Women, anti-violence advocates, researchers and workers in the mental wellness and substance use sectors have been increasingly calling attention to the connections between violence, mental wellness and substance use. Yet, services in the violence against women, mental wellness and substance use sectors are not always responsive to these connections. Women who use substances and/or experience varying levels of mental wellness are often required to seek support from multiple service agencies that offer support around one area of concern, even though women report that their experiences of violence, mental wellness and substance use are deeply interconnected.
This course is designed to support anti-violence workers in understanding the connections between violence, substance use and mental wellness, to explore and unpack common beliefs and assumptions about women who use substances and/or experience varying levels of mental wellness, and to share best practices and tools for reducing barriers to all women seeking safety from violence.
This course is an online, extended version of BCSTH’s Reducing Barriers training, and is recommended for those who have not taken Reducing Barriers before, those for whom online access is more convenient, as well as those who have taken Reducing Barriers and would like a refresh and deeper dive into the topic.
Pre-requisite: Foundations in Violence Against Women v2.0
Full member fee: $60.00 CDN
Associate member fee: $90.00 CDN
Non-member fee: $125.00 CDN
Learning Objectives
Connecting Violence, Mental Wellness and Substance Use
FREE PREVIEWMental Wellness and Violence Against Women
Barriers to Support For Women Experiencing Varying Levels of Mental Wellness
Substance Use and Violence Against Women
Barriers to Support for Women Who Use Substances
Video: For Her Own Good (OAITH)
Unit 1: Review
Unit 1: Reflection
Learning Objectives
What Guides our Work: Promising Principles
Women-Centred
Relational
Anti-Oppressive
Anti-Oppressive (Continued)
Anti-Oppressive (Continued)
Harm Reduction
Holistic and Integrated
Responsive
Unit 2: Review
Unit 2: Reflection
Learning Objectives
What is Trauma?
Trauma- and Violence-Informed Approaches
Responses to Trauma
Neurobiological Impacts of Trauma
Trauma and Resilience
Considerations for Trauma and Violence-Informed Work
Considerations for Trauma and Violence-Informed Work (Continued)
Unit 3: Review
Unit 3: Reflection
Learning Objectives
The Mental Wellness Continuum
Diagnosis and Labelling
Starting the Conversation
Responding to Disclosures
Supporting Women Experiencing Anxiety
Supporting Women Experiencing Depression
Supporting Women Experiencing Psychosis
Supporting Women Who Self-Injure
Supporting Women Experiencing Suicidal Thoughts
Wellness Check-in
FREE PREVIEWUnit 4: Review
Unit 4: Reflection
Learning Objectives
The Spectrum of Substance Use
Video: Safe for All (OAITH)
Talking to Women About Substance Use
Supporting Women Who are Intoxicated
Supporting Women with Safer Substance Use
Supporting Mothers Who Use Substances
Strategies for Safety in Transition Housing Programs
Strategies for Safety in Transition Housing Programs (Continued)
Additional Resources
Unit 5: Review
Unit 5: Reflection
