Instructors: Candice Brimner, Nicki Casseres

Beyond Harm Reduction is a highly interactive and hands-on training that connects concepts like trauma informed care, motivational interviewing, and crisis intervention to situations and tactics encountered while working with individuals with a history (or current experience) of substance use with hands-on training. Harm Reduction is a philosophy of care designed to lessen the physical and social consequences associated with various social behaviours, and refers to policies, programs, and practices that aim to minimize the negative health, social, and legal impacts associated with substance use, policies, and laws. Harm reduction is grounded in justice and human rights. It focuses on positive change and working with people without judgement, coercion, discrimination or requirements that people stop using drugs as a condition of support.

Beyond Harm Reduction goes further, and examines communication that can be stigmatizing, harmful and counter productive.  Participants will then learn and practice communication techniques that seek to remove biases and discrimination.   This training provides practical tools that can be used in a wide range of circumstances to guide social support processes within the human services sector.

Who is taking this course?

This course is ideally suited for frontline staff working in shelter, respite and residential settings but the techniques can be applied by anyone who is interacting with at-risk populations. Anyone having face-to-face conversations with vulnerable populations will benefit from this session.

Learning Objectives for Participants:

• Builds upon the foundations of Harm Reduction learned in THTC’s self-paced Harm Reduction training
• Gain a greater understanding of personal and wider communication biases that inhibit support, coordination, and cooperation with program users
• Practice approaches to complex situations through role-playing and scenario-based exercises
• Learn communication techniques that help to build deeper and more meaningful therapeutic relationships with program users and effect greater and more meaningful change

Learning Objectives for Managers:

• Improve the communication and relationship dynamics between staff and program participants
• Improve wellness and health outcomes of program participants
• Improve self-awareness
• Practice new techniques for common operations ie. Wellness checks and intake procedures
• Align staff approach to current best practices in dealing with vulnerable populations
• Increase staff comfort and empowerment when dealing with complex situations

Cost: (Member) $100, (Non-member) $110