Training and Education
This training and education hub was created to help Edmontonians come together to support one another in living happier, more meaningful lives. Whether you're caring for family, friends, coworkers, or even strangers, we all play a role in looking out for each other.
These courses are designed to support your growth—whether you're a peer, a service provider, or someone just trying to help. Topics include mental health and addictions, suicide prevention, peer support, poverty and housing, parenting, and more. All trainings emphasize approaches that are fair, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and rooted in community values. See a calendar view of upcoming locally offered training →
Understanding Your Child's Behaviour – Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre
Learn about the science behind your child’s behaviour and how to nurture healthy and happy relationships with your family.
To register: Norwood - Courses
Understanding Human Connection – Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre
This group focuses on enhancing interpersonal skills through effective communication, conflict resolution, self-care, and strategies for dealing with difficult situations.
Participants will engage in education, discussions, and activities focused on the importance of fostering resilience, boundary creation, and emotional intelligence. The group looks to teach valuable skills for building healthier, more fulfilling connections.
To register: Norwood - Courses
The Brain Architecture Game – Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre
This tabletop game builds understanding of the powerful role of experiences on early brain development: what promotes it, what derails it, and with what consequences to society.
Learn about toxic, tolerable, and positive stress, and how to build a brain!
To register: Norwood - Courses
Setting Boundaries and Limits with Children – Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre
Together with other parents, learn tips to support setting up rules, limits, boundaries, and realistic expectations for you and your child.
To register: Norwood - Courses
Play: The Work of Childhood – Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre
Discuss the parent’s role in play and learn how to set up your home environments to keep your children safe, engaged, and growing through play.
To register: Norwood - Courses
Handle with Care – Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre
This group focuses on supporting children’s mental health.
We focus on four building blocks: attachment, relationships with others, expressing emotions, and promoting self-esteem.
To register: Norwood - Courses
Empowered Parenting – Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre
Participants in this group will discuss developing positive relationships and positive parenting skills such as health, safety, behaviour and development of children, through interactive activities, videos, and conversations.
The goal of this group is for parents to learn positive parenting techniques and develop skills for success.
To register: Norwood - Courses
Unconscious Bias & Bias Awareness – Canadian Equality Consulting
In this course, you'll examine personal and organizational biases and learn how to recognize, address, and challenge them.
Explore the most common types of biases and how they can lead to discrimination, microaggressions, and exclusion. We’ll also delve into the neuroscience behind bias and provide practical strategies to help you identify and mitigate biases, creating a more equitable and inclusive environment.
To register: CEC – UBBA
Over The Rainbow: An Exploration of Trans & Non-Binary History – Canadian Equality Consulting
The second mini course in the Over the Rainbow series to celebrate gender and diverse communities. This course will build on what you've learned in course 1 and discuss an exploration of trans and non-binary history across the globe.
To register: CEC - OTRETNBH
Over The Rainbow: A Celebration of Gender and Sexual Diversity – Canadian Equality Consulting
A comprehensive review of key 2SLGBTQIA+ terminology and front-page moments in Canada’s queer history.
The content includes action steps and best practices for what it takes to become an ally and to support the Gender and Sexual Diversity community.
To register: CEC - OTRCGSD
Indigeneity in Turtle Island: Footprints Across These Lands – Canadian Equality Consulting
This course offers an exploration of the histories of Indigenous Peoples in Turtle Island (Canada and the United States focus), highlighting the significance of National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada.
This course explores the rich and diverse histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples, gaining a deeper understanding of their enduring legacy and influence. Also learn about meaningful land acknowledgements.
To register: CEC - ITIFATL
Equitable and Inclusive Boards – Canadian Equality Consulting
An asynchronous program designed specifically to support Boards of Directors and aspiring Board Directors in building equity and inclusion into their governance, strategic planning, policy setting, and all other board practices.
This is a great program to sign up and complete either as a Board together, or individually. If you complete it together as a Board, you can purchase an add-on for a CEC expert facilitator to lead debrief/discussion sessions with your Board live online or in-person at key points in the program.
To register: CEC - EIB
Equitable and Inclusive Leadership Certification – Canadian Equality Consulting
CEC is proud to offer the first of its kind Equitable and Inclusive Leadership Certification. This is a leadership development program specifically tailored to spearheading diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in your organization with immediate actionable tools and strategies.
The curriculum has four courses including advanced DEI fundamentals, privilege, oppression, and biases, inclusive and equitable leadership, and allyship and organizational transformation. Sign up now.
