Responding with Respect Programs

All Responding with Respect (RWR) programs are skill-based and include dynamic activities, discussions, and practice of the 4R Model ® for safe and supportive communication.

Responding with Respect™ (RWR) Programs

Creating a psychologically healthy and safe workplace

All RWR workshops are evidence-based and trauma-informed and apply the 4R Action Toolkit® (Recognize, Respond, Resource, Reconnect) to ensure participants develop safe and supportive communication skills. This toolkit equips participants to recognize and respond to an employee or co-worker when they notice a behaviour cue or change. Training managers and employees in these skills ensure your organization establishes shared literacy on mental health and support skills that contribute to a Psychologically Healthy and Safe Workplace culture.

RWR Workplace Mental Health Skills for Managers

A practical skill and knowledge-building workshop designed to normalize workplace conversations about mental health and increase early intervention if needed.  1 in 3 Canadians will experience a mental health or substance use disorder in their lifetime, while others will experience challenges that don’t meet the threshold for a diagnosed illness. Both realities can impact an employee’s wellness and performance.

You don’t need to become a mental health expert to support your teams; what is required is to know how to have a safe, respectful, and supportive conversation with an employee who is not themselves.  This knowledge and skill-building workshop will help managers support an employee who is struggling with what may be a mental health challenge or with a situation that is affecting their mental well-being.  Activities, discussions, and practicing the 4R Action Toolkit® engage participants throughout the workshop.  

Managers will:

• Build mental health knowledge.
• Explore the workplace as a risk and a protective factor for mental well-being.
• Learn about the impact of stigma and mitigation strategies.
• Identify practices for cultivating approachable leadership
• Identify practices for cultivating approachable leadership.
• Use the 4R Action Toolkit® for effective results.

The 7-hour workshop includes all the above plus:

• Two case scenario opportunities to practice the 4R Action Toolkit®
• Using the 4R Action Toolkit® in Urgent Situations, which includes a scenario.
• Two case scenarios for discussion.
• Introduction to the National Standard for a Psychologically Healthy and Safe Workplace.

Length:  7-hour workshop, in-person (1 day) or virtual (2 or 3 consecutive days). A 4-hour version is also available.

Maximum number of participants: 25 in-person; 15 virtual

RWR Workplace Mental Health Skills for Employees

Early recognition and intervention can mitigate the negative impacts of mental health challenges. Employees are often the first to notice a change in a co-worker’s behaviour but don’t know how to speak with a colleague about what they see. In this workshop, participants will learn to approach their co-workers using the trauma-informed 4R Action Toolkit®.

Participants will:

• Explore stigmatizing language and the impact of stigma.
• Be introduced to the Mental Health Continuum.
• Discover the importance of self-awareness.
• Be made aware of the impacts of mental illness.
• Practice the 4R Action Toolkit® for effective results. 

Length:  4-hour workshop delivered in-person (1 day) or virtual (2 consecutive days)

Maximum number of participants: 25 in-person; 15 virtual

RWR On the Frontline

Acknowledging the service expertise of your frontline staff and recognizing their role as the first point of contact, this workshop builds on participants’ mental health knowledge. It elevates skills for serving citizens/clients/customers struggling with a mental health challenge. Participants gain confidence in their interactions by practicing the 4R Action Toolkit® model, to ensure a trauma-informed approach in a case scenario and engaging in relevant activities and discussions. 

Participants will:

• Build knowledge on mental health.
• Navigate and mitigate the language of stigma.
• Use the 4R Action Toolkit® to practice this trauma-informed model.
• Explore strategies for creating a safe space.
• Explore self-awareness for mental wellbeing.

Length:  4 hour workshop delivered in-person (1 day) or virtual (2 or 3 consecutive days)

Maximum number of participants: 15 virtually – 25 in-person

RWR On the Frontline – Help & Hope

This training has now been upgraded to the new Resilient Minds®: Building the Psychological Strength of Community Workers, which focuses on building the psychological strength of and protecting the well-being of individuals working on the frontline in potentially distressing environments.

Participants will build knowledge and skills to:

• Be prepared and proactive at all stages of stress.
• Recognize effects of stress/distress in self, peers, and clients.
• Use case scenarios to practice the 4R Action Toolkit® to communicate with co-workers who may be struggling and with clients/members/citizens who may be in distress.
• Identify personal proactive and responsive strategies for resilience.

This course is developed and delivered by certified CMHA facilitators to a variety of employees within the following types of organizations:

Outreach services, housing, community centres, food centres, immigrant and settlement services, shelters, resource centres, transition houses, advocacy, employment services, transit services, bylaw services, civic services, court services, security services, libraries, community health, harm reduction, peer support, indigenous wellness, recovery services, crisis services.

Length:  7.5-hour workshop; delivered in-person (1-2 days); virtual (although not preferred method- 3 days)

Maximum number of participants: 15 virtually – 25 in-person

To learn more about bringing Responding With Respect training to your community or workplace, please contact us at 778-986-2524 or courses.vf@cmhavf.ca. Or, leave us a message by submitting the form below.

© 2023 by Canadian Mental Health Association, Vancouver-Fraser Branch.