Fall 2023 Brochure

c onf ERE nc E DE sc R iption

The Neufeld Institute is once again joining forces with Jack Hirose Seminars to present a live threeday conference in Saskatoon on November 6-8, 2023. Our theme is Towards Flourishing Children and Youth. Although there is significant alarm these days concerning the deteriorating mental health of our children, there is still much confusion about how to reverse this disturbing trend. The ultimate answers lie in providing the conditions that are conducive to the unfolding of human potential. I am delighted to be joined by three of our most outstanding Neufeld Institute speakers – Deborah MacNamara, Tamara Strijack, and Eva de Gosztonyi. Together we will walk around the subject, using the attachment-based developmental approach to shed light on the dynamics, and based on this insight, to point to a way through. Whether a medical or mental health professional, a therapist or counselor, a teacher or school administrator, a day care provider or early childhood educator, a youth and family worker, a concerned parent or grandparent, this conference will help set the stage for turning stress around, in our children, our students, and even in ourselves. On behalf of the entire conference team, we look forward to engaging you in this timely theme.

Jack Hi RosE & a ssociat E s

Since 1998, Jack Hirose and Associates has provided quality training to more than 100,000 mental health and education professionals in Canada. Our mission is to offer effective and stimulating training opportunities that respond to the ever changing needs of general education teachers K-12, school administrators, special education teachers, instructional/educational assistants, school counselors, behavior specialists, curriculum specialists, speech-language specialists, autism specialists, school psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, nurses, early childhood educators, addiction counselors, and all other mental health professionals.

www.jaCkhirOSe.COm

We all want our children and students to thrive – to become all they were meant to be, despite the challenges they may face. But how is this to be accomplished? What conditions are required for optimal functioning? What experiences are essential to the unfolding of human potential regardless of the circumstances that may exist.

There could not be a more timely and important subject to address as the answers to flourishing are also the answers to mental health and well-being – the pressing topics of the day. And the current news is not good as the mental health of our children has been disintegrating so significantly that many experts have declared this an unprecedented crisis. In addition, learning and behaviour problems have also been increasing of late. We will be addressing this important issue from a number of different angles, with each perspective adding to the understanding necessary to make a significant difference. It only makes sense that emotional health and well-being should become our collective priority, whether it be at home, at school, or at work.

This conference is a fundraiser for the Neufeld Institute and the offspring of a collaborative effort between Jack Hirose of Jack Hirose and Associates and Dr. Gordon Neufeld of the Neufeld Institute – a worldwide charitable organization delivering developmental science to those responsible for our children. The Neufeld Institute is deeply grateful for all who have extended themselves to make this event a success.

the three-day conference will consist of twelve presentations in total, with each day consisting of a morning and an afternoon block with two options each. The format will allow for sufficient immersion into the material without becoming too overwhelmed with input. The topics have been carefully chosen for the consistency of the approaches, the insights they provide, and the practical suggestions they offer.

We hope you will be able to join us for a learning experience that couldn’t be more significant or beneficial to the children in our care.

Yours sincerely,

Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D. Clinical & Developmental Psychologist

Author: Hold On to Your Kids

Morning Session

8:30 am – 11:45 am

Break

10:30 am – 10:45 am

Choose one morning workshop per day.

1. towards flourishing c hildren: a nswering the four i rreducible n eeds of a c hild

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

2. the n euroscience of flourishing: How the Brain Works & What i t n eeds to Work

Live-Stream Option Available

- Eva de Gosztonyi, M.A.

l unch Buffet

l unch Break

11:45 am – 12:45 pm

$25 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

More information about food items available for the buffet lunches can be found on our website

3. Making Sense of attention Problems

Live-Stream Option Available

- Deborah MacNamara, Ph.D.

5. resilience & the Stress response: addressing e motional Stuckness i ncluding trauma

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

6. Making Sense of today’s feeding & e ating Problems

Live-Stream Option Available

- Deborah MacNamara, Ph.D.

l unch Buffet

$25 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

More information about food items available for the buffet lunches can be found on our website

7. the Vital role of e motional Playgrounds in flourishing: from toddlerhood to e lderhood

a fternoon Session

12:45 pm – 4:00 pm

Break 2:15 pm – 2:30 pm Choose one afternoon workshop per day.

4. n eufeld’s traffic c ircle of frustration: a revolutionary a pproach to aggression, d epression & Suicide

Live-Stream Option Available

- Tamara Strijack, M.A.

l iv E st RE am fRom Hom E

Live-Stream Option Available

- Tamara Strijack, M.A.

8. Shielding the Vulnerable: How to Protect their Hearts & Minds

Live-Stream Option Available

- Eva de Gosztonyi, M.A.

9. d isordered and troubled attachments & the current youth Mental Health c risis

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

10. towards flourishing in adolescence: Special c hallenges in Helping teens n avigate their e motional World

Live-Stream Option Available

- Tamara Strijack, M.A.

l unch Buffet

$25 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

More information about food items available for the buffet lunches can be found on our website

11. Managing Behaviour Without rewards

Live-Stream Option Available

- Eva de Gosztonyi, M.A.

12. When feelings g o Missing: Moving through e motional d efense

Live-Stream Option Available

- Deborah MacNamara, Ph.D.

This conference will be live streaming from Saskatoon, SK to online participants on November 6 – 8, 2023 from 8:30am – 4:00pm CST. Recorded footage and all course content will be available until January 6, 2024. Please allow 3 – 5 business days after the conference has ended for recorded footage to become available. Please note, in-person registration does not include access to the live stream or recorded footage. more information & live stream registration: https://webinars.jackhirose.com/product/neufeld-conf

t o Ward S Flo U r ISHI ng C HI ldren

answering the four irreducible needs of a child

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

We all want our children and students to thrive –to become all they were meant to be, despite the challenges they may face. But how is this to be accomplished? What conditions are required for optimal functioning? What experiences are essential to the unfolding of human potential? Dr. Neufeld will put the pieces together to reveal rather surprising answers to this quintessential question of human development. A consciousness of the irreducible needs of children and youth is a much-needed antidote to a society that has become outcome driven and a culture that has lost its intuitive wisdom.

Course Objectives

• updating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

• Learning the keys to emotional health and well-being

• Appreciating the role of play and playfulness in the unfolding of potential

• Learning the natural blueprint for spontaneous development W

8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

tH e n eU roSCIenCe oF FloU rISHIng

How the Brain Works & What it needs to Work

M.A.

Live-Stream Option Available

The human brain is complex and we very far from uncovering its many mysteries. Neuroscientific research is starting to get a glimmer of the complexity of its functioning. This presentation will outline the broad strokes of some of the key findings and their implications for those raising and educating children. It will then focus on what we as caring adults can do to help our children so their brains can flourish. The Neufeld paradigm provides us with the keys to understanding what our children need – faith in maturation, respect for vulnerability and defenses, the role of emotional expression, the need for play, and the all-important role of a strong child-adult attachment. These guiding principles have been used in schools in Quebec for a number of years and many easily applicable practices are now being used successfully. These include how to create strong child-adult relationships; how to protect vulnerable students and help them to stay out of trouble; ways of increasing emotional expression in the classroom, and guidelines for ensuring that essential play time is protected.

Course Objectives

• Explain the role of key areas of the brain in the developing child

• Increase child-adult attachment using strategies presented

• Describe a procedure for helping students to stay out of trouble

• Implement at least one activity for increasing emotional expression in the classroom

Mak I ng Sen S e o F attent I on p roble MS

- DEBORAH MACNAMARA , PH.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

What has happened to our kid’s attention and lack of engagement in play or learning? Can we simply blame technology or is there something else we have missed? Attention and agitation issues are increasing at alarming rates among our children and youth. Restlessness can pose challenges for learning and behaviour at home and school leaving adults overwhelmed in wondering how to make headway with a child or teen. In trying to alleviate symptoms we can unknowingly employ measures that serves to exacerbate their attention problem. There is much that can be done to help bring a child to rest by understanding the two common roots of attention problems.

Course Objectives

• understand the role of immaturity and alarm in attention problems

• Examine the role of emotional defenses in creating attention issues

• Provide strategies for making headway on attention issues based in immaturity

• Provide strategies for making headway on attention issues based in heightened and stuck alarm

n eUFeld’S traFFIC CIrCle oF

FrUS tratIon a revolutionary approach to aggression, depression & Suicide

- TAMARA STRIJACK , M.A.

Live-Stream Option Available

We all get frustrated, as this primal emotion is automatically evoked when something – anything for that matter – doesn’t work. There are several indicators that the groundswell of frustration is rising. This powerful emotion can be experienced in many ways and have a myriad of outcomes. Included in the array of emotional outcomes are compulsions regarding change, attacking impulses, suicidal impulses, aggression, and even frustration-based depression. Frustration can also result in healthy change and inner transformation. Tamara Strijack will help us walk through the traffic circle of frustration in a way that benefits all. Given the critical importance of developing a healthy relationship with frustration, we should all be ready to serve as traffic directors when needed.

Course Objectives

• understanding the underlying roots of aggression and depression

• Appreciating the key role that frustration is meant to play in our lives

• Recognizing when pivotal feelings are missing that need restoring

• Knowing the symptoms, signs and challenges when frustration gets stuck

W o RKSH o P #5 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

re SIlIenCe & tH e Stre SS re Spon Se addressing emotional Stuckness including trauma

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

New understandings reveal that there is much wisdom to the stress response. Rather than focusing on dysfunction, we should begin by appreciating how our brains are brilliantly programmed to not only summon the strength required to deal with distressing situations, but to also serve as an emotional first-aid response. The problem is not with the stress response per se, but when the stress response is not followed in a timely fashion by its partner, the resilience response. We will be much more effective in our interaction with distressed children, youth, and students if we first come alongside how their brains are trying to take care of them, and from this stance, proceed to help the stress response become unstuck.

Course Objectives

• updating an understanding of the stress response through the lenses of attachment and emotion

• The ability to differentiate between the two kinds of strength that is often associated with resilience

• An appreciation of what has to bounce back for emotional health and well-being

• An understanding of the wisdom of the stress response and how to come alongside it

W o RKSH o P #6 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Mak I ng Sen S e o F t oday’ S

Feed I ng & e at I ng p roble MS

- DEBORAH MACNAMARA , PH.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

We have never known so much about food and what our bodies need to survive yet we continue to face increasing feeding and eating issues with our kids. What has come undone and what do we need to do to get back on track? What if it wasn’t just about food, or the table, or sitting beside each other to eat? We have missed something more critical to well-being that was meant to go along with eating. This issue couldn’t be more urgent with eating issues mounting in our kids and with children eating at least one meal away from home in the care of other adults. It is no longer about what happens at home with the responsibility for feeding our kids shared among many in a food obsessed context. Based on over ten years of research, Dr. Deborah MacNamara will share her findings based on her new book, Nourished: Connection, Food, and Caring for our Kids (and everyone else we love).

Course Objectives

• understand the connection between attachment issues and feeding problems

• Deconstruct the role of emotional defense in eating challenges

• Provide a developmental and relational lens on the roots of picky eating to eating disorders

toddlerhood to elderhood

- TAMARA STRIJACK , M.A.

Live-Stream Option Available

Emotions need room to play, for their sake, for our sake, for everyone’s sake. Just as the brain has to sleep for optimal functioning, emotions need to play in order to do its work in moving us towards health and well-being. Fresh insights from developmental science reveal play as the care-taker of emotion and thus key to emotional health and well-being. What play can do for emotion is remarkable, providing safety for expression as well as acting as a sanctuary for feeling, a womb for adaptation, a hospital for healing, and a greenhouse for development. Once upon a time, the kind of play we needed was built in to our culture. u nfortunately, the wisdom of true play is becoming eclipsed today and therefore we are left to create what culture no longer provides. In this session, Tamara Strijack will guide us as we consider the emotional playgrounds that can best serve the emotional health and well-being of those in our care, as well as ourselves. It is never too late to invite emotions to come out and play, and never too early to put emotions into the hands of play.

Course Objectives

• Appreciating the role of emotion in our well-being

• Recognizing the signs and symptoms of emotional stuckness

• Awareness of what gets in the way of healthy expression

S HI eld I ng t H e V U lnerable

How to Protect their Hearts & Minds

- EvA DE GOSzTONYI, M.A.

Live-Stream Option Available

For those who spend their days interacting with the young, be it in schools, group homes, daycares and in our own homes, we sometimes forget how vulnerable they are. Developing beings are entirely dependent on the care of the more mature. Yet so many common practices we use, especially when behaviour is challenging, increase feelings of vulnerability and inadvertently lead to other unanticipated problems, including mental health issues. This session will focus on creating a better understanding of what our children need from us and on analyzing the pitfalls of some of our most commonly used interventions and interactions, including the use of praise, rewards, consequences, time outs, democratic or child-led practices, and self-regulation. The presentation will then provide alternatives to these, as well as encouraging adults to find ways to support children in the most important task of all, helping their emotions to move through.

Course Objectives

• Explain why at least three common practices increase vulnerability

• Improve their ability to increase child-adult attachment using strategies presented

dIS ordered & t ro U bled atta CHM ent S & tH e C U rrent yo U t H Mental Healt H Cr ISIS

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

The alarming rise in anxiety, depression, despair, and attention problems, begs for an explanation. The prevailing premise blames the social isolation experienced during the pandemic. When the dots are joined however, another picture emerges that reveals the attachment roots of mental health. This current mental health crisis provides us with a unique opportunity to understand the underlying dynamics, giving us a guide to better take care of our children, our students and ourselves.

Course Objectives

• Gaining insight as to the attachment and emotional roots of mental health

• Making sense of how the pandemic affected the mental health of students

• Appreciating how peer orientation predisposes to mental health problems

t o Ward S Flo U r ISHI ng I n a dole SC en C e Special challenges in

Helping teens navigate their emotional World

- TAMARA STRIJACK , M.A.

Live-Stream Option Available

Adolescence is a unique time – no longer a child, but not yet an adult. And navigating this time seems to be more difficult these days – with the impact of social media, bullying, depression, higher rates of suicide, and increasing diagnoses of disorders. Making sense of what is going on during this time can shed light on what is needed to restore emotional health. How do we make room for all that is stirred within them on this journey from childhood to adulthood and compensate for stuckness, especially when we can often feel stuck ourselves in dealing with them? How do we make it safe to process their inner world and the often-wounding world they find themselves in. In this session, we will explore the developmental changes, the emotional drives and the body’s natural defense system that is designed to protect from too much wounding, as well as the natural ways through to emotional health. And most importantly, we will look at our vital role as caring adults in our adolescents’ lives – whether coming as an educator, counsellor, parent or mentor.

Course Objectives

• Making sense of what’s going on emotionally and why

• Appreciating what adolescents still need from us

• Recognizing the signs and symptoms of an adolescent in trouble

W o RKSH o P #11 | 12:45 PM - 4:00PM

Manag I ng b e H aVI o U r

W I t H o U t r e Ward S

- EvA DE GOSzTONYI, M.A.

Live-Stream Option Available

When students have difficulty with their behaviours teachers are often advised to implement a reward system. However, developmental science and trauma research do not support these systems, warning of unwanted side-effects for children’s development. These systems are known to lose their effectiveness over time, are complicated to implement, and rarely result in long-term change. Of concern is that they can significantly affect the all-important child-adult attachment relationship, can increase anxiety even among the “well-behaved”, and can cause discouragement and a sense of shame for the student who cannot do better despite best intentions. This presentation will provide an analysis of what works and does not work, and why. Then effective alternatives to help manage behaviour in the classroom such as increasing the students’ desire to please their teacher, simple classroom alterations that can make behaving appropriately easier, and suggestions for how to respond when behaviour is challenging, will be described.

Course Objectives

• Describe at least 3 reasons why rewards systems are not advised for the optimal development of a child

• Increase child-adult attachment using strategies presented

W H en Feel I ng S g o M ISSI ng

Moving t hrough e motional d efense

- DEBORAH MACNAMARA , PH.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

We are meant to be full of emotion but sometimes there is simply too much emotion or there isn’t time for feelings. What gets in the way of feeling? We have an emotional unconsciousness that operates outside of direct awareness. This is not a mistake, but part of the brain’s sophisticated capacity to defend and inhibit emotional awareness to serve survival needs. How does the brain inhibit vulnerable emotion? How can we create the conditions for the defenses to come down? How can we become conscious of defenses operating when they are meant to blind us in the first place? Developmental science helps to provide answers to these puzzling emotional questions.

Course Objectives

• understand the role of emotional defense by integrating neuroscience, attachment science and developmental approaches

• Outline the three types of emotional defenses and their corresponding symptomology

• Distinguish between emotion and feelings, and the impact of defenses on learning and behaviour

• Provide strategies for reducing emotional defenses using a relational and developmental approach

Distinguis HED facult Y

g ordon n eufeld, PH .d.

