The TEND Train the Trainer is a professional development program designed for those who want to deepen their understanding of the “costs of caring” – secondary traumatic stress and empathic strain (also known as compassion fatigue).
Hosted on Zoom, our online, intensive format offers focused learning over two and a half days. Participants are also invited to attend two follow-up sessions. You will gain the same depth of knowledge and practical tools as the extended program, but in a condensed, interactive format that fits into a busy schedule.
Format
Dates
April 21, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
April 22, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
April 23, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
May 26, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
June 23, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Instructor
Françoise Mathieu, MEd, RP
Cost
$2,950 CAD + tax
By taking this course, you will:
Understand the “costs of caring”
Helping professionals face unique challenges that go beyond what standard self-care programs can address. This program helps you understand how working in a trauma-exposed workplace can affect the well-being of people, teams, and entire organizations.
Gain confidence in teaching and/or leading others
This program prepares you to lead engaging, accessible conversations about secondary traumatic stress and related topics. You will learn how to deliver training sessions as well as embed practices that promote individual and organizational health.
Build your action plan
This program helps you move beyond understanding to putting strategies into practice. You will leave with ideas, tools, strategies, and resources to reduce secondary traumatic stress in your workplace.
 | Hard-copy books You will receive two books: The Compassion Fatigue Workbook and The TEND Train the Trainer 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. |
 | PowerPoint templates, workshop materials, article, and more You will be given everything you need to educate others on secondary traumatic stress and empathic strain. |
 | 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 two books: The Compassion Fatigue Workbook and The TEND Train the Trainer 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.
PowerPoint templates, workshop materials, article, and more
You will be given everything you need to educate others on secondary traumatic stress and empathic strain.
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 | April 21, 2026
| AM | Assessing Your Areas of Strengths & Concerns |
| PM | New Research on Managing/Addressing STS and Related Concepts |
Day 2 | April 22, 2026
| AM | Organizational Health Essentials |
| PM | Delivery Modalities for Specific Audiences |
Day 3 | April 23, 2026
| AM | Performing a Needs Assessment & Planning Your Next Steps |
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.
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. All participants will be given access to two on-demand webinars that cover the foundational knowledge required for this program. These prerequisites must be completed prior to first day of training.
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 encourage all participants to set aside 3 hours of protected time prior to the beginning of the Train the Trainer Program to review the introductory material.
We recommend setting aside 3 hours to complete the prerequisites before the program begins.
The program itself is 20.5 hours (total). The first two days of the online intensive format are 7.5 hours (9 AM – 4:30 PM ET) each. The third day is 3 hours (9 AM – 12 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.
We ask that participants attend all sessions live. Each session will be recorded and shared with participants for review or for use in cases of unforeseen conflicts. If the scheduled times do not work for you, please join our waitlist to be notified about upcoming course offerings.
This program was designed by TEND Executive Director, Françoise Mathieu, 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 professional trainer or have a background in mental health to benefit. The prerequisites included with this program will help you understand the basics of secondary traumatic stress and empathic strain. What matters most is your commitment to creating healthier, more resilient workplaces.
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.
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