The Impact of Trauma ***please register using the poster only***

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Presenter: Simone Saunders, MSW, RSW, Director & Founder of The Cognitive Corner

In this session participants will learn about the following:

• Learn about what trauma is and how it develops in childhood

• Learn how to talk to children about mental health

• Learn about resiliency building factors

Poster

Navigating Mental Illness in Children and Its Impact on Parenting: Struggles, Hopes, and Triumphs

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education is leading a collaborative event with CES and the Perlin Foundation for Wellbeing featuring author and mental health advocate Jan Stewart and Dr. Paul Arnold to share the lived experience and research insights on families of children with mental health challenges.

During this poignant talk, Dr Paul Arnold, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and director of the Mathison Centre will highlight the research of the centre and how it interfaces with the mental health experiences of everyday families filtered through the family story of Jan Stewart.

Speakers

Jan Stewart - Jan Stewart is a parent with lived experience, an award-winning author and a highly regarded mental health advocate. Growing up in New York and moving to Toronto after marrying a Canadian, she was untouched by major adversity throughout her youth and imagined a similar, happy life for her children. In her raw and emotional book Hold on Tight: A Parent’s Journey Raising Children with Mental Illness, she candidly describes the shock she and her husband faced when each of their two young children started exhibiting troubling behaviours.

Paul Arnold – is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and the director of the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education. Dr. Arnold’s research focuses on how genetic and environmental risk factors interact to influence the development of child-onset neuropsychiatric disorders including the study of genetic influences on brain structure and function in children with mental illnesses.

Stress, Stigma, and Safety for Caregivers ***please register using the poster only***

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Presented by: Agnes Chen, Registered Nurse, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Family Advocacy Support Centre (Starlings Community)

Navigating the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use can make it difficult for youth to find support. Facilitated by a registered nurse with lived experience of parental substance use stigma, this workshop is for adults (parents, grandparents, and/or other extended support) who provide care to a youth who has been impacted by the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use.

The session will provide information that will cover:

• Stress: how childhood stress can influence a child's emotions and behaviors
• Stigma: how the response of family and community towards parents who use substances can prevent youth from seeking support
• Safety: how we can empower youth to identify and seek out their safe people and spaces

Online Safety ***please register using the poster only***

Noon - 1:30 PM

Presenters: Ayah Zain-Alarab, Youth Facilitator, Bachelor of Child Studies &
Eric Ferguson, Youth Facilitator, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Closer to Home Community Services

Technology can be an outlet where youth are able to connect with peers and express themselves online. However, one can be exposed to negative experiences while using the internet. This presentation will provide an overview on some of the pitfalls of the online experience and give strategies to ensure safe and mindful consumption.

Building Resiliency in Today's Youth ***please register using the poster only***

Noon - 1:30 PM

Presented by: Andrea Halwas, BA, MFA, PhD, REACE, Registered Expressive Arts Therapy Consultant, Associate Therapist & Educational Coordinator at Juno House

Brought to you by specialists in Girls' Mental Health

Before High School graduation, one-third of adolescent girls will experience depression, anxiety disorders, self-harm or an eating disorder. However, there is an incredible power in caregivers who can support our youth, both young women and men, before they seek therapy.

At Juno House®, we believe in the extraordinary healing power of parents, caregivers, coaches, and teachers. In our 1.5 hour workshop presentation, we will share steps and strategies from the Juno House Therapeutic Model® that will provide effective emotional coaching tools for today’s youth as they develop through adolescence and into young adulthood.

We believe that talking does not grow neurons; experience grows neurons. This workshop is designed to give caregivers the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:
• Basic introduction of interpersonal neurobiology,
• Where emotions live in our brains,
• The essential role emotions play in mental well being,
• How to identify emotions in youth,
• How to become an emotional coach in only five steps.

A Pocket Guide to Supporting Young Adults with Mental Health Concerns ***please register using the poster only***

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Presenter: Cindy Gerdes, MN, President of Lifeboat Family Skills & Peer Facilitator

Objective:
• Participants will be introduced to six guiding principles that provide a new perspective on situations arising with their loved ones and create more options for responding effectively.

Parenting Styles ***please register using the poster only***

10:30 AM - Noon

Presenters: Susan Ma, CIWA Cross Cultural Parenting Program Coordinator & Yanping Dai, CIWA Cross Cultural Parenting Program Facilitator, Calgary Immigrant Women's Association (CIWA)

• Participants will gain an understanding of different parenting styles.
• Participants will become more aware of their own parenting styles.
• Participants will gain a better understanding on how parenting styles affect children.

Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams – Internet Child Exploitation in Alberta ***please register using the poster only***

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Presenter: Kim Edwards, PhD., Intelligence Analyst, RCMP, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team

This presentation will provide the following:

• ICE Mandate and the role of ICE in the province
• Where do our files come from?
• International scope of internet child exploitation
• What does this all mean for parents?
• Social media and our children
• Parental resources and strategies to keep our children safe online

Adolescent Brain Development and Navigating Parent-Teen Relationships ***please register using the poster only***

10:00 AM - Noon

Adolescence is a magical time when children enter a period of huge growth and change. Bodies and brains change, emotions become more volatile, friends become more important, and the parent-child relationship morphs into a parent-teen relationship. In this session we will discuss the adolescent brain, how to support healthy brain development, promoting resilience, and navigating the ways that your relationship with your teen will evolve as they slowly but surely become little adults.