Before he retired, Dr. Gordon Neufeld had accumulated more than 40 years of experience as a clinical psychologist with children and youth and those responsible for them. A foremost authority on child development, Dr. Neufeld continues to be an international speaker, a best-selling author (Hold On to Your Kids) and a leading interpreter of the developmental paradigm. Dr. Neufeld has a widespread reputation for making sense of complex problems and for opening doors for change. While formerly involved in university teaching and private practice, he has devoted the best part of the last two decades to creating courses for parents, teachers and helping professionals. These courses are offered primarily through the Neufeld Institute – an online educational institute and world-wide charitable organization devoted to applying developmental science to the task of raising children. Dr. Neufeld’s lifes work has been to help adults provide the conditions for children to flourish. He is a father of five and a grandfather to seven.

Biographical h ighlights

• Received his undergraduate degree from the university of Winnipeg and graduate degrees from the university of B.C. His doctorate was received in 1975 for study and research in the fields of clinical and developmental psychology. He received distinguished awards for both his academics (Governor General’s Medal) and his doctoral research (BC Psychologists Award).

• Taught highly popular courses in personality theory, developmental psychology and parent-child relationships at the university of British Columbia for almost 20 years. This broad exposure to academic theory and research provided a strong foundation for ultimately forming his own comprehensive theory of human development.

• Worked in forensic psychology for several years, specializing in the area of violent young offenders. His immersion into a culture of aggression and violence propelled his attempts to make sense of this dark dynamic from inside out and ultimately resulted in a ground-breaking theory of aggression.

• Worked as a therapist and consultant for 40 years (now retired) pioneering the parent consulting approach to the treatment of children. This approach focuses on helping parents become the answer to their children regardless of the origins of the troubling behaviour. The parent consulting approach puts parents back into the driver’s seat with regards to their children. He now trains other therapists in this treatment modality.

• Authored (with the help of his colleague Gabor Mate) the best-seller Hold On To Your Kids in 2004, published by Knopf Canada and then Random House of New York.

ta M ara Strijack, M .a.

is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who lives and works in the vancouver Island area. She is co-author (with Hannah Beach) of the book, Reclaiming our Students: Why our children are more anxious, aggressive and shut down than ever, and what we can do about it. Tamara has worked with children and adolescents in various roles over the last thirty years. She is currently the Academic Dean of the Neufeld Institute, where she develops and delivers courses on child development for parents, teachers and helping professionals. She is a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and educator of counsellors and educators in training. Tamara works primarily as a parent and educational consultant, helping put adults back in the driver’s seat in a way that facilitates growth and learning for the child. Connection, relationship and play continue to be central themes in all her roles, both personally and professionally.

d e B ora H Mac n a M ara, PH .d.

is a clinical counsellor and educator with more than 25 years’ experience working with children, youth, and adults. She is on faculty at the Neufeld Institute, operates a counselling practice, and speaks regularly about child and adolescent development to parents, child care providers, educators, and mental health professionals. She is also the author of the best-selling book Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (Or Anyone Who Acts Like One), which provides a 360-degree developmental walk around the young child, and The Sorry Plane, a children’s picture book. Her new book, Nourished: Connection, Food, and Caring for our Kids (and everyone else we love), will be released September 19, 2023. Deborah resides in vancouver, Canada with her husband and two children.

eVa de g o S ztonyi, M .a.

is a psychologist who has worked for over 45 years in schools across Canada. For 22 years she was the Coordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Behaviour Management, a support to the ten English School Boards of Quebec, helping adults in the school setting provide effective interventions for students with behavioural challenges. Since retiring she has continued to share her expertise with schools in Canada, including First Nations schools and communities, the uS, New zealand, and Singapore. The interventions that she suggests are guided by neuroscience, are trauma-informed and trauma-responsive, and they are attachment-based and developmentally friendly. These interventions have made a difference in the schools in Quebec where they have been used successfully for many years. Eva is on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute and is an authorized presenter of the Neufeld paradigm.

Tuesday - Thursday

featured SP eaker S

tH e Van C o UV er Mental H ealt H SUMMI t

A Conference Tailored for Mental Health and Education Professionals at All Levels and Any Professional that Applies Developmental and Behavioural Science to Practice

Deborah MacNamara

to P ic S for : Counselling-Focused, School-Focused & All Professionals

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model

• Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors

• Fostering Flow States, Peak Experiences & Psychological Richness

• Disarming High-Conflict Students in the Classroom

• Addressing the Emotional Roots of Anxiety & Agitation

• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

• Fostering Resilience Through the Principles of Applied Positive Psychology

• Why o ur Children’s Mental Health is Deteriorating & What Can be Done About It

• Conquering Anxiety

• CBT Strategies that Really Work with Students in the Classroom

• The Science Behind Cannabis u sage

• The “Wow” Effect: How Awe & Wonder Make us Happier, Healthier & More Connected

• Psychedelics-Assisted Psychotherapy Primer

• Fostering Well-Being

• Polyvagal Theory

• Neufeld’s Traffic Circle of Frustration

• The Roots of Resilience & Resourcefulness

• Navigating Addictions: Practical Interventions to Promote Healing & Recovery

• Trauma-Focused DBT

• Resilience & the Stress Response

• Making Sense of Resistance & o pposition in Kids

• Healing the Healer

Ph.D.

Alexia Rothman Ph.D. Gordon Neufeld Ph.D.

Caroline Buzanko Ph.D.

Eboni Webb Psy.D.

Jeff Riggenbach Ph.D.

Janina Fisher Ph.D.

Carissa Muth Psy.D.

Zachary Walsh Ph.D.

Jonah Paquette Ph.D.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

a Conference tailored for mental health and education professionals at all levels & any professional that applies Behavioural Science to practice

m ental h ealth prOfeSSiOnal S: All mental health professionals including, but not limited to Clinical Counsellors, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Hospice and Palliative Care Workers, Youth Workers, Mental Health Workers, Addiction Specialists, Marital & Family Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, vocational Rehabilitation Consultants and all other mental health professionals looking to enhance their therapeutic skills.

e duCatiOn prOfeSSiOnal S: All education professionals who work with children or youth including, but not limited to K–12 Classroom Teachers, School Counsellors, Learning Assistance/Resource Teachers, School Administrators, School Paraprofessionals including Special Education Assistants, Classroom Assistants and Childcare Workers and all other professionals who support behavioural challenges and complex learning needs.

REgiSTRATiON FEES

a Me SS age F ro M Ja C k H I ro S e

Dear Colleagues,

The past few years have changed the landscape for how we learn and attend events. zoom has been an invaluable tool for all of us, but the time has come to get back to the method that revitalizes the passion for our professions. Conferences allow for in person benefits such as, the chance to meet fellow clinicians and educators, exhibitors, on-site bookstore, group work and refreshments. We’ve removed the keynote but added even more presenters and a flexible format to create a custom learning experience of the highest calibre.

This year a total of 30 workshop sessions will be offered and will address a host of topics relevant to mental health, education, and any professional who applies behavioural science to practice. We invited 9 accomplished guest presenters who will share their knowledge and insights on a host of valuable mental health topics. Every session offered will focus on effective intervention strategies, recent advances and timely topics that will provide all professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to better serve their clients and/or students.

Attendees have the option to attend either full-day or half-day sessions that will cover a diverse and broad range of important topics. For those who prefer to learn at home we will be streaming portions of the conference online. the Vancouver m ental h ealth Summit will be held in r ichmond on n ovember 14-16, 2023. Once again we are pleased to work closely and collaborate with our co-sponsors CT v, Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic. We hope to see you at our conference which promises to be another exceptional opportunity to not only enhance one’s knowledge and competencies, but to network with our colleagues.

Sincerely,

jack hirose CEO & President

Jack Hirose and Associates

All fees are in Canadian Dollars ($CAD). Fees do not include applicable taxes (5% GST).

early bird cutoff date: October 30, 2023

REcOmmENDED AccOmmODATiON

e xecutive hotel Vancouver airport 7311 Westminster Hwy Phone: 604.278.5555

Please state you would like to book under the “Jack Hirose & Associates Seminars” block when booking your room to receive our group room rate.

Dear Fellow Conference Attendees,

On behalf of the entire team at Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic, we do hope you join us for the vancouver Mental Health Summit being held from the 14th to the 16th of November, 2023. We are once again pleased to be co-sponsoring an event with Jack Hirose & Associates, Canada’s premier psychotherapy conference organizer. The pandemic has been difficult for all of us but Jack’s hosting of this live event is a positive sign that the worst of the pandemic is solidly behind us.

We have missed the intimacy of live events but are excited to see all of the events/ conferences planned for the Fall of 2023. Jack and colleagues will also be offering plenty of virtual events with the same world-class expert lineup you have come to expect over the years. We like to think of this hybrid approach as offering the best of both worlds.

I also want to acknowledge Jack Hirose & Associates for reaching an important milestone, having trained over 100,000 mental health professionals over the past 25 years. One cannot overestimate the spinoff benefits to communities across the country in which clients and their loved ones have benefited from working with skilled practitioners..

melanie alsager, m Ba Chief Executive Officer Sunshine Coast Health Centre & Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic

Morning Session

8:30 am – 11:45 am

Break 10:30 am – 10:45 am

Choose one morning workshop per day.

1. i nternal family Systems ( if S) Model: t heory & Skills Practice ( evolution of the Model & c omposition of the Psyche)

Live-Stream Option Available

- Alexia Rothman, Ph.D.

2. Healing the fragmented Selves of trauma Survivors: a trauma- i nformed a pproach

Live-Stream Option Available

- Janina Fisher, Ph.D.

3. f ostering f low States, Peak e xperiences & Psychological r ichness: a n ew Paradigm?

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jonah Paquette, Psy.D.

4. d isarming High- c onflict Students in the c lassroom

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

5. a ddressing the e motional r oots of a nxiety & agitation: a n a ttachmentBased d evelopmental a pproach

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

l unch Break

11:45 am – 12:45 pm

l unch Buffet - $30.75 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

l ive Music - “Platform 2 and 3/4”

6. (continuation ) i ntroduction to the i nternal family Systems ( if S) Model: t heory & Skills Practice, (c ase c onceptualization in if S)

Live-Stream Option Available

- Alexia Rothman, Ph.D.

7. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Somatic i nterventions in the treatment of trauma

11. (continuation ) i ntroduction to the i nternal family Systems ( if S) Model: t heory & Skills Practice (Meditative Processes, Working with Protective Parts)

Live-Stream Option Available

- Alexia Rothman, Ph.D.

12. c onquering a nxiety: c oncrete Strategies for Helping your a nxious c lients/Students

Live-Stream Option Available

- Caroline Buzanko, Ph.D., R. Psych

13. c B t Strategies that r eally Work with Students in the c lassroom

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

14. t he Science Behind c annabis u sage: What Professionals n eed to k now

Live-Stream Option Available

- z achary Walsh, Ph.D.

15. t he “Wow” e ffect: How awe & Wonder Make u s Happier, Healthier & More c onnected

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jonah Paquette, Psy.D.

l unch Buffet - $30.75 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

l ive Music - “Platform 2 and 3/4”

16. (continuation ) i ntroduction to the i nternal family Systems ( if S) Model: t heory & Skills Practice (Healing the traumatic Wound)

Live-Stream Option Available

- Alexia Rothman, Ph.D.

a fternoon Session

12:45 pm – 4:00 pm Break 2:15 pm – 2:30 pm

Choose one afternoon workshop per day.

Live-Stream Option Available

- Janina Fisher, Ph.D.

8. f ostering r esilience t hrough the Principles of a pplied Positive Psychology

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jonah Paquette, Psy.D.

9. d isarming High- c onflict Students in the c lassroom ( re P eat S e SS ion )

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

10. Why o ur c hildren’s Mental Health is d eteriorating & What c an be d one a bout i t

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

ExH ibiTORS WELcOm E

We are pleased to offer sponsorship opportunities to businesses and organizations that provide services related to nursing, psychotherapy, addictions treatment, counselling, marriage & family therapy, psychology and other related fields. To inquire please contact us by email: admin@jackhirose.com

17. (continuation) conquering a nxiety: concrete Strategies for Helping your a nxious c lients

Live-Stream Option Available

- Caroline Buzanko, Ph.D., R. Psych

18. c B t Strategies that r eally Work with Students in the c lassroom ( re P eat S e SS ion )

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

19. Psychedelics- a ssisted Psychotherapy Primer: r isks, Benefits & Misconceptions

Live-Stream Option Available

- z achary Walsh, Ph.D.

20. f ostering Well-Being: a Strength-Based a pproach to c hange

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jonah Paquette, Psy.D.

21. Polyvagal t heory: Healing t hrough c ompassionate c onnection

Live-Stream Option Available

- Alexia Rothman, Ph.D.

22. n eufeld’s traffic c ircle of frustration: a r evolutionary a pproach to a ggression, d epression & Suicide

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

23. t he r oots of r esilience & r esourcefulness

Live-Stream Option Available

- Deborah MacNamara, Ph.D.

24. n avigating a ddictions: Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

Live-Stream Option Available

- Carissa Muth, Psy.D., CCC, R.Psych

25. trauma- f ocused d B t

- Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

l unch Buffet - $30.75 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

26. (continuation ) Polyvagal t heory: Healing t hrough c ompassionate c onnection

Live-Stream Option Available

- Alexia Rothman, Ph.D.

27. resilience & the Stress response: addressing e motional Stuckness & trauma

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

28. Making Sense of r esistance & o pposition in k ids

Live-Stream Option Available

- Deborah MacNamara, Ph.D.

29. (continuation ) n avigating a ddictions: Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

Live-Stream Option Available

- Carissa Muth, Psy.D., CCC, R.Psych

30. Healing the Healer

- Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

LivE STREAm FROm H Om E

This conference will be live streaming from Richmond, BC to online participants on November 14-16, 2023 from 8:30am – 4:00pm PT

Recorded footage and all course content will be available until January 6, 2024. Please allow 3 – 5 business days after the conference has ended for recorded footage to become available. Please note, in-person registration does not include access to the live stream or recorded footage.

Internal Fa MI ly Sy S te MS

(IFS) Model

t heory & Skills Practice ( evolution of the Model & c omposition of the Psyche)

- ALExIA ROTHMAN , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

After decades of clinical innovation and recent scientific research, the empirically validated Internal Family Systems (IFS) model has been shown to be effective at improving clients’ general functioning and well-being. This effective model provides clinicians with procedures for helping clients with the most challenging mental health profiles to heal the wounded, burdened, and traumatized parts of their systems. The IFS model provides a compassionate, respectful, non-pathologizing approach to understanding the organization and functioning of the human psyche. IFS embraces and celebrates the natural multiplicity of the mind. Its assumption that every part of the internal system has good intention and valuable resources allows clinicians to approach even the most troubling of “symptoms” with curiosity and respect.

Heal I ng t H e Frag M ented

SelV e S o F t ra UM a S U r VIV or S a trauma- i nformed a pproach

- JANINA FISHER , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Self-rejection is a survival strategy that maintains children’s attachment to abusive attachment figures by disowning themselves as “bad” or “unlovable.” This deeply painful failure of self-acceptance is adaptive in an unsafe world but results in lifelong shame and self-loathing, difficulty self-soothing, identity confusion, and complications in relationships with others. To overcome this alienation from self, the Fragmented Selves approach (Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment or TIST) focuses on cultivating mindful awareness of clients’ disowned selves and disowned experience. As individuals learn to relate to their overwhelming emotions and impulsive behavior as evidence of trauma-related parts, they develop increased ability to observe rather than react and to tolerate distressing affects rather than acting out.

- JONAH PAQuETTE, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

While many approaches to wellbeing emphasize contentment and pleasant emotional states, recent research has shed light on how peak experiences, flow states, and psychologically rich experiences offer a new paradigm for understanding psychological well-being and fulfillment. In this workshop, attendees will learn strategies to help clients achieve more flow experiences in their lives, and how to enhance experiences of psychological richness in order to combat stress, find meaning, and increase overall wellbeing and happiness.

W o RKSH o P #4 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

dIS ar MI ng H I g H -Con F l IC t

St U dent S I n t H e Cla SS roo M

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

Difficult people are everywhere. And sometimes it seems like this is especially true in our school systems. They are our fellow educators, our administrators, and certainly our students. Sometimes they are even in our families! But they don’t have to push our buttons. Whether you are having difficulty managing the classroom in general, dealing with a particular challenging student, interacting with a fellow teacher, or dealing with an administrator – There are patterns to human behavior. And once we understand where someone is coming from we can equip ourselves with specialized tools to speak their language and deal with them in more effective ways.

W o RKSH o P #5 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM a ddre SSI ng t H e eM ot I onal r oot S o F a nx I ety & ag I tat I on an attachment-Based developmental approach

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

There is currently an epidemic of anxiety and agitation affecting children and teens which can take many forms including attention problems, clinginess, eating problems, obsessions, compulsions, phobias, panic, sleep issues, physical illnesses, as well as a host of other perplexing behaviours. Today’s world can create many challenges for children and youth with school pressures, peer interactions, family dynamics, negative self-image, perfectionism, and many other stressors that can impede a child’s ability to learn and mature. Whether it’s

the natural, episodic worries or more profound and crippling versions of anxiety, Dr. Neufeld will help make sense of the roots of anxiety and agitation and suggest ways in which we can help bring the anxious and agitated to rest.

