The Men’s Project

Taxpayer’s $$$s flow.......

(the following two postings were found on the Men’s Project Website, September 2007.  (1) The AG provides funds for a provincial conference in Toronto, March 2008.  (2) The Cornwall Public Inquiry funds five “free” training sessions in Cornwall -  November 2007 through April 2008)

Men of Courage: The First Provincial Conference on Male Sexual Victimization

The Men's Project, with the assistance of a grant from the Ministry of the Attorney General, will be hosting a conference in Toronto in March 2008 tentatively called Men of Courage: The First Provincial Conference on Male Sexual Victimization.

The Conference Advisory Committee, made up of service providers from the Greater Toronto Area, will hold its first meeting on September 28, 2007.  During this meeting the Committee will decide on the conference streams, finalize the location and dates.

The site will be updated with this information as soon as it becomes available.

Check back here to get your registration package, or to respond to a call for proposals to present a workshop during this conference.

Cornwall Training Conference Series

Registration form for Cornwall Training Conference Series

As part of the healing and reconciliation mandate of the Cornwall Public Inquiry, The Men’s Project has been chosen to provide training opportunities for counsellors, social service and health care providers, teachers and others in the helping professions. These five training sessions are provided at no cost to participants as part of a larger agenda of practical initiatives designed to provide tools to address the needs of those who have been sexually abused or traumatized and the professionals seeking to support them.

Colleen Parrish

Director of Policy

Cornwall Public Inquiry

FROM CONCEPTUALIZATION TO ENGAGEMENT:

A TWO-DAY TRAINING ON MALE SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION

Wednesday, November 14 & Thursday, November 15, 2007

9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – lunch included

St. Lawrence Ballroom West, Ramada Inn & Conference Centre

805 Brookdale Avenue, Cornwall, Ontario

Trainers:  Monica Forst, M.Ed., C.C.C., I.C.A.D.C. and Rick Goodwin, MSW, RSW

From Conceptualization to Engagement combines conceptual training on male sexual victimization along with core intervention skills and strategies designed to empower frontline workers to actively intervene with male survivors.  This combination of theory and practice with an emphasis on experiential approaches addresses many of the practical and clinical concerns of frontline professionals and volunteers.  Significant time will be allowed for participatory learning: questions, comments, brief case issues, and adaptation of skills to various sectors of the helping professions.

From Conceptualization to Engagement is ideal for mental health and other professionals, addiction workers, case workers, correctional workers, those front-line staff who have some clinical engagement with clients, and students in related fields.

Wednesday, December 5 & Thursday, December 6, 2007

9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – lunch included

St. Lawrence Ballroom West, Ramada Inn & Conference Centre

805 Brookdale Avenue, Cornwall, Ontario

Trainers:  Andy Fisher, PhD, (c)OACCPP and Monica Forst, M.Ed., C.C.C., I.C.A.D.C.

Revisioning Men’s Violence is based on recent research examining the links between male childhood trauma and domestic violence in adult relationships.  While many practitioners are aware that men who are assaultive in their intimate relationships have a significant history of childhood abuse, there has been little in the way of intervention programs that are derived from this research and application.

Revisioning Men’s Violence therefore focuses on the clinical implications of adopting a trauma-oriented understanding of interpersonal violence.  In this regard, Revisioning Men’s Violence questions whether the currently dominant “power and control” model offers a sufficiently comprehensive picture of the inner world of men who assault their partners.  This training presents an alternative, more differentiated approach to male violence.

Revisioning Men’s Violence is ideal for mental health and other professionals, addiction workers, case workers, probation and other criminal justice workers, Partner Assault Response (PAR) program staff, forensic mental health service providers, correctional workers, those front-line staff who have some clinical engagement with clients, and students in related fields.

Wednesday, January 16 & Thursday, January 17, 2008

9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – lunch included

Adirondack Room, Ramada Inn & Conference Centre

805 Brookdale Avenue, Cornwall, Ontario

Trainers:  Andy Fisher, PhD, (c)OACCPP and Monica Forst, M.Ed., C.C.C., I.C.A.D.C.

Many trauma theorists discuss at length why group work is a preferred model of intervention with trauma survivors: it lessens the isolation faced in individual therapy, allows one’s testimony to be witnessed, and creates a supportive learning atmosphere that can benefit all participants.  However, many practitioners do not have the necessary conceptual and practical skill set to carry over their clinical engagement from individual practice to group practice.

Group Theory and Practice engages counsellors in deepening their group theory and skills in order to allow for dynamic yet safe intervention.  Covering topics ranging from: Opening Circle to psycho-educational material design, Group Theory and Practice aims to boost the confidence of counsellors working with survivors, both male and female, or wishing to expand their services to include this population.

Group Theory and Practice is ideal for mental health and other professionals, addiction workers, case workers, correctional workers, any professionals wishing to deepen their group theory and skills, and students in related fields.

SELF-CARE FOR THE TRAUMA WORKER:
A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP FOCUSING ON VICARIOUS TRAUMA

Thursday, February 21 & Friday, February 22, 2008

9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – lunch included

Adirondack Room, Ramada Inn & Conference Centre

805 Brookdale Avenue, Cornwall, Ontario

Trainers:  Andy Fisher, PhD, (c)OACCPP and Monica Forst, M.Ed., C.C.C., I.C.A.D.C.

For professionals engaged with clients who have been sexually abused, vicarious traumatization is an occupational hazard.  After repeated immersion in the terrifying stories of others, it is not uncommon for trauma workers to themselves develop trauma symptoms.  This risk is particularly acute for those workers who have themselves experienced childhood abuse.

Self-Care for the Trauma Worker is a participatory experiential workshop that introduces the practice of Focusing as a particular self-care strategy.  Focusing is a body-based process that gently accesses one’s inner experience.  It is a revitalizing way of finding the “good energy” underneath one’s distressful feelings and of allowing for life-forwarding steps of change to come through the body.  It has been shown to be a powerful therapeutic tool both in working with trauma survivors and in therapist self-care.

Self-Care for the Trauma Worker is ideal for mental health and other professionals, addiction workers, case workers, correctional workers, and those front-line staff who have some clinical engagement with clients, students in related fields, as well as participants who have personally experienced vicarious traumatization or who wish to insulate themselves against it.

TRAUMA AND RESILENCY:

A FOUR-DAY TRAINING INTENSIVE FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH TRAUMA

Monday, March 31 to Thursday, April 3, 2008

9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – lunch included

Adirondack Room, Ramada Inn & Conference Centre

805 Brookdale Avenue, Cornwall, Ontario

Trainers:  Monica Forst, M.Ed., C.C.C., I.C.A.D.C. and Roy Salole, MBBS, CTA

In order to formulate, implement and sustain the challenges posed by the demands of trauma-based intervention, we believe that mental health staff need to be thoroughly resourced, both as individual counsellors and as a team of professionals.  We also believe that for these staff, issues relating to trauma and recovery must be integrated within their life view, and not just understood conceptually.

Primarily based on the learning objectives presented in the From Conceptualization to Engagement workshop, Trauma and Resiliency addresses all of these needs and more.  Its ultimate goal is to resource both the staff and the agency in ensuring quality psychotherapy for the community it serves.

Trauma and Resiliency is designed to deepen and sustain the work of counsellors who work with both male and female survivors of childhood sexual or physical abuse.  Furthermore, Trauma and Resiliency can be adapted for those services who work with a particular population or intervention lens (e.g. addiction services, youth programs, correctional services).

Trauma and Resiliency is ideal for mental health and other professionals, addiction workers, case workers, correctional workers, those front-line staff who have some clinical engagement with clients, and students in related fields.