2026 CYCAA Provincial Conference Registration

If I Could Supervise My Supervisor:
Getting the Most from Your Own Supervision

Presented by: Frank Delano and Noor Almaoui

This highly interactive workshop will present a series of strategies for highly motivated people to assess their role in the supervisory relationship and to develop proactive strategies to better “own their own supervision”. Very often people are not satisfied with their supervisory relationship and stay in a frustrated mode and do not work to own their half of the relationship. They will lose many opportunities for professional growth and end up providing less quality of service. Other times people are happy with their supervisory relationship but don’t proactively strategize how to get even more out of supervision. This workshop is open to individual supervisees or supervisors, and ideally “brave” supervisors and supervisees will attend together and strategize ways to grow together professionally.

Managing Change in Changing Times

Presented by: Frank Delano and Noor Almaoui

We are living in a time of exceptional upheaval and change in our society. It is more important than ever to develop skills and strategies to manage change in a safe and productive way. There is much that can be learned from change and many opportunities to move your program and your career forward. This highly interactive workshop will look at the many dynamics of change and help participants build a repertoire of skills and strategies to be proactive in managing change, and learn from the process to move themselves and their program/organization forward.

Leading for Longevity:
What Keeps Direct Care Practitioners in Child and Youth Care

Presented by: Dr. Michelle Briegel

Direct care practitioners are the backbone of Alberta’s child and youth care sector, yet turnover, burnout, and system pressures continue to destabilize care environments. Drawing from a multi-year research study on retention in residential and community programs, this session examines how relational leadership can strengthen practitioner stability, engagement, and overall well-being.

Participants will explore the Relational Retention Framework — Belonging, Support, Growth, and Recognition — and consider how each pillar shapes the daily experiences of direct care practitioners. Through stories, evidence, and reflective prompts, this session reframes retention not as a staffing issue but as a relational responsibility shared across teams, supervisors, and organizations. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies to sustain Alberta’s direct care workforce and elevate the quality of care for young people.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the key relational and organizational factors that contribute to direct care practitioner retention.
• Apply the four pillars of the Relational Retention Framework to their own teams or agencies.
• Recognize how leadership behaviours directly influence practitioner wellness, engagement, and commitment.
• Reflect on ways to strengthen belonging, recognition, and growth opportunities within their workplace.
• Consider how relational leadership practices can mitigate burnout and enhance practice quality across Alberta’s care system.

Authentic Selfcare and Personal Empowerment
Pouring from an Abundant Cup

Presented by: Lisa Leverton

I have a true passion for supporting others in this field. I have spent 20 years committed to working in the Child and Youthcare field and I believe in what we are doing. Mostly, I believe in the people who are doing it! Those who are devoted to making others lives better. I want to empower individuals who are passionate about supporting, caring for, and pouring into others to be able to pour into themselves as well. Those who have a desire to focus on their own needs and wellness but are afraid that this might mean that they are being selfish or they must sacrifice their place in the important relationships in their life to do so.

I know how I have struggled in the past to find my own personal worth in a field where so much of our energy is poured out into others. I feel that I have spent much of my career learning how to create that balance. I don’t want other professionals to have to travel the same difficult path I have. I’d love to give my colleagues an opportunity to utilize tools to discover their own worth both personally and professionally so that they can avoid issues that often lead burnout in this field.

I would be honoured to have the opportunity to support others connected to the CYCAA by facilitating a session on Authentic selfcare and Personal empowerment in respect to the helping field in a way that is a win for everyone.

Throughout my presentation, we are going to talk about the reasons we are so passionate about working in this field. The realities of working in this field, some strategies of how we can ensure that we are pouring into ourselves in a meaningful way that not only supports our work but guides our practice. The realities of the residual trauma we can endure from supporting clients and how we can be most supportive to ourselves, so we are confident that we are always pouring from an abundant cup.
I appreciate that in this field there has always been a focus on selfcare and staff wellness. It truly is such an important component of our work and our ability to support each other and the clients we serve.

My personal focus is always about how we put this into practice and empower ourselves to allow us to be our first client. Through experiential learning, using various tools I’ve created, I wish to evoke a sense of mission for all who attend to ensure that in this field we are always structuring our priorities strategically. More so, in such a way that we can support and lead our lives first and in return, be the best for the clients we support and serve.

Real Talk, Real Change:
Building Inclusive Work Environments in CYCC

Presented by: Alisha Bagshaw and Emma DeCecco

This interactive workshop presents findings from a research study on the experiences of Child and Youth Care Counsellors (CYCCs) with disabilities who require, or would benefit from, accessibility accommodations in their workplaces. While there has been progress in advocating for inclusive and accessible environments, a significant gap remains in the implementation of these practices, particularly within helping professions. Notably, no previous research has specifically explored the experiences of CYCCs with disabilities in these settings.

