1. family and parenting

2015 MBC Annual General Meeting & National Conference
WORKSHOP SESSION INFORMATION
Friday, October 2
2:45 – 3:45 pm
Managing Multiples Presented by Jenna Kelland: This workshop will show you how you can create your own Managing Multiples class to help
families expecting multiples prepare for the challenges of parenting. It will review how to plan and prepare for the class, how to organize and deliver the class,
and how to customize the experience for the parents in your community. If you already offer this type of class, please join us to share the strategies that have
worked in your Chapter with those who are new to providing this service, and learn from other experienced Chapters.
Open Chapter Exchange: This session will allow the opportunity to ask other Chapter Volunteers direct questions about programs, projects and other
best practices.
10:30 – 11:45 am
MBC Structured Volunteer Exchange: This session will cover specific topics that MBC Volunteers have expressed that are challenging to them as a
volunteer and about the volunteer needs of a Chapter. Delegates will be provided the opportunity to share their struggles and learn from the experiences of
others. MBC will provide resources where possible that address many of these challenges.
Saturday, October 3
10:15 – 11:45 am
Workshop W#1: Joan Friedman – Helping multiples prepare for college
Deciding whether to send your multiples to the same or separate college should not be a last minute decision or an impulsive afterthought. Well in advance of
the application process, multiples and their parents must communicate honestly about each child’s wishes. Parental input is crucial in determining if their
multiples have the capacity to be on their own. Preparing for separate placements must begin well ahead of the college years.
Workshop W#2: John Mascazine – Discovering your children’s potential by discovering their learning strengths
John will highlight the tools parents, teachers, and administrators can use to discover the learning style strengths of same-age sibling students. He will provide
resources and inventories to assist teachers and parents in making the most of the learning environments and learning tasks, both in and outside of schools.
Workshop W#3 – Patricia Kehoe – Psychologist – The Five Love Languages
Patricia Kehoe was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta and started her career as a teacher and counselor with Edmonton Public Schools. After doing her
graduate work in Counseling Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Patricia stayed in Vancouver for the next ten years. While living in Vancouver,
Patricia taught at the University of British Columbia, worked for the Richmond School Board and ran a private practice. In 2002 Patricia gave birth to twin girls
and returned to Edmonton where she current runs a private practice.
Patricia has spoken at numerous workshops for parents, educators, psychologist, social workers and police officers. Her presentation style is focused on
interacting with participants in an informative, passionate, and humorous manner. This workshop will help participants understand the basic concepts behind
recognizing, understanding and implementing the gift of Gary Chapman’s work on THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES. If you want to learn how to speak your child’s
unique love language (whether your child is 4 or 17) then this is the workshop for you. Participants will find this session to be interactive, informative, humorous,
and grounded in realism and practicality.
2:00 – 3:30 pm
Workshop W#4– Susan Grinder – Keys to Helping Anxious and Stressed Teens
Susan Grinder is a Registered Psychologist in private practice in Edmonton working with many adolescent clients either individually or in family counseling. She
also is the mother of a teen daughter so is seeing teen mental, emotional needs from both a professional and personal viewpoint. Susan specializes in helping
teens deal with stress, anxiety, & depression. She also does a fair amount of work with parent/teen conflict and grief counselling.
This workshop will begin with a discussion of potential causes of anxiety (societal stress, genetics, etc.). Susan will then discuss adolescent mental, emotional
and physical developmental levels, which leads us into how anxiety is an epidemic in our young population. Stats will be presented about the prevalence of
anxiety in elementary, junior and senior high schools. There are various types of anxiety and ways it manifests, which will also be discussed. Lastly, we will talk
about helpful strategies for reducing and eliminating anxiety.
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2015 MBC Annual General Meeting & National Conference
WORKSHOP SESSION INFORMATION
Saturday, October 3, … Con’t
2:00 – 3:30 pm, con’t
Workshop W#5 – Wanda Polzin – Mindful Parenting for positive Mental Health: Practical Strategies
Dr. Wanda Polzin (MA, RSW, EdD) is a Director at Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health (CASA). She is the mother of 3 children, ages 6, 9, and 12 and
has extensive clinical and programming experience working within the field of child and family mental health as well as child and family services both in the
community as well as in inpatient settings. Her clinical interests are in addressing the needs of children and families with complex mental health and
psychosocial issues and encourages understanding and support through a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework.
