Indigenous Patient Navigation Program - First Nations, Inuit, & Métis Program

This course equips participants with foundational knowledge and skills needed to navigate and understand how Indigenous Patient Navigators (IPNs) roles work within the healthcare team to reduce barriers and support health equity to improve outcomes for patients and their families.

The course guides participants through the IPN competencies to strengthen skills that will be used to advocate for and support a culturally safe environment for Indigenous people across Canada. Throughout the 6 sessions, the learners will learn how the roles of Indigenous Patient Navigators (IPNs) work within the healthcare team to reduce barriers and support health equity to improve outcomes for patients and their families.

Upon program completion, learners will have gained knowledge related to:

• IPN Competencies: Learn how the roles of Indigenous Patient Navigators (IPNs) work within the healthcare team to reduce barriers and support health equity to improve outcomes for patients and their families.

• Cultural Safety: Enhance understanding of cultural safety, humility, respect, and relevance when working in and with Indigenous communities, and with community members, and families.

• Advocacy: The program guides participants through the IPN competencies to strengthen skills that will be used to advocate for and support a culturally safe environment.

• Asset Mapping: Learn to apply a strength-based approach to identify resources relevant to patient navigation within the community and outside of the community.

• Non-Insured Health Benefits: Learn skills to navigate NIHB.

• Self-care: Learn strategies to distinguish between under-involvement and over-involvement within the zone of helpfulness to meet client needs.

Audience:

• Healthcare Professionals & Leaders

• Indigenous Patient Navigators

• Community Health Representatives

• Supervisors

• Program Planners

This course will be taught by an Indigenous Registered Nurse alongside a Registered Nurse who is an ally to the Indigenous community.

To register: Patient Navigation

Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility in Canadian Healthcare Course - First Nations, Inuit, & Métis Program

This course aims to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide culturally safe and trauma-informed care to Indigenous populations.

This course will cover the importance of understanding bias, the impact of historical trauma, and strategies for implementing culturally safe practices in healthcare settings. This course will support participants’ understanding and appreciation of cultural differences, fostering inclusivity and effective communication across cultural boundaries. Recognizing the importance of Indigenous perspectives, the curriculum integrates principles of Indigenous cultural safety and humility, emphasizing respect, reciprocity, and relationship-building with Indigenous peoples and communities.

By engaging with Indigenous knowledge and perspectives, participants will develop the necessary skills and attitudes to navigate intercultural interactions with sensitivity and respect, contributing to building more inclusive and equitable environments. This course explores the historical impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples and acknowledges the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) calls to action as a framework for learning and action. This is a virtual program provided in one session (2.5 hours).

Upon program completion, learners will have gained knowledge related to:

• Historical Context: Understanding of how historical events such as residential schools and the 60’s scoop have impacted Indigenous Peoples lives throughout history and in today’s environments.

• Cultural Safety and Humility: Enhance understanding of cultural safety, humility and respect when working in and with Indigenous communities, community members, and families.

• Unconscious Bias: Reflect and understand conscious bias vs unconscious bias, and how it affects our interactions with each other.

• Trauma- Informed Approach: Apply trauma-informed approaches to real life situations when interacting with Indigenous clients, patients and family members to ensure their well-being is considered on emotional, physical, mental and spiritual aspects.  

Audience:

• Health and social service professionals, providers, and leaders, human resource professionals

• This course can be adapted to fit the needs of other service industries as needed

This program can be delivered in-person upon request.

To register: Cultural Safety and Humility

Leading With Mental Health In Mind - CMHA-Alberta

Leading with Mental Health in Mind will equip you with the language to talk about mental health, the understanding to support employees with challenges, and the steps to move towards greater psychological health and safety in the workplace. 

By the end of the training, participants will:

• Understand how the 13 Factors that Impact Mental Health at work can apply to their workplace

• Understand the role of the manager/leader in mental health at work and how it differs from the role of individual contributors

• Have tools and strategies to address some of the major factors in their workplace

• Have a starting point for what to do and what to say when someone talks about their mental health

• Have strategies to support your own mental health in the workplace

To register: CMHA-AB

Compassion Fatigue and Burnout - CMHA-Alberta

Learn the symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout, and how to manage them effectively to build resilience.

The symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout are hard to recognize and require adequate support to overcome. This workshop will help employers, employees and volunteers who may develop compassion fatigue. Those at risk for compassion fatigue include first responders, clergy, teachers, counsellors, social workers, health care professionals, veterinarians and individuals who are the first point of contact for those going through a crisis or disaster.

This workshop provides a flexible and customizable approach, accommodating the unique needs of various professions and industries while offering adaptable time frames and formats.

By the end of the training, participants will:

• Understand symptoms and effects of compassion fatigue and fatigue risk factors

• Recognize personal and systemic barriers to receiving help

• Learn how to manage daily perceived threats and stress in more effective ways

• Create a self-care plan with resiliency-building skills and steps to improve workplace mental health

• Learn the difference between compassion fatigue and burnout

To register: CMHA-AB

Stronger Communities – CMHA-Edmonton

A training program that supports participants in learning strategies to look after their mental health and others.

Stronger Communities is a training program for groups and organizations where participants will learn a variety of different strategies and tips for looking after both their own mental health and the mental health of those around them.

Each course is facilitated by two facilitators, at least one of whom has Lived Experience. These courses are ideal for any type of organization or group as they offer specific training  for their staff to increase their knowledge on a variety of topics surrounding mental health. Courses have interactive components that will allow participants the opportunity to share their own experiences and offer insight into the information shared.

To register: Stronger Communities

Mental Health in the Workplace - CMHA-Alberta

This training will equip individuals with the skills to build a psychologically safe workplace that supports discussions around mental health struggles.  

Mental Health in the Workplace training equips organizations with the necessary language to address mental health, the knowledge to support employees facing challenges, and the actionable steps to proactively cultivate greater psychological health and safety at work.

By the end of the training, participants will:

• Learn about current workplace mental health and mental illness challenges

• Gain tools to support coworkers when they have mental health challenges

• Understand psychological risk and harm and know the benefits of mentally healthier workplaces

To register: CMHA-AB

Peer Support Core Essentials – PeerWorks

PeerWorks Peer Support Core Essentials™ Program involves 17 two-hour live webinars led by PSC certified trainers that will build foundational skills for offering peer support. 

This training program has been developed in consultation with the subject experts: Consumer/Survivor Initiatives and Peer Support Organizations across Ontario. Its focus is on strengthening and nurturing what is at the core of peer support: the peer supporter.

These interactive sessions include individual exercises, group exercises, trainer-led discussion, and role playing. Outside of these sessions there is some homework, which includes readings, reflections, and skills practice. Attendance is mandatory at all 17 webinars.

It should be noted that taking this training does not guarantee everyone an automatic “pass”. Participants are evaluated by the trainers, and the outcomes can range from “Incomplete” to “Level 1”, “Level 1R” and eventually earning “PeerWorks Certified Peer Supporter”.

Level 1 means the person attended and participated fully in the training and is deemed at this point appropriate to deliver an informal friendship style of peer support.

Level 1R means that the trainers are of the opinion the participant may be ready to work in a more formalized setting, and are Recommending that they proceed to an internship or practicum in which they deliver 50 hours of person to person support which is monitored and evaluated. It is not mandatory to do the practicum, but it is necessary for those who wish to earn the PeerWorks Certified Peer Supporter certificate.

For more information: PeerWorks – PSCE

To register: PeerWorks – Upcoming Events

Train the Trainer - Intentional Peer Support

Our Train-the-Trainer Course is a hands-on seminar designed to prepare and designate IPS Organizational Trainers.

These trainers can then teach the Core Content within their own organizations, helping to ensure the fidelity and sustainability of IPS.

The IPS Organizational Trainer pathway is best suited for organizations with 25 or fewer employees. For larger organizations, the scope of an IPS Organizational Trainer may be limited to specific programs or regions. If you work for a larger organization and are interested in becoming an IPS Organizational Trainer, please contact us for more information.

For more information: IPS Workshops

To register: IPS Eventbrite Sessions

Advanced Training - Intentional Peer Support

We developed our 24-hour Advanced Training to take IPS practice a step further—playing out the principles and tasks using real-life scenarios, heightening self-reflection, enhancing ways of building mutual connections and sustaining the practice.

