LIVE STREAM: December 9, 2026 from 8:30am – 4:00pm (Edmonton, AB) Please adjust your start time according to your specific time zone.
ON-DEMAND: Recorded footage & course content (certificate, videos, quiz) will be available until January 17, 2027. Please allow 3 – 10 business days for footage to be processed. Extensions cannot be granted under any circumstances.
Day Three – December 9, 2026
5. Working with Children and Youth who are High-Risk, Marginalized and Engage in Self-Harming Behaviour
Presented by Caroline Buzanko, Ph.D., R. Psych
8:30am – 4:00pm December 9, 2026
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
For anyone who know that “safety contracts” don’t work and want to know what does. Self-harm among youth isn’t rising because young people are more fragile. It’s rising because the conditions they’re navigating create psychological states where harming one’s own body makes functional sense. This intensive 6-hour workshop is designed for anyone who work with the youth carrying the heaviest burdens: those at the intersection of marginalization, trauma, and self-injury.
You’ll move beyond risk management checklists to understand the why beneath the behaviour. Drawing on the established theories and evidence-based interventions for self-harm, this training provides the clinical precision needed when the stakes are highest.
This workshop addresses the reality that therapy fails when it replicates the same power dynamics that harm youth in the first place. You’ll learn how to structure engagement that honours adolescent autonomy, conduct chain analyses that reveal intervention points invisible in standard assessments, and teach physiological regulation skills that work when cognitive strategies fail. We’ll tackle the specific dialectical dilemmas of adolescent treatment: how to involve parents without breaking confidentiality, how to validate pain without reinforcing dysfunction, and how to adapt evidence-based protocols for youth who experience standard therapeutic language as minimizing and unhelpful.
You’ll also confront the parts of this work that textbooks skip: how to stay regulated when a 14-year-old shows you fresh burns, how to respond when a family’s exhaustion manifests as rage, and how to maintain therapeutic boundaries while practicing the “moral courage” required to witness historical trauma.
This workshop is key to develop enough technical skill and relational capacity that young people choose to stay alive long enough to discover they want to.
6. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Reframing Behaviours to Support Strengths and Promote Success
Presented by Denise Nowicki, Ph.D., B.Ed., B.Sc.
8:30am – 4:00pm December 9, 2026
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Did you know that Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disabilities in Canada, affecting an estimated 4% of the population (CanFASD, 2024)? Despite its prevalence, FASD often goes unrecognized or misunderstood, leaving those working with these individuals wondering why traditional strategies are not working and why some continue to struggle despite their best efforts.
Join us for an engaging and practical presentation designed specifically for those working with challenging children and youth who want to better understand, identify, and support individuals with FASD. This session moves beyond labels and challenges us to dig deeper into behaviour to understand the brain-based differences that influence learning, emotional regulation, social interactions, and executive functioning.
Participants will learn about the prevalence and characteristics of FASD, common signs that may indicate an individual is struggling with neurodevelopmental challenges, and the impact these differences can have on individuals across the lifespan. Most importantly, we will explore how reframing our perspective—from asking “What’s wrong with this individual?” to “What does this individual need to succeed?”—can transform relationships, reduce frustration, and improve outcomes for both the individuals impacted by FASD and those working with them.
This presentation emphasizes a strengths-based, compassionate approach that recognizes the unique abilities, creativity, resilience, and potential of individuals with FASD. By understanding how the brain works and adapting our expectations and supports accordingly, attendees will leave with practical strategies to create supportive environments, foster positive behaviour, and build meaningful connections that help students thrive.
Whether you are a classroom teacher, educational assistant, administrator, counsellor, or support professional, this session will provide valuable insights and tools that can be applied immediately in educational settings.
Together, we can move beyond behaviours, recognize hidden strengths, and create communities where individuals with FASD are understood, supported and empowered to thrive.