W o RKSH o P #6 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Introd UC t I on to t H e Internal Fa MI ly Sy S te MS (IFS) Model (Cont I n U at I on ) t heory & Skills Practice, (c ase c onceptualization in if S)

- ALExIA ROTHMAN , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

This workshop continues over 2 days. This is a continuation of the morning session (Nov 14).

IFS offers therapists a powerful and effective set of tools for empowering clients with a wide range of clinical profiles to work effectively with their wounded parts, resulting in:

• A way to enter clients’ inner ecology without an overemphasis on containment and stabilization

• Symptom reduction, increased internal harmony and improved functioning for clients

• Deep self-healing within even the most troubled clients

Through instruction, video demonstration, experiential exercises and skills practice, Alexia D. Rothman, Ph.D., Certified IFS therapist and consultant and colleague of Dr. Richard Schwartz (founder of IFS) will show you step-by-step how to apply the most effective, empirically validated IFS interventions to help your clients connect with and understand their conflicting parts to facilitate deep, lasting healing.

Sen S or IM otor p S yCH ot H erapy

Somatic i nterventions in the treatment of trauma

- JANINA FISHER , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

In surviving trauma, individuals are left with a host of easily reactivated physiological responses and an inadequate memory record. u ncertain about what happened, they interpret the somatic activation as data about “me:” “I am still not safe,” “I am worthless and unlovable.” Divorced from the events that caused them, overwhelming emotions and sensations, intrusive images and memories, chronic expectations of danger, self-destructive impulses, and numbing and disconnection communicate physiologically that the client is still in danger, that ‘it’ is still not over. This presentation will review recent neuroscience research that explains how traumatic experience becomes encoded in both mind and body, extending traumatic responses far beyond the original events.

- JONAH PAQuETTE, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Whether it’s a job loss, a breakup, a pandemic, or anything else that life throws our way, we can emerge stronger by harnessing skills like self-compassion, awe, gratitude, savoring, and more. In fact, research on positive psychological principles has shown that these skills can play an important role not only in supporting our well-being during good times, but also in helping to cultivate resilience following life’s challenges. In this workshop, you’ll explore how to apply principles from applied positive psychology with your clients to help reduce suffering and foster greater fulfillment, meaning, and well-being in their lives.

day 2

WEDNESDAY, NOv 15, 2023

Introd UC t I on to t H e Internal Fa MI ly Sy S te MS (IFS) Model (Cont I n U at I on ) t heory & Skills

Practice, (Meditative Processes, Working with Protective Parts)

- ALExIA ROTHMAN , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

This workshop continues over 2 days. This is a continuation of day one (Nov 14).

Course Objectives

IFS Step-by-Step

• Step 1: u sing Meditative Processes to Identify and Connect with a Target Part

- Differentiate the person from the symptom

- Access a state of compassion and curiosity essential for healing

- Establish a relationship with the target part

• Step 2: Working with Protective Parts

- Establish a trusting and appreciative relationship with proactive and reactive protectors

- Facilitate internal attachment work

- Learn the history and benevolent intention behind the symptom/behavior

- Learn and address the fears/concerns of protective parts

- Gain permission to proceed to healing

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

The good news is we don’t have to allow them to drain our energy and rob us of the joy that drew most of us to the field of education in the first place! This fun, informative workshop not only targets those high conflict students, but also provides strategies to help students reach their full potential. Leave this highly engaging seminar with international personality expert Dr. Jeff Riggenbach feeling empowered to disarm even the most challenging people in your school before they get the best of you.

Conq U er I ng a nx I ety

c oncrete Strategies for Helping your a nxious c lients/Students

- CAROLINE BuzANKO, PH .D., R. PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

Despite all the resources and training programs out there, in our post-pandemic world, anxiety is more pervasive than ever before, and people are finding it harder and harder to cope. u nfortunately, when they seek support, many anxious clients/students do not receive the right kind of help and some professionals even make anxiety worse. In this workshop, you will discover evidencebased interventions and practical strategies to boost anxious client’s/student’s internal locus of control and master anxiety. Designed specifically for mental and education professionals, this workshop goes beyond the basics and offers specialized knowledge and skills to optimize outcomes with anxious clients/students. u sing a transdiagnostic approach, you’ll leave with a toolbox filled with concrete strategies that you can use immediately, no matter the nature or severity of your clients’/students’ anxiety.

W o RKSH o P #13 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

C bt Strateg I e S t H at r eally

Work WI t H St U dent S I n t H e

Cla SS roo M

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

Cognitive – Behavioural Therapy is considered the “gold standard” therapeutic approach for many psychological conditions most commonly seen in school-based

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

The alarming rise in anxiety, depression, despair, and attention problems, begs for an explanation. The prevailing premise blames the social isolation experienced during the pandemic. When the dots are joined however, another picture emerges that reveals the attachment roots of mental health. This current mental health crisis provides us with a unique opportunity to understand the underlying dynamics, giving us a guide to better take care of our children, our students and ourselves.

settings with children and adolescents. Despite it’s strong evidence base, many school counsellors and educators have gone a more “integrative” route and surprisingly few have developed the advanced expertise needed to deliver the effective CBT strategies on a regular basis to students that often remain “stuck.” If this describes you, don’t miss this opportunity! Join international CBT trainer and expert Dr. Jeff Riggenbach, for this breakthrough course that will help you hone your skills, equip yourself to confidently deal with even your most challenging cases, and reignite your passion to the work you once loved.

C e b e HI nd Cannab IS

U S age What Professionals n eed to k now - zACHARY WALSH , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Cannabis is already part of the lives of many Canadians, and all health professionals and educators work with people who use cannabis or are cannabis-curious.

Spend a day learning: What is THC? CBD ? Sativa? Indica? The many combinations? What’s recreational? What’s medical? Methods of delivery? When is it a problem? What’s for sale at the dispensary, the clinic or on the street? What are the questions to ask clients? What are the risks and benefits for anxiety, depression, trauma & psychosis?… and a lot more.

understanding the new cannabis landscape will help you to successfully engage with clients and students; to know how to question and explore cannabis use. This workshop will help you into leading edge research and lots of information you never learned in school.

zach Walsh is a Canadian psychologist and a leader in the field of cannabis and mental health.

W o RKSH o P #11 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

W o RKSH o P #12 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

tH e “Wo W ” eFF e C t

How awe & Wonder Make u s Happier, Healthier & More c onnected

- JONAH PAQuETTE, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

What do you feel when you gaze up at the Milky Way, see a beautiful rainbow, or stand before a mountain that seems impossibly high? This feeling – often complete with goosebumps and a shiver down our spine – is known as awe. And as it turns out, this under appreciated and often misunderstood emotion holds an important key to a happy, meaningful, and healthy life. This interactive workshop will explore the exciting new science of awe, and how the moments that make us go “wow!” impact our immune system, brain functioning, social connection, physical health, stress levels, and much more.

Course Objectives

• Describe and define the experience of awe in concrete terms

• Explain the effect of awe on social relationships and connection

• Describe the link between awe and compassion

W o RKSH o P #16 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Introd UC t I on to t H e Internal

Fa MI ly Sy S te MS (IFS) Model (Cont I n U at I on ) t heory & Skills

Practice, (Healing the traumatic Wound)

- ALExIA ROTHMAN , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

This workshop continues over 2 days. This is a continuation of day one (Nov 14).

Course Objectives

IFS Step-by-Step

• Step 3: Healing the Traumatic Wound

Develop a compassionate, connected relationship with the wounded part

Witness the pain rather than reexperience it: Learn to be “with”, not “in”, to avoid re-traumatization

Retrieve the wounded part from “trauma time”

- Release/unburden thoughts, feelings, and beliefs

- Integrate change into the system: the post-healing process

• Bringing IFS Concepts to Life

- “Working mediations” to allow participants to experience connection with parts of their own internal systems

- Experiential exercises to practice application of IFS techniques

- v ideo demonstration of IFS therapy with a real client

Conq U er I ng a nx I ety (Cont I n U at I on ) c oncrete Strategies for Helping your a nxious c lients/Students

- CAROLINE BuzANKO, PH .D., R. PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

This is a continuation of the morning session.

Course Objectives

• Confidently explain the nature of anxiety in-depth, along with the neural pathways to anxiety and how this information informs treatment.

• Identify environmental factors that may contribute to anxiety.

• Develop a case formulation and intervention map based on the client’s/student’s triggers and anxiety-provoking situations.

• Explain the key components of evidencebased interventions for anxiety.

• Apply practical strategies to help clients/ students manage anxiety effectively.

• Successfully help clients/students to face, and change their relationship with, fear.

• use exposure therapy confidently in meaningful, successful ways.

- zACHARY WALSH , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has been described as the most important new development in mental health treatment in the last 50 years. The past decade has witnessed and incredible resurgence in interest in the potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to address diverse mental health concerns and several psychedelic medicines are nearing approval as prescription medications. This workshop will get you up to date on this emerging therapy. Spend a day learning: What is the history of these ancient medicines and how have they been used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas? What are the similarities and differences among psilocybin, magic mushrooms, ayahuasca, DMT, LSD, MDMA, ecstasy, and ketamine? What does psychedelic psychotherapy look like? What is the legal status of these medicines? When and how can health care professionals get involved in using these medicines for addressing mental health and what might change over the next decade? What does the research tell us about clinical efficacy? What is microdosing? What are the risks and benefits for anxiety, depression, trauma & addiction?… and a lot more. understanding the new psychedelic landscape will help you to successfully engage with clients and students; to know how to explore psychedelic use and interest. This workshop will help you into leading edge research and lots of information you never learned in school.

W o RKSH o P #20 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Fo S ter I ng Well- b e I ng

Course Objectives

• Apply evidence-based CBT techniques to multiple symptom sets.

• Illustrate methods for conducting CBT psychoeducation to elicit “buy in” from most difficult students.

• Detect, challenge and modify dysfunctional self-talk, thoughts and core beliefs.

• Implement rapport-building tips and tools to improve client relationships.

• Summarize the role of early maladaptive schemas in maintaining chronic conditions.

• utilize schema-based strategies for breaking lifelong destructive behavioural cycles.

• Summarize eight motivations for parasuicidal behaviours and how to effectively intervene for each motivation.

a Strength-Based a pproach to c hange - JONAH PAQuETTE, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

While most mental health approaches focus on addressing deficits and treating psychopathology, recent research has begun to shed light on the core principles for well-being, and how we can harness these skills towards lasting positive change. Combining neuroscience and positive psychology, participants in this workshop will learn about some of the key brain systems linked to well-being, and how to strengthen these through positive self-directed neuroplasticity. In addition, we will explore how specific skills such as compassion, gratitude, savouring, and self-compassion can improve our physical health, social connections, and overall functioning. We’ll also explore some of the common myths related to happiness, and discuss factors that help explain why happiness can feel so hard to come by.

W o RKSH o P #21 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

p oly Vagal tH eory

Healing t hrough c ompassionate c onnection

- ALExIA ROTHMAN , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Despite the diversity of content that brings clients to therapy, difficulty regulating their emotional experience is at the heart of their struggles. Clients can feel hijacked by extreme emotional states, uncomfortable in their own skin, or think or behave in ways they wish they wouldn’t. Polyvagal Theory (Pv T) helps us understand what is happening on a biological level when our clients are emotionally dysregulated or stuck in adaptive survival states, such as fight, flight, freeze, or numb.

Course Objectives

• Identify the basic principles of Polyvagal Theory and how Pv T can inform and enhance application of any psychotherapeutic modality.

• Discuss how understanding Polyvagal Theory can help therapists implement IFS more safely and effectively, especially in the systems of clients with complex trauma.

W o RKSH o P #22 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

n e UF eld’ S t ra FFIC C I r C le o F

Fr US trat I on a revolutionary a pproach to aggression, depression & Suicide

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

We all get frustrated, as this primal emotion is automatically evoked when something – anything for that matter – doesn’t work. There are several indicators that the groundswell of frustration is rising. This powerful emotion can be experienced in many ways and have a myriad of outcomes. Included in the array of emotional outcomes are compulsions regarding change, attacking impulses, suicidal impulses, aggression, and even frustration-based depression. Frustration can also result in healthy change and inner transformation. Dr. Neufeld will help us walk through the traffic circle of frustration in a way that benefits all. Given the critical importance of developing a healthy relationship with frustration, we should all be ready to serve as traffic directors when needed.

Course Objectives

• understanding the underlying roots of aggression and depression

• Appreciating the key role that frustration is meant to play in our lives

- DEBORAH MACNAMARA , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

One of the most challenging and crucial questions of our time is why some bounce back from adversity, seemingly unscathed, while others fall apart and become emotionally distraught and dysfunctional. What has become apparent is that it is not what happens to us – good or bad – that explains how we are ultimately affected, but rather something about ourselves that sets the stage for the story that unfolds. But what is this something? Do some have this prerequisite ‘something’ and others not? Or does everyone possess this ‘something’ but it somehow needs to be activated for the potential to be realized?

The pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together and the answer is in this remarkable human attribute called ‘resilience’ or the ability to bounce back. Resilience is the ultimate good news story – that stress in itself is not the enemy and that we need not be brought down by the circumstances in our lives. After years of mistaken focus on the stress part of the equation, the focus is now on uncovering the keys that can unlock the amazing human potential to grow through adversity, to thrive under duress, and to bounce back from trauma. Resilience is probably the most important topic of our time. It holds the answers to emotional health and well-being, to mental illness, to healing and recovery, to prevention, to addiction, and much more. Resilience is not only the best overall prevention but also the best focus for intervention. Resilience should be everyone’s concern, not only the medical and helping professionals, but also educators, parents, and society at large. Resilience is about ourselves and those we are responsible for.

n aVI gat I ng a dd IC t I on S Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

- CARISSA MuTH , PSY.D., CCC, R.PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

The field of addictions is muddled with a myriad of theories and treatments, yet little progress has been made over time to improve relapse rates. Given the repetitive and persistent nature of addictions, mental health professions addressing such concerns are at increased risk for compassion fatigue and burnout. In order to reduce this risk on treatment providers, the workshop will focus on empowering workers by providing techniques to effectively address a variety of client presentations. Often default recommendations of attending inpatient care are provided to clients as professionals lack

the tools to know how they can make positive impacts on a clients care at various stages of the recovery journey.

In this workshop, you will also be provided with tools to understand the complexity involved in the development of substance use disorder and thus be able to make effective treatment recommendations. Attendees will leave the workshop equipped with practical techniques for treating those struggling with addictions including basics of assessments, working with families, and providing post-treatment care. Additionally, various intervention methods will be overviewed including CBT and narrative therapy in order to provide the client with techniques to implement with a variety of client presentations.

Course Objectives

• Develop an understanding of the impact of historical perspectives of addictions and how they continue to influence treatment decisions and stigmatization.

• Formulate treatment plans based on a robust understand of various components contributing to the development of the disorder.

Working with emotionally dysregulated and traumatized clients/students in your practice can be overwhelming and exhausting. You probably feel the pull of being the “savior” for their constant state of dysregulation. Learn how to develop the skills needed to be more effective in treatment, avoid burnout and achieve positive outcomes through developing an integrative lens to treat trauma and attachment more effectively across the lifespan through integrating Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy techniques and interventions. Dr. Webb will give you the training you need through case stories, neuroscience research, and experiential activities. Learn to work together with clients/ students and all relevant support systems to increase compassion through seeing the function of their behaviors through the lens of trauma, reestablish structure, and create a validating environment. Leave with the knowledge and skills to confidently teach clients/students and all critical care providers how to implement a safe structure that enables clients/students to learn and master these skills throughout all the pertinent areas of their lives.

Attend this workshop and you will discover how critical complex interventions are for the complexity of treating trauma and attachment disorders. Join Dr. Eboni Webb, former advisor to the Dialectical Behavior Therapy National Certification and Accreditation Association, and Advanced Certified Practitioner of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and take home evidence-based strategies from both modalities to use with clients who come from hard places.

W o RKSH o P #25 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

- EBONI WEBB , PSY.D., HSP

W o RKSH o P #26 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

p oly Vagal tH eory (Cont I n U at I on )

Healing t hrough c ompassionate c onnection

- ALExIA ROTHMAN , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Despite the diversity of content that brings clients to therapy, difficulty regulating their emotional experience is at the heart of their struggles. Clients can feel hijacked by extreme emotional states, uncomfortable in their own skin, or think or behave in ways they wish they wouldn’t. Polyvagal Theory (Pv T) helps us understand what is happening on a biological level when our clients are emotionally dysregulated or stuck in adaptive survival states, such as fight, flight, freeze, or numb.

Course Objectives

• Identify the basic principles of Polyvagal Theory and how Pv T can inform and enhance application of any psychotherapeutic modality.

• Discuss how understanding Polyvagal Theory can help therapists implement IFS more safely and effectively, especially in the systems of clients with complex trauma.

