On-Demand Learning

Understanding attachment styles is a useful tool for caregivers, especially when caring for children from hard places. It is important to discuss how attachment affects an individual as they grow through childhood and move into their adult years. This workshop will address the differences in attachment styles and their implications regarding behavior, worldview, and relationships from a developmental perspective: childhood through adult years.

This online training is designed to assist caregivers, caseworkers, GALs, and other mental health professionals in understanding the importance of attachment in the life of children and predictors for success as adults. (December 2020)

This three-hour training is to provide the opportunity for participants to begin to understand their foster and adopted children's cultural stories and appreciate how it may influence all aspects of their lives, create their identities, social values, and build or hinder their ability to build essential relationships. The participants will learn how to become culturally aware of self and others; identify barriers that could interrupt relationship development in culturally different families and to recognize the importance of relating to others in a culturally respectful, responsive and sensitive manner. Participants will begin to understand and practice cultural humility, which in turn will help build culturally mindful foster and adopt parents and allow for courageous conversations. Part 1 of 2.

This three-hour training is to provide the opportunity for participants to begin to understand their foster and adopted children's cultural stories and appreciate how it may influence all aspects of their lives, create their identities, social values, and build or hinder their ability to build essential relationships. The participants will learn how to become culturally aware of self and others; identify barriers that could interrupt relationship development in culturally different families and to recognize the importance of relating to others in a culturally respectful, responsive and sensitive manner. Participants will begin to understand and practice cultural humility, which in turn will help build culturally mindful foster and adopt parents and allow for courageous conversations. Part 2 of 2.

This workshop delves into implicit memory and how experiences in the womb through the first two years of life create a blueprint for a child. You will learn about how this impacts a child’s brain and behavior across the lifespan. We will explore brain activation (the triune brain model) and nervous system activation (hyper- versus hypo-arousal) and how this plays a role in behavior in the moment it is unfolding. (June 2020)

This panel discussion features individuals who were adopted from overseas. You will hear stories from four panelists about growing up as international adoptees in the US and how these experiences have impacted them. The conversation will focus on internalized struggles, racial identity issues, and what it feels like to grow up in a culture that differs from one's birth culture. (May 2021)

The human-animal bond has evolved for over 15,000 years; however, it is only in the last few decades that companion animals have moved into formal helping roles. From emotional support animals to animal-assisted therapy, there are many ways human-animal interactions are beneficial and support health and happiness. Arielle Giddens from the University of Denver’s Institute for Human-Animal Connection will introduce some of the major benefits of human-animal interactions and ways everyone can connect with animals. (September 2021)

If you’d like to learn more about the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, please visit their website or follow them on social media. You are welcome to explore the professional education opportunities and sign up for their quarterly newsletter. Please reach out to Arielle Giddens directly if you have any questions about this presentation or want to learn about human-animal interactions or humane education.

Contact:
Arielle Giddens
Arielle.giddens@du.edu
303-871-4059

Kinship Dynamics

The objective of this training is to identify the emotional and dynamic differences between being a grandparent or other kin raising kin, as well as the unique challenges this population faces in regards to practical and familial aspects. Tools to help achieve stable permanency are discussed. The presentation features a panel of kinship caregivers who offer wisdom accumulated during their caregiving journeys. (November 2018)

About the Presenter:
Gail Engel is a GRANDVoice Member of Generations United, representing Colorado Grandfamilies, the Co-Chair for Larimer County Alliance for Grandfamilies, member of the Colorado Department of Human Services Family Voice Council, and the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization Grand Family Coalition, Inc.

Does asking your child to turn off the tablet and come to dinner make you brace for battle? Wear clean blue socks instead of the dirty black socks result in an epic meltdown? Transitions are difficult for all of us, but for children who have experienced trauma, unexpected transitions are extra challenging and commonly result in unwanted behaviors. Amidst present circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, your child and family are facing more transitions than ever before. Help your child to handle the unexpected more smoothly by attending this webinar. You will develop a better understanding of why transitions are so challenging for our children and walk away with a toolbox of strategies that make them easier in the future. (August 2020)