Presenter Bio –
Michelle Bouchard is an Ottawa-based accountant, hailing from rural, northern Ontario. She is a Partner at Hendry Warren LLP and has a wide range of experience working with personal tax clients, entrepreneurs and owner-managed businesses in a variety of industries. She works with her clients to help them navigate the intimidating world of accounting and tax while helping them maximize their business and financial goals. She is a member of CPA Canada and CPA Ontario.

Description –
This presentation is an opportunity for therapists and mental health workers in private practice to learn the basics of small business set up, including how to manage the accounting and tax side of your practice so that you’re set up for success.

Please note: Given the uniqueness of this workshop and the focus on business rather than therapy CEC credits will not be offered for this workshop.  However, given the interest on this topic from our members we hope you can join us in learning more about the business side of your private practice.

Join via this zoom link!

Tina is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, with over eight years of practice in psychotherapy and more than twenty years working and learning in the area of psychology. She received her B.A. Honours in Psychology from Carleton University in 2004. Received her M.Ed. in School Counselling from the University of Ottawa in 2014. Tina has been working in private practice for the past eight years and has recently started her own group practice.

Women with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often live undiagnosed. This diagnosis gap happens partly because it’s a condition that was traditionally thought to affect mostly men, but also because women tend to have less obvious or socially disruptive symptoms than men. My talk will cover what to look for, case examples, and what to do if you suspect ADHD in your client.

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Tara Connolly M.A., RP, is a Transitions Specialist with over 20 years experience working with and learning from neurodiverent clients, including autistic adults and youth.  She has consulted on the use of inclusive practices to support accessibility in a variety of settings including school boards, post-secondary institutions, government agencies and healthcare settings, to build capacity in accessible practices.  She was instrumental in designing an innovative service that supports the transitions of students on the spectrum into and throughout post-secondary environments. It empowers students to leverage the tools they need for success and builds the capacity of the post-secondary community to recognize and effectively incorporate the inherent strengths of neurodivergent thinkers.

In her counseling practice, Tara supports a full neurodiversity of thinkers to thrive on their own terms and co-create meaningful transitions into and throughout adulthood. She offers training to other clinicians, educators and healthcare providers looking to increase their understanding of neurodiversity and learn more about how to work most effectively with clients on the spectrum and other neurodivergent thinkers. Tara is currently the Assistant Director, Research and Development for the READ Initiative (Research, Education, Accessibility & Design) at Carleton University.

This session will introduce the concept of neurodiversity, explore the ways neurotypical structures can create barriers within the counselling context, and highlight potential resources for counsellors who are seeking to create a more neuroinclusive practice. It will ask the question, “what does it mean to be neuroinclusive and build a practice that affirms neurodivergent experience?” This presentation is meant as an initial step, with a primary goal of catalyzing participants’ continued exploration and individual development towards an increasingly neuroinclusive counselling practice that provides meaningful support to neurodivergent clients.

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As the news about environmental degradation multiplies, and headlines keep announcing extreme weather events, coupled with scientists’ growing concern for the future of our planet, isn’t it normal to be concerned, and even very worried? This may often lead to feelings of helplessness and eco-anxiety, causing people to shut down, or become depressed. Others may tend to become very upset, and express eco-anger. What about when the ecological distress is too great or paralyzing among ourselves and/or among our clients?

For many decades, there has been a focus on the physical impacts of climate change, mainly coming from a medical perspective, but ecological loss and psycho-spiritual distress are also taking a huge emotional toll. As terms like “eco-anxiety,” “climate grief” and “pre-traumatic stress” become more common, the climate movement is starting to take emotions seriously.

This workshop will explore the psychological and spiritual impacts of climate changes among people, and will share some practical strategies for building the emotional resilience to cope with loss over the long haul.

Participants will also be introduced to different key concepts and terms on various climate emotions, their underlying mechanisms, and they will learn how to appreciate them as a normal and healthy ways to be more attuned to oneself and others, and the rhythms of nature.

The two co-facilitators will create a safe space for attendees to check in on themselves and their well-being during a period of intense exposure to the reality of climate change, and share those feelings with others.

As participants will explore ways to channel these painful eco-emotions, they will be invited to channel these various emotional responses in order to explore and transform them into creative and meaningful ways to take care of oneself, others and the planet.

Finally, the workshop is also designed to lead participants to creative actions aiming for more climate justice and peace on earth.  Since meaningful engagement comes in many forms, we will invite participants to explore how to put their unique gifts, skills, connections, interests and experiences to build more resilience in themselves, their clients, and loved ones.

Connect via this Zoom link!

Presenter bio –
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!

Description –
Many teenagers struggle with regulating their emotions due to hormonal imbalances, anxiety, depressive symptoms, peer pressure, and academic expectations. Practitioners in mental health who attend this presentation will be able to recognize the characteristics of borderline personality disorder and begin to practice applying aspects of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) to help parents support their emotionally dis-regulated teens.

Join via this zoom link!

Dr. Jacqui Synard, founder of Meaningful Change, is passionate about applying Positive Psychology to enhance the well-being of both individuals and organizations though private practice and workshops. She offers an in-depth knowledge of the positive psychology literature, as well her own Ph.D. research on resilience and other processes of well-being in the face of adversity.  A University of Ottawa M.Ed and Ph.D. graduate, her work has been published in journals such as The Journal of Positive Psychology and presented at national/international conferences. A member of the CCPA since 2008, Jacqui has been active in the CCPA community, including 10 years as a CCPA NCR Board Director as well as 2 years as Ontario Anglophone Director. Most importantly, she cherishes the friendships and the community of support in our local CCPA family and is humbled and honoured to present to the NCR Chapter.

Developed in the early 2000s and inspired by humanistic principles, positive psychology is both an “old” and a “new” field that focuses on leveraging the strengths of individuals to inform the science of well-being.  A strong empirical base of positive psychology research confirms the value of constructs such as happiness, meaning-in-life, resilience, hope, and strengths in promoting well-being. Positive psychotherapy, which applies positive psychology to clinical settings, has also been gaining traction in past decade.

While the “science” of positive psychology continues to develop, a lot remains to be learned about the “art” of applying positive psychology to counselling and psychotherapy.  This workshop combines interactive lecture on positive psychology research with experiential reflection and group discussion to collectively explore and brainstorm how positive psychology can influence clinical practice. Participants will learn and discuss strategies for applying positive psychology, ranging from initial client contact to termination.  It also identifies both the ethics and caveats of this approach. Participants will be provided with practical takeaways to inform their clinical work, including opportunities to practice with workshop peers. Examples include identifying/building upon client strengths, naming/ cultivating resilience, building positive mindsets, and leveraging positives in the environment outside of therapy — all while managing the realities of life’s challenges and practicalities.

Registration link: https://crm.ccpa-accp.ca/public/event/details/22727cb3ab95cabf04a68ed50aa02a237c517808/1

There are discount codes for NCR members, Students and NCR Board Members. Please contact the NCR Chapter at [email protected] for more information!

Monica Forst is a registered psychotherapist who has been working as a health care professional since 1991.  She is a private practitioner and is the co-founder of Choices in Action Counselling Services.  Specializing in Addictions and Childhood Trauma, Monica works with individuals, couples and groups.  Her modalities include Transactional Analysis, Schema Focused Therapy and Psychodrama.

This workshop will teach Jeffrey Youngs’s Schema Focused Therapy.  It will focus on both understanding the significance of this therapy in working with clients and will also provide practical application of it.  There will be both didactic and experiential training provided throughout the day.  Participants will learn how to apply this therapy to themselves and their clients.  They will have a clear understanding of the relevance of the model for their clients.