TRAINING INSTITUTE

Calgary Family Services, provider #1114, is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org, through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program.  Calgary Family Services maintains responsibility for the program.

ACSW recognizes the following Continuing Education Hours as “A” Category Credits.

Crazy by Design - Level I & II

Adolescent Brain Development

Understanding the adolescent brain process of sculpting and pruning, reorganizing and prioritizing and actually growing the brain, at rates and in ways not previously realized or understood, can assist in understanding what is helpful and what is counterproductive when working with teens.

This workshop provides a fascinating blend of interpersonal neurobiology with years of learning from practical intervention with youth.

Crazy by Design looks at normal adolescence and reward vs. risk, the neuroscience of play, the chemistry of sleep, the importance of touch, the incredible pharmacy in our brains and how to unlock everything from “joy juice” to bonding chemicals.

And the workshop looks at more at-risk youth who have necessary yet destructive continual streams of stress cortisols that replace thinking with fight, flight or frozen responses that impair memory and social/ emotional growth.  Ideas of how to create high intensity relational moments that allow impressions to be fixed in memory and resilience to be created are played with during the workshop and participants are welcomed to share their ideas of how to use their brain to sculpt and engage a teen’s brain. 

This two part workshop (Level I and II) provides an overview of the latest literature and research on the brain and facilitates a process for practice application.  The effect and impact that elevated stress and arousal levels have on adolescent brain function is addressed with particular focus on how it impacts trust, relationships, cognition, memory and the brain in all parts of the body.  By the end of the workshop participants:

1.     recognize, describe and understand brain development of the adolescent

2.     identify, define and describe the effect and impact elevated stress and arousal levels have on brain functioning, regarding cognition and formation of memory;

3.     define, recognize, develop and apply identified practical clinical skills for engaging, interviewing and being naturally yet therapeutically involved with youth

This workshop is appropriate for social workers, mental health therapists and human service professionals working at an intermediate or advanced level.

Beyond Broken Windows

Beyond Broken Windows invites communities/schools into a thoughtful process that is intended to create the kind of synergy and excitement that promotes action and assists making changes in that context to reduce crime, create safety and build connection with one another.

An exciting workshop, BBW,  draws from the fields of sociology, psychology, interpersonal neurobiology, as well as social anthropology and cultural ethnology.

Beyond Broken Windows is intended to stretch us into looking at problems from the perspective of the impact of the broader context. Bringing community/school together and empowering individuals to take action in their community by assessing interpersonal weaknesses rather than individual pathology. New ways of looking at old and new problems

The three hour presentation is intended to spark creative thought so that communities are moved from intent to action. The information is general but stimulating; the premise is that the solution lie in the neighbourhoods/schools in which the problem exist and are best sculpted by those that live with them daily.

When Nervous Hearts Meet

In working with Calgary and Area Child and Family Services Authority to support children transitioning within the foster care system, Calgary Family Services has developed a unique specialty in supporting children and families as they move      forward with nervous hearts following trauma, separation and loss.

When Nervous Hearts Meet is a theory and skill based workshop for counsellors  working with families in crisis and transition, including but not limited to the loss of a loved one, divorce, abuse and/or living within foster care.

Please check the "Seminars" section of the website for current seminars which may not be listed here.

For these and other workshops please phone Gail Smillie @ 205-5257