Connections (currently not available)

Shame resilience, vulnerability and connection with others are key components of living a satisfying life. This 12-week psycho-educational workshop offers participants the opportunity to learn and practice new skills in a supportive environment with trained facilitators and peers invested in personal growth. Based on the work of Brene Brown, this work draws on empirically based strategies to help participants recognize shame as a universal experience and embrace authentic communication as a foundation for developing resiliency. Topics include defining shame, practicing empathy for self and others, exploring triggers and vulnerabilities, practicing critical awareness, reaching out to others, and creating, embracing and inspiring change. During the workshop we engage participants on cognitive, behavioral and interpersonal levels and learn in group setting through personal exercises, handouts, reading assignments and process opportunities.  

Cultural Competency/Anti-Oppression Workshops and Trainings

The guiding philosophy of the FLUID Community Cultural Competency/Anti-Oppression training team holds that our personal and professional relationships are all impacted by internal belief systems and our corresponding behaviors. These belief systems and behaviors have been shaped over time in part by institutionalized oppression maintained through legal, cultural, educational and political structures. In an ever-increasingly diverse environment, it is necessary to develop and sustain continuous improvement and capacity development for all staff at all levels of each organization.

FLUID Community facilitators build on the experience, knowledge and skills of individual staff of organizations and programs in the process of enhancing the organization, department or team's ability to operate effectively across cultural differences. All of our workshops are individually designed for the organizations with whom we work. We provide on-site single-day and multiple-day trainings tailored to fit the priorities, needs and strengths of your private or non-profit organization, with these general intentions:

• We focus on creating conditions for participants to engage in honest dialogue around often challenging issues;

• We create an environment of respect and, through a variety of training strategies, provide opportunities for developing new perspectives and insights;

• We use dynamic interactive exercises and strategies of mindful facilitation and conflict resolution to engage participants in the process;

• We help participants to deconstruct experiences of privilege and oppression and examine their personal and professional relationships with colleagues, systems they create and the communities they serve;

• We work on development of the individuals and the organization, concentrating on desired outcomes for growth and change; and

• Using an anti-oppression framework, we provide opportunities for building individual awareness and team action plans.

Adolescent Brain Development Workshops and Trainings

Teens at the Crossroads - No Longer Children, Not yet Adults

Adolescence is a time when, arguably more than at any other time in the lifespan, changes in the body, the brain, and the social environment are engaged in a complex interrelationship.  So many changes are happening at once that teens are often judged as anywhere from enigmatic to problematic.  

This workshop provides an holistic look at the American teen - a bio-psycho-social approach to understanding adolescent development that ultimately sheds light on how to best communicate with this demographic.  Using eclectic instruction that includes interactive exercises and case studies, we take workshop participants for a look at the biology, the neuro-psychology and the social experience of teens.  On this journey...

• Participants will explore how adolescents are uniquely different from children and adults. 

• We debunk some myths about adolescence and endeavor to make the teen easier to understand. 

• Participants will learn about and practice methods of communication that work best with teens, facing down some of the potential challenges inherent in working with this group.  

Specific topics addressed include: 

• Biology:  Hormones and their role in the changing body and brain of the teen 

• Psychology/Brain development in the teen years: how this stage of brain development impacts decision making;

• and the impact of trauma history and mental health issues on the teen brain 

• Sociology: Family and peer relationships and the roles they play; a brief overview of the impact of drugs and alcohol, pop culture, gender orientation/sexuality and socio-economic class on the teen experience

Please contact us if your program or organization is interested in trainings or workshops.