Shayla Dube, MSW, RSW & Adele Lafrance, PhD presents "Cultural Competence in Practice: From Awareness to Adaptation": ONLINE LIVE STREAM EVENT

Workshop Description

This workshop builds on the reflective foundation established in Shayla Dube and Adele Lafrance’s earlier training* on cultural self-awareness, power, and colonial context. While that first workshop centers on understanding ourselves, this session turns toward the next essential question: How do we translate cultural awareness into concrete, culturally responsive action in our daily work?

Drawing on the foundations of the Cultural Competence Continuum, this workshop offers a clear, practical framework for working towards cultural competence at both individual and systems levels.  Cultural competence is framed not as a destination or checklist, but as a lifelong, relational journey grounded in humility, responsiveness, and ongoing learning. Participants will explore the stages of the continuum alongside the five core elements of cultural competence, examining how valuing diversity, engaging in ongoing cultural self-assessment, and attending to cultural dynamics can be thoughtfully applied in real-world settings.

The workshop includes attention to Institutionalized Cultural Knowledge and how systems, policies, and “standard” practices may unintentionally privilege some cultural norms while marginalizing others. Emphasis is placed on ethical, context-sensitive adaptations to service delivery that support safety, dignity, and relational attunement across cultural differences.

Through applied examples, guided reflection, and collaborative discussion, participants will deepen their capacity to value and navigate cultural differences and practice culturally responsive approaches in everyday therapeutic and organizational contexts.

You will deepen your practice or learn to:

• Identify the stages of the Cultural Competence Continuum and the five core elements of cultural competence
• ​Apply insights from cultural self-assessment to clinical, relational, and organizational decision-making
• Recognize how power, privilege, inequity, and systemic forces show up in helping relationships
• Implement culturally grounded adaptations to service delivery that enhance safety, reduce harm and strengthen therapeutic alliances with diverse communities.
• Develop an actionable plan for integrating cultural competence into individual, team, and organizational practice

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for helping professionals who provide counselling or relational support, including therapists, social workers, psychologists, and other mental health and health-care professionals. It is also well-suited to educators, community workers, leaders, and others who are seeking practical ways to translate cultural awareness into culturally responsive action.

*While attendance at Part 1: Cultural Awareness & Relational Awareness is encouraged & may be helpful, it is not required. This workshop is designed to stand fully on its own.​​​​​

​You will receive:

• Login details and instructions emailed in advance of the workshop
• Downloadable handouts
• Certificate of attendance upon successful completion of a brief online quiz (if desired)
• Access to a recording of the workshop for a limited period of time after the workshop - so if you can’t join live, or need to miss part of the live workshop and want to view it afterwards, we’ve got you covered!

About the Presenters

Shayla S. Dube, MSW, RCSW, is a Zimbabwean-born Canadian social worker, psychotherapist, educator, and ACSW board-approved clinical supervisor with over 15 years of post-graduate experience across micro, mezzo, and macro practice. She teaches Africentric Social Work at the University of Calgary and works as an intercultural safety consultant. Her clinical and educational work integrates Africentric healing frameworks, EMDR, somatic practices, and Ubuntu/Sankofa wisdom to support collective wellness.

As an uninvited guest on Indigenous lands, Shayla honours Indigenous sovereignty and works in relational and communal solidarity with Indigenous peoples.

Shayla is grateful to co-facilitate this workshop with Adele Lafrance, her Ubuntu-centred sistar who embodies cultural humility with so much grace.

Dr. Adele Lafrance is a clinical psychologist, research scientist, author and co-developer of emotion-focused treatment modalities, including Emotion-Focused Family Therapy. She has published extensively in the field of emotion and health, including the EFFT Clinician’s Manual published by the American Psychological Association. She has also written a popular parenting book titled: What to Say to Kids When Nothing Seems to Work.

A frequent keynote speaker at professional conferences, Adele is known for her engaging, energetic and authentic presentation style.  She provides consultation and training for clinicians, school boards and mental health agencies worldwide.

Adele is perhaps best known for promoting family-focused care for children, adolescents and adults struggling with mental health issues.

For more information or to register: www.missionempowerment.ca