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Directrice adjointe des services à la vie étudiante à l’Université Memorial, Jennifer Browne a fait preuve de leadership dans un certain nombre de domaines à son actif. Elle a œuvré en développement de carrière dans des organismes communautaires ou à but non lucratif, tout comme dans le milieu postsecondaire. Elle a, entre autres, dirigé le service de développement de carrière et d’apprentissage expérientiel à l’Université Memorial pendant la dernière décennie. Son intérêt et sa passion pour l’apprentissage par l’expérience lui ont permis d’orienter et d’élargir les perspectives d’apprentissage expérientiel qui sont liées ou parallèles au programme éducatif, pour les étudiants et les diplômés de l’Université Memorial. Elle a la chance de travailler avec une solide équipe qui a la volonté de fournir d’excellents services ainsi qu’un soutien aux étudiants, aux employeurs et aux partenaires communautaires. Elle figure également parmi les organisateurs fondateurs de l’International Experiential Learning Institute et anime l’événement depuis la première conférence tenue en 2013. Elle est titulaire d’un baccalauréat ès arts et d’une maîtrise en enseignement postsecondaire de l’Université Memorial, avec une spécialisation en services pour les étudiants.

DRIVING

Bay Street is a major north-south road in downtown Toronto. Beginning at Queens Quay West in the south, the thoroughfare heads north to end at Davenport Road just north of Bloor Street. The Marriott is on the southeast corner of Bay Street below Dundas Street West.

PARKING

The parking garage with the best rates is the Bay/Dundas Parkade, located on Bay Street, south of Dundas Street, north of Queen Street. The daily rate is $16.

The Marriott offers on-site parking for a higher rate.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

From Dundas Subway Station (southbound from Bloor or northbound from Union on the Yonge line) walk west on Dundas Street to Bay Street. The Marriott is on the southeast corner of Bay Street below Dundas Street West. Approximate time from Dundas Station: 5-minute walk.

From St. Patrick Subway Station (southbound from Bloor or northbound from Union on the University line) walk east on Dundas Street to Bay Street. The Marriott is on the southeast corner of Bay Street below Dundas Street West. Approximate time from St. Patrick Station: 7-minute walk.

AIRPORT

Airport taxis and limousines are available at Lester B. Pearson International Airport from all terminals. Travel time is approximately 45 minutes and the cost is approximately $60. The Airport Express shuttle picks up from the Arrivals level of each terminal and drops you off at Chestnut Street, which is one block southwest of the Marriott. Book discounted tickets online. Rate and schedule information is available at www.torontoairportexpress.com and look for the stop listed under “U of T Residence.”

The Billy Bishop Toronto City airport is only about a 10-minute drive away from the Marriott Eaton Centre and a cab costs approximately $20.

OTHER TRAVEL OPTIONS

Travelling by train offers a convenient option with Union Station less than 1 km away from the Marriott. The bus is another alternative with the Toronto Coach Station located across the street from the hotel.

CERIC has negotiated a limited number of hotel room nights with the Marriott Toronto Eaton Centre for August 18 and 19, 2014.

Hotel room rates are subject to applicable provincial and local taxes and fees. Rates are in Canadian funds.

You will need a valid credit card at the time of reservation and your card will be charged for the first night’s stay at that time.

The following are the rates per night (before taxes):

Reservations for CERIC’s Summer Skills Academy are to be made by individual attendees directly with Marriott reservations at 1.800.228.9290.

Many other hotels are located within walking distance of the Marriott, including the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Toronto Downtown.

ENJOY TORONTO!

Enjoy the excitement of downtown Toronto from a hotel in the heart of it all. Adjacent to the world-famous Eaton Centre and its shopping, the Marriott is perfect for a downtown Toronto escape – by yourself or with your family! A walking tour of downtown Toronto takes guests to the CN Tower, the new Ripley’s Aquarium, Royal Ontario Museum, Hockey Hall of Fame and Rogers Centre. For more information on events and attractions, visit Tourism Toronto.

When you register you will be given an option to notify us of any dietary issues. We work closely with the hotel to ensure that all reasonable requests are met but this is not always possible. We thank you in advance for your understanding. Breakfast and lunch are included on both days as are mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments where you will be able to network with delegates from other seminars.

Please check-in upon arrival at the CERIC welcome desk on the conference floor, starting at 8:15 am. The conference floor is one level below and accessed from the right of the hotel registration desk on the main floor. The seminars will start at 9:00 am sharp and all seminar rooms are located on the conference floor. The schedule for both days is as follows:

This seminar is designed to help you understand the Stages of Change (SOC) model and Motivational Interviewing (MI) and its relevance to your organization and your clients. Practitioners feel increased pressure to support “stuck” individuals in successfully attaching to the labour market. The challenge is that some individuals appear to have low readiness to change. We will provide you with practical methods to help these clients move forward using a collaborative, empowering, non-judgmental, non-confrontational and non-adversarial approach to overcome resistance to change.

SOC has been applied to a broad range of behaviours including weight loss, employment, and overcoming alcohol and drug problems among others.

MI, a method of interacting with clients who are ambivalent about making change in their lives, is a well-established, evidenced-based model with wide application in behavioural change: addictions, health behaviour, wellness, chronic disease management, and most recently, in the employment field.