Intentional Peer Support requires an ongoing commitment to learning and growth. Once participants complete a Core Training and begin practicing IPS in their relationships, lots of questions emerge—most commonly, “How do I make this stuff work in my particular environment?”

Deepen IPS Practice

Our Advanced Trainings are for anyone who has completed a Core Training or needs a brief IPS refresher and are tailored to fit your organization’s or community’s needs. 

Learn the Art of Co-Reflection

Co-reflection is a vital practice where people regularly come together to reflect on their relationships using the IPS framework. Here is an opportunity to examine relationships, look at assumptions and sustain the tasks and principles.

Our Core Training gets you started with Co-Reflection, and our Advanced Training helps you master it. Download our free Co-Reflection Guide.

Traditionally, crisis in mental health has been viewed as something undesirable or harmful, and risk assessment has led to fear-based responses that keep people stuck. In the Advanced Training, we focus on using crisis instead as an opportunity to connect, maintain mutuality, and create a culture of healing.

Respite programs will find particular use as we further explore what it means to be trauma-informed, work with conflict and challenging situations, develop flexible boundaries, use pro-active crisis planning and prepare for program evaluation.

Offered virtually over 6 days.

For more information: IPS Workshops

To register: IPS Eventbrite Sessions

Managers & Supervisors Training - Intentional Peer Support

This online event is designed for those who manage or supervise peer support workers and programs. 

It deepens understanding of peer support dynamics and improves team effectiveness in fostering transformative relationships. Tailored to the IPS framework, this training equips participants to integrate IPS principles effectively into their workplace practice.

Duration: 6 days, held over 2 separate weeks (Tuesdays to Thursdays)

Our training is tailored to enhance the capabilities of managers and supervisors within the IPS framework. Participants will:

• Learn to apply IPS principles in management and supervisory roles.

• Explore challenges specific to overseeing peer support environments.

• Develop strategies for supporting staff and facilitating their growth.

• Understand how to integrate IPS values into everyday practice and team development.

For more information: IPS Workshops

To register: IPS Eventbrite Sessions

Queer IPS (for LGBTQIA+) - Intentional Peer Support

This curriculum was adapted from the IPS core training at the request of the Q Corner, a peer support program in Santa Clara County, California, that supports LGBTQ+ community members.

Empowerment Through Stories:

IPS is about building relationships where our stories can be told and explored. By sharing our stories, we:

• Build networks of support.

• Create justice and empowerment.

• Drive social change rooted in civil rights movements, including gay liberation and the Stonewall riots.

"In the words of indigenous Australian activists in the 1970s, 'your liberation is bound up with mine.'"

Intersectionality:

Creating Space

QIPS was designed to acknowledge and support those of us whose gender, expression, and/or sexuality don’t fit within our society’s narrow definitions of “normal.” This includes individuals who have historically been marginalized by various systems such as education, employment, healthcare, and housing. 

From this vantage point, we examine how these systems have also marginalized those of us whose experiences of mental or emotional distress, “big feelings” or altered states don’t fit into societal definitions of “healthy.”

A Unique Intersection:

Participants in QIPS engage at the intersection of queer/trans communities and peer support. They:

• Learn the tasks and principles of IPS.

• Examine assumptions about who they are.

• Acknowledge personal and cultural histories of oppression and trauma.

• Focus on understanding “what happened” instead of “what’s wrong.”

For more information: IPS Workshops

To register: IPS Eventbrite Sessions

Core Training - Intentional Peer Support

The Core Training is our foundational training for learning and practicing Intentional Peer Support. This training is for anyone interested in mutual support and has been widely used for people working in both traditional and alternative mental health settings.

Based on Shery Mead’s book, Intentional Peer Support: An Alternative Approach, our Core Training is a 40-hour introduction to this innovative framework and is designed to have you practicing right away.

In a highly interactive environment, participants learn the tasks and principles of IPS, examine assumptions about who they are, and explore ways to create relationships in which power is negotiated, co-learning is possible, and support goes beyond traditional notions of “service.” 

IPS is all about opening up new ways of seeing, thinking, and doing, and here we examine how to make this possible.