W o RKSH o P #27 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

r e SI l I en C e & t H e Stre SS

r e S pon S e

a ddressing e motional Stuckness & trauma

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

New understandings reveal that there is much wisdom to the stress response. Rather than focusing on dysfunction, we should begin by appreciating how our brains are brilliantly programmed to not only summon the strength required to deal with distressing situations, but to also serve as an emotional first-aid response. The problem is not with the stress response per se, but when the stress response is not followed in a timely fashion by its partner, the resilience response. We will be much more effective in our interaction with distressed children, youth and students if we first come alongside how their brains are trying to take care of them, and from this stance, proceed to help the stress response become unstuck.

Course Objectives

• updating an understanding of the stress response through the lenses of attachment and emotion

• The ability to differentiate between the two kinds of strength that is often associated with resilience

• An appreciation of what has to bounce back for emotional health and well-being

• An understanding of the wisdom of the stress response and how to come alongside it

Mak I ng Sen S e o F r e SIS

- DEBORAH MACNAMARA , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Counterwill is a name for the instinctive reaction of a child to resist being controlled. This resistance can take many forms: opposition, negativism, laziness, noncompliance, disrespect, lack of motivation, belligerence, incorrigibility and even antisocial attitudes and actions. It can also express itself in resistance to learning. Despite the multitude of manifestations, the underlying dynamic is deceptively simple – a defensive reaction to perceived control or coercion. Counterwill is undoubtedly the most misunderstood and misinterpreted dynamic in adult-child relations. The simplicity of the dynamic is in sharp contrast to the trouble it creates – for parents, for teachers, and for anyone dealing with children. It creates a perplexing dilemma in that what is most demanded or expected from a child can become the least likely to be realized. understanding the role of counterwill in the development process is the key to knowing how to handle it. A three-pronged approach to safely defusing counterwill and to handling the resistant child or adolescent will be discussed.

Course Objectives

• The many faces of counterwill

• The meaning of counterwill

• How to differentiate between counterwill that is healthy and counterwill that is a sign of something amiss

• A three-pronged approach to dealing with counterwill

• Why praise and reward can backfire in some children

• Why counterwill is normal in toddlers and preschoolers

• Why pervasive counterwill is a sign of attachment problems

• The importance of not taking counterwill personally

• How to prevent and defuse counterwill in children

W o RKSH o P #29 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

n aVI gat I ng a dd IC t I on S

(Cont I n U at I on )

Practical i nterventions to Promote

Healing & r ecovery

- CARISSA MuTH , PSY.D., CCC, R.PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

The field of addictions is muddled with a myriad of theories and treatments, yet little progress has been made over time to improve relapse rates. Given the repetitive and persistent nature of addictions, mental health professions addressing such concerns are at increased risk

for compassion fatigue and burnout. In order to reduce this risk on treatment providers, the workshop will focus on empowering workers by providing techniques to effectively address a variety of client presentations. Often default recommendations of attending inpatient care are provided to clients as professionals lack the tools to know how they can make positive impacts on a clients care at various stages of the recovery journey.

Heal I ng t H e Healer

- EBONI WEBB , PSY.D., HSP

All professionals who work with traumatized clients and or students may experience one or several negative and harmful effects including: burnout, secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue or caregiver stress. Oftentimes, self-care goes out the window for professionals as they take on greater workloads and put the needs of their clients/students ahead of their own. Ignoring the early warning signs often leads to a wide array of debilitating consequences including: distress, hopefulness, work/life dissatisfaction and serious physical and mental health problems. In this experiential workshop, Dr. Webb will teach a vast array of tools to heal the traumatized self along with possible ways to integrate and apply the skills to help you and your clients/students improve their lives.

Eboni will introduce the concept of resilience and self-care as an act of resilience. She will demonstrate how to restore and process stress and emotions through the body and effectively address traumatic cycles.

Course Objectives

• Identify the key emotional language of the stressed body.

• Define stressors and the impact of stress on the traumatized body.

• Describe three strategies to process stress and trauma through the body.

• Incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or students.

e xH i B itor S Welco M e

At the conference, exhibitor tables will be provided to allow your organization the opportunity to display and circulate informational packages to conference attendees who may require the services of your respective organization or business. The conference is an excellent opportunity for exhibitors to gather attendee information – collect business cards to enter a draw, scan badges to participate in your activity and interact with mental health and education professionals throughout the country. Exhibitor booth, all 3 days, fee: $3,000. and $2,500 for non-profit organizations. To secure an exhibitor booth, please contact our office at 604-924-0296 or email: registration@jackhirose.com

e MB er 27–29, 2023

Monday-Wednesday 8:30am to 4:00pm oak V ille, on Oakville Conference Centre

2515 Wyecroft Road

featured SP eaker S

li V e i n-Per S on & li V e Strea M conference

tH e ontar I o

Mental H ealt H SUMMI t

A Conference Tailored for Mental Health and Education Professionals at All Levels and Any Professional that Applies Developmental and Behavioural Science to Practice

SP on Sor S

to P ic S for : Counselling-Focused, School-Focused & All Professionals

• Addressing the Emotional Roots of Anxiety & Agitation

• Trauma & Attachment

• Disarming High Conflict Students in the Classroom

• Traumatic Memory & Best Practices for EMDR

• Why o ur Children’s Mental Health is Deteriorating & What Can Be Done About It

• Working with the Highly Dysregulated Child

• using IFS-Informed EMDR for Complex Trauma

• Healing the Healer

• Internal Family Systems Therapy for Trauma Treatment

• CBT Strategies that Really Work with Students in the Classroom

• Strengthen Executive Function, Attention, Memory, Response Inhibition & Self-Regulation in Children & Adolescents

• Navigating Addictions

• Polyvagal Theory and Trauma-Informed Stabilization Tools

• Trauma-Focused DBT

• The Personality Disorder Toolbox

• Neufeld’s Traffic Circle of Frustration: A Revolutionary Approach to Aggression, Depression & Suicide

• 20 Empirically-Based Art, Music, Movement & Thinking Skills Activities to Improve Behaviour & Learning in Children & Adolescents

• Mastering the Core Skills & Competencies of CBT

Group rates and student discounts are available. Visit our website for more information. Eligible for certification with the Hirose institute and qualifying CEU Boards.

• Resilience & the Stress Response

Gordon Neufeld Ph.D. Eboni Webb Psy.D.

Daphne Fatter Ph.D.

Lynne Kenney Psy.D.

Jeff Riggenbach Ph.D.

Carissa Muth Psy.D.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

a Conference tailored for mental health and education professionals at all levels & any professional that applies Behavioural Science to practice

m ental h ealth prOfeSSiOnal S: All mental health professionals including, but not limited to Clinical Counsellors, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Hospice and Palliative Care Workers, Youth Workers, Mental Health Workers, Addiction Specialists, Marital & Family Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, vocational Rehabilitation Consultants and all other mental health professionals looking to enhance their therapeutic skills.

e duCatiOn prOfeSSiOnal S: All education professionals who work with children or youth including, but not limited to K–12 Classroom Teachers, School Counsellors, Learning Assistance/Resource Teachers, School Administrators, School Paraprofessionals including Special Education Assistants, Classroom Assistants and Childcare Workers and all other professionals who support behavioural challenges and complex learning needs.

REgiSTRATiON FEES

Dear Colleagues,

The past few years have changed the landscape for how we learn and attend events. zoom has been an invaluable tool for all of us, but the time has come to get back to the method that revitalizes the passion for our professions. Conferences allow for in person benefits such as, the chance to meet fellow clinicians and educators, exhibitors, on-site bookstore, group work and refreshments. We’ve removed the keynote but added even more presenters and a flexible format to create a custom learning experience of the highest calibre.

This year a total of 26 workshop sessions will be offered and will address a host of topics relevant to mental health, education, and any professional who applies behavioural science to practice. We invited 6 accomplished guest presenters who will share their knowledge and insights on a host of valuable mental health topics. Every session offered will focus on effective intervention strategies, recent advances and timely topics that will provide all professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to better serve their clients and/or students.

Attendees have the option to attend either full-day or half-day sessions that will cover a diverse and broad range of important topics. For those who prefer to learn at home we will be streaming portions of the conference online. the Ontario m ental h ealth Summit will be held in Oakville on n ovember 27-29, 2023. Once again we are pleased to work closely and collaborate with our co-sponsors CT v, Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic. We hope to see you at our conference which promises to be another exceptional opportunity to not only enhance one’s knowledge and competencies, but to network with our colleagues.

Sincerely,

jack hirose CEO & President Jack Hirose and Associates

All fees are in Canadian Dollars ($CAD). Fees do not include applicable taxes (13% HST).

early bird cutoff date: november 13, 2023

REcOmmENDED AccOmmODATiON

holiday inn Oakville at Bronte 2525 Wyecroft Rd

Phone: 905.847.1000

Rate is $154.00 plus tax per night for single/double occupancy.

Please reference “Jack Hirose & Associates Inc.” and “Group Code: HIR” when making a reservation.

Dear Fellow Conference Attendees,

On behalf of the entire team at Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic, we do hope you join us for the The Ontario Mental Health Summit being held from the 27th to the 29th of November, 2023. We are once again pleased to be co-sponsoring an event with Jack Hirose & Associates, Canada’s premier psychotherapy conference organizer. The pandemic has been difficult for all of us but Jack’s hosting of this live event is a positive sign that the worst of the pandemic is solidly behind us.

We have missed the intimacy of live events but are excited to see all of the events/ conferences planned for the Fall of 2023. Jack and colleagues will also be offering plenty of virtual events with the same world-class expert lineup you have come to expect over the years. We like to think of this hybrid approach as offering the best of both worlds.

I also want to acknowledge Jack Hirose & Associates for reaching an important milestone, having trained over 100,000 mental health professionals over the past 25 years. One cannot overestimate the spinoff benefits to communities across the country in which clients and their loved ones have benefited from working with skilled practitioners.

melanie alsager, m Ba Chief Executive Officer Sunshine Coast Health Centre & Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic

Morning Session

8:30 am – 11:45 am

Break 10:30 am – 10:45 am

Choose one morning workshop per day.

1. a ddressing the e motional r oots of a nxiety & a gitation: a n a ttachmentBased d evelopmental a pproach

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

2. trauma & a ttachment

Live-Stream Option Available

- Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

3. d isarming High c onflict Students in the c lassroom

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

4. traumatic Memory & Best Practices for e M dr : r esource d evelopment, e xpectations & Setting c lients up for e ffective e M dr treatment

Live-Stream Option Available - Daphne Fatter, Ph.D.

9. Healing the Healer

- Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

10. i nternal family Systems t herapy for trauma treatment

Live-Stream Option Available

- Daphne Fatter, Ph.D.

11. c B t Strategies that r eally Work with Students in the c lassroom

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

12. Strengthen e xecutive function, a ttention, Memory, r esponse i nhibition & Self- r egulation in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Lynne Kenney, Psy.D.

13. n avigating a ddictions: Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

Live-Stream Option Available

- Carissa Muth, Psy.D., CCC, R.Psych

19. trauma- f ocused d B t

Live-Stream Option Available

- Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

20. t he Personality d isorder toolbox

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

21. n eufeld’s traffic c ircle of frustration: a r evolutionary a pproach to a ggression, d epression & Suicide

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

22. 20 e mpirically-Based a rt, Music, Movement & t hinking Skills a ctivities to i mprove Behaviour & l earning in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Lynne Kenney, Psy.D.

l unch Break

11:45 am – 12:45 pm

l unch Buffet - $30.45 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

5. Why o ur c hildren’s Mental Health is d eteriorating & What c an Be d one a bout i t

Live-Stream Option Available - Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

6. Working with the Highly d ysregulated c hild

Live-Stream Option Available - Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

a fternoon Session

12:45 pm – 4:00 pm Break 2:15 pm – 2:30 pm Choose one afternoon workshop per day.

7. d isarming High c onflict Students in the c lassroom ( re P eat S e SS ion )

Live-Stream Option Available - Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

8. u sing if S- i nformed e M dr for c omplex trauma

Live-Stream Option Available - Daphne Fatter, Ph.D.

ExH ibiTORS WELcOm E

We are pleased to offer sponsorship opportunities to businesses and organizations that provide services related to nursing, psychotherapy, addictions treatment, counselling, marriage & family therapy, psychology and other related fields. To inquire please contact us by email: admin@jackhirose.com

l unch Buffet - $30.45 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

14. Healing the Healer ( re P eat S e SS ion )

- Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

15. Polyvagal t heory and trauma- i nformed Stabilization tools

Live-Stream Option Available

- Daphne Fatter, Ph.D.

16. c B t Strategies that r eally Work with Students in the c lassroom ( re P eat S e SS ion )

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

17. (continuation ) Strengthen e xecutive function, a ttention, Memory, r esponse i nhibition & Self- r egulation in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Lynne Kenney, Psy.D.

18. (continuation ) n avigating a ddictions: Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

Live-Stream Option Available

- Carissa Muth, Psy.D., CCC, R.Psych

l unch Buffet - $30.45 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

23. (continuation ) trauma- f ocused d B t

Live-Stream Option Available

- Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

24. Mastering the c ore Skills & competencies of c B t

Live-Stream Option Available

- Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

25. r esilience & the Stress r esponse: a ddressing e motional Stuckness & trauma

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

26. (continuation ) 20 e mpirically-Based a rt, Music, Movement & t hinking Skills a ctivities to i mprove Behaviour & l earning in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Lynne Kenney, Psy.D.

LivE STREAm FROm H Om E

This conference will be live streaming from Oakville, ON to online participants on November 27 – 29, 2023 from 8:30am – 4:00pm ET

Recorded footage and all course content will be available until January 6, 2024. Please allow 3 – 5 business days after the conference has ended for recorded footage to become available. Please note, in-person registration does not include access to the live stream or recorded footage.

W o RKSH o P #1 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

a ddre SSI ng t H e eM ot I onal r oot S o F a nx I ety & ag I tat I on an attachment-Based developmental approach

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

There is currently an epidemic of anxiety and agitation affecting children and teens which can take many forms including attention problems, clinginess, eating problems, obsessions, compulsions, phobias, panic, sleep issues, physical illnesses, as well as a host of other perplexing behaviours. Today’s world can create many challenges for children and youth with school pressures, peer interactions, family dynamics, negative self-image, perfectionism, and many other stressors that can impede a child’s ability to learn and mature. Whether it’s the natural, episodic worries or more profound and crippling versions of anxiety, Dr. Neufeld will help make sense of the roots of anxiety and agitation and suggest ways in which we can help bring the anxious and agitated to rest.

Course Objectives

• understanding the spectrum of syndromes that are all rooted in the primary emotion of alarm

• Appreciating the attachment roots of anxiety and agitation

• Exposing the emotional root of most attention problems

• Equipping with solutions that are both natural and developmental

W o RKSH o P #2 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

traumatic events. You will learn how the brain is organized through healthy attachment and the critical elements of healthy attachment. We will examine the current neuroscience behind both trauma and attachment and the top evidence-based strategies to address key DSM-v disorder through the lens of trauma.

Course Objectives

• Learn the impact of trauma on the developing mind.

• Identify the key features of healthy attachment and its impact neurologically.

• Identify the key defensive survival strategies in trauma.

• Learn how relational character strategies are formed that can be effective adaptations to relationship disturbances.

• Develop strategies to address key disorders across the lifespan that are influenced by trauma and attachment disturbances (ADD/ ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, etc.)

t ra UM at IC Me M ory & b e S t

p raC t IC e S F or e M dr r esource

d evelopment, e xpectations & Setting

c lients up for e ffective e M dr treatment

- DAPHNE FATTER , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

•

t ra UM a & atta CHM ent

Live-Stream Option Available

Many of the clients that we serve have such complex problems due to extensive trauma and attachment disturbances. These early wounds have informed their adult presentations resulting in mental illness and personality disorders. The poet William Wordsworth wrote in his poem, My Heart Leaps u p When I Behold (1802), “..the Child is father of the Man.” Future pioneering psychologists would be inspired by this passage as they came to understand that both function and dysfunction are born in childhood and guide us in our adult lives.

In this course you will come to understand the impact of trauma on the developing mind and how attachment is formed or lost through

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Difficult people are everywhere. And sometimes it seems like this is especially true in our school systems. They are our fellow educators, our administrators, and certainly our students. Sometimes they are even in our families! But they don’t have to push our buttons. Whether you are having difficulty managing the classroom in general, dealing with a particular challenging student, interacting with a fellow teacher, or dealing with an administrator – There are patterns to human behavior. And once we understand where someone is coming from we can equip ourselves with specialized tools to speak their language and deal with them in more effective ways. The good news is we don’t have to allow them to drain our energy and rob us of the joy that drew most of us to the field of education in the first place! This fun, informative workshop not only targets those high conflict students, but also provides strategies to help students reach their full potential. Leave this highly engaging seminar with international personality expert Dr. Jeff Riggenbach feeling empowered to disarm even the most challenging people in your school before they get the best of you.

