RANDY PATERSON, PhD
PRESENTATIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS
For over 25 years I have been providing engaging, evidence-based training programs for mental health professionals on a variety of topics. I have presented in virtually every province and territory in Canada, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. And now that live-online remote training programs are the norm, I am available to present virtually anywhere on Earth.
My goal is always to present quality content in an entertaining and enlightening format. Most programs come with an extensive package of handouts and resources for participants to implement in their own setting.
In-Person Programs. I present half-day, full-day, two-day, and three-day training programs that keep attendees' interest and involve them in exercises and problem-solving throughout. Due to the logistics involved in getting everyone together, longer programs in bigger bites are the norm.
Live-Online Programs. Since covid, almost everyone has become adept at using video conferencing - and organizers have discovered that these programs are cheaper to offer, just as effective, easier to arrange, and don't involve shutting down their mental health service for a day! And because we don't have to make the most of having flown everyone in to the same city, shorter programs in smaller chunks work very well. I've done two-day workshops this way, but the norm for this modality is two- or three-hour programs - either stand-alone programs presenting smaller, targeted chunks of information, or multi-session programs over subsequent days or week-by-week.
Online On-Demand Programs. My on-demand Continuing Education site, psychologysalon.teachable.com, offers pre-recorded courses of varying lengths on topics ranging from exposure therapy to group therapy for depression to private practice management. Participants can sign up themselves, and organizers can purchase advance spaces in these programs and provide a no-pay link to their staff or members.
This section of the website describes the types of in-person and live-online programs I have available. Do keep in mind that every presentation is adapted to the needs of the agency or group, in consultation with sponsor or Education Coordinator. Program durations and formats are provided as guidance and can be tailored to your requirements.
Most programs are sponsored by outside hosts: Agencies, health regions, corporations, CE suppliers, or professional bodies. Click here to learn more about hosting, and to see a list of past hosts.
From time to time I offer live-online programs that clinicians can purchase and attend (and spaces in which organizers can bulk-buy for their staff). These are always listed on the CALENDAR page.
Changeways Clinic is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education credits for those who attend our courses and workshops. Changeways Clinic maintains responsibility for these programs.
13 hours of instruction. Two full days, four half-days, or seven two-hour sessions. A program on conducting component-based individual therapy for depression using modules selected based on the factors present in the client's own life. Includes material on behavioural activation, lifestyle management, social life enhancement, meaning-based activity, cognitive approaches, and more. Participants receive over 40 pdf information handouts (over 200 pages in all) that they can select and provide to their own clients. Available in live or live-online formats. Click here for more information.
7 hours of instruction. One full day, two half-days, or four two-hour sessions. Exposure therapy is one of the most powerful CBT techniques of all, and forms the core of most anxiety treatment - yet most clinicians have little training in its use. This program provides specific guidance on each step of the process, from identifying the REAL fear to constructing a hierarchy to carrying out exposures in-session and out, to dealing with success and failure experiences. We consider special aspects of exposure for specific phobia, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. Participants receive full presentation slide handouts plus materials for use with clients. Available in live, live-online, and online-on-demand formats. Click here for more information.
2 to 5 hours of instruction. No matter one's therapeutic orientation nor one's clients' concerns, goal setting is a part of almost every therapy. Behavioural activation, as it is often called, is a core component of the treatment of major depression. Almost any therapeutic task - exposure therapy, discussing an issue with a loved one, taking time for self-care, or working toward a career change - can be reconceived as essentially a goal-setting task. This program provides clinicians with concrete, actionable steps they can use to get the most impact from their goals work. Participants receive full presentation slide handouts plus materials for use with clients. Available in live, live-online, and online-on-demand formats.
2 to 6.5 hours of instruction. Perhaps half of all clinicians are in private practice, but managing one's own business is seldom taught in training programs. Based on my book of the same name, these presentations are tailored to the needs of the audience, and can also be structured as interactive coaching sessions. Available in live, live-online, and online-on-demand formats.
2 hours of instruction. Diaphragmatic breathing is perhaps the most basic relaxation skill, and the one most easily applied in stressful situations. It can be tremendously useful as an adjunct to exposure therapy - particularly if presented in a way that allows the client to open up to their anxiety rather than attempting to fend it off. An experiential program in which participants learn in part by doing. Available in live, live-online, and online-on-demand formats.
1.5 hours of instruction. The standard 50-minute therapy session is a container within which therapy is supposed to take place, but we seldom learn how to build that container. In this entertaining brief program, participants learn the basics of session structure - from waiting room to farewell, from agenda-setting to homework review, and everything in between. A useful set of concepts and touchstones for clinicians to help keep therapy on track and moving forward. Makes a great single-session training for beginner and intermediate clinicians alike. Available in live and live-online formats.
