All Webinars

The Basic Income series is an accessible introduction into the world of basic income and what its implementation could mean for youth across what is colonially known as Canada and beyond. Our series is designed to provide accessible insights and spark discussions on this important topic.

The third webinar of this series will delve into the current context of 2SLGBTQ+ poverty and income insecurity in Canada, highlighting the ongoing and systemic economic inequities faced by this community. We will explore the potential implications of a guaranteed livable income for 2SLGBTQ+ equity and justice, blending both research and advocacy perspectives to consider a basic income’s transformative potential for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people in Canada.

Webinar Objectives: 

• Understand the current context and systemic economic inequities contributing to 2SLGBTQ+ poverty and income insecurity in Canada
• Consider the impacts of basic income broadly, and apply learnings to connect basic income and the well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ people specifically
• Explore the connections between basic income advocacy and core social work values as they relate to our professional commitments to social justice, including for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit individuals

In this webinar, facilitators will address topics such as the history of two-spirit people, naming and labels, grappling with an unwelcomed identity, significant timeline events, decades of resurgence, and an approach to decolonizing gender.

Learning Goals:

• Participants will understand the historical and social impacts on Two-Spirit people.
• Participants will be introduced perspectives on Indigenous roles, status and gender identity.
• Participants will understand the importance of revitalizing Two-Spirit spaces for the Indigenous community.

This webinar is offered in partnership with the Centre of Indigegogy. 

During the first part of the webinar, participants will learn about The Canadian Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (CANTRAC), the Canadian chapter of the International Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (INTRAC). INTRAC is a well-established academic research consortium that brings together researchers from across the world to promote collaboration, dissemination of research findings, and advocacy for youth leaving care across the world. The second part of the webinar will focus on recent statistics and descriptive data on youth transitions from care across Canada, regional disparities in post-majority supports and how Canada fares in the international context of transitions to adulthood for youth in care.

This webinar is intended to help professionals learn about and engage with:

• The International Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (INTRAC) and the Canadian Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (CANTRAC);
• The status of youth leaving care in Canada;
• Regional disparities in post-majority supports across the country; and
• How Canada fares in the international context.

Webinar Key Objectives:

This webinar is intended to help professionals learn about and engage with:

• Understanding the Canadian Youth Justice System and how it came to be what it is today;
• The overrepresentation of youth in care in the Canadian youth criminal justice system;
• Trauma impacts on youth in care and the importance of trauma-informed practice; and 
• Concrete recommendations for social work policy & practice.

Webinar Summary:

Many Canadian youth involved in the child protection system tend to end up in the criminal justice system at one point or another. Findings from a 2009 report by the BC Representative for Children and Youth paint a grim picture: youth in care in BC had a one in six chance of being detained or sentenced to custody, compared to a one in 50 chance for youth who were not in care. Referred to in the research community as “crossover youth,” their involvement of these young adults in both the child protection and criminal justice systems is often the result of ongoing trauma that goes untreated, of multiple placements, of zero-tolerance policies in group homes and of various government ministry silos that allow troubled youth to fall between the cracks. The child protection system also tends to criminalize youth who exhibit behavioural problems, which has been highlighted in multiple reports including the New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate’s 2008 reports Connecting the Dots and The Ashley Smith Report.

This webinar will provide an overview of the Canadian Youth Justice System, and delve into its overrepresentation of youth in care. A trauma-informed lens will be used to shift perspectives on youth in care being viewed as “trouble” vs. “troubled”, with a focus on the importance of trauma-informed  practice across systems. Concrete recommendations for social work policy and practice will also be presented.

In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), skills training aims to enhance clients’ capabilities in regulating emotions and navigating their relationships, and ensuring that these skills are generalized to all contexts. In this webinar, you will learn interpersonal effectiveness skills from DBT that help clients communicate effectively and engage with others in a way that maintains and strengthens their relationships and self-respect. You will learn practical social skills that can be integrated into your work with clients in individual and/or group therapy to treat a variety of interpersonal conflicts.

This is part of a webinar series covering the four categories of DBT skills including mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Attendees will be entered into a draw to win a copy of The DBT Skills Daily Journal.

