All Webinars

Increasingly, Indigenous youth are being called on to serve on Boards of Directors, act as advisors, deliver keynote addresses and/or participate in events. We’re excited about these developments and want to help organizations engaging Indigenous youth to think through how they will support them in this work and contribute to their overall well-being.

Specific learning objectives for this presentation are to:

1.    Become familiar with the supports that you can put into place for Indigenous youth when you invite them to provide advice, share experiences or participate in events.

2.    Discuss how to work creatively and respectfully with Indigenous youth leaders and organizations so that young leaders are supported both before and after your event or engagement.

Canada is in the midst of reforming its federal parenting laws and it is important that social workers are informed of these changes.  With Bill C-78 coming in effect in 2020, the Divorce Act will adopt child-centered parenting terminology; an evidence-informed definition and criteria for family violence in making parenting orders; and a comprehensive relocation scheme. Reforms will also include a non-exhaustive list of best interests of the child criteria, including criteria addressing voice of the child and Indigenous heritage. The reforms will also impose obligations on legal advisers and other family justice professionals to encourage out-of-court dispute resolution and child-focused resolutions. This workshop will provide an overview of the proposed changes, discuss the implications to research and practice, and address implementation issues for the field of social work.

The webinar will cover some of the following about Hoarding disorder:

• To understand the substantive changes proposed to parenting laws in Canada
• To explore the integration of family justice reform with best available research
• To prepare social workers to assist families to navigate these parenting law reforms

Bill C-92: An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis children, youth and families, is the first federal legislation on the subject of Indigenous Child and Family Services [CFS].

The Act is the first statute to recognize inherent Indigenous jurisdiction over CFS as an Aboriginal (S. 35) right in Canada. In addition, as called for in the TRC Final Report, the statute establishes national minimal standards for CFS delivery for all Indigenous children and families. This includes First Nation, ‘non-status,’ Métis, and Inuit children, living on or off reserve.

Despite the law being in force January 1, 2020, there has been very little education for social workers and service providers. Wahkohtowin Lodge has created a compliance guide along with some helpful hints to support you in connecting with Indigenous children, families and communities.

Learn how to build on your current strengths and wisdoms to achieve the best interest of the Indigenous child.  

Over the past few years, researchers studying mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have reported a multitude of benefits including improved emotion regulation, mood, social competence, and resilience, and research exploring mindfulness continues to expand. While much of this research emerges from the fields of health and psychology, social workers have a unique contribution to make to the practice and study of MBIs. Our approaches are holistic, creative, and strengths-based. We aim to create change that moves beyond an individual focus as practicing mindfulness encourages us to recognize our interconnections with all life forms, and to act to improve the communities we live in. With colleagues, I have been studying an arts-based mindfulness group program for over 10 years. We have tested our arts-based MBI with success with marginalized children/youth, university students, youths and adults seeking mental health services, Indigenous women, elementary school teachers, and women leaving abusive relationships.

In this webinar, participants will learn about:the personal and professional benefits of practicing mindfulness, for examples, developing therapeutic presence,

and engaging people in enjoyable processes that foster inclusion and expression,

a variety of arts-based mindfulness activities used in our MBI how to facilitate/discuss the philosophy of mindfulness including some of its concepts (self-compassion/non-judgement) and practices (mindful breathing/meditation)

and, importantly, how to facilitate these concepts and practices by way of arts-based and experiential methods that are highly engaging, and foster enjoyment and success.

This webinar is aimed at students who will attend the CASWE-ACFTS Annual Conference and are considering submitting an abstract to present. During this webinar you will:
•    Get a general overview of the online abstract submission system
•    Learn about the different presentation options
•    Receive tips on what to include in your abstract to increase your chances for success
•    Learn about the CASWE-ACFTS Student Awards for Outstanding Proposals
•    Learn about opportunities for student involvement during the Conference

Participants will come out of this webinar with a greater knowledge of key policy frameworks and recommendations to address poverty in Canada by considering both the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy, the new way to measure poverty in Canada and the work of anti-poverty advocates like you. We will explore the benefits and implications for those providing services in the social work field or conducting research, as well as opportunities for social workers to engage with the new official poverty line, systemic analysis and advocacy.

