Trainings - Sexual Abuse & Assault of Boys & Men

For clinicians and other providers working with men.

Through our partnership with Men & Healing: Psychotherapy for Men, 1in6 and Zero Abuse Project offer training services for psychotherapists, counsellors, first responders, trauma clinicians, and behavioral health staff on issues of concern to men and their families.

Our trainings are unique, male-centred and evidence based.

These training programs are based on a clinical services initiative dedicated to male survivors that originated in Ottawa, Canada in 1999. Now approaching its 25th year of service, this treatment model has served over 5,000 clients in their goals towards living a happier and healthier life.

The Men & Healing model of men’s group trauma treatment has been subject to two peer-reviewed studies demonstrating clinical effectiveness. Furthermore, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation considered it to be a “promising healing practice” (Vol. III).

Training on this model has been conducted with hundreds of service-provider organizations throughout North America, including community initiatives, Indigenous First Nations, and government services as well as branches of the American as well as the Canadian military have also been served. International training initiatives have been conducted in the UK, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Our Primary Trainer:

Rick Goodwin, MSW, RSW is a clinician, manager and trainer on issues concerning men’s mental health. Much of his work over the past 25 years has focused on male sexual trauma – managing both regional and national initiatives in Canada. Along with leading clinical training initiatives, he also serves as the Managing Director of Men & Healing: Psychotherapy for Men.

Rick’s research and writing has been published in both national magazines and federal publications. He co-authored the guidebook Men & Healing: Theory, Research and Practice with Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (2009), a resource that is now being used to formulate services internationally, and co-authored the Australian guidebook Foundations (2017). Additionally, Rick was the author for Health Canada in their investigation concerning the correlation between men’s experience of HIV and sexual violence.

Rick is an inaugural recipient of the Attorney General’s Award of Distinction for his work in “developing and implementing innovative victim service programs” (2007). He was also awarded a Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor-General of Canada (2020).

Which to Choose: In-Person or Virtual Training?

This is an important consideration whether you are pondering your next in-house training, conference or community learning event. Fostered in part by the pandemic and the rise in e-learning platform technologies, there is are pros and cons with each modality.

We all have experienced virtual learning, and the platforms are numerous. We tend to use Zoom as our platform of choice for online engagement. Here are some of the merits of virtual learning:

It is a cheaper event to manage (no air fares or hotel bills for the presenters or venues to book).
It is an easier event to manage – no coffee service required! We also take care of the technical interface, including video and small group exercises.
It allows for participants from other sites, cities or even other countries (one of our last events folks came from five other countries!).

While that may sound appealing, here are some drawbacks of virtual training:

Online training limits the learning group getting to know each other. Icebreakers, commitments of confidentiality, and trust-building are key to successful engagement on tough topics like trauma.
Networking between participants falls short in online engagement.
Despite best efforts, there is less participant engagement in online training – issues like screens being turned off, not posing questions, and conducting parallel work (like responding to emails!) can all detract from the experience.
Trauma training can be draining, particularly with online events. Not too many folks get energized from full days in front of a screen!
Some participants can be triggered by training content. Being online (and isolated) can make that experience invisible, leaving the individual(s) unsupported.

And the answer is….it depends! We are happy to chat through these options with you to see what is best for your event!

Some Additional Information:

Electronic copies of material is provided to participants. Bound participant handbooks with presentation materials can also be made available.
Training content can be adapted to the needs of specific audiences.
An evaluation can be conducted, including a summary of outcomes and suggestions for improvement for organizers and/or funders.

We welcome your inquiries at [email protected]

To schedule a training or presentation, or to inquire about our offerings, contact [email protected]

This 2-hour training can be provided on-line or in-person for front-line professionals.

There’s a collision that goes on in the lives of male survivors between their masculine codes and their lived experience of trauma. We will explore the ramifications when these two forces collide, and how this understanding is key to providing male-centered engagement in trauma recovery.

Conceptual understanding of masculinity, charting men’s trauma expression and the optional screening of the Bristlecone Project documentary all augment to the learning goals of this workshop. Suitable for all service providers, from first responders to mental health professionals.

Training Details

Truth Telling is the introductory crash course training on men’s developmental trauma, with a particular research lens on childhood sexual trauma. It offers a primer on the theories and conceptual approaches to working with male survivors – a necessary precursor to those who want to engage with this population therapeutically.

Training Details

Re-Visioning Men’s Anger, Rage & Violence is based on trauma-informed research examining the links between male childhood abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV). While many practitioners are aware that most men who are prone to rage and partner violence have a significant history of childhood abuse, few intervention programs are derived from this research and application.

Training Details

From Conceptualization to Engagement (FCTE) is our best two-day engagement strategy for healthcare professionals who are working in the field and have encountered trauma-related issues in their practices. It combines the right balance between conceptual issues that impact men, the relevant research relating to men’s developmental trauma (with a particular lens on childhood sexual trauma), all with the focus on clinical engagement in individual as well as group interventions.

Training Details

Working It Through combines conceptual training on male sexual trauma with specific intervention skills and strategies to empower frontline workers to intervene with men who have experienced trauma. This combination of trauma theory and practice – with an emphasis on cognitive, psychodynamic and experiential approaches – addresses many of the practical and clinical concerns of front-line helping professionals. Using a variety of learning modalities, this training delivers a steady-paced, participatory and focused opportunity for in-depth learning.

Training Details

This training delivers what many mental-health professionals, sexual-trauma services and frontline workers request most: a step-by-step training on the process of intake, assessment and the curriculum basics for first-stage engagement with male survivors. This training is applicable to both individual psychotherapy as well as dedicated group programming.

Training Details

As healing cannot occur in isolation, group work is a preferred model of intervention with vulnerable populations of all genders. Group therapy lessens the isolation faced in individual therapy, is seen as more effective in reducing shame, allows one’s testimony to be witnessed, and creates a supportive learning atmosphere that can benefit all participants. Group practice can also help facilitate community re-integration for survivors of abuse and trauma.

Training Details

Emotional Integrity is both a core value in the psychotherapy field as well as a core outcome in clinical work. Based on 25+ years of providing the Emotional Integrity group therapy program (previously known as Emotional Intelligence) to men, this training helps practitioners to bolster the psycho-social needs and skills of their male clients.

Training Details

Tending the Wounds emphasizes a variety of clinical strategies working with male survivors, focusing particularly on psychodynamic and experiential approaches. This therapeutic heavy-lifting is applicable to both individual and group engagement.

Training Details