1 to 6 hours; one session or several in series. Offered in various forms since 1997, this presentation is primarily designed to introduce healthcare providers or educators to LGBTQ issues to increase awareness and to help create a welcoming and inclusive environment. Presentations are modular, and can be combined or treated separately. Topics that can be included: Terminology, the history of LGBTQ rights in Canada, coming out, same-sex relationships, mental health presentations among LGBTQ communities, creating a welcoming environment, discrimination and its effects, and more. Individual modules make good single-session events. Available in live and live-online formats.
Additional programs are available and can be constructed to meet the needs of specific groups. For example, I have provided a six-day training program on basic cognitive behaviour therapy skills, introductory programs on the nature of CBT, one and two-day programs on assertiveness skills, and programs focussed on the nature and treatment of various anxiety disorders.
13 hours of instruction. Two full days, four half-days, or seven two-hour sessions. The Core Program is Canada's most widely-used depression group protocol, now in its third edition. Designed to be provided in eight to twelve sessions, this program includes modules on behavioural activation, lifestyle management, cognitive therapy, social life enhancement, and relapse prevention. Participants receive the complete 92-page Client Workbook, plus the 220-page Clinician's Guide, plus additional material. Available in live, live-online, and online-on-demand formats. Click here for more information.
Various lengths, tailorable to sponsor's needs (most often 8 hours, but shorter programs can be constructed). Assertive communication is central to the success of virtually all relationships, and assertiveness training is a core component of CBT. It is a true clinical fundamental, but very few clinicians have training in its use. Why not learn from the guy who wrote the book? This program teaches clinicians how to present ideas discussed in The Assertiveness Workbook, and how to make the training experiential and effective. Participants receive full presentation slides plus a series of exercise handouts they can use with clients. Some hosts may also want to supply participants with copies of The Assertiveness Workbook, but the book is not essential for the course participants nor for their clients. Available in live and live-online formats. Click here for more information.
Various lengths, best as a 6 hour presentation or series. Around the world, young people are finding it increasingly difficult to navigate the leap from dependent adolescence to independent adulthood. In extreme cases these individuals can become what in Japan are termed hikikomori - socially isolated shut-ins who seldom leave home, seek employment, or contribute to the household. Parents can be baffled at what appears to be a perfectly healthy young adult living very much the life of an invalid. This presentation describes the failure-to-launch phenomenon, its apparent causes, and the strategies that can be used to help young adults seize control of life and move forward. Participants receive presentation slide handouts plus resources that can be used with clients. Available in live, live-online, and online-on-demand formats.
2, 3, or 4 hours. When young adults are delayed in their launch into responsible adulthood, it is often the parents who are the most distressed - and the most motivated to help things change. Fortunately, they have a very real role to play, and it can be very helpful to see them in therapy - whether or not the young adult comes along. Clinicians can help parents shift their caregiving from support for dependence to support for independence. Core concepts include intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, addressing ambivalence over the end of childhood, and reducing the well-intentioned downsides to independence. Participants receive an extensive workbook they can use with parents in this situation. Available in live and live-online formats; an online-on-demand course intended for parents is also available.
3 to 6 hours, one session or several in series. Most CE training involves the application of particular techniques, but research is clear that it is the therapeutic alliance that accounts for most of the variability in client response. Many of the principles are troublingly vague. Be warm. Show empathy. Create a bond. These are all impressions to be cultivated in the mind of the client - they are not behaviours for the clinician to practice and perform. In this workshop or series we break down the elements of alliance-building into specific, discrete actions that can be learned and applied to enhance the impact of the work of therapy. Available in live and live-online formats. Click here for more information.
3 to 6 hours, one session or several in series. Do we live in the real world? Cognitive therapy suggests not. We live in a world of ideas, assumptions, beliefs - in short, a world of story-telling. Sometimes the stories we tell about ourselves and the world are helpful and accurate. Sometimes they aren't. Cognitive therapy is all about seeing the distinction between external reality and the filtered and translated version we perceive, then rethinking our automatic appraisals to allow us to respond more effectively. This extremely practical workshop or series provides participants with metaphors, stories, and concepts with which to help clients learn and apply the basics of cognitive therapy. Participants receive complete presentation slide handouts, plus a series of explanatory handouts and exercise sheets for clients that can be used in therapy. Appropriate for experienced CBT clinicians and for those new to cognitive approaches. Available in live and live-online formats.
CHANGEWAYS CLINIC
Suite 7182525 Willow Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 3N8
Tel: (604) 871-0490