CES Sessions
All sessions are offered at no cost.
Cyber Safety ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presenter: Adriana Dewar, B.A., M.A., Community Outreach Coordinator, 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.
Supporting Children Through Grief and Loss ***please register using the poster only***
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Presented by:
Rhonda Anderson B.Ed and Sydney Sommers B.Ed, BSPH, BN
MHCB, Recovery Alberta & Rocky View Schools
To watch a child, grieve and not know what to do is a profoundly challenging experience for parents and caregivers. Many life experiences may generate feelings of grief in a child, from the death of a relative or a divorce in the family to more everyday experiences such as moving, losing a prized possession, and shared experiences throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
This session aims to support caregivers in addressing cultural norms which limit the expression of negative emotions and empower healthy, effective interventions to support their child’s experience of grief and loss.
We will explore guidelines for supporting children in developing lifelong, healthy responses to loss and how caregivers can help them through tough times.
Navigating Technology with our Youth ***please register using the poster only***
6:00 PM - 7:30 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.
Not falling through the cracks : How psychoeducational assessments can help foster success! ***please register using the poster only***
Noon - 1:30 PM
Presented by:
Caitlin Schneider (M.Sc.), and Karen Wagner (M.Ed.), Registered Psychologists
Does your child struggle in a mainstream classroom? Are you concerned that your child may be anxious, overwhelmed or inattentive at school? Does your child struggle to understand new academic concepts or lessons? Do you think your child needs extra support to achieve academic or social success? If you can relate to any of these questions, please join the presenters to explore when a psychoeducational assessment may be warranted for your child. Within the current session, presenters will provide parents and supports with an overview of how psychoeducational assessments can be helpful in identifying a child’s strengths, areas of difficulty, and learning style, as well as help caregivers learn how to advocate through the educational system and community supports to foster growth and success.
Managing Challenging Behaviours ***please register using the poster only***
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Presented by: Kayla Yuzdepski, a Family Champion Facilitator at the YW Family Resource Network
Everyone has intense emotions, the trick is being able to navigate them.
Through this presentation you will learn about the crisis cycle and how to intervene at a different moment to reduce the risk of an intense emotional outburst. You can use these strategies with anyone in your life, despite their age.
Insight and Guidance for Navigating Mental Health Support ***please register using the poster only***
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Dr. Anita Ewan, PhD, RECE, CD, CBE, is pleased to offer a specialized workshop designed to support parents navigating the mental health system for their children.
With over 15 years of experience working with children and families, as well as the perspective of a mother of seven, Dr. Ewan combines professional expertise with personal dedication to helping families access compassionate, effective care.
This workshop is crafted to give parents the confidence, knowledge, and tools they need to support their children’s mental health, ensure their voices are heard, maintain autonomy, and advocate for a brighter future. The sessions aim to provide parents with accessible, sustainable, and effective advocacy skills. Dr. Ewan’s hope is that each participant will leave with a greater sense of self-efficacy and a supportive community.
ADHD & Executive Functioning ***please register using the poster only***
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Presented by: Rhonda Anderson, BEd and Stephanie Sands, BSc
Rocky View Schools and MHCB Stepping Stones to Mental Health
The session will provide an overview of ADHD and how issues with impulsivity and/or inattention impact children's ability to manage their environments. The session will also explore the impact ADHD has on Executive Functioning and how it relates to managing everyday tasks, and meeting daily expectations at home and at school, including social, emotional, behavioural, and academic demands.
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.
The Power of Presence: A Guide to Healthy Attachment ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Presenters:
Daya (she/they) Williams, Honors BA in Psychology and Youth & Children's Studies, Somatic Attachment Therapy Practitioner & Sumeet Kalsi, Dip. in Early Childhood Development & Education, Family Coordinator, Parent and Caregiver Support Services (PCSS).
This presentation will discuss:
• Understanding secure and insecure attachment
• Learning how attachment style impacts the autonomic nervous system
• Tips for fostering secure attachment with children
Birth Control and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) What do you need to know? ***please register using the poster only***
10:30 AM - Noon
Presented by: Cariann Dunn RN, BScN, BA, MEd (Candidate)
Sexual and Reproductive Health Program, AHS
Are you a trusted adult to a teen but are worried that your knowledge about birth control and STI might be out of date? Youth make healthier sexual choices when they can talk to an adult they trust about these topics. In this session for parents and professionals, build your ability to support youth by learning about:
- Creating a safer space to talk with teens about birth control and STI
- Current birth control methods that are effective for teens, how they work and how teens can get them
- Sexually transmitted infections – what they are, how people get them, how to lower risk and where teens can get testing and treatment
Can We Talk: Healthy Relationships ***please register using the poster only***
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Presented by:
Diana Wark (She/Her), Parent Program Coordinator for Centre for Sexuality
Join us for an interactive workshop to learn how to navigate those sometimes awkward but essential conversations that foster well-being, healthy relationships and informed decision-making. We empower parents with knowledge, skills and confidence to engage in open, honest and supportive conversations about sexuality and sexual health with their children.
In this workshop, we will describe and explore healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationship patterns. We will learn about effective communication and practice discussing topics related to romantic/intimate relationships in ways that are grounded in your values.
Reality vs False Expectations: how to address sexuality with teenagers ***please register using the poster only***
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presenter: Rene Ramirez BA, MA, R. Provisional Psychologist, Family Counsellor, Carya
Join us as we:
• Discuss helping parents talk about sexuality with their teens.
• Provide age-appropriate strategies to parents about how to address sexuality with their kids.
• Address false expectations vs reality regarding topics like pornography and others.