Upcoming online training: Certified Training for Helping Professionals

Join us for our upcoming online training on June 13^th and 14^th!

Karen McAndless-Davis: So, Jill, we’re doing this training on June 13^th and 14^th. What, what would you say people could expect, or would they experience, if they came to this training? What would they get from it?

Jill Cory: Well, I think they’ll get many tools and skills. But one of the things that we find is really interesting and has been very helpful for people is to really explore the idea of dominant discourse.

And by that we mean the discourse that wins out as we talk about women’s experiences of abuse. So for example, one dominant discourse that’s very prevalent is the idea that women are foolish or make bad choices or choose to be with an abusive partner and, and that they repeat that pattern over and over again.

And so we want to have a look at that and dismantle that belief and rather replace it with something more accurate. And one of the ways that we do that with it is with the tool called the cycle of abuse. Now, some people are familiar with that, but how we use it is really important application. And that is the honeymoon where Where instead of seeing the woman is making a bad choice, we see the man as presenting himself in a way that’s inaccurate and false and manipulative in order to attract a woman. So that’s one example of dominant discourse.

Karen McAndless-Davis: Yeah. And the exercises really reframe those dominant discourses and give really helpful tools.

Jill Cory: Absolutely.

Karen McAndless-Davis: Yeah. And, you know, I think you and I dig into something like the cycle of abuse in a way that it often doesn’t get dug into, right? Like I think sometimes there’s this more surface look at instead of really hearing women’s experiences of these things.

Yeah. And, you know, I’m just thinking over the course of the two days, we look at eight exercises in total and, and that these exercises really are helpful to any professional in at least three ways. One, it helps to change our own thinking because we all can fall for the dominant discourse.

It’s called dominant for a reason. It’s very prevalent in our culture. So the exercises help reframe it in our own mind. And then all the exercises can be done one on one with the woman and can also be done in a support group. So those who come to the training are going to come away with a full set of tools to, for, to help enliven their work with women.

Jill Cory: Yeah. And that’s certainly the feedback that we get that even seasoned professionals get so much from the training because And somehow the dominant discourse again has moved people away from what is women’s real lived experiences of abuse. And so I love that. And as a result of that when people move away from what women need, based on their understanding of experiences.

Even the most helpfully designed services can create more harm for women. And by that really, we, in a lot of the research that we’ve done, as well as in all of our support work and clinical work with women, we hear that women have been more harmed than helped from services, even when the intention is being helpful.

So we’ll, we’re going to look at what women say about services and what is helpful and what’s more, more harmful so that our practices can be best aligned with what women need.

Karen McAndless-Davis: Yeah, so I’m thinking that really any frontline worker could come to this training and get a lot of help whether they kind of formally sit and and work kind of like a counselor or social worker or whether more it’s, you know, maybe interactions like crisis line transition house workers victim services, women’s shelters like anyone in that situation as well as things like counsellors social workers clergy, really, anyone who.

Works to support women because we know this happens to one in three women, right? And so anyone who’s in a position to want to offer support and and want to offer the best possible support We would say that this training would be a good fit for them and I think to probably maybe the last thing you and I might like to just mention is that we love doing these trainings because there’s this lovely community is created just in two days, right?

Because people come, people who come tend to already be passionate and invested in, in women and in women’s well being and in the well being of children. And so they’re already passionate and invested. And then the training is quite interactive. So this lovely community kind of springs up around, around the training.

And you and I always really. Enjoy getting to know the participants and stuff. Yeah. Yeah.

Jill Cory: You know, we’ve been doing this for a long time between us. We’ve got at least 25 years experience. And I think over time, what we see is that this is such a proven framework and model for work at the same time. It’s also a great place for women to make new connections and, and grow their own practice and, and awareness.

Karen McAndless-Davis: Yeah. And so anyone who’s interested can just go to whenlovehurts. ca and they’ll find a link to sign up for the training and then we’ll see them on June 13th and 14th.

Jill Cory: We do have a limited spot, so we hope to see you there. Thank you.

Karen McAndless-Davis: Bye!

Jill Cory: Thanks. Bye bye.

Certified Training for Helping Professionals

Training for helping professionals to provide a proven framework and comprehensive guide to strengthen their practice and enrich the support they offer women who have experienced partner abuse.

Register now

Best Practice Guide and Curriculum (PDF)

Purchase and download today. This Best Practice Guide and Curriculum (PDF) is the essential guide for supporting women impacted by partner abuse from the most trusted experts in the field.

Learn more