• Seek ways to connect, become aware of disconnects, and work to reconnect

• Explore how we have “come to know what we know”

• Strive for mutuality in relationships

• Stay curious, question assumptions, and own judgements and opinions

• Open up new ways of listening

• Use experience to relate and build trust

• Name and negotiate power in relationships

• Navigate conversations about suicide and self-injury

• Approach crisis as an opportunity to grow

• Share risk and responsibility

• Focus on the quality of relationships instead of fixing one another

• Pay attention to the impact of clinical and labeling language

• Understand how trauma affects lives

• Keep the energy in relationships moving towards what we want

• Understand peer support in the context of social change and social justice

• Learn to see altered states or non-consensual reality in new ways, and to connect with people having these experiences

Offered as a 10 day virtual session.

For more information: IPS Workshops

To register: IPS Eventbrite Sessions

IPS Overview: An Introduction - Intentional Peer Support

This three-hour online overview course introduces participants to the history of IPS and the tasks and principles of this transformational framework.

The course provides an interactive platform for questions and discussions with facilitators and fellow participants.

Peers unite around shared experiences and a desire for change. However, without a new framework, people often recreate "help" based on their past experiences.

IPS offers a foundation for a different approach, rooted in grassroots alternatives that focus on building relationships that are mutual, explorative, and conscious of power dynamics.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive overview of IPS history and principles

• Interactive discussions with experienced facilitators

• Networking opportunities with like-minded individuals

• Introduction to a transformative framework for relationship-building

• Exploration of power dynamics in helping relationships

• Insights into creating mutual and explorative connections

For more information: IPS Workshops

To register: IPS Eventbrite Sessions

Peer Support Training Canada – Luminate Wellness

A high quality peer support training developed by Jenn Cusick, the developer of BC’s Peer Support Training curriculum.

Facilitator Jenn Cusick has managed peer support programs since 1999.

This training is inline with Peer Support Canada’s knowledge matrix and Standards of Practice.

With a deep foundation in developing peer support programs across British Columbia, our training is crafted to provide high-quality education grounded in best practices. Our program ensures that your peer support staff are equipped with skills that align with industry standards and foster meaningful, supportive connections within your organization.

Our Peer Support Training is tailored for peer support workers dedicated to serving individuals with mental health and substance use challenges. Peer support staff need skills and tools to support people with a peer lens. Often peer support is embedded in clinical settings, but peer support isn’t clinical–it’s about relationship, connection, and hope. To meet diverse needs, our program is available on a Zoom format. We can do some in-person session, but that will require travel. We can tailor the training to meet your time constraints and budget.

Our training is grounded in:

• The Core Values

• Supporting Self-Determination: The training fosters an environment of self-determination, where each person is honored as the expert on their own life. Participants learn to support without fixing, saving or advising, creating a space of autonomy, connection, and growth.

• Unpacking our Biases: We explore the roots of judgment, noticing and challenging our explicit and implicit biases. Peer supporters learn to navigate these biases, fostering open conversations that respect diverse perspectives.

• Cultural Humility: Our approach to cultural humility emphasizes self-reflection to recognize biases and approach each interaction from a stance of "not knowing."

• Trauma-Informed Communication: We explore what trauma is, and what it means to be trauma-informed, and how to communicate in a way that supports healing and prevents re-traumatization.

• Strength-Based Approach: The training focuses on recognizing and amplifying each person’s strengths and capacities.

• Self-Care for Peer Supporters: Effective peer support requires balance. We cover strategies to protect well-being, prevent burnout, and establish boundaries that allow for genuine, sustainable support.

To register: Luminate - PSTA

Small Talk (Formerly Tattered Teddies) – CMHA-Alberta and the Center for Suicide Prevention

This half-day workshop will examine warning signs in a child and intervention strategies. 

Small Talk is an interactive half-day workshop which examines warning signs in a child and explores intervention strategies through stories and case studies.

This workshop may be offered virtually or in-person.

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Appreciate how a child’s developmental stage affects their concept of death and suicide;

• Identify protective factors, risk factors and warning signs in children; and

• Confidently transfer care of a child to a caregiver.

Audience

Ages 18+
This workshop provides information and offers practical approaches for those working with children who are working with children who are age 12 or younger and who may be considering suicide.