To register: CEC - EILC
Detangling Anti-Fat Bias in the Workplace – Canadian Equality Consulting
Learn the correct terminology to use, how anti-fat bias appears in the workplace, and how that ties to other systems of oppression and then learn about the many common misconceptions. End with clear and concise ways to combat anti-fat bias.
To register: CEC - DAFBW
DEI Fundamentals – Canadian Equality Consulting
Gain a strong foundational understanding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in this course.
You will explore essential DEI concepts, including common language and the significance of promoting equity in organizations. Learn about equity-deserving populations, intersectionality, and the dynamics of power and privilege. This course provides the tools and knowledge you need to foster inclusive environments and help advance your organization's DEI goals.
To register: CEC - DEIF
Black History Month: Exploring the Roots of Anti-Black Racism – Canadian Equality Consulting
This course will equip participants with the knowledge, tools, concepts and resources to identify the prevalence of anti-Black racism, and learn how to actively and intentionally build an anti-racist workplace.
To understand the impact of anti-Black racism and how it manifests in today's society, it is crucial to learn about significant moments and changemakers in Black history, from both the American and Canadian contexts.
To register: CEC - BHMERABR
Traumatic Event Systems (TES) Training – Center for Trauma Informed Practices
Train and certify individuals in your organization on the TES model, a responsive methodology that addresses the systemic aftermath of a traumatic event on individuals and communities.
“The Traumatic Event Systems Model is a model that is meant to understand the human systems response to trauma…so it is a model that is applied to both the early, initial response to tragedy, that is also meant to support all levels of the human system – so students, staff, parents and caregivers, in a school based response, or workers and their families in an organizational response – and also address the issue of traumatic aftermath." – J. Kevin Cameron, Executive Director, NACTATR (now CTIP)
The Traumatic Event Systems (TES) Model enhances traditional crisis response practice by providing leaders and professionals with the tools they need to prepare, intervene, and support individuals and communities through the complex and sometimes, lasting effects of trauma.
With the advent of media and social media, we’ve seen how a natural response to trauma can be intensified and amplified far beyond the initial impact zone, needlessly building anger and anxiety within communities. Until recently, the majority of trauma research has focused on the linear impact to the individual; however, the TES Model aims to identify and prevent traumatic events that continuously affect multiple human systems (e.g., families, schools, communities, states, provinces and territories) that may even be located hundreds to thousands of miles away from where the initial trauma occurred.
The TES Model focuses on four phases of assessment and intervention, with necessary distinctions for schools, worksites, and entire communities:
Children and Youth Focus
Phase I: Initial Response: Child and Youth System (e.g., schools, sports teams, clubs or church youth groups, etc.)
Phase II: Comprehensive Strategic Assessment: Adult Systems (e.g., teachers, coaches, support workers, etc.)
Phase III: Community Intervention: Parent & Family System
Phase IV: Traumatic Aftermath: Preparing for the Process of Recovery
Workplace Focus
Phase I: Initial Response: Frontline Staff in the Workplace
Phase II: Comprehensive Strategic Assessment: Adult Systems (e.g., managers & leaders, affiliates, etc.)
Phase III: Community Intervention: Spouse/Partner & Family System
Phase IV: Traumatic Aftermath: Preparing for the Process of Recovery
High-Impact Crises or High-Profile Traumatic Events:
Combination of the above
To register: CTIP - TES
Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) Training – Center for Trauma Informed Practices
Train and certify individuals in your organization on VTRA, the trauma-informed threat assessment framework that aims to identify and intervene within potential pathways to violence.
“What VTRA provides is the tool to identify, to develop the database, and to provide an assessment between someone who is talking about violence versus one who is actually becoming operational.” – Dr. Tony Beliz, fmr. Deputy Director, LA County Mental Health Emergency Outreach Bureau
The 10th edition of the ‘National Training VTRA Protocol’ is a practical approach to building teams that can monitor, assess, intervene against, and prevent violence within a community.
VTRA Training instills the perspective that serious violence is an evolutionary process, meaning that pre-incident data is often available to help proactively identify and prevent the occurrence; put simply, VTRA implies that nobody “just snaps”.
The three stages of the VTRA framework are:
Stage One – Initial data collection and immediate interventions
Stage Two – Risk evaluation for moderate-to-high-risk situations
Stage Three – Data-driven and trauma-informed interventions
During VTRA training, typically 60 to 80 participants are led through hands-on situations using real-world examples and actual case studies. The outcome of the training is a team that shares a set of coordinated and unified actions, a common language and concepts, and a mutual vision for success.
