Deepening Therapy by Shifting Away From Content and Managing Strong Emotions in Therapy

A dynamic, interactive workshop focused on how to process heavy feelings in a session. An example would be learning how to use the SIBAM processing model and increasing the “inside awareness” to facilitate resourcing and change.

CBT Refresher

Making CBT come alive without the therapist being a "teacher".

Making Sense of Clients' Struggles

This workshop focuses on theory and practice. Here, we aim to review various counselling orientations and how to apply counselling theories to make sense of why clients are struggling; and determine what is needed for growth. Many audience members report this workshop has ample application to their work with 1:1 clients, as well as with families/couples. In addition, comments from the audience speak to how much easier it is to be a therapist if one uses process rather than rely on managing content and/or being a “teacher” in a session.

Filial Play Therapy

This workshop focuses on increasing the bond between the child and their parent/guardian. The content of the workshop can be curated to your agency's preference.

Who Is Driving Your Car? A Powerful Counselling Strategy Adapted From Transactional Analysis

Learn about a practical, easy-to-understand, powerful therapeutic counselling intervention that focuses on using a metaphor of a car (drawn from transactional analysis theory). This culturally adaptable tool can be used to help clients (e.g., couples, families, individuals) gain insight into how their thoughts, feelings, and actions may be contributing to their depression, anxiety, anger, or interpersonal conflict. Examples will be used to foster deeper learning of this highly effective change tool. In addition, tips and strategies will be offered on how to use this counselling intervention in a way that engages clients.

Reducing the Spiral of Anxiety: Creative and Innovative Counselling Strategies
to Treat Anxiety

A full day will be devoted to exploring and practicing a wide and rich variety of interventions to help clients (of all ages) tolerate, manage, and reduce their anxiety symptoms. Anxiety will be conceptualized, in client-friendly terms, as having roots in poor regulation of the nervous system (e.g., in the brain the amygdala is easily hijacked promoting defense responses such as fight, flee, and freeze actions), poor tolerance of affect states, and faulty belief systems that limit insight and cognitive reflection. Since there are many contributions to what feeds chronic anxiety, it is important counsellors know a variety of interventions to reduce these symptoms. As a result, this interactive workshop will focus on interventions that address brain and nervous system regulation, affect tolerance and change of affect states, positive inner resource development, and cognitive reframing. For example, some of the interventions include, but are not limited to, expressive art therapies (e.g., therapeutic art, use of metaphors), pendulation and titration activities, the 3B wheel to promote cognitive awareness, and externalization narratives. The presentation will be suitable to help clients of all ages, but special attention will be focused on youth who suffer from anxiety. The presentation will include video clips, lectures, demonstrations, practice sessions, and an extensive handout.
Objectives:

1. Explain what is anxiety from a variety of perspectives, including how anxiety has roots in: (a) poor regulation of the nervous system (e.g., the role of the amygdala; 3F defense responses), (b) restricted window of tolerance for affect, and (c) distorted belief systems.
2. Provide a rationale for the value of using creative-based and brain-based interventions to reduce chronic symptoms of anxiety.
3. Identify interventions appropriate to reduce anxiety by promoting: (a) affect tolerance, (b) affect state change, (c) cognitive insight, and (d) grounding activities to address the ABCs of regulation.
4. Describe various protocols on how to use creative expressive interventions (e.g., art, poetry, metaphors).
5. Practice some of the interventions before trying them with clients.

Making the Most of Supervision: Strategies with Supervisees

This training is offered 1:1 in the form of coaching. However, a workshop can be created. Feel free to see the articles Dr. Dawn has written on providing competent and comprehensive supervision.

Emotional Regulation and Self-Harm Across the Lifespan (those who hurt themselves on purpose): Understanding It, Assessing It, and Treating It. Part I of II

1. Identify the range and function of the types of self-harm behavior (e.g., cutting, overeating, picking skin, taking unnecessary risks with one’s life).
2. Distinguish between a suicide threat and self-injury.
3. Explain why self-harm is used – from an emotional regulation perspective, using at least 2 different frameworks (e.g., cycle of self-injury & the 3Fs). Some of the material may be applied to gaining a deeper understanding of why people abuse substances and may hurt others on purpose.
4. Explore the rational and range of creative expressive strategies suitable for those who need help with emotional regulation – such as those who engage in self-harm - especially in the early stages of treatment.
5. Describe the 4 Cs approach when responding to disclosures from those who hurt oneself on purpose. *very valuable for parents and teachers.

Emotional Regulation and Self-Harm Across the Lifespan (those who hurt themselves on purpose): Understanding It, Assessing It, and Treating It. Part II of II

1. List the guiding principles of treatment including a bill of rights – re: self-harm.
2. Identify assessment questions, across three different domains, to understand and learn about the person’s need to hurt themselves on purpose. In addition, explain how purposeful assessment questions can help clients gain insight into their behaviour and how they can gain skills to predict and control their behaviour.
3. Describe several counselling interventions within four different counselling domains - affective, somatic, cognitive, creative, and behavioural - that are designed to help clients’:
   1. increase their emotional awareness,
   2. express themselves without having to engage in traditional “talk” therapy such as the use of props,
   3. build their tolerance for emotional & cognitive distress,
   4. gain a solid understanding how the connection between thoughts, feelings and actions, using the user-friendly, visual 3BE model by McBride.
   5. reduce the frequency and/or the intensity of their self-injuries.
4. Describe some strategies to engage parents when working with a youth who engages in self-harm behaviour.

Customized Training - Will Design A Training To Suit Your Needs

Customized Training – In active consultation with the agency (at no charge) will develop training objectives that fit your staff’s learning needs.

