Mental Health and Substance Use & Supporting Others, Caring for Yourself

In this interactive, hands-on workshop, you will have the opportunity to discuss topics related to working in the homelessness serving sector. In a supportive environment, we will discuss foundational principles related to substance use, harm reduction, and mental health disorders and you’ll have the opportunity to explore and practice de-escalation techniques and safety protocols. We will also cover topics related to caring for yourself while supporting others. We will discuss and practice culturally safe, trauma-informed techniques for setting and maintaining professional boundaries and we will examine causes and symptoms of burnout, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue. You will have the opportunity to try out several self-care strategies and you will be supported in developing a personalized self-care plan. 

This training is based on two topics which will form part of the forthcoming online Fundamentals for the Homelessness Serving Sector Micro-credential program.

Learning objectives

Upon completion of this workshop you will be able to:

• Describe issues related to mental health and substance use within the context of the homelessness serving sector
• Identify self-care strategies and develop a self-care plan to manage stressors related to working in the homelessness serving sector 
• Explain and apply techniques for setting and maintaining professional boundaries
• Define and compare compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, moral distress, and burnout