On-demand Training : Workplace wellness for frontline staff - Addressing burnout, moral injury, and lateral violence

Facilitator:  Juno Zavitz, MDiv and MPS Candidate U of T

This training is suitable for:

• Mental Health Professionals:  psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, social workers.
• Medical Professionals: nurses, psychiatrists, pediatricians, family doctors.
• Direct Service Workers: Drop-in workers, shelter and hostel workers, child and youth workers, youth justice workers

Level of training: Introductory 

Trigger Warning: Participating in our programming may evoke powerful feelings and can trigger participants who have experienced personal trauma.

Description: Workplace wellness is essential to the sustainability of healthcare, social service, and first response organizations. Yet frontline staff—both clinical and non-clinical—often face environments marked by high emotional demand, moral complexity, and strained peer relationships.

This interactive workshop offers a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive approach for both frontline workers and leadership to support worker wellness of client-facing roles. Grounded in evidence and frontline experience, it explores the emotional, physical, and moral toll of frontline work and equips participants with practical strategies to foster individual resilience, strengthen team cohesion, and promote psychologically safe workplaces.

Key topics include burnout, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and the rise of lateral violence and fractured workplace relationships. Participants will explore actionable tools to navigate conflict, address the growing impact of moral injury, and counter patterns of workplace bullying and the misuse of equity-based language that can erode trust and collaboration.

"Frontline healthcare and social service teams are increasingly at risk of internal conflict resulting from the stress of burn out, traumatic work and moral injury, This workshop provides strategies for managers and directors supporting at-risk staff and teams to improve working relationships, sustainability, and quality of our work." - Juno Zavitz

Learning objectives: 

• Understand core concepts and peer-reviewed theories related to burnout, moral injury, and lateral violence.
• Identify and apply practical strategies to build solidarity and resilience across diverse frontline teams.
• Recognize and respond to patterns of lateral violence and fractured workplace relationships.
• Navigate workplace conflict with greater confidence and a trauma-informed lens.
• Critically engage with emerging dynamics around the misuse of social justice language in organizational contexts.

Frontline professionals are facing rising levels of burnout, moral injury, and fractured team dynamics. This training offers practical tools to strengthen resilience, navigate workplace conflict, and build psychologically safe teams. With a focus on lateral violence and the misuse of equity language, it’s essential for anyone working in high-demand, client-facing environments.

This program was originally recorded on October 9, 2025 with a total of 3 training hours. 

Event updated April 10, 2026