Professional Development & Community Education

At Norwood Counselling, we are deeply committed to supporting our communities through meaningful education and connection. We offer a variety of professional development and community-focused workshops designed to equip individuals and organizations with valuable skills and insights. Below, you'll find a selection of topics we offer, with the flexibility to tailor workshops to meet your specific needs. If there’s a particular area of interest not listed, we’re happy to collaborate and develop customized training to best support you.

Workshops For Educators, Professionals & Service Providers

Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Enhancing Collaboration and Trust

Effective leadership isn’t just about strategy — it’s about building healthy and safe workplaces. In emotionally complex or high-stress environments, the ability to lead with empathy, clarity, and emotional regulation is essential. This workshop equips leaders, managers, and team leads with the tools to build trust, foster psychological safety, and navigate conflict without escalating disconnection. Rooted in the principles of emotional intelligence and trauma-informed practice, participants will explore how to: Recognize and manage their own emotional responses Respond to stress and dysregulation in team dynamics Communicate with clarity, curiosity, and compassion Foster a culture of accountability without shame or shutdown Create relational safety that supports both performance and well-being Whether you’re supporting a front-line team, managing burnout, or navigating change, this workshop offers practical skills for leading with attunement and integrity

The Cost of Caring: Preventing Compassion Fatigue & Burnout

This workshop is designed for professionals in caregiving and frontline roles who are at risk of compassion fatigue and burnout. Whether you’re a therapist, social worker, educator, healthcare provider, or community support worker, this session offers a practical and reflective space to recognize the early signs of burnout and re-engage with your work in a sustainable way. Participants will explore the difference between compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout, and will learn how to implement realistic strategies for self-regulation, emotional boundaries, and nervous system recovery. The workshop emphasizes the importance of being held — not just holding others — and offers tools for reconnecting with your values and building a personal plan for wellness. Expect to leave with greater self-awareness, a renewed sense of clarity, and concrete tools to continue doing meaningful work without losing yourself in the process.

Introduction to Trauma-Informed Care: Supporting Safety and Healing in Children and Youth

This workshop is designed for educators, service providers, and professionals who work directly with children and youth — particularly those impacted by trauma, loss, or disrupted attachment. Grounded in trauma-informed and attachment-based principles, this session explores how early adversity shapes emotional development, behavior, and the ability to trust. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how trauma shows up in daily interactions — including challenges with emotional regulation, relationship-building, and identity. You’ll learn practical strategies to foster emotional safety, build connection, and respond to behaviors in a way that supports healing rather than escalation. Whether you’re a teacher, youth worker, counselor, coach, or healthcare provider, this workshop equips you with tools to show up as a consistent, attuned, and compassionate presence in the lives of children navigating complex emotional worlds.

From Trauma Informed to Trauma Responsive Classrooms

This professional development workshop equips educators with practical tools to move beyond awareness into action. Learn how to create emotionally safe, regulation-focused learning environments that support all students—especially those impacted by trauma. Through real-life strategies, reflection, and relational approaches, this session helps bridge the gap between understanding trauma and responding effectively in the classroom.

Workshops For Adoptive & Foster Parents

Understanding the Impact of Trauma on Foster & Adoptive Children

This foundational workshop explores how early adversity, loss, and disrupted attachment affect the developing brain and behavior. Participants will learn how trauma shows up in the body, how it influences emotions and relationships, and why some behaviors that look oppositional are actually protective. Designed for new or seasoned caregivers wanting a deeper understanding of the "why" behind their child’s big feelings and behaviors.

Co-Regulation Over Control: Responding to Big Emotions with Confidence

When a child is overwhelmed, dysregulated, or melting down, our instinct is often to correct or control. But children in care need co-regulation — not punishment. This workshop equips caregivers with tools rooted in nervous system science and attachment theory to help children calm, feel safe, and build their own self-regulation over time. Includes scripts, sensory strategies, and ways to stay regulated yourself.

Navigating Boundaries and Power Struggles with a Trauma Responsive Approach

Setting boundaries with children who have experienced trauma can be complex — especially when trust is fragile. This session explores how to set firm, clear limits while maintaining emotional connection and a sense of safety. You'll learn how to hold both structure and compassion, respond to testing behaviors, and avoid the "power-over" dynamics that escalate conflict.

Attachment in Action: Building Connection with Children Who Push You Away

This workshop focuses on how to build trust with children who struggle to receive care, comfort, or closeness. You'll learn why connection often feels threatening to kids with complex trauma histories, how to recognize "miscues," and how to create safety through consistency, attunement, and repair. We’ll focus on practical strategies to remain emotionally present — even when connection feels one-sided.