Using a qualitative approach, the study involved semi-structured interviews with CYCCs who self-identify as having a disability and expressed a need for or benefit from accommodations. The findings offer important insights into the barriers they encounter and how they navigate accessibility challenges in their professional roles.

De-stigmatizing disability in the workplace begins with open, honest conversations that acknowledge and directly address these challenges. Through real-world case scenarios, interactive discussions, and collaborative problem-solving, participants will explore practical strategies for creating more inclusive and supportive workplace cultures.

Grounded in the human rights model of disability, which frames accommodations as a basic right rather than a privilege, this workshop introduces innovative approaches and best practices for advancing accessibility. Participants will engage in experiential activities that support the development of inclusive policies and practices. These approaches not only improve staff well-being and professional efficacy but also enhance the quality of care provided to children, youth, and families.

Aligned with the conference’s focus on experiential and activity-based CYC practice, the session will include hands-on exercises that encourage participants to identify and address common accessibility challenges. These discussions will promote anti-oppressive practices and empower professionals to advocate for the accommodations they need.

Participants will leave the workshop with practical tools and actionable strategies to support more inclusive workplaces, strengthening their effectiveness in working with both colleagues and clients.

Experiential Learning as Critical Pedagogy:
Unsettling CYCC Classrooms

Presented by: Jill Thompson

In this workshop, I will share the ways I have intentionally worked to unsettle the Child and Youth Care Counsellor (CYCC) classroom by integrating experiential and anti-oppressive practices that challenge traditional post-secondary norms. Drawing from my experiences as an educator, I will explore how tools like simulation, role-play, exit tickets, embodied learning, and ungrading have helped reimagine how CYCC students engage with content and prepare them for the field. These practices aim not only to support deeper learning but also to create space for curiosity, discomfort, and relational practice.

Together, we will reflect on what it means to unsettle educational spaces while holding CYCC values at the center. I will share examples of what has worked well and what remains a work in progress, including the tensions and risks involved in shifting power, disrupting grading systems, and making room for experiential discomfort.

Because this is an experiential workshop, participants will also be asked to engage in selected activities that mirror the approaches used in my classroom. These will include short reflective practices, small group conversations, and opportunities to think critically about how we, as educators and practitioners, co-create learning environments that align with the values of CYCC. I also welcome all your amazing learning experiences and look forward to hearing how we can unsettle the classroom together.

‘Whoa, What Just Happened?’
Cultivating Awe in Child and Youth Care Practice

Presented by: Chelan McCallion and Dr. Pat Kostouros

Being awestruck is a profound emotional experience – one that can shift our sense of self, connect us to something greater, and anchor us in the present moment. Awe is not only a transcendent emotion; it is also deeply human. For Child and Youth Care (CYC) practitioners, learning to recognize and cultivate awe carries meaningful implications for mental health, relational practice, and for counterbalancing over-scheduled, trauma-saturated systems. In doing so, awe can create empowering moments – offering space to slow down, engage, reflect, and simply be in the moment.

Participants will be invited to consider how awe, can be integrated into everyday CYC settings to nurture hope, belonging, and resilience. Through interactive activities, storytelling, discussion, and reflection, we will uncover how awe can be a relational experience and serve as a low-barrier, high- impact intervention that is inclusive, trauma-informed, decolonizing, and emotionally restorative for both practitioners and the young people they support.

Whoa, what are you signing up for?

• Reflect on personal and professional moments of being awestruck
• Uncover how awe impacts the nervous system and supports well-being
• Explore the role of awe role in emotional regulation and prosocial behaviour
• Discover how savouring can deepen and prolong awe experiences
• Examine the concept of moral beauty in our CYC landscape
• Learn simple, creative ways to invite awe into daily practice
• Uncover the benefits of awe for both practitioners and young people
• Identify opportunities to co-create awe in CYC life-spaces

Awe lives in the ordinary. When we slow down enough to notice it, we create space for connection and transformation in ourselves and in those we walk beside. Awe isn’t something we wait for – it’s something we can make room for. And when we do, we will not only change how we practice, but how we see the world.

Push to Heal

Presented by: Joel Pippus

The children and youth that so many of us work with in the field of Child and Youth Care often have histories of trauma and marginalization. They come to us with underdeveloped social skills and have had few opportunities to participate in rewarding recreational activities. Skateboarding provides a unique and alternative approach to emotional regulation, education, development, and healing. This presentation will outline the story of Push To Heal from inception up until now. Through a mixture of storytelling, research, and short films, skateboarding will be highlighted as a tool for regulation, connection, and healing. We will also reflect on what we can learn from the story of Push To Heal and how some of the principles of the initiative can be applied more broadly in our work with the high needs children and youth that we all serve.