Professional Development Opportunity: Brain Story Certification

Free Online Professional Development Opportunity: Brain Story Certification

Brain Story Certification - Alberta Family Wellness Initiative

We are excited to introduce you to one of our newest Builder Partners, Alberta Family Wellness Institute, and share with you a very important professional development opportunity available for all members of your organization.
One of the most popular speakers at the 2016 NMS was Nancy Mannix (learn more) who spoke about the ties between brain science, early learning, and mentoring. Serve and return interactions, such as those provided through quality mentoring programs, are integral to building brains, and offering a course-correction to toxic stress.

Spending time interacting with a young person may seem simple, but science tells us that interactions with supportive adults build important neural connections in the developing brain. Young people who have strong, supportive relationships with adult mentors often do better in school, are better able to deal with bullies and stressful situations, and gain the social-emotional skills they need to set and reach goals.

Now, The Alberta Family Wellness Institute has released a free online training program to help everyone from doctors and police officers to mentors and mentees understand the brain story. Understanding the brain story is integral to the work we do as Mentors, and will give you many insights into your mentee, as well as yourself:

Lifelong health is determined by more than just our genes: experiences at sensitive periods of development change the brain in ways that increase or decrease risk for later physical and mental illness, including addiction. That finding is the premise of the Brain Story, which puts scientific concepts into a narrative that is salient to both expert and non-expert audiences. The Brain Story synthesizes decades of research and reflects a body of knowledge that experts agree is useful for policy-makers and citizens to understand.

The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) has developed two online courses to make Brain Story science available to professionals and the public. One course – Brain Story Certification, which is designed for professionals seeking certification in wide range of fields – is available now. The second course – the Brain Story for Beginners, which is designed for decision-makers and members of the public – will be available later in 2017.
 

As written in the Chronicle of Evidence Based Mentoring, it is critical to understand how Toxic Stress in Childhood can impact us throughout our lives.

The training is free, online, accessible, and a combination of blended video modules and reading selections. It is very accessible, and you do not need to be a specialist to benefit from what is shared within. There are 17 modules that could take anywhere from 1.5 – 2hrs to complete. We have heard some organizations are doing the training as an organization so all staff share a common language and understanding. Learn more and take the training here.
You will even have the opportunity to earn a certificate or professional development credits.
See all of the National Mentoring Symposium Content here.