Day 1

DAY 1: November 27, 2023

Workshop #1: Addressing the Emotional Roots of Anxiety & Agitation: An Attachment-Based Developmental Approach

MORNING SESSION | 8:30am - 11:45am

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This session is available for live stream.

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

Workshop #2: Trauma & Attachment

PRESENTED BY Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

MORNING SESSION | 8:30am - 11:45am

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This session is available for live stream.

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 Up 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 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.)
Develop strategies to address key personality disorders across the adult lifespan that are influenced by trauma and attachment disturbances (Antisocial, Borderline, Obsessive Compulsive Personality, etc.)
Understand how to establish a safe therapeutic environment that reestablishes healthy boundaries, connected communication and validates a client’s survival journey.

Workshop #4: Traumatic Memory & Best Practices for EMDR: Resource Development, Expectations & Setting Clients up for Effective EMDR Treatment

PRESENTED BY Daphne Fatter, Ph.D.

MORNING SESSION | 8:30am - 11:45am

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This session is available for live stream.

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.
Apply at least 2 interventions to use during Phase 2 to support client’s accessing resilience.

Lunch Break 11:45am - 12:45pm

Option to add a lunch buffet.

$30.45 per person, per day

Limited quantities available. Must pre-buy during registration, not available at the door. Individuals with strict dietary needs can pre-order lunch and pay directly through hotel restaurant.

Workshop #5: Why Our Children's Mental Health is Deteriorating & What Can Be Done About It

PRESENTED BY Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D.

AFTERNOON SESSION | 12:45pm - 4:00pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This session is available for live stream.

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

Workshop #6: Working with the Highly Dysregulated Child

PRESENTED BY Eboni Webb, Psy.D., HSP

AFTERNOON SESSION | 12:45pm - 4:00pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This session is available for live stream.

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.

Dr. Webb will additionally address key childhood disorders that left untreated can lead to maladaptive coping behaviours in adulthood. Dr. Webb will teach participants how to apply and adapt various skills training to reflect the language of children and how to establish a safe and supportive classroom in which children can learn and generalize these skills. Working with emotionally-dysregulated children in your classroom can be overwhelming and exhausting. You probably feel the pull of being the “saviour” for dysregulated children and their worried parents. Learn how to implement the skills you need to be more effective in the classroom, avoid burnout and achieve positive outcomes.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Describe the biosocial model of pervasive emotional dysregulation disorders found in innately sensitive children.
Utilize behaviour modification strategies at the earliest stage of dysregulation.
Summarize the importance of structure in both skills training and home environments and how to teach parents or care providers to implement these strategies.
Explain how to adapt each skills module to reflect the language of the child.
Explain the role of educators, care providers, and parents and how to reestablish a safe and loving structure that enables the child to learn and generalize skills.

Workshop #8: Using IFS-Informed EMDR for Complex Trauma

PRESENTED BY Daphne Fatter, Ph.D.

AFTERNOON SESSION | 12:45pm - 4:00pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This session is available for live stream.

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. Dr. Fatter will discuss the proposed mechanisms of change of each model including explaining both model’s use of the neurophysiological process of memory reconsolidation. With almost 20 years of experience in EMDR and as a seasoned IFS consultant, Dr. Fatter will review each phase of the eight phases of EMDR treatment while providing nuanced IFS-informed interventions to use at each phase while maintaining fidelity to the EMDR standard protocol. Case examples and a practical exercise will be provided for participants to practice using IFS-Informed interventions in various clinical situations. Common examples of when clients experience blocked trauma processing in EMDR, and ways IFS interventions can help clients return to trauma processing will be discussed. Ethical considerations, risks and limitations will also be reviewed in integrating these two models.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: