​Professional Development Training helps an agency or organization improve their professional knowledge, competence, skills and effectiveness in the area of mental wellness, both on a personal level and for the betterment of the staff’s relationship with their clientele. Staff development opportunities help build confidence, decreases rates of burnout and allow employers and employees alike to recognize and address signs of mental health issues in the workplace.
The Professional Development and Training Sessions listed are examples of some of the courses most often requested from Tacit. If your organization has an issue that you would like addressed through a psycho-educational training format, just let us know and Tacit Knowledge can create a Training that will meet your needs.
Half or full days; Evenings; or Lunch-and-Learn sessions are available.
Training Sessions provided by Tacit Knowledge qualify for Continuing Education Credits (approved through the CPCA).
Tacit Knowledge is available to travel to locations outside of the Edmonton area for the provision of any Professional Development Training Session as well.
One in 4 Canadians struggle with a mental illness. Early detection and support are the key factors in preventing a life long battle with mental health problems. MH First Response Training teaches participants how to recognize the warning signs of mental health issues and provides supportive strategies for assisting people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. This is an excellent Training session for anyone who works with the general public or who is interested in developing a basic understanding of the most common Mental Health issues that are prevalent in today's society. Training sessions can be a half day, a full day or two days in length.
True Colours is a fun and interactive way for participants to increase communication skills and personal awareness and success. Sessions (of various lengths) help participants better understand and appreciate the differences in family and workplace teams; enhance communication and problem solving strategies; and increase effectiveness and productivity within any system or organization. True Colours develops individualized tools within participants as they learn to deal differently with conflict, enhance inter-personal relationships (at work and in personal lives), and build positive self-esteem.
In a fast paced, hectic world it can often be difficult to know how to achieve the healthy balance required to feel good and be successful on a daily basis, no matter what stress one might be facing. This Wellness session increases a participant’s understanding of how the 4 key foundational elements (sleep, nutrition, hydration and activity) are so necessary for maintaining a healthy balance in a hectic life, and helps participants integrate these elements into their daily lives so that balance can be achieved regularly.
Whether it’s learning to live with a mental health diagnosis, or trying to find ways to cope with the wide variety of mental health challenges (anxiety, depression, grief, anger, etc) that we all face at some point in life, this session increases a participant’s understanding of the ABC’s – the 3 strategic approaches - that will help an individual stabilize and thrive: Avoid the Triggers; Be in the Feeling; and Cope with the Impacts. Participants will be introduced to tools that will help them embrace all 3 of the ABC’s, so they are better equipped when selecting the strategy that is most effective for them in the moment.
This session increases the basic understanding of the different types of depression and anxiety that create sometimes seemingly insurmountable challenges and isolation for those dealing with these issues – and for their friends, family, and colleagues at work. Participants learn about a variety of fundamental strategies and mindfulness techniques that can be used to empower those who struggle with anxiety and/or depression - personally, formally and informally.
Designed as a stand-alone session or as Part 2 for Anxiety and Depression – Fighting for Control, this session focuses on providing participants with a wide variety of hands-on activities and tools to help individuals of all ages cope with the negative and often debilitating feelings that company issues of trauma, anxiety and depression. This session is quick paced and experiential – participants will have the opportunity to try many of the strategies being shared in this workshop format.
effectively support students who are faced with the mental health challenges that most often interrupt their academic success (anxiety, depression, eating disorders, NNSI). Participants enhance their learning with regard to the essential components necessary for the psychological support of the developing brain, while still finding ways to be able to meet the academic needs of the students in the class.
Did you know that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) does not just happen in the winter? Did you know that SAD effects women more than men? More than 20% of our population suffers from various degrees of SAD, at different times throughout the year. Early recognition and appropriate supports/treatment for SAD is the key to assuring that the Disorder does not worsen or become a regularly happening cycle in one’s life. This session explains what we know about SAD and provides participants with strategies to help lessen the negative impact on those who face it yearly.
​9) Dear Brain - I NEED Sleep!
A good night’s sleep is an essential foundation for a productive and successful day. Sleep is the building block upon which we can create healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma and stress. But truly restful and energizing sleep can be an elusive thing. This session helps participants learn ways they can address common sleep disturbance issues and create an atmosphere for deep, healing slumber, so they can wake up refreshed and ready to face whatever their day may bring.
​10) Are Others Picking Up What You Are Putting Down?
