Delivery Mode: Online

Trauma Responsive Practice (online)

Date: Tuesday, 10th March 2026, 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Online

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Description

This is a full day workshop with Jen Thompson, a psychotherapist and trainer passionate about creating welcoming, hopeful, and trauma informed service systems.

Trauma Responsive Practice is foundational training for AOD and Mental Health workers that builds on the Introduction to Trauma Informed Care e-learning.

This workshop will explore the following concepts and will bring them to life with experiential exercises and discussion:

  • Creating safety and the felt experience of safety
  • Understanding trauma in the context of substance use
  • Bringing body awareness into our work
  • Understanding trauma informed care principles and applying to our work
  • Understanding Polyvagal Theory
  • The Zone of fabulousness
  • Collective Care and Solidarity Teams

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) and Mental Health service including peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Trauma Responsive Practice (online)

Date: Wednesday, 12th November 2025, 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Online

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Description

This is a full day workshop with Jen Thompson, a psychotherapist and trainer passionate about creating welcoming, hopeful, and trauma informed service systems.

Trauma Responsive Practice is foundational training for AOD and Mental Health workers that builds on the Introduction to Trauma Informed Care e-learning.

This workshop will explore the following concepts and will bring them to life with experiential exercises and discussion:

  • Creating safety and the felt experience of safety
  • Understanding trauma in the context of substance use
  • Bringing body awareness into our work
  • Understanding trauma informed care principles and applying to our work
  • Understanding Polyvagal Theory
  • The Zone of fabulousness
  • Collective Care and Solidarity Teams

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) and Mental Health service including peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships and AOD/MH workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Trauma Responsive Practice (trainees)

Date: Thursday, 9th October 2025, 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Online

Description

This is a full day workshop with Jen Thompson, a psychotherapist and trainer passionate about creating welcoming, hopeful, and trauma informed service systems.

Trauma Responsive Practice is foundational training for AOD and Mental Health workers that builds on the Introduction to Trauma Informed Care e-learning.

This workshop will explore the following concepts and will bring them to life with experiential exercises and discussion:

  • Creating safety and the felt experience of safety
  • Understanding trauma in the context of substance use
  • Bringing body awareness into our work
  • Understanding trauma informed care principles and applying to our work
  • Understanding Polyvagal Theory
  • The Zone of fabulousness
  • Collective Care and Solidarity Teams

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed under the AOD Traineeship initiative.

Who is not eligible?

Those who are not employed under the AOD Traineeship initiative, workers from other community service sectors and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

Trauma Responsive Practice (online)

Date: Wednesday, 16th July 2025, 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Online

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Description

This is a full day workshop with Jen Thompson, a psychotherapist and trainer passionate about creating welcoming, hopeful, and trauma informed service systems.

Trauma Responsive Practice is foundational training for AOD and Mental Health workers that builds on the Introduction to Trauma Informed Care e-learning.

This workshop will explore the following concepts and will bring them to life with experiential exercises and discussion:

  • Creating safety and the felt experience of safety
  • Understanding trauma in the context of substance use
  • Bringing body awareness into our work
  • Understanding trauma informed care principles and applying to our work
  • Understanding Polyvagal Theory
  • The Zone of fabulousness
  • Collective Care and Solidarity Teams

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) and Mental Health service including peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills (trainees)

Dates:

Day one: Tuesday, 17 June 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Day two: Tuesday, 24 June 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed under the AOD Traineeship Program.

Who is not eligible?

Anyone not employed under the AOD Traineeship Program, workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, non-supervisors and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills (trainees)

Dates:

Day one: Tuesday, 17 June 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Day two: Tuesday, 24 June 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed under the AOD Traineeship Program.

Who is not eligible?

Anyone not employed under the AOD Traineeship Program, workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, non-supervisors and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

Responding to Co-occurring Disorders (online)

Dates:

Day 1: Monday 19th May 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Day 2: Monday 26th May 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description:

Co-occurring mental health issues are the norm rather than the exception among people seeking alcohol and other drug treatment. Across this 2-day workshop you will learn how to adapt and expand your existing alcohol and other drug treatment skills to assist your clients with managing mental health symptoms.