Cyber Safety ***please register using the poster only***

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Presenter: Michael Kim, Outreach Programs Manager at YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre

Are you and your family cyber-safe? In today's interconnected world, the internet and social media have revolutionized the way we connect and learn. However, with limited oversight, these digital realms also pose potential risks such as privacy
breaches, cyberbullying, sextortion, and criminal activities. YouthLink Calgary presents an essential program designed to
empower parents and guardians with the tools needed to ensure your family's online safety.

Navigating Technology with our Youth ***please register using the poster only***

Noon - 1:30 PM

Presented by: Andrea Halwas Larsen, in partnership with Juno House

In this 1.5 hour presentation, we will discuss the role of technology and today’s youth. The message of this presentation is not only based on technology, but also about a child’s healthy brain development and the necessary parenting/caregiver role in creating healthy, emotional, regulated, and integrated brains. This presentation will address the underpinning of a child’s emotional brain development and how to grow it, as well as how technology can dangerously hijack this.

We believe that talking does not grow neurons; experience grows neurons. This workshop is designed to give attendees the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:
• An understanding of the basic neuroscience behind healthy brain development,
• The dangers of technology for healthy brain development,
• Technology use rules that will help your child
• When building healthy brains, how to identify emotions in your child/student, and
• How to become your child’s/student’s emotional coach in only five steps and in that, build a resilient child.

The presentation is facilitated by a therapist from Juno House who has years of both clinical and facilitating experience. Juno House was founded in 2008 as a Centre of Excellence for adolescent girls and young women who are experiencing anxiety-based mental health issues of self harm, obsessive compulsive disorders, depression and eating disorders.

Understanding Influences: Family Conflict & the Developing Brain ***please register using the poster only***

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Presenter: Chelsea Godschild, BSW, Strengthening Families Facilitator, YW Calgary

Separation, divorce, and family restructuring can bring about a variety of different changes and challenges for both children and their families. Participants in this workshop will learn more about recognizing and understanding children’s needs and emotions during difficult times.

Additionally, participants will recognize positive conflict management skills to support their children through difficult times.

Mental health for highly sensitive teens; unique struggles for these emotional feelers ***please register using the poster only***

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Presented by: Tracy Fields, BSW, MSW in partnership with Tracy Fields Consulting

Highly sensitive teens are often misunderstood by parents and teachers as they often have stronger emotional reactions. In this presentation, learn why this happens, and the necessary tools required to help these teens manage their emotions so they don't become derailed.

Juno House presents: Healthy Brains = Healthy Children ***please register using the poster only***

Noon - 1:30 PM

Presented By: Andrea Halwas, BA, MFA, PhD, REACE, Registered Expressive Arts Therapy Consultant, Associate Therapist & Educational Coordinator at Juno House

Before High School graduation, one third of adolescent girls will experience depression, anxiety disorders, self harm or an eating disorder.
At Juno House www.junohouse.ca we believe in the extraordinary healing power of parents and caregivers. We believe that you can learn all of the skills that you need to become your teen’s emotional coach. We believe that talking does not grow neurons; experience grows neurons. We will share steps and strategies from the Juno House Therapeutic Model that will give you effective emotional coaching tools for your children as they develop through adolescence and into young adulthood. You will learn about :
• Neuroscience and the developing brain,
• Brain integration of the left and right brain,
• How anxiety develops,
• The background of emotions and how to understand them in your child,
• The five emotional coaching steps,
• Strategies to help guide your adolescent through the challenges they will face in their academic, peer, and emotional environments.

Target Dyslexia ***please register using the poster only***

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Presenter: Tanya Keto, BEd, MEd (School and Applied Child Psychology) Manager, Professional Development and Community Education at Foothills Academy Society

Dyslexia occurs in an estimated 5-15% of the population and refers to individuals who display fundamental and often profound difficulties with reading and spelling single words in isolation. This difficulty has a wide range of implications across academic settings and grades including reading comprehension, the development of vocabulary, and the ability to spell and communicate in writing. Educators play a critical role in the trajectory and outcomes of students with Dyslexia, and there is so much we can be doing to help these kids. Join Tanya in this introduction to Dyslexia as she discusses:
• Red flags
• Diagnosis, statistics, and developmental trajectory of students with Dyslexia
• The language associated with Dyslexia
• Cognitive processes involved in reading
• Evidence-based Tier 2 and 3 interventions

Stress Management ***please register using the poster only***

Noon - 1:30 PM

Presenter: Ruta Vilunaite
Bachelor's degree in Social Pedagogy and Master in Social Work
Youth facilitator - viewpoints Calgary
Closer to Home Community Services

Participants will learn:
• Signs of stress and how to recognize them.
• Support for kids and teens in stress management.
• Stress sources and levels.
• How stress affects our body and mental health.