Registration is now open for the Inviting Resilience Conference to be hosted by Trent University; Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre; and The Mane Intent Inc on May 21 & May 22, 2019 at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. The conference will combine academic and experiential learning to provide meaningful opportunities in community-building capacity for the newest evidence-based practices; community-driven, multi-sectoral initiatives; and trauma-informed programming focused on building resilience in youth and adults impacted by childhood adversity and interpersonal trauma over the lifespan. The full conference program is available here and on-line registration is available here .
The conference program is designed for researchers, practitioners, program facilitators, health care professionals, educators, social workers and other knowledge workers in community service, education, public health and crime prevention with an interest in strengths-based, trauma-informed community programs and research in the areas of mental health, trauma, youth, resilience, socio-emotional learning and equine-assisted learning.
Keynote speakers include:
Dr. Kateryna Keefer: Conference chair Dr. Keefer is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Psychology at Trent University and the research lead for Building Internal Resilience Through Horses. Dr. Keefer is the opening plenary keynote scheduled at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Her presentation themed Resourceful Communities, Resilient Youth will focus on trauma-informed promotion of wellness and resilience, featuring findings from the innovative community-based equine-assisted learning program Building Internal Resilience Through Horses.
Dr. Sandrina de Finney: Dr. de Finney is the Associate Professor and Graduate Advisor, School of Child and Youth Care, at the University of Victoria. The theme of Dr. de Finney’s keynote scheduled for Wednesday, May 22 at 8:45 a.m. is: Indigenous Resurgence as Resilience: Promising Pathways for Resilience and Healing in Indigenous Contexts. In this presentation, Dr. de Finney will explore the issues of trauma, resilience, healing and reconciliation can be reconsidered through Indigenous lens. This conceptual shift takes Indigenous resilience out of its individualized psycho-social definition and locates it instead in relationship with ancestors, lands, kinship, and self-determination.
Dr. Michael Ungar, founder and Director of the Resilience Research Centre and Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Dr. Ungar received his PhD in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1995 and is the former Chair of the Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, executive board member of the American Family Therapy Academy, and a family therapist who works with mental health services for individuals and families at risk. Dr. Ungar’s presentation is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2019. His presentation, themed Nurturing Community Resilience: Strategies to Build Social Cohesion and Community Engagement, will be a fast-paced and story-filled talk, featuring examples from his work with communities that are being challenged by racial conflict, economic marginalization, violence and natural and man-made disasters, to explore a number of factors that contribute to collective resilience.
Other conference workshop topics include: Early Risk and Resilience Factors for Anxiety; Promoting Resilience in Victims of Sexual Violence; Reaching Out Through Yoga; Fostering Resilience During Pregnancy and Beyond; Teaching Emotional Intelligence; Transforming Care in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome; Trauma-informed Hip Hop Dance; Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence on College and University Campuses; Reducing Vulnerabilities and Fostering Resilience for Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence; Neuroscientific Approach to Stress Resilience Evaluation and Treatment; Nato’ we ho win (the Art of Self-Healing); “I’ve Looked at Resilience from Both Sides Now”; Development of a Suicide Prevention Curriculum for First Nations Youth; Contextualizing and Facilitating Resilience; TransFormed: Addressing Partner Violence from Two-Spirit, Nonbinary and Trans Perspectives; Trauma-informed Theatrics Examining Resilience Across a Lifespan.
Both Inviting Resilience Conference and Building Internal Resilience Through Horses are supported by a $623,000 contribution fund received by Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre in 2017. The funding is part of the The Public Health Agency of Canada Innovation Strategy supporting the Health of Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse through Community Programs. This innovative project is being led by Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre in partnership with The Mane Intent Inc. and researchers from Trent University’s Emotion and Health Research Laboratory. Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre was one of over 150 agencies from across Canada to apply for the funding and one of 17 organizations to successful receive the funding.