Course Objectives

• Discover the 8 types of high conflict (HC) people that make life difficult in educational settings and learn highly specialized strategies interacting effectively with each

• Hone skills in and acquire tips for connecting with students in a way that develops rapport to prevent 90% of classroom behaviour problems before they escalate

• Develop an understanding of how we get our “buttons pushed” and how to maintain our composure when we do

• Learn triggers for each style, how to avoid them, and disarm the bomb before the fuse gets lit

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) relies on accessing implicit memory to resolve traumatic memories. Dr. Fatter will focus on what every EMDR clinician should know about traumatic memory to help support effective EMDR treatment. The nature of traumatic memory and the role of arousal management during EMDR will be examined. Best practices for resource development, setting realistic expectations and what clinicians can do to set up EMDR trauma treatment for success will be discussed. Dr. Fatter will provide ways to integrate the “Identity, Race, Culture Interview,” a culturally oriented strengths-based approach, during Phase 1 to better identify potential resources for Phase 2. Interventions to use during Phase 2 and Phase 4 will also be discussed including how to quickly track dissociation in session, how to apply a somatic regulating exercise, and ways to integrate relational resources. Case examples and research on what contributes to client’s dropping out of therapy will be reviewed.

Course Objectives

• Describe in client-friendly terms what happens in the brain during EMDR to help set realistic treatment expectations.

• Identify at least 2 indicators of client readiness for EMDR trauma processing.

W H y oU r C HI ldren’ S Mental Healt H IS d eter I orat I ng &

W H at Can be d one a bo U t It

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

The alarming rise in anxiety, depression, despair, and attention problems, begs for an explanation. The prevailing premise blames the social isolation experienced during the pandemic. When the dots are joined however, another picture emerges that reveals the attachment roots of mental health. This current mental health crisis provides us with a unique opportunity to understand the underlying dynamics, giving us a guide to better take care of our children, our students and ourselves.

Course Objectives

• Gaining insight as to the attachment and emotional roots of mental health

• Making sense of how the pandemic affected the mental health of students

• Appreciating how peer orientation predisposes to mental health problems

• understanding why self-care for children can be counterproductive

- EBONI WEBB , PSY.D., HSP

Live-Stream Option Available

Working with emotionally dysregulated children is an often overwhelming and exhausting endeavour. Many teachers and counsellors feel the pull of being “saviours” for dysregulated children and their parents. How to intervene and steps that can be taken by teachers and administrators will be presented. This training will enable participants to employ strategies in which teachers and parents can experience success through learning to reestablish structure, create a validating and secure environment, and increase compassion for all family members and care providers.

day 2

Tu ESDAY, NOv 28, 2023

Heal I ng t H e Healer

this is an experiential session, please wear comfortable clothing. All professionals who work with traumatized clients and or students may experience one or several negative and harmful effects including: burnout, secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue or caregiver stress. Oftentimes, self-care goes out the window for professionals as they take on greater workloads and put the needs of their clients/students ahead of their own. Ignoring the early warning signs often leads to a wide array of debilitating consequences including: distress, hopefulness, work/life dissatisfaction and serious physical and mental health problems. In this experiential workshop, Dr. Webb will teach a vast array of tools to heal the traumatized self along with possible ways to integrate and apply the skills to help you and your clients/students improve their lives. Eboni will introduce the concept of resilience and self-care as an act of resilience. She will demonstrate how to restore and process stress and emotions through the body and effectively address traumatic cycles.

Course Objectives

• Identify the key emotional language of the stressed body.

• Define stressors and the impact of stress on the traumatized body.

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Difficult people are everywhere. And sometimes it seems like this is especially true in our school systems. They are our fellow educators, our administrators, and certainly our students. Sometimes they are even in our families! But they don’t have to push our buttons. Whether you are having difficulty managing the classroom in general, dealing with a particular challenging student, interacting with a fellow teacher, or dealing with an administrator – There are patterns to human behavior.

W o RKSH o P #10 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Sy S te MS tH erapy F or t ra UM a

- DAPHNE FATTER , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Developed by Richard Schwartz, Ph.D. forty years ago, Internal Family Systems (IFS) is becoming one of the fastest growing therapy models. The evidenced-based approach is non-pathologizing and attends to the complex impact of traumatic stress, making it effective for working with PTSD and Complex Trauma. Dr. Fatter will review the basic model of IFS, including theoretical assumptions, goals for treatment, and steps of using the IFS model. Dr. Fatter will apply an IFS framework common clinical presentations including how to conceptualize PTSD. This presentation will include case examples to describe the process of applying IFS to trauma treatment in individual therapy with adults.

W o RKSH o P #11 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

C bt Strateg I e S t H at r eally

Work WI t H St U dent S I n t H e

Cla SS roo M

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Cognitive – Behavioural Therapy

is considered the “gold standard” therapeutic approach for many psychological conditions most commonly seen in school-based settings with children and adolescents. Despite it’s strong evidence base, many school counsellors and

- DAPHNE FATTER , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) are both well-established evidenced-based approaches that address multiple clinical issues including treating PTSD and complex trauma. using IFS-informed relational interventions provides enhanced benefit to clients that may struggle in the traditional application of EMDR, including clients with complex trauma. Dr. Fatter will review the latest assessments and treatment recommendations for complex trauma. Dr. Fatter will examine the theoretical underpinnings, shared principles as well as the differing approaches to trauma treatment of both EMDR and IFS.

educators have gone a more “integrative” route and surprisingly few have developed the advanced expertise needed to deliver the effective CBT strategies on a regular basis to students that often remain “stuck.” If this describes you, don’t miss this opportunity! Join international CBT trainer and expert Dr. Jeff Riggenbach, for this breakthrough course that will help you hone your skills, equip yourself to confidently deal with even your most challenging cases, and reignite your passion to the work you once loved.

W o RKSH o P #12 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Strengt H en e xe CU t IV e

F U n C t I on, attent I on,

Me M ory, r e S pon S e In HI b I t I on & Sel F - r eg U lat I on I n

C HI ldren & a dole SC ent S

- LYNNE KENNEY, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Did You Know? For many students, Executive Function is a better predictor of academic outcomes than intelligence quotient (IQ) and socioeconomic status (SES), (Blair & Raver, 2015; Cortés Pascual et al. 2019; Micalizzi et al., 2019). Executive Function skills predict math and reading in higher grade levels (Ribner et al., 2018; Magalhães et al., 2020). Self-Regulation skills predict academic, behavioral, and social achievement across a lifetime (Robson et al., 2020).

The Key Is To: BOx: Empower children and adolescents with the skills to think, plan, attend, inhibit, and self-regulate. “When students develop their ability to think things through, pay attention, manage their emotions, resist their impulses, and plan the sequence of their actions they are better able to successfully learn, connect, and behave.”

- EBONI WEBB , PSY.D., HSP

Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

- CARISSA MuTH , PSY.D., CCC, R.PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

The field of addictions is muddled with a myriad of theories and treatments, yet little progress has been made over time to improve relapse rates. Given the repetitive and persistent nature of addictions, mental health professions addressing such concerns are at increased risk for compassion fatigue and burnout. In order to reduce this risk on treatment providers, the workshop will focus on empowering workers by providing techniques to effectively address a variety of client presentations. Often default recommendations of attending inpatient care are provided to clients as professionals lack the tools to know how they can make positive impacts on a clients care at various stages of the recovery journey. In this workshop, you will also be provided with tools to understand the complexity involved in the development of substance use disorder and thus be able to make effective treatment recommendations. Attendees will leave the workshop equipped with practical techniques for treating those struggling with addictions including basics of assessments, working with families, and providing post-treatment care. Additionally, various intervention methods will be overviewed including CBT and narrative therapy in order to provide the client with techniques to implement with a variety of client presentations.

Heal I ng t H e Healer

THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE MORNING SESSION

this is an experiential session, please wear comfortable clothing. All professionals who work with traumatized clients and or students may experience one or several negative and harmful effects including: burnout, secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue or caregiver stress. Oftentimes, self-care goes out the window for professionals as they take on greater workloads and put the needs of their clients/ students ahead of their own. Ignoring the early warning signs often leads to a wide array of debilitating consequences including: distress, hopefulness, work/life dissatisfaction and serious physical and mental health problems. In this experiential workshop, Dr. Webb will teach a vast array of tools to heal the traumatized self along with possible ways to integrate and apply the skills to help you and your clients/students improve their lives.

W o RKSH o P #15 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

p oly Vagal tH eory and t ra UM a-In F or M ed Stab I l I zat I on t ool S

- DAPHNE FATTER , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Polyvagal Theory has become a common go-to resource in trauma treatment. However, clinicians often have difficulty understanding what Polyvagal Theory is and how to incorporate it into effective trauma treatment. Dr. Fatter will discuss Polyvagal Theory in the context of treating PTSD and complex trauma, including how it fits in to a traditional three phase model for trauma recovery. As such, the importance of creating a treatment plan around arousal regulation will be examined. Dr. Fatter will explain in detail symptoms of hyper-arousal, hypo-arousal and calm states of the autonomic nervous system based on Polyvagal Theory. This will help clinicians better identify signs of what state clients are in and help clinicians be able to educate clients about their nervous system. Specific trauma-informed stabilization tools will be discussed that support Polyvagal Theory. There will be opportunities for participants to experience and practice these tools themselves. This presentation will be interactive and experiential!

Course Objectives

• understand Polyvagal theory and how it applies to effective trauma treatment.

• Identify several signs of when clients are in a state of hyper-arousal or hypo-arousal.

Strengt H en e xe CU t IV e

F U n C t I on, attent I on, Me M ory, r e S pon S e In HI b I t I on & Sel F - r eg U lat I on I n

C HI ldren & a dole SC ent S

(Cont I n U at I on )

- LYNNE KENNEY, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

THIS IS A CONTINuATION OF THE MORNING SESSION

Course Objectives

• The current science supporting the importance of improving executive function skills in your students.

• The developmental precursor skills that shift the trajectory of student learning, behavior and achievement.

• Evidence-based methods for strengthening executive function.

• The relationships between executive function skills, reading and math.

• Improve your student’s focused attention.

• Teach your students how to be the “Best Coaches” for their own brains.

• use cognitive skills coaching activities to bolster self-regulation and impulse control in your students.

• Play cognitive-motor activities like CogniTap and Think- ups, which require self-regulation, attention, memory, and self-control. W o RKSH o P #18 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

n aVI gat I ng a dd IC t I on S

(Cont I n U at I on )

Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

- CARISSA MuTH , PSY.D., CCC, R.PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

Live-Stream Option Available

THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE MORNING SESSION

Course Objectives

• Apply evidence-based CBT techniques to multiple symptom sets.

• Illustrate methods for conducting CBT psychoeducation to elicit “buy in” from most difficult students.

• Detect, challenge and modify dysfunctional self-talk, thoughts and core beliefs.

• Implement rapport-building tips and tools to improve client relationships.

• Summarize the role of early maladaptive schemas in maintaining chronic conditions.

• utilize schema-based strategies for breaking lifelong destructive behavioural cycles.

• Summarize eight motivations for parasuicidal behaviours and how to effectively intervene for each motivation.

THIS IS A CONTIN uATION OF THE MORNING SESSION

Course Objectives

• Develop an understanding of the impact of historical perspectives of addictions and how they continue to influence treatment decisions and stigmatization.

• Formulate treatment plans based on a robust understand of various components contributing to the development of the disorder.

• Competently navigate the addiction field through a basic understanding of various perspectives and current areas of research.

• Demonstrate an ability to generally assess addictions and provide treatment recommendations.

• Develop the ability to guide clients and their families through the recovery process.

W o RKSH o P #19 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

t ra UM a-Fo CUS ed dbt

- EBONI WEBB , PSY.D., HSP

Live-Stream Option Available

Working with emotionally dysregulated and traumatized clients/students in your practice can be overwhelming and exhausting. You probably feel the pull of being the “savior” for their constant state of dysregulation. Learn how to develop the skills needed to be more effective in treatment, avoid burnout and achieve positive outcomes through developing an integrative lens to treat trauma and attachment more effectively across the lifespan through integrating Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy techniques and interventions. Dr. Webb will give you the training you need through case stories, neuroscience research, and experiential activities. Learn to work together with clients/ students and all relevant support systems to increase compassion through seeing the function of their behaviors through the lens of trauma, reestablish structure, and create a validating environment. Leave with the knowledge and skills to confidently teach clients/students and all critical care providers how to implement a safe structure that enables clients/students to learn and master these skills throughout all the pertinent areas of their lives.

Attend this workshop and you will discover how critical complex interventions are for the complexity of treating trauma and attachment disorders. Join Dr. Eboni Webb, former advisor to the Dialectical Behavior Therapy National Certification and Accreditation Association, and Advanced Certified Practitioner of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and take home evidence-based strategies from both modalities to use with clients who come from hard places.

behavioural patterns that continue to frustrate providers, family members, and consumers alike. Many professionals even continue to view them as untreatable.

However, there is hope. Emerging research suggests this is simply not the case. DBT, CBT, and Schema Therapy have paved the way in pioneering new attitudes and outcomes related to treating these conditions

Join leading exert in the field of personality dysfunction Dr. Jeff Riggenbach for this enjoyable training chock full of the latest research, techniques, and practical strategies. This powerful workshop will give you a new ability to help struggling individuals deal with issues related to self-injurious behaviours, multiple suicide attempts, frequently hurt feelings, intense and unpredictable mood swings, substance use, angry outbursts, toxic relationships and other problems that impair their ability to function in society. Leave this day long training with an integrated DBT/CBT /Schema Informed approach to treating these cases and giving clients with even the most complex needs a life worth living.

W o RKSH o P #21 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

n e UF eld’ S t ra FFIC C I r C le

o F Fr US trat I on a r evolutionary a pproach

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

We all get frustrated, as this primal emotion is automatically evoked when something – anything for that matter – doesn’t work. There are several indicators that the groundswell of frustration is rising. This powerful emotion can be experienced in many ways and have a myriad of outcomes. Included in the array of emotional outcomes are compulsions regarding change, attacking impulses, suicidal impulses, aggression, and even frustrationbased depression. Frustration can also result in healthy change and inner transformation. Dr. Neufeld will help us walk through the traffic circle of frustration in a way that benefits all. Given the critical importance of developing a healthy relationship with frustration, we should all be ready to serve as traffic directors when needed.

Course Objectives

• understanding the underlying roots of aggression and depression

• Appreciating the key role that frustration is meant to play in our lives

Live-Stream Option Available

Music, art, and movement have been recognized as important elements in children’s cognitive development (Dumont et al., 2017; Americans for the Arts, 2023). Music, art, and movement provide various benefits that enhance cognitive abilities, including attention, language skills, spatial awareness, problemsolving, creativity, and social interaction.

Musical training has been linked to improved cognitive skills, such as enhanced verbal memory, mathematical abilities, and spatialtemporal skills (Forgeard et al., 2008; Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2018; Schellenberg, 2004).

Learning to play an instrument has shown positive effects on executive functions, including attention, self-regulation, and working memory (Moreno et al., 2011). Children who undergo musical training have better verbal memory, second language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and executive functions (Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2018). Music engages multiple brain regions, stimulating neural connections and promoting neuroplasticity, which is crucial for cognitive development (zatorre et al., 2007; Lippolis et al., 2023).

Dance and rhythmic movements have been shown to improve executive functions and cognitive skills, such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control (Kattenstroth et al., 2013; Buderath et al., 2008).

Course Objectives

• The relationships between art, cognition, learning and academic achievement.

• How art education has been associated with improved academic performance, including higher achievement in reading and math.

• How engaging in visual arts encourages creativity and divergent thinking to foster problem-solving skills and the ability to think outside the box.

• How foundational cognitive skills such as self-regulation, attention and memory support higher-order skills including problem-solving, imagination and creativity.

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Individuals with personality disorders have long been considered the most challenging clients presenting in the clinical setting. Many patients lack motivation, most begin with poor insight, and some have such deeply engrained dysfunctional beliefs, unhealthy coping skills, and destructive

• Recognizing when pivotal feelings are missing that need restoring

• Knowing the symptoms, signs and challenges when frustration gets stuck

• Making sense of why some of our current behaviour management approaches backfire

• Knowing how to direct traffic when frustration needs to find an outlet

• Apply Musical Thinking to engage your students in learning self-regulation, motor pacing, previewing, planning, tempo, timing and rhythm.

• use proprietary musical activities including “Watermelon, unicorn and Tiger” to teach children how to transition from one activity to another and experience the “felt-sense” of slowing down.

• use Procreate to improve your students imagination and creativity skills.

