- Information
- Upcoming Workshops
- Past Workshops
Information
I offer two-hour, half-day, and full-day workshops for mental health professionals interested in broadening their understanding of what it means to work within an anti-oppressive framework with sex workers.
Based on the needs of your practice, I develop tailored workshops to meet and exceed your expectations. My presentation style is semi-formal, with opportunities for discussion and questions.
For more information on my upcoming workshops, see below.
All workshops are approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association for Continuing Education Credits.
Based on the needs of your practice, I develop tailored workshops to meet and exceed your expectations. My presentation style is semi-formal, with opportunities for discussion and questions.
For more information on my upcoming workshops, see below.
All workshops are approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association for Continuing Education Credits.
Example full-day workshop topics include overviews of:
The legal status of sex work in Canada and the US
- Bedford v. Canada
Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) - The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA)
- How municipal by-law impact sex workers
- How tax law impacts sex workers
The Canadian sex workers’ rights movement
- Demand for the full decriminalization of sex work, including sex workers, clients and third parties
- Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform and affiliated organizations
The importance of systemic interventions with sex workers that takes into consideration
- Legal context;
- Labour context;
- Individual context;
- Systemic oppression (including whorephobia)
The intersection between sex work and
- Drug use
- Disability, including neurodivergence
- Trauma
- Complex Trauma & PTSD
The interpersonal relationships of sex workers
- Sex work and attachment
- Relationships between self and other from the lens of separation/individuation, mentalization, and self-object psychology
- The corruption of intimacy through the marketplace (e.g., challenging the idea of “pure love” and/or “intimacy.”)
Mandatory reporting
- Intersection between state bodies and whorephobia
- Stigma and discrimination against sex workers
HIV non-disclosure and sex work
Best practices with sex workers (“do’s and don’ts”)
- Sex worker friendly language
- Clinically relevant questions for assessment
Upcoming Workshops
Drawing on a decade of sex workers’ rights activism, personal experience and peer-reviewed literature, I offer a series of Basic Trainings on topics related to sex work for mental health professionals, including Sex Work & the Law, the Interpersonal Relationships of Sex Workers and the Intersecting Identities of Sex Workers. Cumulatively, these trainings provide mental health professionals with the knowledge and skills required to work with this population. Please note, these workshops do not need to be taken sequentially. All knowledge levels welcome!
scheduled workshops
Past Workshops
- (Mis)understood: The Mental Health of Sex Workers presented to Adler University (Toronto, 2022)
- (Mis)understood: The Mental Health of Sex Workers presented to the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships (Ottawa, 2021)
- Sex For Sale (WGST2812) at Carleton University (Ottawa, 2022 and 2020)
- Policing Sex (CRCJ4001C) at Carleton University (Ottawa, 2015)
- Sexuality: Identities, Politics and Practice (SXST) at Carleton University (Ottawa, 2015)
- The Human Library Sex Work Book at the Ottawa Public Library in collaboration with the CBC (Ottawa, 2014)
- Le travail du sexe et la loi presented to the Comité régional des Femmes francophone (CRFF), de l’AFPC-RCN (Gatineau, 2014)
- After Bedford: Anti-Trafficking discourses and Prostitution Law Reform – Impacts on Local Women presented at Women’s Voices for Women’s Health in collaboration with the Aids Committee of Ottawa (Ottawa, 2014)
- Santé et inégalités sociales (SVS2525) at the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, 2014)
- Sex Work and the Law in Selected Topics in Legal Studies (FYSM 1502P) at Carleton University (Ottawa, 2013)
- Building Inclusive Communities with Sex Workers in collaboration with the Public Service Alliance of Canada, HIV/Hepatitis Health and Social Services, LUFAPPUL, Access Network (Sudbury, 2013)
- XXX Workshop: Realities, Issues and Challenges for Service Providers presented to social service and police service providers (Ottawa, 2012)
- Whorephobia and HIV in Minority Groups (SOC3537) at the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, 2012)
