Month: April 2018

Personal PD

Posted on

PD.jpg

It seems we’re always in a dance between the uneventful day, the comfortable and supposedly safe choices and the inner longing for change, newness and all the discomfort that can bring. Each day is an opportunity to make that choice. We thrive when we have a good balance of both. Consistency and the ability to just hang in, to persevere, is important, but when it becomes our only mode, we get antsy. The pull to shake things up arises. Creating balance between these two states is the ticket to a satisfying life.

Pleasure is associated with the pull to shake things up. I have spoken before about the how pleasure often involves some form of risk taking. In fact, the more I work with pleasure I see that making pleasure a significant focus for your life is a radical act. This week’s blog post speaks to this. Along with a poem from my pleasure collection. Words to inspire you to pleasure.

If you work supporting others to develop and change, whither in organizations, or in private practice, I’d like to show you how to use a pleasure lens to both ground and inspire your client’s. Pleasure is a medicine that can bring healing and resiliency. Join me Saturday, May 26th for an Unlock Pleasure professional development day.

Spring blessings, Madeline


 

REMINDER for Opportunities for Growth / Upcoming Events


Unlock Pleasure – Why We Need Pleasure to Heal and Find Wholeness – For Professionals
Saturday May 26th, 2018.
From 9:30 to 4:30 p.m.

This day workshop is an introduction to the teaching of Unlock Pleasure for professionals.  The presentation will focus on a treatment approach and skill development. In this workshop you will learn: 

  • How to use pleasure to support clients to an increased orientation to positivity and why this matters
  • Understand the relevance of using positive resources through a somatic approach
  • How pleasure can be used in application to the treatment of trauma
  • Learning how a focus on pleasure can build neuropaths ways for emotional well-being, increased relational capacity and creativity

For more information, please click here.


 

A winter sojourn to Oaxaca, Mexico?
February 17 to 24, 2018 –  Save the dates!

Join me next winter for an 8-day retreat to meet and experience the ancient healing traditions of the indigenous medicine women of Oaxaca Province, Mexico.  We’ll spend time in the mountains and then travel on to the coast in this 8-day excursion, in beautiful, diverse, Oaxaca Mexico. A consciousness altering experience, where you step outside your familiar ways, to be immersed in the elements of the land, the people, to travel back to a time to where everything is sacred. Details to follow in May.  


The World Within: Hummingbirds and the Inner Journey
Saturday, May 5 from 12 to 4 p.m.

Presented by Laurene Winkler, H.B. Mus.B.Ed, SEP, OACCPP, this workshop will be an exploration of external and internal landscapes of human experience, inviting awareness of non-conscious messages in the body that are expressed through feelings, thoughts, motivations, choices – an integrative approach for a deeper and enriched experience of being alive. Lunch included. Payment in advance is required to reserve a spot: $55. For more information and to register, please email: deb@dflak.com.


Invitation for stories
Will you share your stories about pleasure with me? You can send your stories directly to me. Or email and we can chat about any questions or concerns you may have about anonymity or the hows of writing a short offering. Don’t worry about it being polished – I can edit and send it back to you for final approval. Just get that pen to paper!


 

 

Free Online Training: PTSD

Posted on Updated on

Skills Training in Affect and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR)

Author(s):

Marylene Cloitre, PhD

Description

Learn how to provide STAIR to your patients. STAIR a promising intervention with evidence suggesting that it helps reduce PTSD symptoms, and problems in emotion regulation and social and relationship functioning.

Using STAIR will allow you to teach your patients skills in:

  • emotion regulation
  • interpersonal functioning

This online STAIR training consists of 8 modules covering several core treatment components. STAIR can be provided as a standalone therapy or as a complement to trauma-focused therapies.

Goals and Objectives

  • To become informed about the impact of trauma on emotion regulation and social (interpersonal) functioning
  • To be able to identify at least one strategy that increases emotional awareness
  • To be able to identify at least three strategies that improve emotion regulation in PTSD patients
  • To be able to formulate interpersonal schemas related to problematic social and interpersonal functioning
  • To be able to develop and test alternative interpersonal schemas with client
  • To learn at least two strategies for effective assertiveness behaviors
  • To learn at least one strategy for improving flexibility in interpersonal expectations and behaviors

Website

How Mindfulness Helps Addicts & Their Families Recover

Posted on Updated on

Free Webinar!

May 30, 2018 4-5pm PM EST

Professor, Substance Abuse Expert, Criminologist and Behavioural Scientist Geri Bemister joins MindWell-U for a one hour Q & A on how mindfulness helps addicts and their families on their journey to recovery by:

  • Teaching them how to stay in the moment without judgement, one day at a time
  • Lowering stress which is critical to a drug addict in recovery who is much more sensitive to stress (obvious benefits for the family too)
  • Hardwiring happiness so everyone can notice, savour and enjoy the happy moments which can be few and far between
  • Boosting the immune system which is compromised by stress and drug & alcohol abuse

REGISTER

Exercising the Mind for Mental Health in the Workplace

Posted on Updated on

Free Webinar!

