NCR Chapter Professional Development Events

Dr. Esau works as a Director with a not-for-profit, designing and running creative programs to serve those who have challenges with mental health, substance use and homelessness. He also runs adventure-based programs to connect people outdoors, and provide positive health outcomes. He has a doctorate in Behavioural Health and is a registered clinical counsellor.

Through this presentation, practitioners will become more aware of the benefits of spending time in nature,
both from a physical as well as a psychological lens. The presentation will explore the science and world-wide research of interacting with nature, and participants will leave with a better understand of how to incorporate nature more effectively into clinical therapy with clients.

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Kafui Sawyer is a Registered Psychotherapist and a Mental Health Consultant for Health Canada. She is a member of the Canadian Psychological Association and an advocate for mental health initiatives amongst racialized communities in Canada. Kafui is also a Clinical Supervisor for practitioners in mental health. Kafui is married with 3 teenage children. She enjoys working with families and helping people be the best they can be!

This presentation will provide an introduction to the Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) diagnosis and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) as a treatment model. Throughout this presentation, participants will come to understand the bio-social model of BPD and its connection to attachment theory and how to assess for BPD. They will learn the difference between cognitive behavioural therapy and DBT, learn how DBT intervenes and receive and introduction to numerous DBT skills.

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Pending Approval by the CCPA

Cynthia Bilodeau is a professor at the School and Counselling, Psychotherapy and Spirituality at Saint-Paul University. She is a registered psychotherapist who supervises in private practice. Cynthia’s current research interests are in the field of clinical supervision, and she is currently conducting a SSHRC funded study investigating best practices in the field of clinical supervision.

Dr. Stephanie Yamin is a licensed clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. She is currently a professor at the School and Counselling, Psychotherapy and Spirituality at Saint-Paul University and a private practitioner who supervises in private practice and researches the feedback process.

This presentation will explore various topics in the field of clinical supervision such as distinctions between training and professional supervision, providing feedback, using the alliance, promoting well-being and identifing “best practices” and important considerations. Tools will be provided grounded in research and practice.

Pending Approval by the CCPA

Mat Adams (he/him) is the Harm Reduction Programs Coordinator at MAX Ottawa, Ontario’s first standalone, by and for, guy into guy health and wellness organization. He currently runs Tea 2 Go, a harm reduction distribution program, as well as substance use related support groups geared towards guys into guys who consume substances.

Jordan Bond-Gorr (they/them) is a qualitative researcher, educator & knowledge translator, specializing in party n’ play/chemsex. Jordan currently works as the Project Assistant – Partynplay.info campaign at the Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance, having more than 5 years of working in harm reduction.

This presentation is intended to introduce the audience to the culture of queer guys sexualized substance use otherwise known as party n play/PnP/Chemsex, discuss some of the barriers that guys who PnP face when looking to access mental health supports and present a new gay sex positive and drug neutral to drug positive approach to working with guys who PnP.

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Amanda is a Registered Social Worker in Ontario and a certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist
with over 15 years of experience. Her private practice is based out of Ottawa, where she
offers psychotherapy and consulting services while specializing in supporting helping
professionals prevent and recover from stress related issues as a result of their caregiving
roles. Amanda has been featured as a speaker and trainer for over 500 professional and
conference groups. Using an experiential based delivery approach, Amanda applies wellness
concepts to “real life” work and personal situations. She teaches self-enhancing tools and
strategies that can improve collective and individual health.

Helping professionals are drawn to their work because they get a great deal of satisfaction
providing compassionate care to those they serve. Helpers know there are many rewards and
joys that come with the job, but they also become aware of the emotional and psychological
costs of caring. This is often referred to as compassion fatigue, and if you are a helper then
you’ve probably already heard the term. So how do we do this work in a compassionate way
but also protect our psychological well-being? In this workshop we begin with identifying risk
factors and warning signs of compassion fatigue and then we explore strategies to revitalize compassion
in both our personal and professional lives to protect our well-being while we continue to help others.