Deepen your understanding of co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug issues and build your knowledge, confidence and skills to better understand clients’ needs, respond effectively, and adapt treatment. Find out what you need to know about the different co-occurring conditions you may encounter and how to effectively incorporate best practice responses into your treatment.

Key learning outcomes:

  • Recognise and understand the common mental health conditions in alcohol and other drug treatment
  • Undertake a thorough assessment and develop an integrated case formulation to guide your practice
  • Apply a range of alcohol and other drug treatment skills to working with clients with co-occurring mental health conditions
  • Learn how to respond therapeutically and effectively within the bounds of the alcohol and other drug treatment setting

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

Responding to Co-occurring Disorders (online)

Dates:

Day 1: Monday 19th May 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Day 2: Monday 26th May 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description:

Co-occurring mental health issues are the norm rather than the exception among people seeking alcohol and other drug treatment. Across this 2-day workshop you will learn how to adapt and expand your existing alcohol and other drug treatment skills to assist your clients with managing mental health symptoms.

Deepen your understanding of co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug issues and build your knowledge, confidence and skills to better understand clients’ needs, respond effectively, and adapt treatment. Find out what you need to know about the different co-occurring conditions you may encounter and how to effectively incorporate best practice responses into your treatment.

Key learning outcomes:

  • Recognise and understand the common mental health conditions in alcohol and other drug treatment
  • Undertake a thorough assessment and develop an integrated case formulation to guide your practice
  • Apply a range of alcohol and other drug treatment skills to working with clients with co-occurring mental health conditions
  • Learn how to respond therapeutically and effectively within the bounds of the alcohol and other drug treatment setting

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

Superskills: Core Skills for Supervisors (online)

Dates:

Day 1: Thursday, 25th September 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Day 2: Thursday, 2nd October 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description:

If you are a practice or clinical supervisor in the alcohol and other drug sector (or looking to become one), this workshop is for you. Gain a deep understanding of the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ and ensure that you have the right theoretical and practical foundation skills to offer powerful practice supervision across different contexts and supervisees.

You will learn about developing and implementing supervision contracts and plans, assessing supervisee development needs, and navigating challenges and roadblocks.

Learning outcomes

  • Understand different approaches to supervision and determine which one is right for you and your supervisees
  • Understand and apply structured practical supervisory processes to deepen core supervisory relationship skills, including listening, questioning, guiding, and giving and receiving feedback
  • Understand and utilise the reflective practice model of supervision
  • Understand and practice self-reflection and self-practice as a way of improving supervisory skills
  • Increase skills in facilitating reflective practice in staff
  • Understand and utilise a framework to support decision-making with ethical dilemmas
  • Improve knowledge and skill in responding to staff exposed to complex client presentations

Eligibility Criteria

This is a specialist skills workshop suitable for advanced practitioners who are current or future practice supervisors. This workshop is suitable for practitioners in low threshold and clinical settings.

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including Peer and LLE workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Superskills: Core Skills for Supervisors (online)

Dates:

Day 1: Thursday, 25th September 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Day 2: Thursday, 2nd October 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description:

If you are a practice or clinical supervisor in the alcohol and other drug sector (or looking to become one), this workshop is for you. Gain a deep understanding of the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ and ensure that you have the right theoretical and practical foundation skills to offer powerful practice supervision across different contexts and supervisees.

You will learn about developing and implementing supervision contracts and plans, assessing supervisee development needs, and navigating challenges and roadblocks.

Learning outcomes

  • Understand different approaches to supervision and determine which one is right for you and your supervisees
  • Understand and apply structured practical supervisory processes to deepen core supervisory relationship skills, including listening, questioning, guiding, and giving and receiving feedback
  • Understand and utilise the reflective practice model of supervision
  • Understand and practice self-reflection and self-practice as a way of improving supervisory skills
  • Increase skills in facilitating reflective practice in staff
  • Understand and utilise a framework to support decision-making with ethical dilemmas
  • Improve knowledge and skill in responding to staff exposed to complex client presentations

Eligibility Criteria

This is a specialist skills workshop suitable for advanced practitioners who are current or future practice supervisors. This workshop is suitable for practitioners in low threshold and clinical settings.

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including Peer and LLE workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

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