W o RKSH o P #23 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

t ra UM a-Fo CUS ed dbt (Cont I n U at I on )

- EBONI WEBB , PSY.D., HSP

Live-Stream Option Available THIS IS A CONTIN uATION OF THE MORNING SESSION

Attend this workshop and you will discover how critical complex interventions are for the complexity of treating trauma and attachment disorders. Join Dr. Eboni Webb, former advisor to the Dialectical Behavior Therapy National Certification and Accreditation Association, and Advanced Certified Practitioner of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and take home evidencebased strategies from both modalities to use with clients who come from hard places

Course Objectives

• Defining Trauma and Attachment

- Biosocial Model

- Effects of inadequate validation in early emotional development

- Symptoms of a pervasive emotional dysregulation disorder

- Developmental vs. attachment trauma

- Single-incident trauma

- Common sources of trauma

- Parenting Styles

- Attachment Styles

• Trauma and Brain Development

- Biphasic arousal model

- Core organizers of experience

W o RKSH o P #24 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

- JEFF RIGGENBACH , PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the most empirically supported therapeutic approach for multiple psychiatric disorders, and is widely considered the “gold standard” treatment for a variety of issues. Most mental health professionals claim to do “some CBT,” but many clinicians in the trenches resort to a more “eclectic” approach and treatment often loses direction. Leave this 3-hour afternoon session with international CBT expert Dr. Jeff Riggenbach with core competencies, transformed clinical skills, and an improved understanding of conceptualization based treatment that will ensure you never get stuck in therapy again. You will be able to utilize concrete strategies for helping your clients who suffer from:

• Bipolar and depressive related disorders

• Anger

• Anxiety disorders

• Personality Disorders

Through case studies, interactive discussions, role-plays, and reproducible handouts, you will take away practical CBT strategies to use immediately with any client. Leave this conference armed with tools you can use in your very next session!

Course Objectives

• Develop core competencies in CBT, including the therapeutic alliance, collaborative agenda setting, fostering behavioural and cognitive change, and giving client feedback.

• u nderstand the role of cognitive distortions in information processing and the unique processing present in specific symptom sets.

• Learn evidence based strategies for treating clinical conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, anger management, and personality disorders

• utilize techniques from traditional CBT, meta-cognitive, and schema based approaches

• Demonstrate how case conceptualization drives effective treatment planning & improves therapy outcomes.

• Discuss case studies to increase understanding of specific cognitive models of depression, anxiety and anger and effective treatment strategies for each.

Live-Stream Option Available

New understandings reveal that there is much wisdom to the stress response. Rather than focusing on dysfunction, we should begin by appreciating how our brains are brilliantly programmed to not only summon the strength required to deal with distressing situations, but to also serve as an emotional first-aid response. The problem is not with the stress response per se, but when the stress response is not followed in a timely fashion by its partner, the resilience response. We will be much more effective in our interaction with distressed children, youth and students if we first come alongside how their brains are trying to take care of them, and from this stance, proceed to help the stress response become unstuck.

Course Objectives

• updating an understanding of the stress response through the lenses of attachment and emotion

• The ability to differentiate between the two kinds of strength that is often associated with resilience

• An appreciation of what has to bounce back for emotional health and well-being

• An understanding of the wisdom of the stress response and how to come alongside it

20 eMpIrICally-ba

Sed art, MUSIC, MoVeMent & tHInkIng SkIll S aCtIVItIeS to IMproVe beHaVIoUr & learnIng In CHIldren & adoleSCentS (ContInUatIon)

- LYNNE KENNEY, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available THIS IS A CONTIN uATION OF THE MORNING SESSION

develop skills to:

• u se art activities that involve fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, which contribute to the development of spatial awareness and cognitive abilities.

• Apply active play and movement activities to stimulate brain development by improving neuroplasticity, neural connectivity, and cognitive flexibility.

• Teach precursor skills to reading, math and spelling including visual-spatial skills, patterning, sequencing, visual-tracking and vestibular strength.

Be ready to implement:

• Dance and rhythmic movements that have been shown to improve executive function and cognitive skills, such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control.

• Attention, memory and self-regulation songs for students in grades K-4.

• Paradiddles, Cognitap Spots and Rhythmic Movement Phrases to engage cognition and self-regulation in students in grades 5-12.

movement and cognition

• Physical activity and exercise have been linked to enhanced cognitive functions, including attention, memory, and academic achievement (Hillman et al., 2014; Tomporowski et al., 2011).

• Cognitive-motor activity combines rhythmic physical activity with cognitive-visual and auditory stimuli. This simultaneously activates distinct regions in the brain.

e xH i B itor S Welco M e

At the conference, exhibitor tables will be provided to allow your organization the opportunity to display and circulate informational packages to conference attendees who may require the services of your respective organization or business. The conference is an excellent opportunity for exhibitors to gather attendee information – collect business cards to enter a draw, scan badges to participate in your activity and interact with mental health and education professionals throughout the country. Exhibitor booth, all 3 days, fee: $3,000. and $2,500 for non-profit organizations. To secure an exhibitor booth, please contact our office at 604-924-0296 or email: registration@jackhirose.com

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

a Conference tailored for mental health and education professionals at all levels & any professional that applies development and Behavioural Science to practice.

m ental h ealth prOfeSSiOnal S: All mental health professionals including, but not limited to Clinical Counsellors, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Hospice and Palliative Care Workers, Youth Workers, Mental Health Workers, Addiction Specialists, Marital & Family Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, vocational Rehabilitation Consultants and all other mental health professionals looking to enhance their therapeutic skills.

e duCatiOn prOfeSSiOnal S: All education professionals who work with children or youth including, but not limited to K–12 Classroom Teachers, School Counsellors, Learning Assistance/Resource Teachers, School Administrators, School Paraprofessionals including Special Education Assistants, Classroom Assistants and Childcare Workers and all other professionals who support behavioural challenges and complex learning needs.

REgiSTRATiON FEES

Dear Colleagues,

The past few years have changed the landscape for how we learn and attend events. zoom has been an invaluable tool for all of us, but the time has come to get back to the method that revitalizes the passion for our professions. Conferences allow for in person benefits such as, the chance to meet fellow clinicians and educators, exhibitors, on-site bookstore, group work and refreshments. We’ve removed the keynote but added even more presenters and a flexible format to create a custom learning experience of the highest calibre.

This year a total of 17 workshop sessions and 3 keynotes will be offered and will address a host of topics relevant to mental health, education, and any professional who applies behavioural science to practice. We invited 8 accomplished guest presenters who will share their knowledge and insights on a host of valuable mental health topics. Every session offered will focus on effective intervention strategies, recent advances and timely topics that will provide all professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to better serve their clients and/or students.

Attendees have the option to attend either full-day or half-day sessions that will cover a diverse and broad range of important topics. For those who prefer to learn at home we will be streaming portions of the conference online. the alberta Conference On: fostering e motional well-Being & Bolstering resilience in Children and Youth will be held in Calgary on d ecember 4-6, 2023. Once again we are pleased to work closely and collaborate with our co-sponsors CT v, Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Straight Women’s Clinic. We hope to see you at our conference which promises to be another exceptional opportunity to not only enhance one’s knowledge and competencies, but to network with our colleagues.

Sincerely,

jack hirose CEO & President Jack Hirose and Associates

All fees are in Canadian Dollars ($CAD). Fees do not include applicable taxes (5% GST).

early bird cutoff date: november 20, 2023

REcOmmENDED AccOmmODATiON

Best western premier Calgary plaza hotel & Conference Centre 1316 33 St NE

Please contact the hotel directly for current group rates, when booking please reference “Jack Hirose & Associates”. To make a reservation over the phone, please call 403.248.8888.

Email: Email your reservation request to res@calgaryplaza.com

Dear Fellow Conference Attendees,

On behalf of the entire team at Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic, we do hope you join us for the The Alberta Conference On: Fostering Emotional Well-Being & Bolstering Resilience in Children and Youth being held from the 4th to the 6th of December, 2023. We are once again pleased to be co-sponsoring an event with Jack Hirose & Associates, Canada’s premier psychotherapy conference organizer. The pandemic has been difficult for all of us but Jack’s hosting of this live event is a positive sign that the worst of the pandemic is solidly behind us.

We have missed the intimacy of live events but are excited to see all of the events/ conferences planned for the Fall of 2023. Jack and colleagues will also be offering plenty of virtual events with the same world-class expert lineup you have come to expect over the years. We like to think of this hybrid approach as offering the best of both worlds.

I also want to acknowledge Jack Hirose & Associates for reaching an important milestone, having trained over 100,000 mental health professionals over the past 25 years. One cannot overestimate the spinoff benefits to communities across the country in which clients and their loved ones have benefited from working with skilled practitioners.

melanie alsager, m Ba Chief Executive Officer Sunshine Coast Health Centre & Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic

a Me SS age F ro M Melan I e a l S ager

keynote 1

8:30 am –9:30 am

keynote 2

9:30 am –

10:30 am

keynote 3

10:45 am –11:45 am

l unch Break

11:45 am –12:45 pm

r esilience & t he Stress r esponse: a ddressing e motional Stuckness

i ncluding trauma

4. c reating trauma r esilient c lassrooms

Live-Stream Option Available

- MaryAnn Brittingham, MS

12. o ptimizing & Supporting the ad H d Brain

Live-Stream Option Available

a fternoon Session 12:45 pm –4:00 pm

Break 2:15 pm –2:30 pm

Choose one afternoon workshop per day.

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D. Morning

f ostering Social e motional l earning Skills in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Steven G. Feifer, D.Ed., ABSNP

l iving the Medicine Wheel teachings

Live-Stream Option Available

- Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Ph.D.

l unch Buffet - $27 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

live Music - Heather Blush & The uppercuts

1. (continuation )

r esilience & t he Stress r esponse:

a ddressing e motional Stuckness

i ncluding trauma

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

2. (continuation )

f ostering Social e motional l earning Skills in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Steven G. Feifer, D.Ed., ABSNP

3. (continuation )

l iving the Medicine Wheel teachings

Live-Stream Option Available

- Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Ph.D.

Choose one morning workshop per day.

5. i ’m e xhausted – Stress, Burnout & Solutions that Work!

Live-Stream Option Available

- Daniel J. Fox, Ph.D

6. Strengthen e xecutive function, a ttention, Memory, r esponse i nhibition & Self- r egulation in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Lynne Kenney, Psy.D.

7. n avigating a ddictions: Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

- Carissa Muth, Psy.D., CCC

l unch Break

11:45 am –

12:45 pm

ExH ibiTORS WELcOm E

a fternoon Session 12:45 pm –4:00 pm Break 2:15 pm –2:30 pm

Choose one afternoon workshop per day.

l unch Buffet - $27 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

live Music - Heather Blush & The uppercuts

8. ( re P eat S e SS ion )

c reating trauma r esilient c lassrooms

Live-Stream Option Available

- MaryAnn Brittingham, MS

9. ( re P eat S e SS ion )

i ’m e xhausted – Stress, Burnout & Solutions that Work!

Live-Stream Option Available

- Daniel J. Fox, Ph.D

10. 20 e mpirically-Based a rt, Music, Movement & t hinking Skill a ctivities to i mprove Behaviour & l earning in c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Lynne Kenney, Psy.D.

11. (continuation )

n avigating a ddictions: Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

Live-Stream Option Available

- Carissa Muth, Psy.D., CCC

evening Session

6:30 pm –7:30 pm

Qigong Meditation e xercise Session

- Munira Jiwa, BScPT

At the conference, exhibitor tables will be provided to allow your organization the opportunity to display and circulate informational packages to conference attendees who may require the services of your respective organization or business. The conference is an excellent opportunity for exhibitors to gather attendee information – collect business cards to enter a draw, scan badges to participate in your activity and interact with mental health and education professionals throughout the country.

e xhibitor booth, all 3 days, fee: $3,000. plus tax (For-profit organization) $2,500.00 plus tax (Non-profit organization)

To secure an exhibitor booth, please contact our office at 604-924-0296 or email: registration@jackhirose.com

- Caroline Buzanko, Ph.D.

13. i mplementing i nterventions for School-a ged c hildren & a dolescents with a utism Spectrum d isorder

Live-Stream Option Available

- Meghan Barlow, Ph.D.

14. a ddressing the e motional r oots of a nxiety & agitation: a n a ttachmentBased d evelopmental a pproach

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

l unch Buffet - $27 per person, per day includes taxes and 18% gratuity

15. o ptimizing Self- r egulation & Managing Big e motions

Live-Stream Option Available

- Caroline Buzanko, Ph.D.

16. Supporting the Social & e motional n eeds of g ifted c hildren & a dolescents

Live-Stream Option Available

- Meghan Barlow, Ph.D.

17. Why o ur c hildren’s Mental Health is d eteriorating & What c an Be d one a bout i t

Live-Stream Option Available

- Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

LivE STREAm FROm H Om E

This conference will be live streaming from Calgary, Alberta to online participants on December 4-6, 2023 from 8:30am – 4:00pm MDT

Recorded footage and all course content will be available until January 6, 2024. Please allow 3 – 5 business days after the conference has ended for recorded footage to become available. Please note, in-person registration does not include access to the live stream or recorded footage. more information & live stream registration: https://webinars.jackhirose.com/product/the-albertaconference/

r e SI l I en C e & tH e Stre SS

r e S pon S e a ddressing e motional Stuckness i ncluding trauma

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

New understandings reveal that there is much wisdom to the stress response. Rather than focusing on dysfunction, we should begin by appreciating how our brains are brilliantly programmed to not only summon the strength required to deal with distressing situations, but to also serve as an emotional first-aid response. The problem is not with the stress response per se, but when the stress response is not followed in a timely fashion by its partner, the resilience response. We will be much more effective in our interaction with distressed children, youth and students if we first come alongside how their brains are trying to take care of them, and from this stance, proceed to help the stress response become unstuck.

Course Objectives

• updating an understanding of the stress response through the lenses of attachment and emotion

• The ability to differentiate between the two kinds of strength that is often associated with resilience

• An appreciation of what has to bounce back for emotional health and well-being

• An understanding of the wisdom of the stress response and how to come alongside it KE y N o TE | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Fo S ter I ng So CI al eM ot I onal

l earn I ng Sk I ll S I n C HI ldren & a dole SC ent S

- STEvEN G. FEIFER , D.ED., ABSNP

Live-Stream Option Available

According to a 2023 survey conducted by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC), mental health has worsened in Canada in the aftermath of the global pandemic. For instance, the survey revealed that 14 percent of Canadians continue to struggle with stress and burnout, 10 percent disclosed high levels of anxiety, and 8 percent endorsed moderate symptoms of depression. This workshop will explore the impact of mental health conditions on academic performance in children and adolescents, and discuss how schools can foster social emotional learning to improve

both academic and social-skill functioning. Poverty, childhood abuse, parental neglect, trauma, and pandemics can impact key brain mechanisms underlying learning and socialemotional behavior in students. Schools can enhance emotional wellness in children through early prevention efforts, appropriate assessment strategies, teaching collaborative problem solving, and developing a nurturing school climate to foster emotional growth for all children. Specific assessment strategies, screening tools, and targeted classroom interventions will be shared.

Course Objectives

• Discuss the prevalence of children with emotional disabilities in Canada, and the relationship between emotional wellness and successful academic performance.

• Explore key brain regions impacted when students experience stress, anxiety, and depression, and the subsequent effect on academic and social skills’ development.

• Discuss assessment options for students with emotional dysregulation, and introduce the FACT scale to assess the impact of stress and trauma on academic and socialemotional functioning.

• Explore effective classroom accommodations, social-emotional learning options, and targeted classroom strategies and interventions for children and adolescents with emotional self-regulation issues in school.

S e a ddressing e motional Stuckness i ncluding trauma

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available CONTIN uATION OF THE MORNING KEYNOTE

New understandings reveal that there is much wisdom to the stress response. Rather than focusing on dysfunction, we should begin by appreciating how our brains are brilliantly programmed to not only summon the strength required to deal with distressing situations, but to also serve as an emotional first-aid response. The problem is not with the stress response per se, but when the stress response is not followed in a timely fashion by its partner, the resilience response.

W o RKSH o P #2 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Fo S ter I ng So CI al eM ot I onal l earn I ng Sk I ll S I n C HI ldren & a dole SC ent S

- STEvEN G.

, D.ED., ABSNP

Live-Stream Option Available CONTIN uATION OF THE MORNING KEYNOTE

- CYNTHIA WESLEY-ESQuIMAux, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

The medicine wheel teaches us there are four quadrants that require our dedicated attention – the “Physical quadrant” which encompasses everything we are from conception to elderhood. The “Mental or learning quadrant” where we gather knowledge, courage, and confidence about our world and express the gifts we can give our children. The “Emotional quadrant” where we embrace the concept of “all my relations” as a foundation for our lives and build capacity to love unconditionally. The “Spiritual quadrant” where we are reminded of the need “to be good ancestors” and guide next generations with a good heart as we walk the 7 values (grandfather/grandmother teachings) into the future.

Course Objectives

• We have a personal responsibility to understand the relationship between all four quadrants

• We become imbalanced if we only focus on one or two over the others – each one requires discipline and dedication

• Systemic disorders are directly related to how we live our lives – moving, learning, loving, and being socially and emotionally connected

• Everything is connected and this includes the foods we eat, the people we love, how we treat our bodies, and what we chose to learn.

According to a 2023 survey conducted by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC), mental health has worsened in Canada in the aftermath of the global pandemic. For instance, the survey revealed that 14 percent of Canadians continue to struggle with stress and burnout, 10 percent disclosed high levels of anxiety, and 8 percent endorsed moderate symptoms of depression. This workshop will explore the impact of mental health conditions on academic performance in children and adolescents.