Bruce Tobin, Ph.D has maintained a private practice in psychotherapy for 40 years in Victoria, BC, as a Registered Clinical Counsellor and also as a Registered Psychologist in the NWT, specializing in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and emotional trauma. Dr. Tobin taught Expressive Therapies at the University of Victoria for 25 years, and was a member of the Graduate Faculty. He is the founder of TheraPsil, a non-profit humanitarian organization devoted to patient advocacy and assessment, and to professional training in psychedelic psychotherapy.

This presentation summarizes recent research using psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in treatment of anxiety, depression, addiction, PTSD and pain. It will outline clinicians’ ethical responsibility to provide psilocybin treatment under certain circumstances, and will describe patients’ Charter of Rights & Freedoms-based right to access psilocybin for medical use. Dr. Tobin recently provided Canada’s first six legal treatments using the psychedelic substance psilocybin for palliative cancer patients suffering from end-of-life distress. He will describe his patients, their treatment sessions and outcomes, and share his own clinical impressions and personal learning. There will be ample opportunity for participant questions and discussion.

Connect via this Zoom link!

Pending Approval by the CCPA

Identify how unjust systems of power contribute to suffering, patriarchal boundaries, and oppression-related trauma. Unpack and contextualize clients who originate from a culture of silence, feel silenced, and experience intrusive trauma-related thoughts about guilt, shame, and blame. Acquire a deeper understanding of how traumatic stress is somatised, affects the client’s nervous system, presents as trauma responses, and compromises their mental health. Guide clients to name emotions, discuss lived experiences and subsequently learn how they perpetuate, internalize, and heal from various forms of trauma. Cultivate a brave and compassionate space for BIPOC clients to share their traumatic experiences and beliefs about feeling oppressed, attacked, and targeted by ongoing acts of violence.

For the past twenty years, Amanda Neilson has provided counselling to people struggling with problematic substance use, and substance use disorders. In partnership with Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services and Algonquin College, Amanda developed and implemented the Umbrella Project, a harm reduction framework for post-secondary institutions. She also has the pleasure of teaching part-time at Algonquin College in the Social Service Worker program. Throughout her career, Amanda has provided training for professionals and community members as well as speaking at several different conferences such as AMHO, CCSA, CACUSS. Fourteen years after finishing her Bachelor degree in Social Work at Carleton University, Amanda completed her Masters in Social Work at the University of Victoria in 2020. She recently began a private practice providing therapy and training, specialized in problematic substance use and substance use disorders from a trauma informed lens.

Our understanding of the problem determines our solutions. When we believe that drug use is the problem, solutions revolve around stopping the use. When we believe that problematic substance use and substance use disorders are a natural and normal response to chronic stress and trauma, we focus on helping the person heal. This engaging and informative workshop focuses on expanding participants’ understanding of problematic substance use and addiction through a trauma informed lens. By including the impact of trauma in the current biopsychosocial model, participants will be able to broaden their intervention strategies and utilize a compassionate framework. Drawing from the works of Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, as well as Amanda’s 20 years of experience within the addiction field, this workshop invites participants to share and grow their knowledge to more effectively support clients with substance use issues.

Register for this event here!

Monica has been working as a health care professional for over 25 years. She is a psychotherapist and a certified practitioner of Psychodrama. She specializes in treating adults with addictions and childhood trauma. Monica does individual, couples and group therapy. Her modalities are Transactional Analysis, Schema Focused Therapy and Psychodrama.

This is an introduction to two main concepts of Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis: Ego States and The Drama Triangle (S. Karpman, 1968). Participants will learn to diagnose their own ego states as well as how to diagnose ego states in their clients, and will develop practice recognizing and intervening on states that do not belong in the present. In addition, they will learn about Stephen Karpman’s Drama Triangle, its three main roles, how to use the triangle as a tool to identify unconscious repetitive patterns that wind up in “lose-lose” situations, and how to help clients step off of the triangle.