Participants can include but not limited to: parents and caregivers; family and friends; natural helpers and advisors; educators and ministers; health practitioners; justice, law enforcers, emergency workers, and community volunteers.

Information provided is appropriate for beginner and intermediate social work practice.

To register: CSP Workshop

Walk With Me – CMHA-Alberta and the Center for Suicide Prevention

Walk With Me is a 1-day process-based workshop exploring the suicide grief cycle in Indigenous communities. 

This workshop is intended for Indigenous caregivers working in Indigenous communities.

The Walk With Me workshop draws heavily on Indigenous culture and tradition as it seeks to take participants through the cycle of suicide grief. Indigenous communities are frequently struck with a series of suicide deaths in a short period of time, each of these deaths adding to the already present burden of grief and loss. Bringing community members together for a day of hope and healing builds understanding and strength. This workshop takes the participants on a journey from the past, to the present and looks to the future; it creates a context for people to examine where they are in the grief cycle and how they can move forward to hope.

This workshop may be offered virtually or in-person.

To register: CSP Workshop

SafeTALK – CMHA-Alberta and the Center for Suicide Prevention

This 3.5 hour workshop alerts someone to warning signs indicating risk of suicide. 

This 3.5 hour workshop equips people to be more alert to someone thinking of suicide and better able to connect them with further help. The workshop emphasizes the importance of recognizing the signs, communicating with the person considering suicide and getting help or resources for the person considering suicide.

This suicide alertness training program can help you:

• identify persons with thoughts of suicide

• connect persons with thoughts of suicide to suicide first aid resources

Audience

Ages 16+
Participants can include but not limited to: parents and caregivers; family and friends; youth aged 16 or older; natural helpers and advisors; educators and ministers; health practitioners; justice, law enforcers, emergency workers, and community volunteers.

Certificate and Accreditation

All participants will receive a certificate at the end of the course.

safeTALK is recognized by the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre (SPRC) in the United States. Please check with your professional association to see if the course qualifies you to receive professional development credits or continuing education credits.

To register: CSP Workshop

River of Life – CMHA-Alberta and the Center for Suicide Prevention

River of Life is an interactive half-day workshop created for individuals working with Indigenous young people 12 and up. 

This interactive workshop discusses strategies to strengthen the protective factors of young people considering suicide and focuses on providing participants with knowledge to competently respond. This workshop may be offered virtually or in-person.

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Recognize how the role of community and culture supports Indigenous life promotion

• Recognize protective factors, risk factors and warning signs in young people

• Build confidence to competently respond to young people in crisis

• Use principles of safety planning to help a young person develop their own plan for safety

To register: CSP Workshop

Looking Forward – CMHA-Alberta and the Center for Suicide Prevention

This half-day workshop is for people working with youth ages 12 to 24. 

Looking Forward encompasses the developmental, cognitive, and emotional differences found within this age group in presenting strategies to strengthen the protective factors of youth considering suicide. Relevant intervention strategies are explored through videos and case studies. This workshop may be offered virtually or in-person.

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify unique characteristics of youth and their relevance to suicide;

• Compare suicidal and self-harm behaviour in youth;

• Identify protective factors, risk factors, and warning signs in youth; and

• Confidently transfer care of a youth to a caregiver.

To register: CSP Workshop

Little Cub – CMHA-Alberta and the Center for Suicide Prevention

Little Cub is a half-day, discussion-based workshop examining suicide in Indigenous children and communities. 

The Little Cub Workshop draws heavily on storytelling and oral tradition. It begins by recognizing the unique precipitating factors of suicide in Indigenous communities and moves through to identifying risk and protective factors in children 12 years of age and younger. The workshop finishes by empowering participants with knowledge and tools to transfer the care of a child considering suicide to a community-based resource person.

Workshop Topics include:

• Story of Indigenous Experiences

• Conversations and Understanding

• Protective and Risk Factors

• Responding with Hope

• Understanding More

Audience

Ages 18+
This workshop provides information and offers practical approaches for those working with Indigenous children who may be considering suicide. The precipitating factors of suicide are different in Indigenous communities than in the general population.

Information provided is appropriate for beginner and intermediate social work practice.

To register: CSP Workshop