The Debriefing & Mutual Support program is a professional development program that helps you design and implement a tailored, organization-wide support plan. This means that your people will know when, why, and how to best support one another through the unique challenges of your workplace.
Hosted on Zoom, our online, intensive format offers focused learning over two days. Participants are also invited to attend two follow-up sessions. You will gain the same depth of knowledge and practical tools as the 4-week program, but in a condensed, interactive format that fits into a busy schedule.
Join our wait list if you would like to be notified about the next available session.
Format
Dates
November 17, 2025 | 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
November 24, 2025 | 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
December 8, 2025 | 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
January 19, 2026 | 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Instructor
Françoise Mathieu, MEd, RP
Cost
$2,950 CAD + tax
By taking this course, you will:
Understand the full spectrum of support required for optimal staff well-being.
When building a support plan, workplaces often focus on crises situations. However in trauma-exposed work, staff are often encountering difficult situations every day. This program helps you broaden your perspective and identify the supports truly needed to protect against the “costs of caring” such as secondary traumatic stress and moral distress.
Explore a continuum of debriefing and mutual support models
We will explore several industry-standard frameworks used to provide support in the workplace, such as Psychological First Aid. The goal is that by the end of the program, you will identify which practices you will use to:
Decide where to begin and plan your next steps
This program places a strong emphasis on implementation. Our goal is for you to leave not just with new knowledge, but with a clear sense of what you want to achieve and practical strategies to get there. We will workshop common challenges and barriers, explore real-world examples, and develop concrete solutions you can apply in your own workplace.
 | Hard-copy books You will receive three books: Wonder Drug: 7 Scientifically Proven Ways that Serving Others is the Best Medicine for Yourself, Building Resilient Teams, and The TEND Debriefing & Mutual Support Manual. These books provide supplementary content, practical exercises, and ready-to-use tools that reinforce and expand on what you will learn during the program. |
 | 1-Year Subscription to the TEND Toolkit You will receive full access to the TEND Toolkit, which includes videos, recorded CARE4YOU conference sessions, webinars, strategies, and articles. |
 | On-Demand Courses Your registration includes enrollment in three of our on-demand courses: Secondary Traumatic Stress 101, How Challenging Work Changes Us, and Staying Grounded in Stressful Work. |
 | Assessment tools, development templates, scripts and audio, webinars, and more You will be given everything you need to build and customize your D/MS program. |
 | Access to our Online Learning Portal This resource will be your hub for accessing Zoom links, recordings, prerequisite training, and additional materials. |
Hard-copy books
You will receive three books: Wonder Drug: 7 Scientifically Proven Ways that Serving Others is the Best Medicine for Yourself, Building Resilient Teams, and The TEND Debriefing & Mutual Support Manual. These books provide supplementary content, practical exercises, and ready-to-use tools that reinforce and expand on what you will learn during the program.
1-Year Subscription to the TEND Toolkit
You will receive full access to the TEND Toolkit, which includes videos, recorded CARE4YOU conference sessions, webinars, strategies, and articles.
On-Demand Courses
Your registration includes enrollment in three of our on-demand courses: Secondary Traumatic Stress 101, How Challenging Work Changes Us, and Staying Grounded in Stressful Work.
Assessment tools, development templates, scripts and audio, webinars, and more
You will be given everything you need to build and customize your D/MS program.
Access to our Online Learning Portal
This resource will be your hub for accessing Zoom links, recordings, prerequisite training, and additional materials.
Françoise Mathieu, MEd, RP Executive Director
Françoise Mathieu is a sought-after speaker and educator in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. With over 25 years of work in the field of mental health, she brings with her extensive experience as a crisis counselor, and nearly a decade of working with Health Canada’s CFMAP (Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program).
Françoise co-founded TEND Academy with Dr. Patricia Fisher and divides her time between public speaking engagements and working with organizations looking to train their teams on topics such as burnout, empathic strain, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, high stress workplaces, self-care and provider wellness.
Françoise is the author of The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, published by Routledge in 2012 as well as the author of several feature articles. She is a co-founder of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium and regular contributor to the TEND Toolkit.
Note that this course runs in Eastern Time (ET). Please adjust your schedule accordingly.
All sessions will be recorded and can be viewed on your own schedule. Participants will be responsible for reviewing any missed materials throughout the course.
