Presented by:

Sandra Jackson, Catherine Martin-Doto, Jeffrey Karp, Kyle Handley

Sponsored by:

North American Correctional and Criminal Justice Psychology Conference

Continuing Education Credits:

6

Notes:

Cost:

Full Delegate: Early Registration ($250+tax) - Regular Registartion ($300+tax)

Student Delegate: Early Registration ($190+tax) - Regular Registartion ($225+tax)

Please note: early registration (until end-of-day April 30th, 2019) and regular registration (after April 30th, 2019)

Duration:

Full Day (9:00 – 16:30)

Target Audience:

Clinicians and graduate students.

Skill/Difficulty Level:

Introductory

Workshop Description:

Although psychologists have been working with and for Canadian public service agencies for decades, there has been a sharp increase in demand over the past few years as the mental health of first responders has come into greater focus nationwide. More than ever, first responder organizations are reaching out to psychologists for research, fitness for duty, pre-employment selection, intervention services, program development, organizational change, and many other services, making police psychology an exciting new frontier for Canadian practitioners. The goal of this workshop is to provide some basic information about some of these key areas of practice so that psychologists can better judge their competencies to provide these services, discuss some of the core issues and resources on these topics, learn current best practices, and gain a view towards the future of this speciality in Canada. Topics to be reviewed: pre-employment selection, fitness for duty evaluations, officer-involved shootings and critical incidents, and Safeguard Programs.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Gain knowledge of the various roles and responsibilities psychologists can have with first responders and first responder organizations
2. Better understand best practices as well as some of the practical and ethical issues in regards to pre-employment assessment of police candidates
3. Learn the critical elements of fitness for duty assessments and the key considerations needed to effectively navigate the ethical challenges they can bring
4. Recognize the unique features of providing intervention services to uniform and civilian police members and receive an overview of best practice approaches
5. Better understand some of the unique stressors and intervention tools to help officers address critical incidents and the impact of SIU investigations on officers as well as the various assessment and intervention processes
6. Discover the emerging area of Safeguard and other mandatory wellness check programs in use across the country