Welcome
Welcome to Healing from Justice: Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault. This comprehensive training program is designed to equip counsellors, support workers, and advocates with the knowledge, skills, and cultural competencies needed to effectively support sexual assault survivors through their healing journey and interaction with justice systems.
Who This Course Is For
This course is designed for:
- Counsellors, therapists, and social workers working with sexual assault survivors
- Healthcare providers who support survivors
- Anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of sexual assault recovery and justice
What You'll Learn
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Recognize and challenge rape culture and rape myths in yourself, clients, and society
- Apply an intersectional lens to understand how identity shapes survivors' experiences with trauma and justice systems
- Provide trauma-informed support when survivors are making decisions about reporting
- Understand Canadian sexual assault law and how to prepare survivors for the court process
- Explore alternative justice approaches including restorative and transformative justice
- Apply therapeutic skills specific to sexual assault recovery, including nervous system regulation and pleasure-centred healing
- Integrate advocacy and activism into your professional practice using frameworks like embodied activism
- Practice cultural humility and recognize how your own identity influences your work
Course Structure
The course consists of 6 core modules plus an Introduction and Closing section:
Introduction - Setting the Foundation (30 minutes)
- About the instructor and course approach
- Self-care toolkit development
- Reference materials (Glossary of Terms, PTSD guide, Sex-Positive and BIPOC-Owned Retailers in Canada)
Module 1 - Rape Culture and Rape Myths (90 minutes)
- Intersectionality and social location
- Understanding rape culture and rape myth acceptance
- Gender-based violence as a men's issue
- Test your knowledge
Module 2 - Sexual Assault's Aftermath (90 minutes)
- Supporting survivors in decision-making
- Intersections with the law
- Power, privilege, and justice
- Test your knowledge
Module 3 - Sexual Assault Law in Canada (90 minutes)
- Developments in Canadian sexual assault law
- Preparing survivors for court
- Record-keeping for counsellors
- Media analysis
- Test your knowledge
Module 4 - Formal Justice System Alternatives (90 minutes)
- Alternative forms of justice
- Restorative justice and Indigenous justice
- Transformative justice and abolitionism
- Test your knowledge
Module 5 - Therapeutic Approaches (90 minutes)
- Cultural competencies for counsellors
- Neurobiology of trauma
- Therapeutic skills for sexual assault recovery
- A deeper conversation on consent
- Test your knowledge
Module 6 - Advocacy and Activism (90 minutes)
- Why advocacy matters
- Pleasure activism
- Inner change and social justice
- Test your knowledge
Closing - Where Do We Go From Here? (10 minutes)
- Integration and next steps
Total Course Time: Approximately 18-20 hours (including reading PDFs, watching videos, reflection activities, and group supervision)
Course Format and Materials
This course includes:
- Video lectures from the instructor
- Downloadable PDF booklets with core content (you'll need a PDF reader)
- External videos and readings from experts in the field
- Self-assessment quizzes at the end of each module
- Reflection activities throughout for personal growth and self-awareness
- Practical tools and handouts you can use with clients
How to Use This Course
Suggested Pacing
- Self-paced: Work through the course at your own speed
- Recommended: Complete 1 module per week to allow time for reflection and integration. Group supervision will be held once per week to further integrate the material.
- Minimum: Plan for at least 6 weeks to complete the full course
Navigation
- Watch/Read in Order: Content builds on previous lessons, so complete activities sequentially
- Download PDFs First: When you see a PDF link, download and read it before continuing to the next section. There will also be a section at the end where you can find all the course PDFs.
- Engage with Reflection Questions: These are for your personal growth—take time to journal your responses
- Complete Knowledge Checks: Quizzes help you assess your understanding
- Take Breaks: This is emotionally challenging content. Honour your needs.
What You'll Need
- Quiet space where you can focus without interruption
- Journal or notebook for reflection activities
- PDF reader (Adobe Reader, Preview, etc.)
- Video capability with sound
- Your self-care toolkit (you'll develop this in the Introduction)
- Approximately 18-20 hours over 6-8 weeks
Important Content Considerations
Content Warnings
This course includes frank discussions of:
- Sexual violence and assault
- Trauma and its impacts
- Systemic oppression (racism, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny)
- Details of criminal justice proceedings
- Systemic violence and institutional harm
Self-Care is Essential
Working with sexual assault content—even in an educational context—can be emotionally and intellectually challenging. Throughout this course, you will be asked to:
- Check in with your body, thoughts, and emotions regularly
- Use your self-care toolkit proactively
- Take breaks as needed
- Reach out for support when required
Remember: Take care of yourself. As we'll explore in the course, this is neither selfish nor weak, but rather radical and revolutionary. When we all prioritize care for ourselves and community, we transform the way we engage at both individual and systems levels.
Trauma-Informed Learning
This course is designed with trauma-informed principles:
- Choice and control: You decide your pacing and when to take breaks
- Collaboration: Reflection activities invite you to bring your own experience and wisdom
- Safety: Content warnings and self-care emphasis throughout
- Trustworthiness: Transparent about what's coming and why it matters
- Empowerment: Building your skills and confidence to create change
Learning Through an Intersectional Lens
This course recognizes that sexual assault impacts people differently based on their intersecting identities including race, gender, sexuality, disability, class, and Indigenous identity. Throughout the course, we examine how systems of power and privilege shape:
- Who experiences sexual violence
- How survivors are treated by institutions
- What justice options are available and accessible
- How healing can occur
You'll be invited to reflect on your own social location and how it influences your worldview and practice.
Course Completion
Upon completing all modules and self-assessment quizzes, you will have gained comprehensive knowledge and practical skills to support sexual assault survivors with greater competence, cultural humility, and trauma-informed care. This course offers valuable professional development that can enhance your practice, as well as 6 hours of group supervision with an approved clinical supervisor.
Technical Requirements
- Internet connection for streaming videos
- Updated web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
- PDF reader application
- Speakers or headphones for video content
Questions or Technical Issues?
Contact deirdre mclaughlin counselling and consulting at connect@deirdremclaughlin.ca
Ready to Begin?
Take a moment to consider:
- What brings you to this work?
- What do you hope to learn?
- How do you want to grow?
When you're ready, click below to start the Introduction module and begin developing your self-care toolkit.