W o RKSH o P #3 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

lIVI ng t H e Med ICI ne W H eel t ea CHI ng S

Live-Stream Option Available CONTIN uATION OF THE MORNING KEYNOTE

The medicine wheel teaches us there are four quadrants that require our dedicated attention – the “Physical quadrant” which encompasses everything we are from conception to elderhood. The “Mental or learning quadrant” where we gather knowledge, courage, and confidence about our world and express the gifts we can give our children. The “Emotional quadrant” where we embrace the concept of “all my relations” as a foundation for our lives and build capacity to love unconditionally.

FEIFER

- CYNTHIA WESLEY-ESQuIMAux, PH .D.

Creat I ng t ra UM a r e SI l I ent Cla SS roo MS

- MARYANN BRITTINGHAM , MS

Live-Stream Option Available

Research has since established resilience as essential for human thriving, and an ability necessary for the development of healthy, adaptable young people. It’s what enables students to emerge from challenging or traumatic experiences with a positive sense of themselves and their futures. Students who develop resilience are better able to face disappointment, learn from failure, cope with loss, and adapt to change. We recognize resilience in students when we observe their determination, and perseverance to tackle problems and cope with the emotional challenges of school and life. Resilience is not a genetic trait. It is derived from the ways that students learn to think and act when faced with obstacles large and small. In this session, we will explore how to help students build the resilience they need to succeed in school and in life. We will review how trauma impacts students and their school experience and will provide concrete actions on the “how” to create support for all students and the school professionals who serve them

Course Objectives

• u nderstand the impact of trauma and chronic stress on learning

• u nderstand how to use the “ u pside Down Triangle” to help students self-regulate

• Learn the four S’s to building resilience

• Identify triggers and alternative ways to respond

• Learn how to create resilient mindsets by noticing and reframing your self-talk and stories

• Review how to foster compassion to support ourselves and our students.

managing a dual life, online and in “real life”, with obligations and tasks being formable in both. Due to this, we are highly susceptible to experiencing zoom fatigue, depression, anxiety, and many other symptoms and issues. Common early warning signs of burnout include feeling perpetually exhausted, tired of or annoyed with other peoples’ “complaints”, beginning your day late and unable to end it early, getting sleepy or “spacing out” during important times, taking ethical shortcuts, and many others.

Our society preaches self-care, but are we taking our own advice? It’s time we did. In this workshop, Daniel J. Fox, Ph.D., will examine the signs, symptoms, and sources of burnout and explain how understanding your Emotional Intelligence can renew your personal and professional perspective and excitement while helping you eliminate key stressors in your life. This program will examine the benefits of restorative, emotionally intelligent relationships in your life to improve outcomes and your personal support network. By understanding the potential of Emotional Intelligence and keeping a wise mind on your mental and physical health you can explore who you are within your relationships, enhance your growth as a professional, and apply these powerful tools to benefit you and others in your life.

Course Objectives

• Identify burnout symptoms to manage them effectively

• u se Emotional Intelligence to avoid burnout

• Develop an emotionally intelligent support network to build stress resiliency

• Manage relationships more efficiently and learn how to strengthen them

• Apply new skills to increase your resilience in the workplace and at home to prevent burnout

• Learn how to avoid the ethical pitfalls and challenges associated with burnout and compassion fatigue

W o RKSH o P #6 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Strengt H en e xe CU t IV e

F U n C t I on, attent I on, Me M ory, r e S pon S e In HI b I t I on & Sel F - r eg U lat I on I n C HI ldren & a dole SC ent S

- LYNNE KENNEY, PSY.D.

Live-Stream Option Available

did You know?

• Self-Regulation skills predict academic, behavioral, and social achievement across a lifetime (Robson et al., 2020).

the key i s to:

BOx : Empower children and adolescents with the skills to think, plan, attend, inhibit, and self-regulate. “When students develop their ability to think things through, pay attention, manage their emotions, resist their impulses, and plan the sequence of their actions they are better able to successfully learn, connect, and behave.”

This Is Achieved By: Strengthening Executive Function and Self-Regulation Skills.

W o RKSH o P #7 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

n aVI gat I ng a dd IC t I on S

Practical i nterventions to Promote

Healing & r ecovery

The field of addictions is muddled with a myriad of theories and treatments, yet little progress has been made over time to improve relapse rates. Given the repetitive and persistent nature of addictions, mental health professions addressing such concerns are at increased risk for compassion fatigue and burnout. In order to reduce this risk on treatment providers, the workshop will focus on empowering workers by providing techniques to effectively address a variety of client presentations. Often default recommendations of attending inpatient care are provided to clients as professionals lack the tools to know how they can make positive impacts on a clients care at various stages of the recovery journey. In this workshop, you will also be provided with tools to understand the complexity involved in the development of substance use disorder and thus be able to make effective treatment recommendations. Attendees will leave the workshop equipped with practical techniques for treating those struggling with addictions including basics of assessments, working with families, and providing posttreatment care. Additionally, various intervention methods will be overviewed including CBT and narrative therapy in order to provide the client with techniques to implement with a variety of client presentations.

Course Objectives

• Develop an understanding of the impact of historical perspectives of addictions and how they continue to influence treatment decisions and stigmatization.

- DANIEL J. FOx, PH .D

Live-Stream Option Available

Everyone experiences some form of burnout during their life and career. Most ignore the warning signs until it’s too late, mistakes are made, and decisions becomes calamities you wish you’d avoided. Many of us are now

• For many students, Executive Function is a better predictor of academic outcomes than intelligence quotient (IQ) and socioeconomic status (SES), (Blair & Raver, 2015; Cortés Pascual et al. 2019; Micalizzi et al., 2019).

• Executive Function skills predict math and reading in higher grade levels (Ribner et al., 2018; Magalhães et al., 2020).

• Formulate treatment plans based on a robust understand of various components contributing to the development of the disorder.

• Competently navigate the addiction field through a basic understanding of various perspectives and current areas of research.

• Demonstrate an ability to generally assess addictions and provide treatment recommendations

- CARISSA MuTH , PSY.D., CCC, R.PSYCH

W o RKSH o P #8 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Creat I ng t ra UM a r e SI l I ent

Cla SS roo MS ( repeat S e SSI on )

- MARYANN BRITTINGHAM , MS

Live-Stream Option Available

THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE MORNING SESSION

Research has since established resilience as essential for human thriving, and an ability necessary for the development of healthy, adaptable young people. It’s what enables students to emerge from challenging or traumatic experiences with a positive sense of themselves and their futures. Students who develop resilience are better able to face disappointment, learn from failure, cope with loss, and adapt to change. We recognize resilience in students when we observe their determination, and perseverance to tackle problems and cope with the emotional challenges of school and life. Resilience is not a genetic trait. It is derived from the ways that students learn to think and act when faced with obstacles large and small. In this session, we will explore how to help students build the resilience they need to succeed in school and in life. We will review how trauma impacts students and their school experience and will provide concrete actions on the “how” to create support for all students and the school professionals who serve them

Course Objectives

• u nderstand the impact of trauma and chronic stress on learning

• u nderstand how to use the “ u pside Down Triangle” to help students self-regulate

• Learn the four S’s to building resilience

• Identify triggers and alternative ways to respond

• Learn how to create resilient mindsets by noticing and reframing your self-talk and stories

W o RKSH o P #9 | 12:45 PM - 4:00 PM

I’ M e x H a US ted – Stre SS , bU rno U t & Sol U t I on S t H at Work! ( repeat S e SSI on )

- DANIEL J. FOx, PH .D

Live-Stream Option Available

THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE MORNING SESSION

Everyone experiences some form of burnout during their life and career. Most ignore the warning signs until it’s too late, mistakes are made, and decisions becomes calamities you wish you’d avoided. Many of us are now managing a dual life, online and in “real life”, with obligations and tasks being formable in both. Due to this, we are highly susceptible to experiencing zoom fatigue, depression, anxiety, and many other symptoms and issues. Common early warning signs of burnout include feeling perpetually exhausted, tired of or annoyed with other

peoples’ “complaints”, beginning your day late and unable to end it early, getting sleepy or “spacing out” during important times, taking ethical shortcuts, and many others.

Our society preaches self-care, but are we taking our own advice? It’s time we did. In this workshop, Daniel J. Fox, Ph.D., will examine the signs, symptoms, and sources of burnout and explain how understanding your Emotional Intelligence can renew your personal and professional perspective and excitement while helping you eliminate key stressors in your life. This program will examine the benefits of restorative, emotionally intelligent relationships in your life to improve outcomes and your personal support network. By understanding the potential of Emotional Intelligence and keeping a wise mind on your mental and physical health you can explore who you are within your relationships, enhance your growth as a professional, and apply these powerful tools to benefit you and others in your life.

Course Objectives

• Identify burnout symptoms to manage them effectively

• u se Emotional Intelligence to avoid burnout

• Develop an emotionally intelligent support network to build stress resiliency

• Manage relationships more efficiently and learn how to strengthen them

Dance and rhythmic movements have been shown to improve executive functions and cognitive skills, such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control (Kattenstroth et al., 2013; Buderath et al., 2008).

Practical i nterventions to Promote Healing & r ecovery

- CARISSA MuTH , PSY.D., CCC, R.PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

Music, art, and movement have been recognized as important elements in children’s cognitive development (Dumont et al., 2017; Americans for the Arts, 2023). Music, art, and movement provide various benefits that enhance cognitive abilities, including attention, language skills, spatial awareness, problemsolving, creativity, and social interaction.

Musical training has been linked to improved cognitive skills, such as enhanced verbal memory, mathematical abilities, and spatialtemporal skills (Forgeard et al., 2008; Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2018; Schellenberg, 2004).

Learning to play an instrument has shown positive effects on executive functions, including attention, self-regulation, and working memory (Moreno et al., 2011). Children who undergo musical training have better verbal memory, second language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and executive functions (Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2018).

Music engages multiple brain regions, stimulating neural connections and promoting neuroplasticity, which is crucial for cognitive development (zatorre et al., 2007; Lippolis et al., 2023).

The field of addictions is muddled with a myriad of theories and treatments, yet little progress has been made over time to improve relapse rates. Given the repetitive and persistent nature of addictions, mental health professions addressing such concerns are at increased risk for compassion fatigue and burnout. In order to reduce this risk on treatment providers, the workshop will focus on empowering workers by providing techniques to effectively address a variety of client presentations. Often default recommendations of attending inpatient care are provided to clients as professionals lack the tools to know how they can make positive impacts on a clients care at various stages of the recovery journey. In this workshop, you will also be provided with tools to understand the complexity involved in the development of substance use disorder and thus be able to make effective treatment recommendations. Attendees will leave the workshop equipped with practical techniques for treating those struggling with addictions including basics of assessments, working with families, and providing post-treatment care. Additionally, various intervention methods will be overviewed including CBT and narrative therapy in order to provide the client with techniques to implement with a variety of client presentations.

Ev ENING SESSI o N | 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

qI gong Med I tat I on e xer CIS e Se SSI on

- MuNIRA JIWA , BSCPT

Energize with Qigong

Join Qigong Master Teacher Munira Jiwa for an energizing, yet calming qigong moving meditation practice.

After a full day of sitting and listening to all the inspiring speakers, nourish your body, mind and spirit with gentle movement, breath awareness and a visualization practice to help balance your energy.

p ut the Oxygen m ask on Yourself first!

In order to help others, it’s imperative that we prioritize our own health and well being so we can serve to the best of our ability. Experience how qigong can help you optimize your energy so you can be the best that you can be.

W o RKSH o P #12 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

o pt IMI z I ng & S U pport I ng

t H e ad H d b ra I n

- CAROLINE BuzANKO, PH .D., R. PSYCH

Live-Stream Option Available

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex, heterogeneous disorder. When left unmanaged, ADHD is associated with long-term pervasive impairment across all areas of functioning. Recent models of ADHD have conceptualized ADHD as a disorder of behavioural inhibition, impairing executive functioning (EF), which lead to difficulties with self-regulation, organizing and planning behaviours, attention, and distractibility.

Course Objectives

• Develop a 360° understanding of ADHD and executive functions

• Identify key assets of ADHD and how to optimize them

• Identify associated comorbidities and how they complicate the presentation and treatment of ADHD

W o RKSH o P #13 | 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM

I M ple M ent I ng Inter V ent I on S

F or S CH ool- aged C HI ldren & a dole SC ent S WI t H aU t ISM

Spe C tr UM dIS order

- MEGHAN BARLOW, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

This workshop will take a deep dive into the varied needs of autistic children and adolescents. Clinicians and educators will learn strategies for addressing common challenges and deficits in autistic children and adolescents. Techniques and interventions that capitalize on the strengths of the autistic individual while building skills to support their needs will be presented and demonstrated. Workshop participants will learn a framework for developing a collaborative and comprehensive treatment plan, prioritizing needs, and addressing short term and long term goals.

Course Objectives

Participants will learn practical strategies to address the following challenges:

• Inattention, hyperactivity

• Engagement, motivation, task initiation, work completion

- GORDON NEuFELD, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

There is currently an epidemic of anxiety and agitation affecting children and teens which can take many forms including attention problems, clinginess, eating problems, obsessions, compulsions, phobias, panic, sleep issues, physical illnesses, as well as a host of other perplexing behaviours. Today’s world can create many challenges for children and youth with school pressures, peer interactions, family dynamics, negative self-image, perfectionism, and many other stressors that can impede a child’s ability to learn and mature. Whether it’s the natural, episodic worries or more profound and crippling versions of anxiety, Dr. Neufeld will help make sense of the roots of anxiety and agitation and suggest ways in which we can help bring the anxious and agitated to rest.

Course Objectives

• understanding the spectrum of syndromes that are all rooted in the primary emotion of alarm

• Appreciating the attachment roots of anxiety and agitation

• Exposing the emotional root of most attention problems

-

MEGHAN BARLOW, PH .D.

Live-Stream Option Available

Gifted children and adolescents have unique social and emotional needs that are often overlooked. This workshop will review the ways in which giftedness may be identified and classified into different categories, common myths and misconceptions about giftedness, the theory of overexcitabilities in gifted individuals, and misdiagnosis in the gifted population. Additionally, twice exceptionality will be discussed along with commonly co-occuring conditions. Participants will develop an appreciation for the depths of the needs that very bright children and their families may have. This workshop will focus on strategies, interventions, and accommodations to support the social and emotional needs of gifted children and adolescents. u neven development, lack of goodness of fit, and differences in processing information are some of the underlying causes of behavioral problems in gifted children and adolescents.

Live-Stream Option Available

In today’s world, our children and youth face an unprecedented level of stress and pressure, making it hard to effectively selfregulate and manage day-to-day stressors. As parents, educators, and mental health professionals, it’s essential that we equip ourselves with effective strategies to help children and teens develop the skills they need to navigate life’s challenges. When they don’t know how to manage those emotions, problem behaviours often result and can negatively affect their physical, psychological, academic, and social well-being. For many, they struggle to meet even the most basic expectations. It is essential they receive the right support.

Course Objectives

• Explain self-regulation and emotional management in children and teens.

• Identify the role of emotions and how they show up.

• Differentiate misbehaviour from stress behaviour.

Live-Stream Option Available

The alarming rise in anxiety, depression, despair, and attention problems, begs for an explanation. The prevailing premise blames the social isolation experienced during the pandemic. When the dots are joined however, another picture emerges that reveals the attachment roots of mental health. This current mental health crisis provides us with a unique opportunity to understand the underlying dynamics, giving us a guide to better take care of our children, our students and ourselves.

Course Objectives

• Gaining insight as to the attachment and emotional roots of mental health

• Making sense of how the pandemic affected the mental health of students

• Appreciating how peer orientation predisposes to mental health problems

• u nderstanding why self-care for children can be counterproductive

• Being equipped with developmental interventions for the prevention and reversal of mental health problems

GOrdOn neufeld, ph.d. is a vancouver-based developmental psychologist with over 50 years of experience with children and youth and those responsible for them. A foremost authority on child development, Dr. Neufeld is an international speaker, a bestselling author (Hold On To Your Kids) and a leading interpreter of the developmental paradigm. Dr. Neufeld has a widespread reputation for making sense of complex problems and for opening doors for change. While formerly involved in university teaching and private practice, he now devotes his time to teaching and training others, including educators and helping professionals.

“I have no words to express my appreciation to Gordon Neufeld and to Hirose for bringing this valuable, life-changing information. The material taught resonates professionally and personally too. Thank you!”

marYann BrittinGham, mS holds a master’s degree in family and child counselling from Long Island u niversity and a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from D’Youville College. She has over 38 years of experience as a special education teacher and child/ family counsellor, with experience working in psychiatric settings creating therapeutic options for students who require higher levels of emotional and academic support. MaryAnn is a certified trainer at Life Space Crisis Intervention, which uses interactive therapeutic strategies to transform crisis situations into learning opportunities, and she teaches graduate-level courses in special education and educational psychology at two colleges in New York.

“There was so much valuable information. I don’t know which idea to implement first!”

CarOline BuzankO, ph.d. is a Psychologist. Mother. International Speaker. Yoda of Anxiety. Neurodivergent Superhero. Changer of Lives. She is a dynamic force in the field of psychology, dedicating nearly three decades to transforming the lives of children, teens, and their families. With a dedicated commitment to fostering deep connections, instilling unwavering confidence, igniting motivation, and building resilience in the face of challenges, Dr. Buzanko’s mission is clear: to ensure that every child and teenager receive the understanding and support they deserve.

