online: Virtual Possibilities in this Changing World

Facilitated Zoom Sessions with the Relationship Matters Team.

While Kim’s Workshops and Keynotes can be adapted to be delivered online, the Relationship Matters Team is honoured to be increasingly invited to facilitate interactive Zoom sessions on a range of current and often sensitive topics. Since the beginning of COVID-19, a number of Zoom series have been co-created that offer support to school boards, the military, businesses, professional groups and parent groups. 

Logistics:

Organizations that might be interested in arranging facilitated online Zoom sessions of this nature, as opposed to more formal workshops, are invited to contact us and we can talk through what topics might be most of interest for their individual context and the process involved. For reference, with these sessions there is an all-inclusive cost per hour online that includes custom preparation, hosting the sessions on Zoom with 3 facilitators (Kim, Hilary and Bob), up to 500 participants allowed, an option to record with participant access to the recordings for an agreed length of time, editing of the recordings as applicable and technical support throughout.

Topics have included but are not limited to the following:

Applicable Universally:

• Creating Brave Spaces for Transformation

  Although COVID-19 has brought the concept of collective trauma to the forefront of our global consciousness, the people we serve and work beside have been drawing from their resilience prior to the pandemic and have remarkable capacity within themselves. This two-hour session will highlight the fostering of healthy connection and belonging as powerful healing resources that create brave spaces for people around us to heal and thrive. In this era of uncertainty where change is constant, having resilience, adaptability, self-compassion and the capacity to pivot are essential skills in the toolbox of supporting others. This reflective conversation is squarely aimed at making your practice more effective, enjoyable and sustainable.

• Leading in the Midst of Uncertainty - When we as leaders experience fear and vulnerability ourselves, it is often more difficult to access the inner resilience needed to support those around us. This session is intended to hold space for senior management teams in their collective attempts of guiding others through turbulent times. 

• Fostering Resilience in Turbulent Times - Resilience is the ability to cope with adversity through adaptability and flexibility. In times of uncertainty, such as COVID-19, it is often difficult to find the inner resources of resilience to sustain our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits. With hope and connection we can find an inner strength and a sense of compassion for ourselves and those around us. 

Therapy Related:

• Expanding our Therapeutic Use of Self 

  We are being called to bring trauma-sensitive principles into action in our everyday lives, in all interactions. This 2 hour session invites therapists and counsellors interested in expanding their personal inquiry into personal attachment styles, mental assumptions and body states that they bring into the relational work they do every day. These learning reflections will apply across multiple contexts: clinical-settings, schools, virtual telehealth platforms, community interactions and in our personal lives. In capturing the magic of therapeutic use of self, we progressively increase our capacity to become our best selves in supporting others. Sustaining connections, leaning into difficult conversations and developing a sense of safety and braveness for therapeutic change is integral in facilitating transformation. Relationship is the foundational tool in our toolbox. 

• Occupational Therapy in Support of Pediatric Anxiety

  General anxiety is pervasive across the globe, and we know it is affecting many of our kids’ wellbeing. How does Occupational Therapy support children and youth with an anxious experience? This 90 minute online session will differentiate between anxiety and anxiety disorders and will offer OTs a holistic view of its evaluation and intervention across many contexts. Sensory, relational, cognitive and environmental approaches will be integrated throughout this conversation. The intention will be to assist clinicians in the enhancement of their clinical reasoning skills and to share a broader awareness of tools to draw from in support of their clients. 

• Relationship as a Healing Force

  Present and connected relationships are a powerful healing force. They are an intrinsic modulator, a co-regulator of arousal states, and a motivator for all kinds of positive change. With secure relationship at the core of any intervention or frame of reference, there is reason for hope. It is my belief that therapeutic relationship skills can be cultivated; they can be taught and they can be learned. What is attunement? How do we connect to ourselves so we can better connect with others? How do we harness the advantages of understanding non-verbal communication? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this 2 hour online session intended to deepen our compassionate self-inquiry – towards supporting our relationships whether they’re in clinical settings or far beyond.

Education Related: 

• Trauma-Sensitive Education - This session invites school-based professionals to learn more about the science behind learning, and the impact that trauma and stress can have on the brain, behaviour and relationships. Among other topics, attunement, co-regulation and creating safe learning environments are highlighted - strategies of how educators can bring out the best in all their students, during this pandemic and beyond.
  

Holding Space:

• With Social Workers re/ Grief and the Opiod Crisis

• With Medical Professionals at Risk re/ COVID-19

• With Military Personnel adapting to COVID-19 re/ Uncertainty, Sensitive Social Deployment and Family Stressors

• With Transdisciplinary Professionals on the themes of Fear, Resilience and Gratitude

 
Specifically with Parents:

• Supporting Our Children to Be Their Best Selves - It is difficult to regulate our children when we are ourselves triggered by their behaviour. Self-awareness, self-regulation and self-compassion are the key components of conscious parenting. Safety, nurturance and clarity with kindness are the foundations for optimum child development.

• Why Do Our Children Behave the Way They Do? - There is always a reason for the behaviour. This session supports parents in understanding why their children behave the way that they do, and that even complex behaviour is a communication. Parents are invited to become detectives in understanding what might lie behind the scenes, in interpreting the messages that their children are sending through their actions. 

• Compassion Towards Our Children with Special Needs - Children with special needs can tax the soul of any parent, activating strong emotions of worry, frustration, anger, hopelessness and grief. This conversation will offer a sense of hopefulness and inspiration to support parents in accessing their compassion, deepening relationship with their child and accepting them for all they are.

• Becoming a Behavioural Detective in FASD - This session supports parents in deepening their understanding of their children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

• Sending our Children back to School - As schools are preparing to go back to in-person teaching and learning in the COVID-19 context, there can be a lot of emotions for all the different people involved.