All Webinars

This webinar is PART ONE in a TWO PART series offered by the British Columbia Association of Social Workers and the Canadian Association of Social Workers. This webinar will invite audience participation and sharing. 

We encourage you to test your system to ensure a smooth viewing experience.  

This webinar will draw deeply from the wisdom of three ground breaking women: Virginia Satir, who described metaphors as her “adjunct therapists” and used them intentionally in her therapy; Dora Kunz, cofounder of Therapeutic Touch, whose metaphors are very applicable to all who seek to embody intention and compassion in their healing work, and Joan Halifax, Zen Priest, founder of Upaya Zen Retreat Center, teacher and anthropologist, who has infused her teachings on end of life care with potent metaphorical tools.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that can be applied to something to which it is not literally applicable, but may share some commonality, to broaden perspective or meaning. Metaphors can at the same time be vitally simple and yet complex -- and have the potential to be limiting or expanding. Gaining the most power and transformative outcome from using metaphors requires a very attentive focus on client’s own language, world view and images. Metaphors also need to be culturally aligned with the unique value systems, history and life experience of each client to be effective.

The first hour:

The focus of how these can be used in clinical practice will cover the beginning stage of contracting with a client, through to endings, and any times of “stuckness” at any point in our work with clients.  We will explore the potential role of metaphors in empowering clients to be creative actors in their own healing and resolution of challenges, and in lessening potential power imbalance and dependence in the therapeutic relationship.

Participants will be encouraged to share their own examples of where metaphors worked or didn’t, from their own professional experiences and to examine both the ingredients that fostered and/or limited change in these situations. Tools for recognizing and responding to critical aspects of clients’ world views will be explored along with a process of staying alert to when we might be inserting our wisdom over that of the client’s.

The second hour:

The focus will shift to our own challenges as practitioners, both in practice and in our personal lives, and how greater attention to how we language and use metaphors, both consciously and unconsciously, can help us move forward.  We will explore “unfinished business”, regrets, and what we might consider “mistakes” with a goal of using the iceberg metaphor, so prominent in Virginia Satir’s therapeutic approach, to support less self-judgement and greater transformation of these states. The value of “emptying the attic trunk” of such regrets will be stressed. 

This webinar is PART TWO in a series offered by the British Columbia Association of Social Workers and the Canadian Association of Social Workers. This webinar will invite audience participation and sharing. 

We encourage you to test your system to ensure a smooth viewing experience.  

This webinar will draw deeply from the wisdom of three ground breaking women: Virginia Satir, who described metaphors as her “adjunct therapists” and used them intentionally in her therapy; Dora Kunz, cofounder of Therapeutic Touch, whose metaphors are very applicable to all who seek to embody intention and compassion in their healing work, and Joan Halifax, Zen Priest, founder of Upaya Zen Retreat Center, teacher and anthropologist, who has infused her teachings on end of life care with potent metaphorical tools.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that can be applied to something to which it is not literally applicable, but may share some commonality, to broaden perspective or meaning. Metaphors can at the same time be vitally simple and yet complex -- and have the potential to be limiting or expanding. Gaining the most power and transformative outcome from using metaphors requires a very attentive focus on client’s own language, world view and images. Metaphors also need to be culturally aligned with the unique value systems, history and life experience of each client to be effective.

The first hour:

The focus of how these can be used in clinical practice will cover the beginning stage of contracting with a client, through to endings, and any times of “stuckness” at any point in our work with clients.  We will explore the potential role of metaphors in empowering clients to be creative actors in their own healing and resolution of challenges, and in lessening potential power imbalance and dependence in the therapeutic relationship.

Participants will be encouraged to share their own examples of where metaphors worked or didn’t, from their own professional experiences and to examine both the ingredients that fostered and/or limited change in these situations. Tools for recognizing and responding to critical aspects of clients’ world views will be explored along with a process of staying alert to when we might be inserting our wisdom over that of the client’s.

The second hour:

The focus will shift to our own challenges as practitioners, both in practice and in our personal lives, and how greater attention to how we language and use metaphors, both consciously and unconsciously, can help us move forward.  We will explore “unfinished business”, regrets, and what we might consider “mistakes” with a goal of using the iceberg metaphor, so prominent in Virginia Satir’s therapeutic approach, to support less self-judgement and greater transformation of these states. The value of “emptying the attic trunk” of such regrets will be stressed. 

If you cannot make the live event, register now to be sent a link to the On-Demand version to view at your convenience. 

We encourage you to test your system to ensure a smooth viewing experience.  

Social workers often work with people who have experienced a traumatic event or complex trauma.  This webinar will provide you with a framework for understanding how to practice trauma informed care, at any level of service. 