“The presenter was very knowledgeable in her area of expertise. She provided several personal and work-related examples; this was extremely helpful. This webinar will definitely help me in my work as a school psychologist. Thank you Caroline!”

SteVen G. feifer, d.ed is dually trained as both a nationally certified school psychologist and board certified pediatric neuropsychologist, having completed research stints at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Feifer has earned numerous distinctions throughout his career including the Maryland School Psychologist of the Year, the National School Psychologist of the Year, and the Outstanding Contribution to the Education and Training of Psychologists award by the Maryland Psychological Association. He has authored eight books on learning and emotional disorders in children. Lastly, Dr. Feifer has authored three tests on diagnosing learning disabilities in children, all of which are published by PAR.

“I love the speaker. He knows how to engage the audience and keep us focused. Interesting and applicable info and stories, very organized and will timed presentation.”

daniel j. fOx, ph.d is a popular and influential psychologist as well as a multiaward-winning author. He is an internationally acclaimed speaker and the founder and director of Applied Psychological Services, PLLC in Texas. Dr. Fox has been a licensed, practicing psychologist for nearly two decades, working with both children and adults. He is an expert on personality disorders, especially narcissistic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorders. Dr Fox is also an authority on burnout prevention and professional enhancement. Esteemed as a writer, Dr. Fox’s books include Antisocial, Borderline, Narcissistic and Histrionic Workbook, which won Gold in the Psychology Category at the 2016 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards.

CY nthia we S le YeSquimaux, ph. d served as vice Provost for Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead university for three years. Effective September 2016 she was appointed as the 1st Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead university and continues to develop pathways forward to reconciliation across Canada. Cynthia was inducted as a “Honourary Witness” by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2014, and is the Chair of the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the university of Manitoba. Cynthia was the inaugural Nexen Chair for Indigenous Leadership at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity where she remains a faculty member and is currently the Interim Director for the Indigenous Leadership Program. She is also Chair of the Teach for Canada non-profit which recruits teachers for remote First Nation schools in Ontario and Manitoba.

lYnne kenneY, pSY.d. is the nation’s leading pediatric psychologist in the development of classroom cognitive-physical activity programs for students in grades K-8. Dr. Kenney develops curriculum, programming, and activities to improve children’s cognition through coordinative cognitive-motor movement, executive function skill-building strategies, and social-emotional learning. Dr. Kenney’s most recent educational program is CogniMoves® a universal Tier I MTSS cognitive-motor movement program, co-developed with Benjamin S. Bunney, MD, Former Chairman Department of Psychiatry at Yale u niversity. CogniMoves® is designed to strengthen executive function skills in K-3 students.

“Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills. I loved the ‘hands on’ activities and plan to use them in my kindergarten class.”

meGhan BarlOw, ph.d. is a licensed pediatric psychologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum. She also has a wide range of experience working with children who have a variety of anxiety disorders, developmental disorders, attention deficit disorders, mood disorders, behavioral concerns, genetic and metabolic syndromes and acute or chronic medical conditions. Dr. Barlow is the owner of a private practice, Meghan Barlow and Associates, where she provides assessment, treatment and group therapy services for children, adolescents, and young adults.

“Excellent speaker – engaging and able to differentiate teaching/information to suit the needs of a very diverse group (teachers, parents etc.)”

CariSSa muth, pSY.d., CCC is a registered psychologist in Alberta and the Clinical Director at the Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic. She holds Doctorate of Psychology, Master of Arts in Counselling, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees and ran a private practice in Alberta for the last eight years. Her research to date has focused on attachment theory, systems theory, and family involvement in addictions. With almost a decade of experience in inpatient and outpatient settings, Dr. Muth has provided psychological assessments, therapeutic treatments and conducted research in the field of substance addictions and comorbid psychological disorders. With a passion for learning, she has developed an eclectic understanding of the etiology and treatment of mental health and psychological disorders.

by Jack Hirose &

Since 1998, former clinical counsellor Jack Hirose has developed training programs for over 100,000 professionals across Canada. The Hirose Institute will enable career advancing certification programs for our valued community of mental health and education professionals. Each course offers invaluable new skills and the ability to showcase this training for use in professional portfolios or private practice.

Holistic Addiction Treatment Certification

Begins february 7, 2024 | 8:30am - 4:00pm pSt

This 4-week certificate program will provide attendees with practical tools for the assessment and treatment of substance addictions. Traditionally substance addiction treatment and subsequent cessation are considered a necessary first step before addressing additional psychological symptoms or presenting issues. However, this viewpoint often eliminates access to help for individuals and their families who are not yet committed to sobriety. Rather, having a broader understanding of the development and treatment of the disorder can equip treatment providers with an effective yet flexible approach enabling them to support a wider array of clients.

utilizing current empirical evidence, this program will provide an overview of the field of addictions from a holistic understanding of the development of the disorder. From there, guidance will be offered for the assessment of substance addictions with the goal to equip treatment providers to optimally recommend a path of treatment. Given the complexity and persistent nature of substance addictions, effective treatment is multifaceted and often lengthy. Having a holistic understanding and tools to address each component increases the likelihood, and often confidence, of treatment providers.

As such, attendees will leave this program equipped with practical techniques to address aspects of the biological, social, psychological, and existential components of substance addiction. This includes an overview of various invention methods including CBT and narrative therapy in order to address a variety of client presentations.

aG enda

february 7 - understanding addictions

february 14 - Four components of substance addictions

february 21 - Assessing addictions and Working with clients in addictive addiction

february 28 - Treatment methods

learnin G O B jeC tiVe S

1. Develop an understanding of the impact of historical perspectives of addictions and how they continue to influence treatment decisions and stigmatization.

2. Formulate treatment plans based on a robust understand of various components contributing to the development of the disorder.

3. Competently navigate the addiction field through a basic understanding of various perspectives and current areas of research.

Cari SSa m uth, pSY. d., CCC is a registered psychologist and the Clinical Director at the Sunshine Coast Health Centre and Georgia Strait Women’s Clinic. She holds Doctorate of Psychology, Master of Arts in Counselling, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees and ran a private practice for the last eight years. Her research has focused on attachment theory, systems theory, and family involvement in addictions. Dr. Muth has provided psychological assessments, therapeutic treatments and conducted research in the field of substance addictions and comorbid psychological disorders.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Certification

Begins february 5, 2024 | 8:30am - 12:45pm pSt

This 6-week course will teach you how to use Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) as a highly effective tool in your therapy to treat clients with problems managing emotions. DBT has been proven effective as a strategy for treating bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, concurrent substance use; as well as problems with shame, anger and grief.

Your instructor Sheri van Dikj, MSW, RSW, will utilize lecture, experiential exercises, and case consultation to explore DBT strategies and behavioural principles. You will learn the four modules of DBT including: Core Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Distress Tolerance.

This certification program is designed to equip therapists with useful DBT strategies to use in clinical practice resulting in improved therapeutic relationships and reduced feelings of ineffectiveness and burnout.

aG enda

february 5

• Origins of DBT

• Difference between DBT & CBT

• Intro to Mindfulness

• The research

february 12

• Commitment Strategies

• Stages of Treatment

• The Diary Card

february 26

• The Behavioural Analysis (activity)

• Radical Acceptance

• Core Mindfulness Skills

learnin G O B jeC tiVe S

march 4

• Emotion Regulation Skills

• Model of Emotions

• Function of Emotions

march 11

• Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills (activity)

• Distress Tolerance Skills

april 8

• Solution Analysis

• Mini Treatment Plans

• Discussion of skills with different diagnoses/problems

1. Learn more about the origins of DBT, including a brief look at DBT versus CBT; the traditional DBT model including Stages of treatment; and research demonstrating the effectiveness of adaptations to DBT .

2. Describe the biosocial theory and how this applies to BPD and other disorders of emotion dysregulation.

3. Discuss behaviour theory and the importance of these concepts to building stronger relationships with clients, and to assist clients in making behavioural changes.

Sheri Van d ijk, m Sw, r Sw has advanced degrees from York u niversity and the u niversity of Toronto and has been working in the mental health field since 2000. Her extensive experience with and knowledge of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Mindfulness Practice has inspired her to write a number of books, and she regularly conducts training sessions for fellow professionals. Sheri worked at Southlake Regional Health Centre in an outpatient mental health clinic for 14 years, and now works full-time in her private practice.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder Certification

Begins january 25, 2024 | 8:30am - 12:45pm pSt

This 6-week certification program will teach you solution focused techniques for working with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children, adolescents, young adults, and their families. The course is designed so that course participants will feel confident in understanding the origins of oppositional defiant disorder as well as the reasons it continues, and effective interventions that can be used in a school, family, clinic, or in-home setting. Your instructor Dr. Jay Berk will utilize both lecture and highly interactive exercises. Dr. Berk has over 40 years of experience working with children and adolescents, specializing in oppositional defiant disorder. You will come away from this course with a multitude of interventions that can be effective immediately in the short term, as well as those that may take longer, but can be sustained. The beginner through expert level professional will benefit from this program.

aG enda

january 25

• Laying the foundation for understanding oppositional behaviour

• Why it exists and how it is perpetuated

• The power of oppositional behavior and its purpose

february 1

• Diagnoses that often accompany oppositional defiant behavior

- understanding ADHD and ODD

• Other factors that perpetuate oppositional defiant behavior

- Reviewing comorbid diagnoses

february 8

• The impact of ODD on others

• understanding traditional course for oppositional defiant children and adolescents

• understanding the effectiveness of medication

Treating Trauma in Clinical Practice Certification

Begins january 26, 2024 | 8:30am - 11:45am pSt

According to trauma experts such as Peter Levin, Bessel van der Kolk, and Gabor Mate’ trauma isn’t something that happens to you, it is what happens inside you. Trauma changes the brain and nervous system and can tremendously impact relationships and overall well-being. Left unresolved trauma can result in depression, anxiety, fear, rage, addiction, relationship difficulties, and other diagnoses. Additionally, shame often develops alongside of trauma, as clients try to find emotional safety and the ability to love themselves and access self-compassion.

february 15

• Intervention in the home setting

• Dynamics of therapy with the client

• Difficulty with engagement

february 22

• Emotional regulation

• Social issues accompanying oppositional behaviour

• What are the options if the child does not get better?

february 29

• What to do if your initial interventions don’t work

• Academic setting

• The importance of relationships

jaY Berk, p h. d. is a licensed clinical psychologist and an internationally recognized expert in the child/ adolescent behavioural field who brings both a clinical and education perspective to his work with children, adolescents and their families. For over 25 years, Dr. Berk has been treating clients with ODD, ADHD, autism, anxiety and stress, depression, learning disabilities, Tourette’s Syndrome and individuals who have Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Patti Ashley combines decades of evidenced based work, neuroscience, polyvagal theory, attachment research, and various treatment modalities to help clients break free from trauma’s grip, and find ways to access emotional safety and authenticity. This eight-week course will provide clinicians with a deeper understanding of the impact of explicit trauma and the correlating implicit shame in clinical practice. Tools and techniques for effective treatment including person-centered empathy, rescripting, mindfulness, self-compassion, and much more will be explored.

aG enda

january 26 - The Neurobiology of Trauma

february 2 - Polyvagal Theory

february 9 - Creating a Safe Environment for Treatment

february 16 - The Role of Shame in Healing Trauma

february 23 - Empathy in Trauma Treatment

march 1 - Emotional Literacy and Agency

march 8 - Treatment Strategies to Reconstruct Emotional Safety

march 15 - Grief, Loss, Compassion Fatigue, Self-Care, and Q&As

learnin G O B jeC tiVe S

1. Develop an understanding of the neurobiology of trauma and shame.

2. Recognize how trauma and shame impacts the autonomic nervous system’s sense of safety and connection.

3. Become competent in working with Polyvagal Theory.

4. Recognize the sensory aspects of trauma and develop fine-tuned co-regulation skills.

5. utilize techniques that facilitate healing body memories of trauma and shame.

6. Identify non-verbal, sensory, and implicit cues of shame related to trauma treatment.

patti aS hle Y, p h d, lp C

International workshop presenter, author, and psychotherapist Patti Ashley, Ph.D, LPC, has integrated 40 years of experience in special education, child development, and psychology into her wholehearted work as a psychotherapist, author, international speaker, and authenticity architect coach. She brings unique insights into the identification and treatment of shame, trauma, grief, and dysfunctional family patterns. Dr. Ashley owns and operates Authenticity Architects in Boulder, Colorado.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cancellation & refund policy

14 business days or more prior to the Online Certification Course start date: full credit, credits do not expire.

Less than 14 business days prior to the Online Certification Course start date: no refund or credit under any circumstance. Replacement can be sent, subject to a $25.00 administrative fee.

Cancellations: must be submitted by email.

Change Fees: When registering please use your professional name, correct email and double check spelling is accurate. There is a $25.00 administrative fee for changes made to attendee information once registration is complete.

Replacements: Please notify us of the replacement’s full name and contact information, including their email address prior to the start date.

Technology Liability: Registrants experiencing technical difficulties as a result of, but not limited to user error, personal software malfunction, slow internet connection, etc. will not be refunded under any circumstances. Please see Technology Liability included in Terms and Conditions below.

Credits

In order to redeem your credit please email registration@jackhirose.com with your full name and which course you would like to attend. Please note, registration using a credit must be done manually by our office. Adjustments cannot be made for previous purchases.

Continuing education Credits

We are accredited by: Canadian Psychological Association (recognized by the Alberta College of Social Workers), Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, vocational Rehabilitation Association, Canadian Professional Counselling Association, Indigenous Certification Board of Canada, Employee Assistance Certification Commission (EAPA), Canadian College of Professional Counsellors & Psychotherapists. Please note: The number of course credits will vary for each event. Please see the event listing for specific workshop accreditation.

Certificates

Certificates are distributed electronically via a link at the end of the webinar. This link is only provided once the quiz has been taken and a passing grade is achieved. If a participant does not complete the quiz by the predetermined deadline, no extensions

will be granted under any circumstances. If the quiz has not been completed, a certificate will not be issued.

receipts

Receipts are automatically sent by email when participants register and pay online. Please be aware spam filters can block email receipts. Additional copies can be downloaded by logging into your account: My Account – Orders – Download PDF. full-time Student rates

For full-time student rates, please email webinars@jackhirose.com prior to purchase. Students are eligible to receive the full time student rate if you meet the following criteria.

1. If you are a full-time student – enrolled in a minimum of 3 courses or 9 credits per semester from a recognized accredited university or institution including but not limited to: Ph.D., Masters, & Bachelor’s degree programs.

2. Attend over 100 hours per semester of course instruction either in-class instruction or online courses.

3. Are able to provide proof of full-time student status. Such as a student transcript or letter of enrolment from your school’s registrar.

Group rates

Fees are for one individual. Each user receives their own login and password so they can login from home and have access to the video files, handouts and they get a certificate of completion.

The group rate is a discount depending on the number of participants and posted prices are per user, please see the rates below. These discounts can be combined with other offers. Please note, if a promotional code for a group rate is used the promo code will expire 2 weeks after it is provided to the group leader. If the minimum number of registrants for the group rate are not registered by this time, the group leader will be charged the difference for the outstanding balance.

6 Credit Course

• Group 3 – 7: $15 off per person

• Group 8 – 14: $30 off per person

• Group 15+ : $50 off per person

12 Credit Course

• Group 3 – 7: $30 off per person

• Group 8 – 14: $60 off per person

• Group 15+ : $100 off per person

18 Credit Course

• Group 3 – 7: $45 off per person

• Group 8 – 14: $90 off per person

• Group 15+ : $150 off per person

For groups of 20+ please contact our office for a custom rate.

Group leaders

Group leaders are responsible for organizing their groups prior to submitting registration forms. Group leaders will be contacted if there are any discrepancies regarding payment or attendance. It is the group leader’s responsibility to provide correct payment, registrant information, etc. once they have been informed.

additional members

If you would like to add members to your group, please have the group leader contact webinars@jackhirose.com. Additional member requests must be submitted prior to the air date. Please note, the initial group rate will continue to apply regardless of the number of additional registrants.

price adjustments

Please note we are unable to administer price adjustments. If you registered individually and wish to register as a group or have previously registered and wish to receive bundled pricing, you must cancel your individual registration. Our cancellation policy, including a $75 administration fee, will apply.

All coupons must be entered at checkout at the time of purchase in order to receive the discount. Adjustments will not be given for coupons not entered at checkout.

Group Cancellation policy

There are no cancellations, refunds, or credits for group rate registrations. Replacements will be subject to a $25.00 administration fee.

terms & Conditions

Read on our website: hirose-institute.mailchimpsites.com

website: hirose-institute.mailchimpsites.com

email: hiroseinstitute@jackhirose.com

phone: 604 924 0296

Fees

Introductory offer - we are launching this certification program at $799.00 CAD. Includes 24 hours of live, interactive training with a small, intimate group size.