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COURSES via
Ontario Association of Social Workers

From Politics to Practice: Harm Reduction Interventions

*Tuesday, February 28, 2023 @ 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET*

Harm reduction is increasingly becoming the preferred approach when working
with people who use substances given that abstinence is only one possible
goal on a larger, more realistic continuum. However, while many of us know
“our politics” around harm reduction, it can be useful to collectively
reflect on how we define problem substance use (“addiction”) and build a
framework to understand the context of drug and alcohol use in our
communities. We will discuss the multiple functions of drugs and alcohol
lives and consider when use is a problem and when is it not. Many frontline
service providers have not had the opportunity to process their own
personal values, questions about what constitutes “harm”, their role in
supporting clients, and the fears and barriers they may experience in
implementing programs and services that are harm reduction-based. This
workshop will allow for a values exploration, a space for honest and
perhaps difficult conversations, and concrete tools that explore what
specific harm reduction strategies can look like before, during, and after
use.

*Presented by: Rahim Thawer, RSW*

*Cost:*

   -

   OASW Members: $199
   -

   Non-Members/Allied Health Professionals: $249

*SIGN-UP HERE*
<https://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1125&EID=30687>

*Course Outline*



*9:00 - 11:30:Lesson 1: Context of drug and alcohol use*o *Topic 1:* Normalized
substances
o *Topic 2:* Identifying a problem
o *Topic 3*: The role of connection: rat park experiment, the crystal meth
project


*Lesson 2: Values and attitudes exercise*o *Topic 1:* Etiology of substance
use problems
o *Topic 2:* Population-specific experiences and collective trauma
o *Topic 3*: Human rights, responsibilities, failures, systemic bias
o *Topic 4: *Decriminalization, legalization, and drug policy issues



*11:30 - 12:30:Lesson 3: Exploring harm reduction in practice*o *Topic
1:* Substance
use continuum
o *Topic 2:* Drug, set, and setting
o *Topic 3*: Stages of change model
o *Topic 4: *Safer drinking guidelines
o *Topic 5: *Perspectives on crystal meth use
o *Topic 6: *Substance-induced psychosis



*1:00 - 3:15:Lesson 4, part one: Intervention tools and tensions -
therapeutic and practical*o *Topic 1:* Housing first models
o *Topic 2: *Needle exchange and safer drug kits
o *Topic 3*: Overdose prevention sites
o *Topic 4: *Smoking cessation: quit dates, costs community-specific
approaches
o *Topic 5: *Complexities of cannabis


*Lesson 4, part two:*o *Topic 6:* Readiness Ruler from
*Structured Relapse Prevention*o *Topic 7*: Decisional Balance from
*Structured Relapse Prevention*o *Topic 8*: Inventory of Drug-Taking
Situations from
*Structured Relapse Prevention*o *Topic 9*: ABC Behavioural Analysis
from *Structured
Relapse Prevention*



*3:30 - 4:30:Lesson 5: Intervention tools and tensions -
pharmacological*o *Topic
1:* Methadone maintenance programs
o *Topic 2: *Reversing overdose for opiates
o *Topic 3: *Smoking cessation
o *Topic 4: *Reducing alcohol cravings
o *Topic 5: *Unpairing methamphetamines and sex

*SIGN-UP HERE*
<https://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1125&EID=30687>

Empowering Trans Clients Through Affirming Care:
A Guide for Social Workers Navigating Surgery Planning

*Monday, March 13, 2023 @ 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET*

As of March 2016, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) changed the
funding criteria for transition-related surgeries by allowing “qualified
providers” throughout the province to assess patients for surgery.
Registered social workers have been designated as one of five professionals
that are able to provide readiness assessments for trans/GNC people seeking
lower/genital surgeries. This workshop will briefly review of trans/gender
101 material, including the importance of challenging cis-centrism in
primary and mental health care systems. We will review the WPATH Standards
of Care and Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care requirements and explore
what surgery planning visits can look like between clinical social workers
and clients. Participants will receive concrete examples of questions they
can ask to support client readiness for surgery and to develop strong
support letters.

*Presented by: Rahim Thawer MSW, RSW and Nolan Blodgett MSW, RSW*

*Cost:*

   -

   OASW Members: $199
   -

   Non-Members/Allied Health Professionals: $249

*SIGN-UP HERE*
<https://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1125&EID=30770>

*Course Outline*


*Module 1: Overview*o Topic 1: Trans and nonbinary mental health –
literature review
o Topic 2: Identities, experiences, and mental health label
o Topic 3: Social and medical transitioning
o Topic 4: Ontario social workers supporting trans and nonbinary clients


*Module 2: Medical Transition*o Topic 1: Hormone replacement therapy
o Topic 2: Masculinizing and feminizing procedures
o Topic 3: System navigation and funding approval


*Module 3: Social Work Counselling*o Topic 1: Social transitioning and
counselling
o Topic 2: HRT and counselling
o Topic 3: Lower surgeries and readiness counselling
o Topic 4: Writing strong support letters
o Topic 5: Microaggressions in direct practice

*SIGN-UP HERE*
<https://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1125&EID=30770>
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