DAY ONE: THE STAGES OF CHANGE (SOC) AND HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THEM

Learn about the six stages in the change cycle and the Stages of Changewheel as they relate to employment. Originally developed by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente, the idea behind the SOC model is that people tend to progress through different stages on their way to successful change. On Day One, we will explore the following SOC and the techniques practitioners need to use in each stage of change:

• Pre-contemplation (when an individual has no perceived need for change)
• Contemplation (when an individual is thinking about making changes)
• Preparation (when an individual is preparing for or becoming determined to make changes)
• Action (the individual has made the change)
• Maintenance (the individual is consistently making changes and maintaining the changes made)
• Termination (the individual no longer needs to attend to the task of maintaining the change)

DAY TWO: MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING (MI): THE DANCE

MI is a communication model developed by professors William R Miller, PhD and Stephen Rollnick, PhD. On Day Two, we will explore how to reduce client resistance and how to create the necessary conditions to change using MI. The focus will be on how to:

• Minimize client resistance
• Explore and resolve ambivalence
• Elicit “change talk”
• Apply the spirit and four processes of MI while working collaboratively with clients
• Recognize, respond to and support client readiness

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

• Help clients overcome their ambivalence toward looking for, obtaining and retaining meaningful employment
• Have clients be ready and willing to avail themselves more effectively of the services you are offering
• Help clients envision a better future and become increasingly motivated to achieve it
• Help clients think differently about their behaviour and ultimately consider what might be gained through change
• Use what you learn to increase work readiness, achieve higher program retention, initial employment and six-month employment rates

YOUR SEMINAR LEADER

Roxanne Sawatzky, is the founder and lead trainer at Empowering Change Inc. She has successfully managed a three-year $1.3 million research study for the Province of Manitoba and Federal Government of Canada, which included 3,000 participants. She is experienced in project management, program development, implementing processes, curriculum writing and best practices development. Roxanne has completed her MA in Leadership, and also holds a certificate in addictions counselling and case management.

She recently completed a second research project with the Social Research Development Corporation in British Columbia; once again focusing on using MI with ambivalent clients. While there are many good MI trainers, membership in the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) is the only status accorded to training professionals. Roxanne went to Spain in June, 2009 and as a result of the training taken there, is now a member of MINT.

Stress is a fact of life and every day stress can build to a level that seems too difficult to handle. Your reactions to the daily stressors can leave you exposed to a variety of mental and physical illnesses or can take you away from your life goals. One in five Canadians will experience a mental illness at some point in their lives, yet most people have never learned anything about these illnesses until they or someone they know has faced a crisis.

The workplace can be a strong contributor to mental well-being, giving the opportunity to feel productive and achieve potential yet it can also be a negative and stressful environment that contributes to the rise of mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and burnout. Recent Ipsos Reid surveys revealed that managers and supervisors overwhelmingly indicated a need and desire to improve their competencies for dealing with distressed employees.

In this seminar, you will gain practical approaches on Day One for how you can develop your personal resilience and then on Day Two, you will learn what you can do as a professional to support mental health.

DAY ONE: A HEALTHY PERSON

Want a better way to take better control of your day, relax more easily and sleep more soundly? This interactive, practical and thought-provoking seminar focuses on understanding the key concepts within stress management. You will engage in assessing your stress symptoms and in developing a personal resilience action plan based on the S-O-S PrincipleTM by identifying positive opportunities and utilizing practical approaches and solutions to integrate these strategies into your busy life. Choose the most effective coping strategies based on the S-O-S PrincipleTM to quickly bounce back after a stressful situation and minimize negative stress symptoms and reactions.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

• Understand in detail the key concepts of stress, stressors, stress response and health and how they relate to you
• Recognize your behavioural, physiological and psychological stress response symptoms using the Personal Assessment Check List to understand the harmful effects stress has on your body and the impact of ignoring these signs
• Know how to recognize the early warning signs that stress is building up so that you can deal with it before it impacts your health
• Utilize 3 categories of stress management strategies in developing a meaningful and relevant Personal Action Plan based on the S-O-S PrincipleTM to reduce chronic stress and stress overload in your life and increase your ability to deal with stress in the future
• Utilize tips on lifestyle changes to relax and renew your enthusiasm and energy

DAY TWO: A HEALTHY PLACE

We will explore mental health and mental illness issues, identify known risk factors to a mentally unhealthy workplace, and understand what employees need from their workplace to promote mental health. You will learn to identify signs and symptoms of possible mental health issues: behaviour changes that can indicate an underlying mental health issue; and the difference between blues and Mood Disorder, stress and Anxiety Disorder (physiology, environment, role of stress and myth of choice). You will develop an understanding and gain strategies for supporting those experiencing a mental health issue, including how to respond to mental health emergencies and to non-emergency situations as well as sample dialogues. We will also address an employer’s duty to accommodate people with disabilities in the workplace. The goal is to combat the effects of stigma associated with having a mental illness in order to build understanding and acceptance and promote return to work.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

• Better understand mental health and mental illness
• Learn about management practices that promote the performance and well-being of all employees
• Take action when warning signs appear
• Manage employees with mental health issues on a day-to-day basis
• Take the necessary action while the employee is away
• Facilitate the employee’s return to work
• Increased knowledge and confidence in the area of psychological health and safety
• A clear understanding of the risks and responsibilities related to the duty to protect and promote employee psychological health and safety

YOUR SEMINAR LEADER

Beverly Beuermann-King is a certified speaking professional and one of the leading stress management speakers in the country. As a trusted education consultant to the Canadian Mental Health Association ,she created a series of booklets called Stress Sense™and developed workshops for Understanding Mental Illness and Suicide Awareness for their Making Mental Health Matter™ series which is used across Canada. Beverly has spent the last 15 years training and educating more than 40,000 leaders, teams, front-line workers and volunteers using her S-O-S Principle™. Beverly’s passion is to help individuals and teams find the right strategies to effectively deal with today’s stressful challenges. Her newest book, Stress Out! 52 Weeks to Letting More Life In, has just been published.