Upcoming Events March 4, 2025

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Learn how to handle difficult people like a pro in our online workshop "Skills to Manage High-Conflict Personalities.

Course: Skills to Manage High-Conflict Personalities in the Legal System: Effective

Strategies Utilizing Trauma-Informed and Culturally Competent Approaches.

 Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

 Duration: 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. AST (11:00 a.m. ET, 9:00 a.m. MT, 8:00 a.m. PT)

 Delivery Method: Live virtual training course via Zoom.

 Registration: Eventbrite

 Methods of engagement: Interactive lecture, small group discussions, skills

development-role-play exercise, and case study.

 A certificate of attendance will be awarded to those who attend the full five-hour course.

Why You Should Take this Mini-Course?

The legal system frequently engages with individuals facing significant challenges, including but

not limited to trauma, systemic racism, and oppression. These challenges are particularly evident

in cases involving family disputes-domestic violence, gender-based violence, child protection

matters, criminal charges, and human rights violations stemming from systemic marginalization.

Participants in this mini-course will acquire and apply specific strategies to effectively manage

high-conflict individuals within legal contexts, utilizing ethical, trauma-informed and culturally

competent methodologies and best practices. By adopting these approaches, practitioners and

clinicians can:

 Enhance client engagement: Foster a supportive environment that encourages open

communication and trust.

 Improve case outcomes: Address underlying issues contributing to high-conflict

behaviours, leading to more equitable resolutions and improving communication and

case outcomes with high-conflict individuals.

 Reduce re-traumatization and cultural misunderstandings during interactions such as

forensic interviewing and court proceedings. Doing so fosters a more empathetic,

culturally competent, and equitable legal system.

 Navigate bias, ensuring ethical approaches and fairness in the legal systems.

 Promote systemic change: Advocate for policies and practices that recognize and

mitigate the impacts of trauma and cultural oppression within the legal system.

Course Overview:

The course focuses on techniques for managing high-conflict personalities within legal contexts,

utilizing trauma-informed and culturally sensitive strategies. This specificity helps participants

understand the course content and its relevance to their professional development. The course content aims to provide participants with skills to learn more significant control over situations

involving high-conflict personalities during the interview or in the courtroom and the

importance of understanding psychological factors and practical strategies for effective

management.

The course content is designed to equip lawyers, forensic social work practitioners, and other

professionals in the legal systems with the tools and knowledge to effectively and ethically work

with high-conflict individuals. Individuals with high-conflict personalities often present

significant challenges, particularly in legal and forensic settings, due to behaviours such as

persistent hostility, blame-shifting, or emotional dysregulation.

The training is designed to help participants recognize that many high-conflict behaviours stem

from unresolved trauma, systemic oppression, and cultural factors that shape individuals’ lived

experiences. By incorporating trauma-informed and culturally competent approaches,

participants will gain strategies for responding with empathy, cultural sensitivity, and appropriate

boundaries, and strategic interventions to foster more equitable and effective outcomes.

About the Trainer

Shawna Paris-Hoyte, ONS, KC, MSW, RSW-CS, BCCH, PhD (std), is a distinguished

professional who uniquely integrates over 30 years of legal practice as a Barrister and Solicitor

with 20 years of clinical social work experience. As one of the few practitioners in Canada

concurrently licensed and practicing in both disciplines, she brings a comprehensive perspective

to her roles as a lawyer, clinical and forensic social work specialist and educator in both

disciplines. Shawna founded the National Institute of Forensic Social Work in Canada

(established in 2016) and is an international member of the Board of Directors for the

National Organization of Forensic Social Work in the U.S.A. Her extensive interdisciplinary

background enables her to provide dynamic and practical insights, equipping professionals to

excel in trauma-informed and culturally competent forensic practice.

Who Should Participate:

This training is tailored for professionals working in high-conflict environments, including but

Not limited to:

 Lawyers (criminal, family, civil, and human rights etc.)

 Forensic social work practitioners

 Parenting coordinators

 Mediators and arbitrators

 Paralegals and legal assistants

 Court support workers

 Victim advocates 

Mental health professionals working in legal settings

 Police officers and law enforcement personnel

 Correctional officers and probation officers

Goals and Key Learning Objectives:

1. Understand High-Conflict Behaviors:

• Identify common traits and behaviours of high-conflict personalities and the

neuro science behind them.

• Recognize the link between trauma, systemic oppression, and high-conflict

behaviour patterns.

2. Implement Trauma-informed and Culturally Informed Practices:

• Learn the core principles of trauma-informed care: safety, trust, collaboration,

empowerment, and cultural sensitivity.

• Develop strategies to build rapport and establish trust with high-conflict

individuals while respecting their cultural contexts.

• Understand how race and cultural factors such as identity, systemic racism,

intergenerational trauma and marginalization influence conflict dynamics.

3. Manage Conflict Effectively:

• Explore tools to de-escalate emotionally charged situations.
• Understand how to set clear boundaries without exacerbating conflict with

special consideration for cultural nuances.

4. Apply Ethical and Professional Guidelines:

• Balance trauma-informed and culturally informed care with professional duties,

legal obligations, ethical standards and best practices.

• Mitigate secondary trauma and burnout among practitioners while promoting

humility and civility.

Understand unconscious bias in the context of ethics.

5. Achieve Better Outcomes in Legal Settings:

• Learn how trauma-informed and culturally informed practices can lead to more

effective client advocacy, improved case management, and equitable outcomes.

• Explore skills development through case studies and role-play scenarios to apply

learning in practice, with attention to the impact of culture, identity, and lived

experiences in the legal process.

Course Format:

 Live virtual training course via Zoom.

 Duration: Five hours.

REGISTER TODAY!