Training & Education
Resilience training and education for all emergency responders is a key tool for helping people stay healthy and strong on the job. Understanding the psychological risks involved in the work, and learning pro-active strategies to bolster personal and organizational resilience are key to health and success on throughout one’s career.
All organizations in Canada—emergency service organization in particular—would all benefit from having an explicit Psychologically Healthy Workplace Strategy. This should include a Trauma Strategy, to deal both proactively and reactively to trauma and critical incidents that inevitably occur on the job.
Workplace conflict is a major factor in responders’ psychological well-being at work. Many responders who are off work sick suffer from both PTSD or Depression, combined with a some type of chronic unresolved conflict in the workplace. Ensuring a Psychologically Healthy Workplace includes ensuring workplace conflicts are quickly and effectively resolved, and that both employees and leaders are well equipped with necessary skills and training to address and work through conflict mindfully and skillfully.
All training and education sessions noted anchored in the latest science and research, and evidence-based practice, while also being job relevant, engaging, and with many practical examples, and using terms and stories the audience can relate to.
The following are training sessions that are currently offered:
Trauma & Resilience
In this engaging session key aspects of trauma response and reactions are explained in practical and relevant terms, including a discussion of primary trauma, secondary and vicarious trauma, moral distress and compassion fatigue. Early warning signs and prevention strategies are discussed in detail. Session concludes with practical and evidence-based tools for staying healthy and building resilience in emergency response work.
Psychologically Healthy Workplaces
Dr. Morley was involved in some committee work towards CSA’s and the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s new Psychologically Healthy Workplace Standard. In this session key aspects of the new Psychologically Healthy Workplace Standard are discussed in terms of their unique application to police and emergency response organizations.
Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM)
CISM training for organizations is offered based on organization’s unique needs, and approach to dealing with critical incidents on the job.
Peer Support Training
Peer support has been recognized by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and many emergency response organizations as a best practice and key component in any Psychologically Healthy Workplace Strategy. Working with your organization we can help you develop a unique model to fit your needs, and design training to select and equip your peer support team with excellent skills and knowledge to support the organization and its employees.
Conflict Resolution
Dr. Jeff Morley spent 5 years as the RCMP’s Director of Conflict Resolution in BC. He has conducted hundreds of negotiations, mediations, group facilitations and conflict resolution training sessions. Interventions and conflict training session are based on Harvard Law School’s Managing Conflict in the Workplace models. Training sessions include: Interest Based Negotiations, Mediation, Difficult Conversations, Communication Skills for Conflict, and Leadership Skills for Dealing with Workplace Conflict.
Emotional Intelligence
Most often when conflict has begun damaging the workplace environment it is a result of negative emotions run amuck. Anger, resentment, mistrust, envy, contempt and hatred can all permeate the workplace affecting not only any parties directly involved, but everyone on the team. Emotional intelligence is a key competency of effective leaders, and effective employees. Emotional intelligence training equips people with the deeper understanding of themselves, and the role of emotions on the job – both on the street, and in the office. Skills for recognizing emotions in self and others are taught, along with skills for emotional self-regulation, and managing intense emotions in others. Advance skills include managing emotions on teams, repairing betrayals and the application emotional intelligence principles to different levels of leadership.
Trauma-Informed Leadership
Leaders in first responder organizations face the same challenges as leaders in any organization. They have the added challenge of leading in the face of often severe trauma, suffering, and moral distress. Many of their employees, bosses, and leaders themselves may be experiencing the effects of trauma. First responder leaders need to understand the impact trauma can have on first responder’s behaviour – in the office and on the road. Leaders need to develop the skills to provide compassionate, effective and wise leadership in the face of trauma and distress. This session provides the education and tools to effectively lead first responders who are exposed to trauma in the course of their duties.
Resilience Workshops
Dr. Morley and his colleagues have run a number of very successful 3 Day, residential Resilience Workshops. These workshops have been offered to police officers from sections such as Homicide, Child Exploitation, Collision Analysts, Forensic Identification, Communication Operators, and general duty. The workshops provide both a practical psycho-educational component, along with an opportunity for participants to speak about their lives and their work, to process the cumulative exposure to trauma and unfixable suffering over the course of a career.