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27 July 2021

Series of Online Workshops on Social-Emotional Skills for Workplace Well-Being

27 July 2021
The University of Central Asia is pleased to open registration for three online certificate programmes (12 hours each) on social-emotional skills designed to help to elevate well-being in the workplace. The training will enable participants to effectively communicate, maintain their mental health, and perform conflict analysis to boost social-emotional intelligence during these unprecedented times. It will also provide the participants with tools to support others and an opportunity to develop stronger communication skills.

The training will be offered free of charge to all UCA faculty, staff, and students. For other interested participants, the cost is $50 per module and $125 for the entire series (3 modules) of the workshop. Participants will receive instructions to pay the tuition after registration. Participants must attend 90% of all sessions in the purchased module(s) to receive a certificate.

Disclaimer

The series of online workshops on Social-Emotional Skills for Workplace Well-being is being organized by the Summer Institute of the University of Central Asia, which is not a certified training institution. It is a community of professionals in the field of Mental Health from Central Asia and Canada working towards sharing their knowledge and experience with the support of UCA. By registering for the series of workshops, you acknowledge that the certificate will indicate the participation and completion of the Summer Institute 2021 on Social-Emotional Skills for Workplace Well-being.

Language

The training will be conducted in English.

Training Format and Dates

The series of training will be conducted in three separate modules thrice a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) through Microsoft Teams from July 27 till August 12, 2021, between 9:30-11:30 AM (Bishkek time) with follow-up sessions for each module between September 14 till November 23, 2021. There will be six classes of two hours each in every module, making it for 12 hours in total.
The three modules are as follows:

MODULE 1: Communicating Effectively in a Pluralistic World

The training in this module will be three times a week through Microsoft Teams from July 27 till July 29, 2021, between 9:30-11:30 AM (Bishkek time) with follow-up sessions for each module on September 13, 2021, October 12, 2021, and November 9, 2021. There will be six classes of two hours each in every module making it 12 hours in total.
Instructors:
  1. Robin Higgins, M.A. 
  2. Qamargul Esoeva, M.A.
  3. Elena Kolesova, PhD.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
  1. Describe elements of their identity, and how culture and identity impact communication patterns.
  2. Define emotional intelligence and describe their strengths and weakness. 
  3. Identify helpful and unhelpful verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors.
  4. Demonstrate active listening skills.
  5. Explain methods for regulating emotions.
  6. Explain effective methods for giving and receiving feedback.
  7. Demonstrate ways to skillfully express strong opinions and emotions.
  8. Engage in supportive and empathic conversations with colleagues.
  9. Understand basic neuroscience related to interpersonal competency.

MODULE 2: Conflict Analysis and Transformation 

The training in this module will be three times a week through Microsoft Teams from August 3 till August 5, 2021, between 9:30-11:30 AM (Bishkek time) with follow-up sessions for each module on September 21, 2021, October 19, 2021, and November 16, 2021. There will be six classes of two hours each in every module, making it 12 hours in total.
Instructors: Dr Randy Janzen

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:
  1. Define key terms such as conflict, conflict transformation, justice, and nonviolence. 
  2. Understand one’s individual and cultural approaches to solving conflict.
  3. Analyze conflicts using a conflict analysis tool.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of how power, relationships, knowledge, awareness, and skills influence conflict analysis and transformation.
  5. Engage in specific skills such as problem-solving, compassionate communication,
  6. de-escalation and active listening.
  7. Apply a framework to transform conflicts to achieve positive outcomes.  

