, etc.) and group themes (e.g., family violence groups, assertiveness groups, life skill groups, disordered eating groups, etc.). It is a wonderful training.

This workshop is open to anyone who is interested in group work.

Interested in learning more on our group therapy training? Follow this link: https://www.dawn-mcbride.com/group-therapy

AN EXCITING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY - BE INSPIRED.

In this applied, action filled, virtual workshop Dr. Dawn will open her counselling toolbox to answer counsellors' questions that often arise during her session notes training. Many of the interventions she lists on her session note template will be addressed in this training.

It is day filled with interventions that you can use the very next day with your clients to help promote insight and change from affective, body sensation, cognitive, and behavioural domains, with emotional regulation, trauma-informed care, and attachment theory integrated into her work. Intervention activities may be drawn from the alphabet soup of counselling theories including, but not limited to: ACT, CBT, DBT, SE, SFT, TA. It will be an eclectic day.

Dawn will also make ample reference to how she uses props, metaphors, and other expressive activities in her work. On the day of the training, participants will be given a handout and a "shopping list' of recommended props. Opportunities to test run and/or debrief some of the interventions may be integrated into the workshop.

Although the focus will mainly be on sharing activities to use in individual therapy with clients age 13 and older, many of the activities can be adapted for groups, couples, and families.

Consult the latest schedule on the DPS website for the dates of this training.

Transactional Analysis (TA) is one of Dawn's favourite therapies to use when working with individuals, couples, and families.

It is an engaging form of therapy that offers simple visual strategies to promote insight and change. Dawn finds it an entertaining form of therapy to use with clients–in the community, schools, organizations, and in healthcare settings. It is a very culturally sensitive form of therapy.

In this training, Dawn will share how she uses/adapts TA concepts in her practice in two main areas:

1. EGO STATES USING EXPRESSIVE ARTS: TA does a fantastic job outlining how ego states are a metaphor to represent our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. From three different perspectives, Dawn will demonstrate how she adapts/explains ego states to clients using expressive arts (e.g., props, sand tray work, & metaphors). We will examine, from a *TA lens, how mental wellness and dysregulation can be documented. This work will set the stage to invite clients to become curious about the dynamics and interactions between their ego states (*based on how Dawn understands/uses TA).

2. GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: TA is well known for documenting games people play (i.e., defense strategies) in an attempt to get their needs met (e.g., such as to feel psychologically defended or safe). A core game to know is the amazing drama triangle (Karpman's triangle). Dawn will share how she presents this concept to clients. Ample time will be spent examining the three habitual, psychological roles people may take when under stress ("drama") and how these roles interact (feeding the drama) and can sabotage healthy communication. The day will conclude with a variety of strategies to teach clients how to avoid accepting invites onto the drama triangle and how to jump off the drama triangle when they become stuck on it.

Consult the latest schedule posted on the DPS website for the date(s) of this training.

As is the case with meeting anyone new, a therapist has only one chance to make a good first impression that will encourage a client to return for the second session!

Creating a first session that lays the foundation for a strong working alliance going forward is of paramount importance. This very practical workshop will focus on techniques to create an environment in the first session that will help a client feel seen and heard while also ensuring basic issues have been addressed (e.g., family violence assessment, suicide-homicide risk). This training shifts the counsellor away from the power over method of using an intake form in the first session. Goal setting (and if you want, an intake) can be done once the client feels witnessed, heard, and supported by you.

When Is This Training Offered? This training is usually offered to agencies on a private contract basis. The learning objectives are developed in consultation with the agency requesting this training.

Dawn's Schedule: Dawn will return to offering this training in 2024 on a private contract basis.

In this workshop, Dr. Dawn will provide a detailed description of what trauma is and how to assess it from a variety of perspectives. There will be numerous demonstrations, and participants will have time to practice what they are learning using non-copyright forms (i.e., no fees for use). The demonstrations and practice sessions will enhance participants' informal assessment skills. In addition, Dr. Dawn will discuss how these assessment tools can be used as interventions.

When Is This Training Offered? This training is usually offered to agencies on a private contract basis. The learning objectives are developed in consultation with the agency requesting this training.

Dawn's Schedule: Dawn will return to offering this training in 2024 on a private contract basis.

Below are four options for workshops addressing this topic. The learning objectives for each are provided.

When Is This Training Offered? This training is usually offered to agencies on a private contract basis. The learning objectives are developed in consultation with the agency requesting this training.

Dawn's Schedule: Dawn will return to offering this training in 2024 on a private contract basis.

