Online Workshop

Practical Intervention Skills: Effective Strategies for Complex Mental Health & Addictions

Formerly Motivational Interviewing

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About this Online Workshop

This workshop provides an overview of trauma-informed, strengths-based and practical intervention skills to assist individuals facing multiple barriers, including complex mental health and addictions. Drawing from Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Stages of Change Theory, Harm Reduction, and Cognitive and Dialectical Behaviour strategies, this course will provide empathic and effective communication and support strategies to engage, motivate, and empower individuals on their path to stability and well-being.

NOTE: This is an interactive, virtual workshop, which is different from a webinar. Participants will be expected to participate through voice and video, and to engage with each other and the facilitator in large and small group discussions, to learn from each other and practice skill development.

Learning Objectives

  • Develop skills to recognize and respond to the effects of trauma using trauma-informed and strengths-based principles for clients facing multiple barriers, including complex mental health, and addictions
  • Build trust and safety using harm reduction principles, and effective, nonjudgmental and person-centred communication and support
  • Utilize empathic and effective communication techniques from Motivational Interviewing (MI) and the Stages of Change Theory, to enhance engagement, rapport, and to motivate clients towards positive change
  • Working with defensiveness and resistance
  • Apply strategies from Cognitive and Dialectical Behaviour Therapies (CBT & DBT) to help clients manage distress, increase emotion regulation skills, develop new ways of thinking, feeling and coping in challenging situations
  • Increase your own emotional resilience and self-care toolkit, to lessen compassion fatigue and burnout when working with individuals with complex needs

Who Should Attend?

  • Any staff in a human, social, or community services organization
  • First-line staff in a human, social or community service organization

Format and Duration

Four, three-hour and two, two-hour online workshops over the course of two weeks.


Workshop Dates and Registration

All sessions in Eastern Standard Time.

April 7-17, 2025

  • Part 1: Thursday, April 24 | 9:00 – 12:00

  • Part 2: Friday, April 25 | 9:00 – 12:00

  • Part 3: Monday, April 28 | 9:00 – 12:00

  • Part 4: Tuesday, April 29 | 9:00 – 12:00

  • Part 5: Thursday, May 1 | 10:00 – 12:00

  • Part 6: Friday, May 2 | 10:00 – 12:00

  • Registration Cut Off: Tuesday, April 22

Register Now

Pricing

  • Members: $435+HST

  • Non-Members: $565+HST

  • Non-Member Education Level 1 & 2: $450+HST

Bring This Workshop to Your Staff

OMSSA can work with you to deliver this workshop to you and your team in an in-person format at a time that works for you. We can also customize the content of each workshop to meet your specific needs. Contact OMSSA's Director, Education Christie Herrington to learn more about bringing this workshop to your staff. 

About the Facilitator

Dana Kamin is a Registered Social Worker (RSW), an experienced clinical counsellor specializing in anxiety, depression, trauma, and hoarding, and the owner of ThriveWell Counselling. Dana has over 25 years’ experience in the social service and mental health sector, as well as being a highly experienced workshop facilitator. 

Dana has worked in a variety of settings, including drop-in, food bank, and shelter settings, as well as within client homes. Dana’s diverse experiences include providing crisis intervention, prevention and de-escalation, case management, and counselling, with diverse populations, including homeless, low-income, LGBTQ+ and hoarding populations.

Dana is well versed working with a variety of trauma-Informed, person-centred and integrated approaches, including Harm Reduction, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness, as well as a number of trauma healing approaches including EMDR and Internal Family Systems.

Dana creates an engaging and participatory workshop environment, where intersectionality and lived experience can be brought into the learning environment. Dana encourages participant sharing and exploration of experiences as a way of learning together. Using examples from participants, case studies and/or role plays, and interactive group work, Dana creates a safe and non-judgmental space, to learn and practice practical strategies to address a variety of challenging situations.

Technical Requirements

OMSSA will be hosting this virtual workshop using Zoom, an online, interactive platform that you can join straight from your web browser, or by downloading 'Zoom Client for Meetings' on your computer or tablet. 

Participants will be expected to join the workshop via both video and audio. Participants should therefore have access to a desktop computer, laptop computer or tablet with:

  • a webcam or built-in camera

  • a built-in microphone or a headphone jack where you can plug in a headset or earphones

We strongly recommend that participants use a headset or earphones with a built-in microphone in order to limit background noise. 

System requirements: Click here for more detailed information on system requirements from Zoom.