MODULE 3: Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing

The training in this module will be three times a week through Microsoft Teams from August 10 till August 12, 2021, between 9:30-11:30 AM (Bishkek time) with follow-up sessions for each module on September 28, 2021, October 26, 2021, and November 23, 2021. There will be six classes of two hours each in every module, making it 12 hours in total.
Instructors: 
  1. Robin Higgins, M.A. 
  2. Qamargul Esoeva, M.A, and guest facilitators
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
  1. Describe personal wellbeing using the European Five Ways to Wellbeing and Gallup wellbeing frameworks.
  2. Define the WOOP method for goal setting.
  3. Design a wellbeing plan and report on obstacles and successes in its implementation.
  4. Explain principles of psychological first aid and how it can be applied during crisis.
  5. Define the elements of motivational interviews as a way of supporting positive lifestyles and productivity.
  6. Demonstrate mastery for acquiring the core skills of conducting motivational interviews for wellbeing advocacy.
  7. Explain the meaning and importance of mental health.
  8. Understand signals of mental distress and ways to address early symptoms of anxiety and depression.
  9. Describe warning signs and interventions for suicidal behavior.
  10. Demonstrate ways to set personal boundaries.
  11. Managing resiliency
  12. Maintaining stress level

Facilitators

Mary-Ann Morris, Nursing Professor and Health Educator

Mary Ann Morris is a nurse educator, who views health as a basic human right encompassing the physical, spiritual, social, and psychological elements of well-being.  She has worked in nursing and community-based health education programmes and is currently focused on programmes related to diabetes prevention and self-management.

Randy Janzen, Conflict Transformation Instructor

Randy Janzen, PhD, teaches Peace and Justice Studies at Selkirk College in Canada. He is the former Chair of the Mir Centre for Peace at Selkirk College and has served as the Board Member of the North American Peace and Justice Studies Association. Janzen has studied and/or worked in peacebuilding in Canada, Kosovo, Guatemala, South Sudan, and Israel/Palestine. His research interest focuses on unarmed civilian peacekeeping (UCP) and he is the founding member of the international Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping Research Network. Janzen also serves as the community mediator.

Jonny Morris, CEO Canadian Mental Health

Jonny Morris is currently the CEO of B.C. Canadian Mental Health. He has served as the instructor of Counselling Skills and Group Skills courses for the last two UCA Summer Institutes.  He is currently the Director of Planning and Strategic Priorities at the British Columbia Ministry of Mental Health. He has also served as the Senior Director of Policy, Research, and Planning for Canadian Mental Health. He has remained the sessional instructor for teaching counseling skills and therapeutic group processes at Douglas College and the University of Victoria. He is a Narrative Counselling Therapist running numerous mental health and suicide prevention programs.

Robin Higgins, Counsellor

Robin Higgins is currently the University Counsellor on the Naryn campus. Higgins has been serving UCA since 2016 on both Naryn and Khorog campuses. She has been involved in designing and launching the Counselling department, and its services at UCA. She provides psychological support and promotes mental health and well-being for students and faculty on the campuses. Over the last few years, she has also developed Summer Institute courses for UCA faculty and staff as well as for AKDN partner agencies.  She has also developed the curriculum and taught courses on Emotional Intelligence and the Neuro-Science of Well-Being. She has presented and facilitated workshops at Student Affairs and Counselling conferences in Ottawa, Dundee, London, and Vancouver.

Elena Kolesova, Visiting Faculty at Communications and Media, Naryn Campus

Elena Kolesova, PhD, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, has extensive experience in academic leadership roles, teaching at the postgraduate and undergraduate level, supervising graduate students, and in curriculum design and research. She has designed and taught a variety of academic programmes and courses in Asian Studies, East Asian Popular Culture, International Communication, Intercultural Communication, Global Media, and Research Methods. Her research crosses cultural studies, media studies, intercultural communication, education, cultural anthropology, and history. She is an Associate Editor for the New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies and a member of the Editorial Board for The New Zealand Language Teacher.

Qamargul Esoeva, Counsellor

Qamargul Esoeva is the University Counsellor based at UCA's Khorog campus. She completed her MED in Global Mental Health and Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for International Education in Canada. For several years, she worked as UCA’s Student Recruiter in Tajikistan. Before joining UCA, she worked at the University of Texas (USA).