Uncategorized Archives - deirdre mclaughlin counselling & consulting

Welcome

Welcome to Healing from Justice: Supporting Adult 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 adult 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 adult sexual assault survivors
Anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of sexual assault recovery and justice
Helpers wanting to learn more about alternative justice responses, advocacy, and activism

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
Pleasure and consent frameworks
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
Police 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.