TRAINING - FULL DAY
TOPIC: Brain injury in intimate partner violence
TITLE: Getting Ahead: Putting knowledge of brain injury from intimate partner violence into practice
FORMAT: Full day training (in person or online)
PRESENTERS:
Karen Mason is co-founder and director of community practice for SOAR (Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research), and former executive director of Third Space Charity and Kelowna Women’s Shelter in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. A seasoned and passionate non-profit leader, communicator, and community collaborator, Karen brings 30+ years of career experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors to her work advocating for survivors of intimate partner violence, conducting knowledge translation and mobilization activities, and supporting research, development, and dissemination of promising practices. Mason has training in advanced strangulation prevention, and is a member of the Pink Concussions Partner-Inflicted Brain Injury Task Force, the Women’s Health Research Cluster at University of British Columbia, and the ENIGMA International Consortium Working Group on Brain Injury in Intimate Partner Violence.
*Dr. Paul van Donkelaar is co-founder and scientific advisor for SOAR (Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research). He is also a professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences and Associate Vice Principal, Research at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna, British Columbia. Over his 30+ year career, his research has focused on the basic mechanisms of sensorimotor control, and the cerebrovascular, neurocognitive, and sensorimotor aspects of brain dysfunction resulting from traumatic brain injuries in contact sport athletes and women who have experienced IPV-caused BI. Paul is a member of the Women’s Health Research Institute at B.C. Women’s Hospital, the Canadian Concussion Network, and the ENIGMA International Consortium Working Group on Brain Injury in Intimate Partner Violence.
Learning Objectives:
At completion of this training, participants will:
- Have a foundational understanding of intimate partner violence and abuse.
- Be able to explain the prevalence of brain injury in women survivors of intimate partner violence, including how it happens, and common signs and symptoms.
- Understand how commonly strangulation occurs in intimate partner violence and be able to recognize specific signs and symptoms.
- Know how brain injury from intimate partner violence affects neurocognitive function, mental health and emotional wellness, and how to support survivors.
- Have a basic understanding of how to take a brain injury and trauma-informed approach to interactions with women survivors of brain injury in intimate partner violence.
- Be comfortable having a conversation/conducting an assessment regarding possible brain injury using the adapted H.E.L.P.S. tool.
- Be familiar with supports for survivors, and be prepared to make referrals as needed
Workshop Outline:
- Introduction to intimate partner violence.
- Introduction to SOAR (Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research).
- Concussion Awareness Training Tool for Women’s Support Workers course:
- Overview of traumatic brain injury and the effects of concussion as experienced by survivors of intimate partner violence.
- Warning signs of immediate life-threatening symptoms known as “Red Flags”, and typical concussion signs and symptoms experienced by survivors of intimate partner violence.
- Information on screening for brain injury, including why screening can be important for survivors of intimate partner violence, and an introduction to an adapted version of the HELPS Screening Tool.
- How to accommodate the unique needs of a survivor of intimate partner violence who has a concussion, and strategies to help manage symptoms.
- Educating those who are at risk of a concussion as a result of intimate partner violence.
- Common myths and facts about concussion.
- Strangulation in intimate partner violence.
- Introduction to trauma-informed practice.
- The importance of language.
- Case study scenarios and small group work.
- SOAR research and findings.
- Discussion/Q&A
- Feedback surve
All participants will receive a certificate of completion, a training manual, and access to a suite of downloadable resources.