The VTRA framework builds rapid communication between functional, multidisciplinary and multiagency teams to quickly assess threat levels and determine appropriate interventions. Because VTRA addresses all forms of violence, the team composition can have permanent members and ad hoc members who are utilized when their areas of specialization are required. This can include Education, Human Resources (HR), Management, Social Work Agencies, Community Mental Health Workers, Police, Hospitals, Probation/Parole, and other professionals.
Through regular touchpoints, software, and resources, CTIP helps our partners implement and sustain VTRA best practices in their communities and networks. Learn more about Outreach, CTIP’s case management and collaboration tool for real-time VTRA data collection, analysis, and intervention strategies.
To register: CTIP - VTRA
Foundation in Trauma Response – Center for Trauma Informed Practices
This course will present our own evolutionary process for understanding trauma, and introduce you to the early research, concepts, and variables that led to the development of the Traumatic Event Systems (TES™) model of crisis and trauma response.
Whether individuals are victims of trauma or supporting others who are, nothing occurs in a vacuum. There is a story and a reason for “why” behind the complex human reactions to traumatic situations, including the fact that ten people can be exposed to the same traumatic stimuli and yet have ten completely different responses. Unlike other crisis response models, the TES™ Model considers the unique characteristics of the individuals, families, schools, workplaces, or communities we are supporting. We do not assume that every human being or human system functions the same, therefore trauma response should be “measured” to the actual circumstance of those we are supporting. Born out of our experience working in the aftermath of some of North America’s highest-profile traumas, this course is a timely edition for understanding the human response to trauma in individuals, families, and beyond.
Module 1: Trauma Response Foundation: Early Thinking
Module 2: Understanding Trauma: Early Research
Module 3: Media-Generated Trauma
Module 4: Impact of Trauma on Adults
Module 5: Impact of Trauma on Children and Youth
Module 6: Impact of Trauma on Families
CEU: 3 Continuing Education Credits
Credential Type: Badge
Cost: $85 USD / $120 CAD + applicable tax per individual
Time to complete: 3 hours / self-paced learning
Course access: Available for 60 days from date of enrollment
Who should take the course?
The Foundation Courses are customized for the person who has an interest in the fields of threat assessment, trauma response, or family dynamics: including para-professionals, professionals, and those with a general interest in advancing their learning. It is designed to provide learning for those who want general exposure to the CTIP™ models as well as those who are planning—as part of their professional development—to complete any of the two-day, in-person training courses. It is also meant to provide those who have already completed two-day trainings an opportunity to refresh their learning and dive more deeply into areas that informed our current training program.
To register: CTIP - FTR
Foundation in Threat Assessment – Center for Trauma Informed Practices
This course will present our own evolutionary process for understanding violence, and introduce you to the early research, concepts, and variables that led to the development of the comprehensive Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA™) model.
Whether individuals are the perpetrators of violence or the victims of it, nothing occurs in a vacuum. There is a story and a reason for “why,” behind the complex human causes and reactions where violence, trauma, and family dynamics are manifest. We know far more now than ever before about the “evolutionary pathway to serious violence”.Unlike other threat assessment models, VTRA™ is the only community-based, multidisciplinary model developed to address all forms of violence simultaneously. Therefore, this course will consider multiple forms of violence, including family, community, school, and workplace.
Module 1: Threat Assessment Foundation: Early Thinking
Module 2: The Evolution of the VTRA™ Model: Early Research
Module 3: The Missing Link: Connecting the Dots
Module 4: VTRA™ Applies to All Forms of Violence
Module 5: Worrisome Behaviors: Early Intervention
Module 6: The Empty Vessel: The Power of Connection
CEU: 3 Continuing Education Credits
Credential Type: Badge
Cost: $85 USD / $120 CAD + applicable tax per individual
Time to complete: 3 hours / self-paced learning
Course access: Available for 60 days from date of enrollment
Who should take the course?
The Foundation Courses are customized for the person who has an interest in the fields of threat assessment, trauma response, or family dynamics: including para-professionals, professionals, and those with a general interest in advancing their learning. It is designed to provide learning for those who want general exposure to the CTIP™ models as well as those who are planning—as part of their professional development—to complete any of the two-day, in-person training courses. It is also meant to provide those who have already completed two-day trainings an opportunity to refresh their learning and dive more deeply into areas that informed our current training program.
To register: CTIP - FTA