Deepening Therapy by Shifting Away From Content and Managing Strong Emotions in Therapy

A dynamic, interactive workshop focused on how to process heavy feelings in a session. An example would be learning how to use the SIBAM processing model and increasing the “inside awareness” to facilitate resourcing and change.

CBT Refresher

Making CBT come alive without the therapist being a "teacher".

Making Sense of Clients' Struggles

This workshop focuses on theory and practice. Here, we aim to review various counselling orientations and how to apply counselling theories to make sense of why clients are struggling; and determine what is needed for growth. Many audience members report this workshop has ample application to their work with 1:1 clients, as well as with families/couples. In addition, comments from the audience speak to how much easier it is to be a therapist if one uses process rather than rely on managing content and/or being a “teacher” in a session.

Filial Play Therapy

This workshop focuses on increasing the bond between the child and their parent/guardian. The content of the workshop can be curated to your agency's preference.

Who Is Driving Your Car? A Powerful Counselling Strategy Adapted From Transactional Analysis

Learn about a practical, easy-to-understand, powerful therapeutic counselling intervention that focuses on using a metaphor of a car (drawn from transactional analysis theory). This culturally adaptable tool can be used to help clients (e.g., couples, families, individuals) gain insight into how their thoughts, feelings, and actions may be contributing to their depression, anxiety, anger, or interpersonal conflict. Examples will be used to foster deeper learning of this highly effective change tool. In addition, tips and strategies will be offered on how to use this counselling intervention in a way that engages clients.

Reducing the Spiral of Anxiety: Creative and Innovative Counselling Strategies
to Treat Anxiety

A full day will be devoted to exploring and practicing a wide and rich variety of interventions to help clients (of all ages) tolerate, manage, and reduce their anxiety symptoms. Anxiety will be conceptualized, in client-friendly terms, as having roots in poor regulation of the nervous system (e.g., in the brain the amygdala is easily hijacked promoting defense responses such as fight, flee, and freeze actions), poor tolerance of affect states, and faulty belief systems that limit insight and cognitive reflection. Since there are many contributions to what feeds chronic anxiety, it is important counsellors know a variety of interventions to reduce these symptoms. As a result, this interactive workshop will focus on interventions that address brain and nervous system regulation, affect tolerance and change of affect states, positive inner resource development, and cognitive reframing. For example, some of the interventions include, but are not limited to, expressive art therapies (e.g., therapeutic art, use of metaphors), pendulation and titration activities, the 3B wheel to promote cognitive awareness, and externalization narratives. The presentation will be suitable to help clients of all ages, but special attention will be focused on youth who suffer from anxiety. The presentation will include video clips, lectures, demonstrations, practice sessions, and an extensive handout.
Objectives:

1. Explain what is anxiety from a variety of perspectives, including how anxiety has roots in: (a) poor regulation of the nervous system (e.g., the role of the amygdala; 3F defense responses), (b) restricted window of tolerance for affect, and (c) distorted belief systems.
2. Provide a rationale for the value of using creative-based and brain-based interventions to reduce chronic symptoms of anxiety.
3. Identify interventions appropriate to reduce anxiety by promoting: (a) affect tolerance, (b) affect state change, (c) cognitive insight, and (d) grounding activities to address the ABCs of regulation.
4. Describe various protocols on how to use creative expressive interventions (e.g., art, poetry, metaphors).
5. Practice some of the interventions before trying them with clients.

Making the Most of Supervision: Strategies with Supervisees

This training is offered 1:1 in the form of coaching. However, a workshop can be created. Feel free to see the articles Dr. Dawn has written on providing competent and comprehensive supervision.

Emotional Regulation and Self-Harm Across the Lifespan (those who hurt themselves on purpose): Understanding It, Assessing It, and Treating It. Part I of II

1. Identify the range and function of the types of self-harm behavior (e.g., cutting, overeating, picking skin, taking unnecessary risks with one’s life).
2. Distinguish between a suicide threat and self-injury.
3. Explain why self-harm is used – from an emotional regulation perspective, using at least 2 different frameworks (e.g., cycle of self-injury & the 3Fs). Some of the material may be applied to gaining a deeper understanding of why people abuse substances and may hurt others on purpose.
4. Explore the rational and range of creative expressive strategies suitable for those who need help with emotional regulation – such as those who engage in self-harm - especially in the early stages of treatment.
5. Describe the 4 Cs approach when responding to disclosures from those who hurt oneself on purpose. *very valuable for parents and teachers.

Emotional Regulation and Self-Harm Across the Lifespan (those who hurt themselves on purpose): Understanding It, Assessing It, and Treating It. Part II of II

1. List the guiding principles of treatment including a bill of rights – re: self-harm.
2. Identify assessment questions, across three different domains, to understand and learn about the person’s need to hurt themselves on purpose. In addition, explain how purposeful assessment questions can help clients gain insight into their behaviour and how they can gain skills to predict and control their behaviour.
3. Describe several counselling interventions within four different counselling domains - affective, somatic, cognitive, creative, and behavioural - that are designed to help clients’:
   1. increase their emotional awareness,
   2. express themselves without having to engage in traditional “talk” therapy such as the use of props,
   3. build their tolerance for emotional & cognitive distress,
   4. gain a solid understanding how the connection between thoughts, feelings and actions, using the user-friendly, visual 3BE model by McBride.
   5. reduce the frequency and/or the intensity of their self-injuries.
4. Describe some strategies to engage parents when working with a youth who engages in self-harm behaviour.

Customized Training - Will Design A Training To Suit Your Needs

Customized Training – In active consultation with the agency (at no charge) will develop training objectives that fit your staff’s learning needs.