Back to School with the CSHC Training Centre! ► Fall 2013 Schedule

As the back to school season approaches, we are gearing up for our new Fall 2013 schedule of workshops.

 

Our Training Centre provides a number of professional development opportunities for service providers. Last year our staff facilitated 93 educational workshops reaching over 2,590 professionals!

 

We are pleased to present the schedule for our Fall 2013 workshops. Please note that Category A Social Work credits are available for all training sessions.

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Supporting Sexuality with People with Disabilities

► DATE CHANGE: October 1, 2013 ◄
9 – 12

This session is designed for professionals working with people with developmental disabilities. Participants will define sexuality in a broad context, explore their own attitudes about sexuality and receive practical suggestions for engaging clients in conversations about their sexual health and wellbeing.

This workshop will also help professionals to set boundaries around what is appropriate behavior, clarify age of consent guidelines and make referrals to community resources.

Supporting Sexuality with Older Adults

November 6, 2013  
9 – 12

Negative cultural perceptions about seniors and sexuality abound.  What can we do as professionals to counter those views and support the sexual health and wellbeing of older adults. 

In this workshop, you will increase your confidence and comfort talking with your clients about sexuality. Receive practical suggestions, tips and resources to start talking and keep talking about sexual health and wellbeing with seniors.

Creating a Culture of Respect for Gender Diverse Clients and Coworkers

December 4, 2013 
9 – 12

This session will explore the gender binary that exists in our culture and its impact on client service delivery.

Participants will identify strategies to create safe and supportive environments for clients and coworkers who transcend our culturally constructed views of gender.

 

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Location: 
Calgary Sexual Health Centre
#304, 301 - 14 Street NW, Calgary, AB

 

 

To Register: 
Call Valerie Barr at 403. 283. 5580 ext. 317
vbarr@calgarysexualhealth.ca  

or

Call Becky Van Tassel at 403. 283. 5580 ext. 323

bvantassel@calgarysexualhealth.ca 

Fee:

$50 per person, including workshop materials

 

Key Area 1: Healthy Bodies --> a personal story

There are three key areas that CSHC is focused on: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Relationships and Healthy Communities. These focus areas speak to the core of our work; they support our vision for the community and the mission we are on to achieve it.

In this series of blogs, we present some of our success stories  that highlight a program from each of our three focus areas.

 

In this blog, we look at a "Healthy Bodies" story:

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Eve’s Story: Reclaiming Healthy Sexuality

She started the program wondering why she was even there. She left wondering what she would’ve done without it.

“Eve* started the program thinking she didn’t really need it,” says Becky Van Tassel, Training Centre Coordinator with Calgary Sexual Health Centre. Eve was taking part in the Reclaiming Healthy Sexuality program as part of an addictions treatment program.

Reclaiming Healthy Sexuality is a Calgary Sexual Health Centre program that fills a critical need. Aimed at women who have had negative sexual experiences, Reclaiming is an intensive program that helps women look at their own bodies and sexuality in a new, healthier way. In Eve’s case, she experienced sexual assault as an adult.

“Often it empowers women to address something they’ve never talked about,” Van Tassel says. “We provide the tools and information so that women can make healthy choices for themselves in the future.”

Talking about their bodies is one of the most important parts of the program. From discussing anatomy to exploring how to be aware of your own body and its reactions, clients like Eve benefit from the group discussions.



Healthy decision-making with
"Head Heart Body"

The program is only offered to those already accessing social programs, so participants can receive follow-up support as they move forward. Van Tassel admits that it’s difficult work for the women involved. One aspect of the program called Head, Heart, Body helps participants make healthy decisions about sexuality.

“At the end of it, women acknowledge that they may not have made a decision that way before and it can be uncomfortable, but they know that in the future they have a tool so they can aim to not regret future decisions.”

One of the most powerful parts of the program is not what the facilitators teach the participants, but what they teach other.

“They really bond over their common experiences and help each other,” says Van Tassel. “We see really diverse groups and you often see older women sharing their wisdom or younger women helping the older participants see things in a different light. And then it builds their own self esteem that they’ve had something valuable to share with someone else and they could give support. ”

“We talk about the fact that regardless of what you’ve experienced, there is hope and the way you feel about sex and sexuality can change,” says Van Tassel. “Women can really leave with a sense of hope.”

*names have been changed.

 

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Healthy Bodies

When we understand our bodies, we take care of them, feel good about them, and make good decisions about our sexual health.

We are the only non-profit organization in Calgary delivering comprehensive programs and services that address sexual health issues. Our programs emphasize the need to be aware of your own body and take care of it, whether that means using birth control and getting tested for STIs,  or reclaiming your own sexuality.