Have you ever wondered why the message you are sending is not always the message that is received by another person? Whether we are at work, with our family members and friends, or in our partner relationships, the art of successful communication requires a wide variety of skills and assessment strategies. This session helps participants enhance their own abilities and understand better the barriers and pitfalls of the communication process.
Dealing with conflict is a part of everyday life. When these moments of disagreement or difference of opinion arise, most people just want to be heard, to be respected and to be treated fairly. This session teaches participants why conflict is necessary - how to argue effectively and respectfully – and how to make every moment of conflict result in a win/win situation.
Interacting with people who push our buttons can create frustrations, anxiety and stress in all of us. Nothing ruins a moment faster than suddenly finding one’s self in conflict with another person, especially if we don’t fully know why it might be happening. This session helps participants understand the skills essential for understanding and soothing emotionally heightened interactions between people, regardless of the cause of the difficulty. This session is also a fantastic training for anyone in a position that involves the need to mediate difficult situations between others who are in conflict.
​13) Kids Have Stress Too!
Stress is a normal part of everyday life. While stress is a necessary part of development and learning, too much stress can be counter-productive and overwhelming. Stress among children is estimated to have increased 45% over the past 30 years. The good news is that building emotional health and resiliency can help children concentrate better, learn more, interact more successfully and deal successfully with other stressors they may face in their lives. Developed by the Psychology Foundation of Canada, these sessions (of varying lengths) help adults instill in pre-school, school aged children and youth/teens the behavioural coping skills and thinking skills that can enhance their physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Trauma impacts people in a wide variety of ways – physically, psychologically and emotionally. Learning to regulate and resolve trauma is key to the healing process. When provided with the essential tools and understanding that is needed individuals who are coping with and trying to address the trauma they have experienced can find the success and happiness they need to grow and thrive. This session helps participants understand the short and long term effects of trauma on the body and the brain; and identifies the basic stages involved when supporting someone who is struggling with trauma.
Understanding why and how conflict happens at a deeper level allows us to see more clearly the role we each play in any disagreement or misunderstanding that occurs – at work, in the community and in our personal relationships. This session helps participants recognize the patterns of response within themselves that reflect their own intentions and personal interests. It also introduces participants to the key dynamics involved in building positive interactions with others in a way that will enhance relationships, work productivity and personal confidence.
Starting as early as in grade 2, our youth are deeply affected by the issues of body evaluation and peer acceptance. More and more kids are falling into despair, because they don’t know how to combat the pressures of going along with what others might consider normal, or because they don’t have the tools to fight against the moments of low esteem/confidence that are a regular part of youth development. This session helps create tools for healthier resiliency - for those struggling with these issues, or for their children/people they care about.
17) WTF – Making Emotional Responses Work for You!
The triad of the thinking, feeling and behaving process is the foundation of all human interaction and the Window of Tolerance Framework (WTF) explains how our thoughts sometimes get hijacked by our feelings. This session helps participants develop skills and strategies for understanding how to respond to their own emotions and the emotions of others in a manner that increases their ability to influence and engage more effectively in any situation.
Men and women deal with the tragedy of loss in very different ways - our elderly population also experience loss in a way that is very unique to their age and life experiences. Grief and loss will be an aspect of every person’s life at some point – and we all cope with these challenges in an individual manner. This session offers participants insight into the specialized ways that grief affects different people, and provides suggestions for ways to help each person make their way through this painful and sometimes lengthy journey.
We all have angry moments – we get hurt, upset, frustrated – and we revert to a natural reaction of fight, flight or freeze, depending on our personality. But when our angry reactions start to have a negative impact on our lives – when our work relationships, family connections and own confidence starts to be affected by our reactions to feelings that make us feel vulnerable, we start to experience anger problems. In this session, participants learn to recognize their own responses to difficult moments – they acquire new strategies to help express their feelings – and they develop ways to manage anger so they can maintain a sense of control in their own lives.
Understanding why people behave the way they do is a key determining element in knowing how to effectively meet our own needs. Based on the work of Rudolf Dreikurs, this session helps participants identify the 4 basic needs that produce unwanted and unhelpful (sometimes annoying) behaviours. Using the reactions that these bothersome behaviours often trigger in others as guiding principles, this session also helps participants reframe their response so interactions can be more appropriately focused and purposeful, thereby helping resolve the situation successfully and with less stress/frustration for everyone.