Ambiguous Losses Certification Course Overview
You are about to embark on an exciting journey that will greatly advance your knowledge and skills to work with individuals and families who are traumatized and grieving the loss of a woman or girl who is missing, or who has been murdered. This journey will also undoubtedly offer numerous opportunities for personal growth and development.
Goals
1. The primary goal of the Healing Ambiguous Losses Associated with Missing and Murdered Women and Girls Certification course is that you gain the knowledge and skills necessary to work in a more wholistic way with individuals, families, and communities, traumatized and grieving a missing or murdered woman or girl.
2. Basic to this training is the belief that a therapeutic helper can bring another only as far along the healing process as he or she has already come. Based on this awareness, the second goal of this training is the opportunity for personal growth and healing for each course participant.
Objectives of the Ambiguous Losses Certification Course
During the teaching and learning experiences provided in this course you:
- Gain knowledge and skills to support and counsel individuals and families who are traumatized and grieving the murder of a woman or girl.
- Gain knowledge and skills to support and counsel individuals and families who are traumatized and grieving a woman or girl who is missing.
- Advance your ability to offer community support and information related to missing and murdered women and girls.
- Gain knowledge of childhood trauma and bereavement and develop skills to support and counsel, children of the "lost" mothers.
- Acquire skills to recognize the signs of parental bereavement, and advance your skills to support bereaved parents and grandparents.
- Recognize the exaggerated responses of shock, anger, guilt, and regret, and gain skills to support the bereaved, in healing these emotions.
- Acquire skills in the application of an Empowering Model of Counseling.
- Gain knowledge of the theory, and practice strategies to access, and heal the highly charged memories stored in the brain’s Right Hemisphere.
Methods
The Methods used in this course build upon theories and practices that flow from wholism, art as therapy, meditation and mindfulness, and ancient healing methods. Human and Universal Energy Field theory and practices are incorporated, as are the theories and practices of grief and trauma counseling, mental health nursing, sociology, Gestalt therapy, Jungian, developmental, spiritual, and counseling psychology.
Principals of adult learning form the basis of the teaching and learning strategies. Each level of learning employs a four-part process, combining theory and experiential learning. This process does more than provide information and advance skills. When applied accurately and consistently, this method brings about healing for those involved.
Educational Process
During this interactive and experiential certification training, you examine in wholistic ways the implications of supporting others during trauma and complicated grief. You explore the stressors inherent to care-giving during emotionally intense experiences, and practice self-care to empower you as a counselor, and to enhance the counseling experience.
Course Content Overview
Required Resources
- Simington, J. (2022) Ambiguous Loss Certification course handbook. (4th Ed.), Edmonton, AB. Taking Flight International Corporation.
Recommended Resources
1) Rothschild, B. (2000) The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment. New York: WW Norton.
2) Native Women’s Association of Canada Fact Sheets. www.nwac.ca
3) Simington, J. (2004) Releasing Ties (audio recording). Edmonton, AB. Taking Flight Books
4) Simington, J. (1999). Listening to Soul Pain (DVD). Edmonton, AB. Taking Flight Books.
Time Frame
Forty hours of education and skill attainment are required for certification. Hours are granted for the required reading and completion of the final exam.
Conditions for Certification
1. Attendance at all sessions.
2. Full participation in all activities and discussions.
3. Achieving a passing grade (80%) on the Take Home Exam.
4. While it is not a requirement, for emotional safety reasons, participants are encouraged to stay on site during this training.
Testimonials
I can certainly start using this on some of my clients. I love learning new techniques to assist my clients. I loved the guided visualization techniques and the art therapy, and receiving the book and 2 CD’s to help myself and my clients heal.
Winnifred Bull,
Coordinator, Louis Bull First Nation Community, Maskwacis, Alberta.
I am more confident as I approach my work with Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Ambiguous Loss is the core emotion in which people that have lost a loved one are immersed in. I was fearful in addressing this huge emotion.
I like how Dr. Jane ensures the group succeeds in passing for certification. She ensures we understand the lessons completely even though she assigns an open book exam. I also really enjoy the soul retrieval exercises.
Doreen Waskewitch-Rosa,
MMWIG Educator and Counselor, St. Paul, Alberta.
All activities helped me work on myself. Things I like best about this course is Soul work.
Beatrice Okeymow,
IRS Coordinator at Samson Cree Nation, Maskwacis, Alberta.
This will help me help others. It helped me so much. You think you're done healing, yet there is always more. I learned new skills.
Noreen Omesaoo,
Counselor, Maskwacis, Alberta.
Great, most amazing healing journey. Thank you for helping me bring those parts home. This course offered me safe healing and looking forward to assisting others. I am looking forward to the next chapter in this book of my life.
Nicole Landin,
Addictions Counsellor, O’Chiese First Nation, Alberta.
Things I like best about this training are the safety and pace of the training.
Judy Littlechild,
Program Manager, Maskwacis, Alberta.