May 8, 2018   1 to 2 pm ET

 

Lyne Moussa joins MindWell-U for a first-hand conversation on how mindfulness benefits organizations and workplace mental health.

Lyne will discuss:

  • Journey of integrating mindfulness as a mental health initiative at Coast Capital
  • Busting myth: the quest to understand by asking, reading, testing and believing: Courage and Conviction
  • Empowering an inherent human ability- recognize the change that is happening to us- unstoppable; sedentary is the new reality, so we need to be deliberate in our own salvation with both physical and mental fitness.

Overseeing all health related inquiries, issues and remedies for productive and happy employees balanced with preventive and fun health initiatives is a daily goal for Lyne Moussa, Manager Wellness, Safety and Disability. With a successful roll-out of a one-day Mental Health workshop for leaders and a 3 hour version for all staff, Lyne Moussa continues to help normalize the conversation empowering employees to lean on support and access resources sooner than later. With a BSc, in Biology, Diploma in Human Resources Management, CPHR, Diploma in Disability and Rehabilitation Management, Certificate in Leading a Mentally Healthy Workplace and Certificate in Mediation & Conflict Resolution, Lyne’s purpose is to enable self-care in others so they can realize the benefits to themselves and all those around them.

REGISTER

Webinar: Knowledge Mobilization on Youth-led Suicide Prevention

Posted on

Wed, Apr 25, 2018

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people in Canada and beyond (Kutcher & Szumilas, 2008). Many youth suicide prevention programs have been developed in response to this concerning trend, ranging in focus from school-based curriculum and awareness campaigns for all youth, to those that focus specifically on high-risk groups. Many of these programs are intended to strengthen protective factors, which are those that reduce the risk of suicide, such as social connectedness, self-esteem, ability to adapt to changing environments, and problem-solving skills, to name but a few (Suicide Prevention Resource Centre [SPRC], 2011).However, the majority of these programs to date have been developed and delivered to youth, rather than by youth (Lindquist-Grantz, 2018).

Wisdom to Action brought together youth, researchers, service providers, government officials, Elders and health care providers from coast to coast to coast in February 2018 in Vancouver to start sharing what works in youth-led suicide prevention and to consider issues related to programs and projects. This webinar will provide an overview of emergent research on youth-led suicide prevention and results from the W2A event. Participants will also learn about the work of the Embrace Life Council and We Matter.

To Register

WEED Talk

Posted on

Marijuana, Mental Health & Youth

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
100 West 5th Street Hamilton, Ontario

Level 1 Auditorium 6 :00 – 8:30 p.m.
West 5th campus

Impacts & risks of marijuana use on youth

How the landscape around marijuana is changing for youth

Medical marijuana as a therapeutic agent

RSVP at stjoes.ca/weedtalk

WEED Talk Poster

Trauma-Informed Practice with Newcomers and Refugees

Posted on

The Ontario Association of Social Workers-Hamilton and District Branch welcomes you to a one day training on engaging in practice with newcomers and refugees. Participants will learn about theories and have an opportunity to practice hands-on! This is an event that you do not want to miss! Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

When:

April 27th 2018 9 AM-4 PM

Where:

McMaster University, Burlington Campus. 4300 South Service Rd. (Between Walkers Line and Appleby Line)

Rates:

Early Bird before March 27, 2018: OASW Members $100 Non-Members $125 Students $50. After March 27, 2018: OASW Members $125 Non Members $150 Students $75.

MORE INFORMATION

Next Steps: Transitioning to Independence, a 2-day ASD conference featuring Temple Grandin

Posted on

This presentation is hosted by Leading Edge Seminars and Autism Ontario.

Fees and Registration

Thursday, May 3 and Friday, May 4, 2018
Jane Mallett Theatre (27 Front St E, Toronto)
9:00 am to 4:40 pm

Earlybird Rate
(Up to April 5, 2018)
Regular Rate
(After April 5, 2018)
$440 + HST $465 + HST

*OCC Members eligible for a discounted rate. 

You will learn:

  • How to create supports for transitioning to post-secondary education
  • How to find or create programs that will teach social skills
  • How to implement physical exercise options to support physical and mental health.
  • How to understand and support financial planning and money management for individuals with ASD
  • Options for employment opportunity for people with ASD categorized by memory strength, thinking style and non-verbal skills.
  • Options for independent living with case studies and examples

This workshop may be eligible for Continuing Education Credits/Units (CECs/CEUs) by professional organizations in Canada/Ontario serving mental health professionals. Please click here for more information.

For out of town participants- We have accommodations arranged with the Novotel – Toronto Centre. Please reserve before April 2, 2018 to take advantage of our special rate.

CLICK HERE for More Information