WORKSHOP 1: Trauma-informed Care–Core Issues, Assessing Impact, and Frameworks

1.Define and explain the “3 Fs”, as they relate to the definition of trauma.

2.Describe the common symptoms and difficulties related to experiencing trauma.

3.Describe three frameworks to understand traumatic reactions (acute & chronic) and/or the impact of trauma.

4.List at least three, no-cost, self-report assessment measures to learn more about the impact of trauma on a person’s life and to measure recovery from the trauma.

5.From an organizational perspective, describe what trauma-informed care means by identifying four (4) guiding assumptions (the 4Rs) and six (6) guiding principles. In addition, provide examples of how trauma-informed care can help develop trauma-sensitive practices (e.g., schools, medical offices, counselling sites).

WORKSHOP 2: Trauma Healing -Resourcing, Emotional Regulation, & Post-traumatic Growth

1.Describe two trauma counselling frameworks (i.e., emotional regulation model drawing upon sympathetic/parasympathetic theory & the three-stage model of treatment).

2.Describe the critical importance and ethical necessity of focusing on stabilization, crisis management, and emotional regulation prior to debriefing the trauma story.

3.Describe several core counselling activities to help the client re-establish a sense of safety and positive resource states.

4.List three self-report instruments (no cost) to assess and promote post-traumatic growth.

5.Identify several issues and questions to consider when implementing a trauma-informed approach to care.

WORKSHOP 3: Resourcing Positive States & Managing Traumatic Arousal

1.Identify emerging practice standards when working with people who have experienced trauma.

2.List several qualities/characteristics that are essential for helpers to demonstrate when working with people affected by trauma, including the necessity of having a calm, regulated state when helping a traumatized client who is in a highly-activated state (e.g., highly anxious, judgemental, irritable).

3.Describe several strategies to help clients stay in, or return to, their window of tolerance when they are participating in intake sessions and debriefing their trauma experiences.

4.Describe various trauma tools to reduce traumatic arousal symptoms (e.g., body memories, nightmares, flashbacks).

5.List several strategies helpers can use to reduce and/or manage the impact of trauma exposure on themselves.

WORKSHOP 4: Specific Treatment Strategies & Issues(After Achieving Stabilization, Resourcing Positive States, & Managing Traumatic Arousal)

1.Identify several trauma healing practices when working with First Nations.

2.Identify why guided breathing practices, mindfulness exercises, and yoga can sometimes be highly activating for those who have experienced trauma, and list several strategies to reduce these risks.

3.Describe several counselling approaches/strategies to promote post-traumatic growth.

4.List several strategies teachers, parents, and/or spouses can use to help those who have been impacted by trauma.

5.Describe several counselling approaches/strategies to address and promote healing around the specific traumatic event(s).

An experiential workshop, using metaphors, discussion questions, PPT material, and creative expressive art to reduce the impact of listening to stories of pain. Sample topics include:

(a) assessing counsellor wellness

(b) discussing common symptoms for stress-related exhaustion & when it becomes too much

(c) "hemorrhaging of the self" - examining burnout (Maslach & Leiter's work)

(d) naming the demands that can put our emotional well-being at risk

(e) completing and debriefing various assessment measures

(f) reviewing self-care activities: before, during, and after shifts

(g) enhancing compassion satisfaction

(h) being emotional regulated (around staff, clients, and family)-what that means and looks like

(i) rebuilding our compassion

(j) knowing our arousal states and how these impact our work with our clients

(k) expanding our window of tolerance to stay compassionate and curious with "red" clients

(l) learning to regulate your nervous system so you are not held hostage by someone else's nervous system (Rothschild)

(m) developing an action plan to enhance and protect the "helping" spirit

When Is This Training Offered? This training is usually offered to agencies on a private contract basis. The learning objectives are developed in consultation with the agency requesting this training.

Dawn's Schedule: Dawn will return to offering this training in 2024 on a private contract basis.

EMDR is a powerful resource for working with clients who have experienced trauma. While formal training in EMDR is required before a therapist can use EMDR as an intervention, there are many techniques from EMDR that can be used by a therapist to help prepare clients for EMDR or to assist clients to return to an emotionally regulated state.

This workshop will explain what EMDR is and how differences in training (American vs Canadian training) can affect a client's experience of EMDR. It will also explain TAPPING and how this is used to strengthen a client's inner resources.

When Is This Training Offered? This training is usually offered to agencies on a private contract basis. The learning objectives are developed in consultation with the agency requesting this training.

Dawn's Schedule: Dawn will return to offering this training in 2024 on a private contract basis.