As parents and caregivers, we can learn to be fully present with our child(ren) as well as with ourselves. One way to do this is to bring mindful parenting into
practice and to learn how to parent from our insides out! This workshop will discuss how mindful parenting can transform you as an individual as well as support
change within your family system through providing evidence-based research and related parenting practices regarding parenting infants, children, as well as
teens. The objectives of this discussion will be for parents/caregivers to:
 Come away with various skills and strategies as a parent to “make space”, have thoughtful (non-judgmental and non-reactive) decision-making, share
joy, and bring mindfulness into your family
 Understand ways to recognize and manage stress, both for yourself as well as for your child
 Mindfully be able to recognize and apply attachment-based parenting options and “connection before correction” parenting practice
 Develop an understanding of your child(ren)’s from the perspective of temperament, development, and strengths to support health attachment and
positive mental health for both yourself as well as your child(ren)
Workshop W#6 – Patricia Kehoe – Psychologist – Puberty Multiplied
Is your worst fear your kids becoming a teenager… or maybe you are living your worst fear!? There are numerous misconceptions about teenagers and their
search for independence and identity. What role can you… should you play in their development? Teenagers are facing many changes and decisions …
Patricia Kehoe, Psychologist and mother of teen twins will help guide you through the minefield of adolescence. Participants will enjoy an interactive, passionate
and sometimes humorous look into the struggles teenagers have…. And we have with them.
3:45 – 5:15 pm
Workshop W#7 – Judy Arnall – Discipline without Distress
We are living in an exciting new digital world. Parents and caregivers need new tools! In this presentation Judy will explore modern issues and concerns
regarding discipline and parental anger, and examine typical child age-appropriate behaviours. She will distinguish between discipline and punishment.
Respectful age-appropriate tools will be presented.
Workshop W#8 – Mardi Barnard Social and Emotional Support for kids with Learning Differences
Mardi is a school mental health nurse with a background in child and adolescent psychiatry. She works within schools as a “Worry Nurse” for all students, their
parents and educators. She is involved in the creation of trauma sensitive school settings with a specific emphasis on the development of lagging skills in social
and emotional learning. Her community based mental health work involves health promotion and illness prevention in school settings.
Mardi is the author of the Edmonton Public Schools’ resource Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities: Teacher Resource. As well, she authored a chapter entitled
Children of Neglect in the 2012 textbook Supporting and Educating Traumatized Children: A Guide for School-Based Professionals as well as a teacher
resource for supporting students with lagging skills in Emotional Regulation.
Mardi has worked for Capital Health and most recently at King Edward Academy in Edmonton for children with learning and other disabilities. Mardi has spent
many years helping families and children who are struggling in school with their learning, emotions, social skills and routines. In this workshop, Mardi addresses
the question: How do we teach our kids positive self-talk to build self-confidence to help them succeed in their lives?
Workshop W#9 – The Family Centre – Couples Communication
Fred has been with “The Family Centre” since 1993. As a staff therapist, Fred’s strength and interest is in bringing healing to individuals and families. His
present focus is as supervisor of integrated services for The Family Centre’s City Centre education projects, where he coordinates a collaborative team for the
complex families in our inner city. Fred is further involved with The Family Centre’s Employee and Family Assistance Program, participating as a therapist,
workplace consultant and Critical Incident Response facilitator. Fred received his Master’s degree from the North American Seminary and his Bachelor’s
degrees from the University of Alberta. His professional affiliation is with the Alberta College of Social Workers.
This workshop is designed for those who would like to improve their current communication patterns. The workshop will look at what is needed for healthy
communication and conflict resolution skills including:
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Barriers to effective
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Communication skills
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Conflict resolution skills
communication
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Active listening
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Personal boundaries and needs
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