In this webinar, you will learn the following:

• Types of trauma, prevalence and comorbidities

• The impact of childhood trauma on adult health and behaviours

• A framework to practice trauma informed care as a social worker

• Practical strategies to practice trauma informed care

• Additional resources on trauma informed care for various populations

• Charlene has suggested, for further reading: Blaustein, M.E., & Linniburgh, K. M. (2010). Treating traumatic stress in children and adolescents: How to foster resilience through attachment, self-regulation and competency

If you cannot make the live event, register now to be sent a link to the On-Demand version to view at your convenience. 

We encourage you to test your system to ensure a smooth viewing experience.  

At Key Assets Newfoundland and Labrador, we provide family-based care to children and youth with complex needs and challenging behaviours. In this session, we will provide an overview of our model of family-based care, with a particular focus on training, support and supervision.

If you cannot make the live event, register now to be sent a link to the On-Demand version to view at your convenience. 

We encourage you to test your system to ensure a smooth viewing experience.  

Intimate partner violence is a global issue, largely impacting on women and girls – the most frequent victims of relationship-based violence. This presentation will look specifically at the issue of exposure to violence in families on the development of children and youth and implications for intervention involving caregivers.  

This session will provide an insight into how private payer benefit plans are designed and how coverage for Social Work services is determined.

This 45 minute presentation will include: 

• Private payer environmental overview
• Review of key stakeholders, industry influencers, how they interact, and how funds flow between them
• Principles of group insurance (origins, taxation and guidelines)
• Review of risk management and profit sources for insurers in Canada
• Case studies to understand why and when Social Workers are not covered by some private health plans.

The session will be followed by a 30 minute period to take audience questions. 

In this workshop, you will learn:

• The difference between compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, vicarious trauma and burnout
• How to assess your levels of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue
• Why social workers go from passion to fatigue
• Strategies you can begin using immediately to reduce and prevent compassion fatigue.

There will be ample time for audience Q&A at the conclusion of the presentation. 

This session will highlight considerations in preparation for legalized Cannabis in summer, 2018.  Societal and family norms will experience change, ranging from holding onto ‘what was’ to reaching for ‘what is’.  Social workers will have a first-hand perspective of these interactions. An overview regarding drug use culture, addiction, and adverse effects will be provided, compared to rationale for legalization and a harm reduction approach. Outcomes from other jurisdictions where Cannabis has been legalized will be discussed. Approaches to support/intervention will also be provided.    

Click here to access a time converter tool for your time zone. 

In response to your requests, Sheri has requested that we attach a PDF copy of her piece to this archived webinar. She would like you to know that “I am trying to get this piece published – so that I can share it more widely with people. As my goal is to share it and to be a part of changing our relationships with each other, I am open to people sharing my work with others – as that is the whole point of doing this work. I would be honoured if this piece were to be a conversation starter – and if it were to inform some of how we view our role as settlers in the process of decolonization and reconciliation.”

Workshop Objectives:

• To surface some historical truths of Canadian ‘settlement’ and the stories that obscure this truth
• To reflect on the complexity and immensity of colonialization efforts
• To consider the implications for the profession of social work and for each of us as social workers
• To explore everyday strategies and steps toward decolonizing and reconciling

Description: There has been much discussion as of late about the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Settlers on Turtle Island (North America) - with a particular focus on colonization, decolonization, and reconciliation. Over the past 500 or so years, under British and French then Canadian rule, and through a process of colonization, the settlers who immigrated to (what is now known as) Canada have directly and indirectly participated in the elimination and assimilation of Indigenous peoples through physical, biological, and cultural genocide. The time for decolonizing (reversing the policies, practices, and impacts of colonization) and for reconciling is long overdue.

In this workshop Sheri and Carolyn assert that, as Settlers, we need to turn our gaze inward to expose the colonial foundations of our ‘Settler Identities’. Without doing this difficult, self-reflective work there is little hope of transforming social work from a colonial project to a transformative process of reconciliation.

Learning Objectives:

• What is a Gladue report and how does the Sacred Story fit in?

• What are Gladue factors and what role do they play in an Individual’s life and in the courts?

• Discuss intergenerational trauma and systemic trauma.

• Where is Gladue now? As a professional what can I do to help my client?

First Nations, Inuit, and Metis cultures have long passed on knowledge from generation to generation through oral traditions, including storytelling. Storytelling is a traditional method used to teach about cultural beliefs, values, customs, rituals, history, practices, relationships, and ways of life. First Nations storytelling is a foundation for holistic learning, relationship building, and experiential learning.

Now story telling is brought into the westernized justice system to explain an Indigenous person’s life continuum through the Supreme Court ruling 718.2(e).

A coined phrase called a “Gladue Report.”

“Patience and trust are essential for preparing to listen to stories. Listening involves more than just using the auditory sense. Listening encompasses visualizing the characters and their actions and letting the emotions surface. Some say we should listen with three ears: two on our head and one in our heart.” (Archibald, 1997, p. 10).