In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), skills training aims to enhance clients’ capabilities in regulating emotions and navigating their relationships, and ensuring that these skills are generalized to all contexts. In this webinar, you will learn emotion regulation skills from DBT that help clients recognize, manage and express difficult emotions effectively. You will learn practical emotion regulation skills that can be integrated into your work with clients in individual and/or group therapy to treat a variety of emotional and behavioural issues.

This is part of a webinar series covering the four categories of DBT skills including mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Attendees will be entered into a draw to win a copy of The DBT Skills Daily Journal.

In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), skills training aims to enhance clients’ capabilities in regulating emotions and navigating their relationships, and ensuring that these skills are generalized to all contexts. In this webinar, you will learn distress tolerance skills from DBT that help clients embrace difficult circumstances, tolerate intense emotions and resist impulsive urges. You will learn practical skills that can be integrated into your work with clients in individual and/or group therapy to treat a variety of emotional and behavioural issues.

This is part of a webinar series covering the four categories of DBT skills including mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Attendees will be entered into a draw to win a copy of The DBT Skills Daily Journal.

The Basic Income series is an accessible introduction into the world of basic income and what its implementation could mean for youth across what is colonially known as Canada and beyond. Our series is designed to provide accessible insights and spark discussions on this important topic.

The second webinar of this series considers the transformative potential of a guaranteed basic income in supporting families and youth involved with Canada’s child welfare system. We explore how a basic income can help sever the complex relationships between intergenerational trauma, poverty, and child welfare involvement.

Learning Objectives:

● Understand the impacts of and intersections between poverty, race, and colonization on child welfare investigations
● Consider the impacts of basic income broadly, and apply learnings to connect basic income and the health and well-being of children and families
● Explore the connections between basic income advocacy and core social work values as they relate to child protection and child welfare

This webinar is offered in partnership with the Basic Income Youth Collective. 

Youth in Care Matter: Examining the experiences of youth ‘aging out’ of the Canadian Child Welfare System during the COVID-19 Pandemic  

The COVID-19 pandemic and the socio-economic upheaval associated with the pandemic have exacerbated the already precarious situation of young people exiting care. This research project aimed to examine the supports perceived by youth who 'aged out' of care as crucial to their successful transition to adulthood during the pandemic. Using a qualitative mixed methods approach, the research incorporated arts-based creative submissions from participants, accompanied by one-on-one follow-up qualitative interviews to further contextualize the creative works and inquire about expectations, needs, barriers and strengths of the participants’ transition to adulthood in a pandemic context. A total of ten youth between the ages of 18 and 22 from across the country participated in the study, with 60% identifying as female. Interview transcripts were thematically analyzed to identify common and individual themes emerging from the experiences of the participants. Nearly all youth identified having their basic needs being met as one of the major strength factors during their transition to adulthood in the pandemic context. Nearly all participants expressed they were not getting sufficient supports from their agency and the Ministry for their transition to adulthood due to restrictive eligibility criteria. Over half of participants expressed that the move to virtual and phone appointments impacted the quality and accessibility of services, and increased their sense of isolation. Recommendations focused, amongst others, on youth-centered and realistic independent living programs, better organization of pandemic strategies and transparent communication and more empathy from workers. 

This webinar is intended to help professionals learn about and engage with:

• The experiences of youth ‘aging out’ of care in a pandemic context and their artistic submissions (paintings, drawings, poetry);
• Strengths and barriers to a successful transition to adulthood; and
• Concrete recommendations for social work policy and practice.

When acute pain is not addressed in a timely and effective manner it can become chronic. Chronic pain impacts an estimated 7.6 million Canadians, and its prevalence is expected to rise to nine million by 2030. Chronic pain can reduce quality of life and cause depression, increased suicidal ideation, insomnia, impaired cognitive function, and other damaging long-term effects including fear of movement, physical deconditioning and social isolation. Improving access to pain services is one of the top priorities identified among Canadians living with pain and their families. Power over Pain Portal (PoP) is a national initiative funded by Health Canada to improve connection and access for those living with pain as well as those who treat it.   This presentation will explore the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain and introduce the PoP as a resource that can be used within a social work practice.