Day 1 | November 17, 2025
| 9:00 AM | What is debriefing, why is it important, and what does the research show? |
| 10:30 AM | Break |
| 10:45 AM | Addressing the immediate and cumulative impact of trauma exposure |
| 12:00 PM | Break |
| 1:00 PM | Building the scaffolding to support your people |
| 2:30 PM | Break |
| 2:45 PM | Exploring the continuum of debriefing & mutual support practices |
| 4:30 PM | End of Day 1 |
Day 2 | November 24, 2025
| 9:00 AM | Animating your debriefing and mutual support practices |
| 10:30 AM | Break |
| 10:45 AM | Embedding values and qualities |
| 12:00 PM | Break |
| 1:00 PM | Creating a culture of mutual support within your workplace |
| 2:30 PM | Break |
| 2:45 PM | Your quick start guide & making an action plan |
| 4:30 PM | End of Day 2 |
Follow-Up Q&A Sessions
Questions? Reach out to Alison Goodfellow, our Operations Manager, at alison@tendacademy.ca
Our website accepts payment made by credit card (via Stripe). If you require an invoice, please contact our Operations Manager, Alison (alison@tendacademy.ca), before registering.
We reserve the right to cancel this course should the number of registrations be insufficient. We are not responsible for any costs that may be incurred by the cancellation of this course.
In the event that TEND cancels this program, all course fees including deposits will be returned to participants.
The program registration fee includes all prerequisites, live virtual training and Q&A sessions, online resources, hard copy resources, and a one-year subscription to the TEND Toolkit.
Yes. Each participant must submit a non-refundable deposit of $500.00 CAD to reserve their spot in the program. If paying the deposit only, the balance of the registration fee is due before the program begins.
If you cancel your registration after submitting your non-refundable deposit, this amount ($500 CAD) may be put towards a future training with TEND.
Yes. Please contact our Operations Manager, Alison (alison@tendacademy.ca), to learn more.
Yes. The instructor teaches this program with the assumption that participants are familiar with the concepts of empathic strain (also known as compassion fatigue) and secondary traumatic stress.
If these concepts are new to you, not to worry. You will receive access to three pre-recorded webinars: Empathic Strain & Secondary Traumatic Stress 101, Key Tools to Safeguard Your Well-Being, and Trauma-Informed Practice, before the first lecture date. These webinars are included with your program registration. Once your registration is complete, and payment has been received, we will share access to these prerequisites with you.
All prerequisite training is included in your registration fee. You will receive access upon receipt of the deposit or full program fee a minimum of one month before the program begins.
We recommend setting aside 3.5 hours to complete the prerequisites before the program begins.
The program itself is 17.5 hours (total). Each day of the online intensive format is 7.5 hours (9 AM – 4:30 PM ET). The two follow-up Q&A sessions are 1 hour 15 minutes each.
We also recommend that you protect sometime after each day of training to consider the content and complete any reflection assignments.
Yes. All of the Zoom sessions will be recorded and can be viewed on your own schedule. Participants are expected to review any missed content independently.
However, if you have significant time constraints, you may wish to consider enrolling in our Online Extended version of the program. In this format, participants attend a 2-hour lecture and 1.25-hour FAQ session each week for 4 weeks. Contact us to learn more.
This program was designed by Diana Tikasz, MSW, RSW, and is continuously reviewed to ensure the most up to date information is shared with participants. The content of the program is evidence-based where the research exists, and, when there is a gap in the research, it is evidence-informed (expert consensus guidelines are used).
Yes. You do not need to be a therapist or have a background in mental health to benefit. This program is designed for people working in high-pressure workplaces who want to help their teams better understand and navigate difficult experiences. You will learn how to embed supportive practices into your everyday work.
The content of this program will be most valuable to those in a leadership, supervisory, or policy development role who are responsible for shaping workplace culture and staff wellbeing.
Yes. After completing the program, you will receive a certificate of attendance indicating the date and length of training.
You will require a reliable internet connection, a microphone, and webcam. Participants will also need to be able to access Zoom and Dropbox.
Hard copy materials will be shipped to the address you indicate on your registration form, in advance of the first day of training. Please note that the non-refundable deposit or full payment must be received before materials will be shipped.
We develop evidence-informed training and resources to support people working in complex and trauma-exposed environments.
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