Shawna Paris, ONS, KC, PhDc, MSW, RSW-CS, BCCH brings a distinctive interdisciplinary combination of legal, clinical, assessment, academic, and forensic social work expertise to her teaching, research, consulting, and professional practice. A lawyer with approximately thirty years of experience, she has practised in criminal law, youth justice, family law, child protection, mental health law, human rights, and administrative law. She has appeared before tribunals and at all levels of court in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. L.T.H. (2008), and before the Senate of Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights.
Shawna is also an experienced clinical social worker, mental health clinician, assessor, and Clinical Specialist. Her practice includes mental health and trauma assessment, risk assessment, capacity assessment, treatment planning, and preparing clinical and forensic reports. Her work is grounded in trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and anti-oppressive practice, with particular attention to the ways in which mental health, trauma, race, culture, social circumstances, and systemic inequities intersect with legal and justice processes.
For many years, Shawna has designed and taught courses and professional education in law, social work, and forensic practice. Her teaching integrates legal knowledge, clinical expertise, and applied forensic practice, emphasizing the competencies required to work effectively at the intersection of social work and the law.
Shawna has also published in forensic social work, contributing to developing Canadian scholarship and professional discourse in this area. Her doctoral research examines social workers' preparedness for forensic practice in Canada, with particular attention to education, training, competencies, and the knowledge and skills required for effective practice in legal and justice settings. This combination of legal, clinical, assessment, research, and educational experience informs Shawna’s approach to forensic social work and her commitment to advancing the field in Canada through scholarship, professional education, culturally responsive practice, and developing practice standards and competencies.
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The Forensic Social Work & Human Service Microcredential is a competency-based, practice-focused program for social workers and allied professionals whose work intersects with law, justice, corrections, mental health, child welfare, family services, human rights, and other forensic settings.
The Forensic Social Work Microcredential builds on the three core continuing education courses in forensic social work: Forensic Social Work 1: Foundational Law for Social Work and Human Service Practice, Forensic Social Work 2: Essential Skills for Legal Practice, and Forensic Social Work 3: Trauma-Informed Forensic Interviewing.
Each of the three core courses is followed by a 4-hour microcredential module. The microcredential sequence ends with the 9-hour Forensic Social Work & Human Service Practice Capstone. This competency-based microcredential pathway is grounded in demonstrated learning and practice profiency.
The microcredential modules are not merely additional lectures or reviews of course material. They assess learners' ability to apply knowledge in practice, exercise professional judgment, communicate effectively, and demonstrate competencies relevant to practice in forensic environments.
Note: The first cohort of this program is open only to those who are currently enrolled in (or have already completed) Forensic Social Work 1.
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Several competencies are embedded throughout the three microcredential modules and the capstone. These competencies are incorporated into realistic practice scenarios rather than taught or assessed as stand-alone topics.
- Learners will be expected to demonstrate trauma-informed practice, cultural competency, cultural humility, human rights-informed practice, anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice, (dis)ability inclusion, accessibility awareness, and recognition of gender-based violence and discrimination.
- Learners will be expected to recognize how trauma, gender-based violence, ableism, racism, discrimination, culture, socioeconomic circumstances, immigration status, Indigeneity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other aspects of identity and social location may affect an individual’s experience of legal, social service, health, child welfare, correctional, and justice systems.
- Trauma-informed practice will require learners to recognize how trauma may affect communication, memory, behaviour, disclosure, trust, and engagement.
- Cultural competency and cultural humility will require learners to consider culture, identity, history, community, and lived experience while avoiding stereotyping and reflecting on their own assumptions, power, and potential biases.
- Ability-inclusive practice will require attention to accessibility, accommodation, communication needs, participation, autonomy, and avoiding ableist assumptions.
- Anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice will require recognizing both interpersonal and systemic discrimination and considering how inequity may affect assessment, documentation, service access, institutional involvement, and professional decision-making.
- Gender-based violence will be addressed as a legal, ethical, safety, trauma, human rights, and practice issue requiring attention to autonomy, coercive control, disclosure, risk, documentation, and appropriate referral or consultation.
These core competencies will be assessed in ways appropriate to the focus of each module.
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Upon successful completion of the Forensic Social Work & Human Service Microcredential pathway, learners will have demonstrated foundational competency in applying social work and human service practice knowledge and skills within legally connected and forensic environments.
Successful learners will demonstrate the integration of legal and ethical reasoning, professional judgment, forensic social work practice skills, interviewing, documentation, interdisciplinary communication, trauma-informed practice, cultural competency, disability-inclusive practice, recognition of gender-based violence, anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice, human rights-informed practice, critical reflection, and recognition of professional scope and limitations.
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Upon successful completion of all required components and academic and practice-based assessment requirements, the Forensic Social Work & Human Service Microcredential will be awarded in the form of a digital badge and a certificate.
The digital badge is a secure, verifiable online visual representation of program completion. The badge contains secure data detailing the learner's name, the issuing instituion (Dalhousie University), the issue date, criteria met, and acquired competencies. It is cryptographically signed and tamper-evident, ensuring authenticity when viewed by third parties. The badge may be displayed or referenced on your CV, resume, LinkedIn profile, or other professional materials.
Learners who earn a digital badge will also receive a certificate from Dalhousie University School of Social Work Continuing Education and the National Institute of Forensic Social Work.
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