Key learnings:

• Advocating from a human rights framework: justice vs charity
• Key features of the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy (CPRS)
• Monitoring and evaluating the impact of the CPRS
• Further recommendations for addressing poverty in Canada
• Opportunities for advocacy

If you cannot make the live event, register now to be sent a link to the On-Demand version to view at your convenience. 

We encourage you to test your system to ensure a smooth viewing experience.  

Historical, political, economic, and social factors have shaped and continue to shape the health of Indigenous people. These factors have led to distinct healthcare needs, experiences with the health care system, and health outcomes among Indigenous people. Cultural safety means that people feel respected and safe when they interact with the health care system. Culturally safe health care services are free of racism and discrimination and encourage people to draw strengths from their identity, culture and community. Margot Latimer and Diane Obed will explain how historical events, treaties, and landmark documents have shaped the health experiences of Indigenous People. They will use examples from their work with the Aboriginal Children’s Hurt and Healing (ACHH) Initiative to explain disparities in health among Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. They will present the FIRST Approach, an approach to providing culturally safe clinical practice that can be used to improve the healthcare experiences of Indigenous children and families.

Specific learning objectives for this presentation are:

1. Acquire knowledge about the Indigenous people who live in Canada, where they live and important historical events that have affected their health and wellbeing.

2. Understand the current day impact of historical injustices and how policy and landmark decisions can and have shaped health care systems.

3. Understand the different dimensions of health (emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual) and how this knowledge can be applied when working with Indigenous people.

4. Understand and learn how to apply evidence-based, culturally safe clinical care principles

So, what is the difference between dependency and addiction?  Is cannabis safer than opioids for pain or simply less potent?  Why can’t men and women consume equal amounts of alcohol without developing different levels of intoxication?  If your practice involves working with individuals who use psychoactive drugs or have addiction issues, and, like most Canadian social workers, were never required to take an addiction studies course during your studies, this webinar will be a good introduction to help you distinguish between the lies, half-lies, damn lies, and the occasional truth surrounding this complex area of interdisciplinary practice. 

Webinar Key Learnings:
•    Development of a holistic conceptualization of addiction
•    Knowledge about the actual affects of key psychoactive agents
•    Time to ask specific questions regarding drug interactions

November is Domestic Violence Prevention Month in Canada. In that vein, this webinar will give an overview of domestic or intimate partner violence and the different forms in which it is manifested, particularly among male-female relationships.  It will highlight the pervasiveness of a specific kind of domestic violence, namely the pattern of control and power over another person, and its impacts on its victims. Finally, it will examine risk factors that can be used to identify potentially lethal situations, in an effort to prevent domestic homicides, the ultimate impact of an abusive relationship. Safety planning will be emphasized as a method of working with clients in abusive relationships.  

Webinar Key Objectives:

• To build knowledge of the pervasiveness of domestic violence
• To explore risk factors for lethality within abusive relationships
• To highlight a risk assessment tool for practitioners in the domestic violence sector which can be used to build competence and used in practice after further training
• To emphasize the need for safety planning with victims in abusive relationships

This webinar will focus on one or two concepts (TBD) from A Space for Race, a new book from Canadian scholars that engages in a critical examination of some of the major discourses related to original/settler/immigrant and, particularly, racialized belonging. In the course of this examination, the book explores the various themes of racism, multiculturalism, and post-colonialism and the ongoing tensions, challenges, and inconsistencies around race relations embedded within policy and practice in Canada. It traces the history of race relations and ensuing tensions from encounter to modern day and offers a broad, yet nuanced historical sketch of Indigenous and racialized ethnic groups that make up the Canadian landscape. The text also offers rich case examples to draw the reader's attention to the lived experiences of the "Other." As a whole, it engages with history in a particular way that challenges the historical records that has informed our imaginings.