Hearing Voices Group Facilitator Training, Boca Raton, Florida, February, 2019

Overview

This form is for the purpose of applying for the RLC's next “Hearing Voices Group Facilitator” Training. We’ve had great responses to our previous facilitator’s trainings and many groups have started as a result. The training is presented by the Western Massachusetts Recovery Learning Community (RLC) with the primary purpose of training people to start their own Hearing Voices Groups in their own area.

Hearing Voices Groups originated in Europe and now there are over 160 chartered groups in England alone. Hearing Voices Groups do not pathologize hearing voices, seeing visions or other unusual experiences. Instead, group members explore these phenomena in an environment of mutual support and curiosity. They offer people who hear voices, see visions or have other unusual experiences the opportunity to share their experience and explore new ways of coping, understanding their experiences and getting support.

Please complete the application below in its entirety. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the class is full. If you require urgent notification of acceptance (due to needing to make travel arrangements or similar) please also e-mail info@westernmassrlc.org and let us know that you are requesting early admission notice and why.

Please e-mail us at info@westernmassrlc.org if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

The Western Mass RLC

See Below for Further Training Details:

TRAINERS: Trainers will be announced soon, but will include two members of the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community team. All of our trainers have first-hand experience with hearing voices and/or seeing visions, as well as group facilitation.

TRAINING DATES, TIMES AND LOCATION: Dates for the training are scheduled for Monday, Feburary 24th to Wednesday, February, 26, 2020. Each day will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Reading homework may be assigned ahead of time and/or during the class. The training will be located at the Boca Raton Community Center in downtown Boca next to City Hall.

TRAINING PREREQUISITES: This training is primarily intended for people who have some basic facilitation skills and/or training, though not absolutely required so long as it is understood that the training is not designed to provide these basic skills. Some awareness of and investment in the Hearing Voices Movement and approach is required, so please be sure you’ve checked out www.hearingvoicesusa.org and/or other sources to be sure you are familiar with the basics and still interested in applying! You should be already facilitating or have an active interest in starting an HVN group.

COST: There is a $100 fee for this training. However, the fee can be waived upon request. Participants are responsible for their own food and travel expenses as applicable.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFO: This training is open to people who identify as voice hearers, allies, friends and family, clinicians, peer workers and others in the community who are interested in supporting the growth of Hearing Voices groups in their area.

A BIG THANKS TO SIGNAL20 FOR HELPING TO MAKE THIS TRAINING POSSIBLE!

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* 1. Please complete the contact information below.

Name *

Company

Address *

Address 2

City/Town *

State/Province *

ZIP/Postal Code *

Country *

Email Address *

Phone Number *

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* 2. Please indicate which of the following best applies to you:

I am a voice hearer who is interested in co-facilitating a group

I work in a peer role in a mental health setting and would like to start a group there

I work in a traditional role in a mental health setting and would like to start a group there

Other (please specify)

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* 3. If you have selected ‘b’ or ‘c,’ please also send a letter of support from your supervisor or other administrator that confirms their interest in setting up a group at your organization to info@westernmassrlc.org. The letter should address the following five questions:

1. Will the organization support you to NOT have to take notes on what happens in the group? Why/why not?
2. Will the organization support you to NOT have to have any organizational employees in the room during groups who have not actively been trained as facilitators? Why/why not?
3. Will the organization support you to NOT have to keep attendance records? Why/why not?
4. Is the organization willing to give the group space to talk about difficult topics without reporting those conversations back to anyone outside of the group?
5. Is the organization willing to work with you to identify clear limits to group privacy and confidentiality and put those in writing so that group members can also have a clear understanding of those limits?

Do you understand that you must also send this letter along as a part of your application process?

Yes. I will send a letter as a part of my application process.

No. I'm confused. (Please e-mail us at info@westernmassrlc.org with any questions.)

N/A I did not select 'b' or 'c' in the previous question.

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* 4. Are you able to attend ALL three sessions (Monday, February 24; Tuesday, February 25; Wednesday, February 26) in their entirety (9:00am to 5:00pm)?

Yes, I can attend all sessions in their entirety.

No (Please include details about what you'd need to miss in the next question)

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* 5. If you indicated that you'd need to miss a part of the training, please provide details below.

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* 6. Please put your initials by each statement to indicate you have read and understand it.

I understand that I need to complete all three days to successfully complete the training.

I understand that this training does not guarantee me a job as a facilitator, and that it will be up to me and/or my own organization or group to find financial and other support needed to actually start a group.

I understand that the training group will likely include a mixture of people who hear voices, allies, people working in peer roles and people in clinical roles.

I understand that this is not a train-the-trainer training, and that completing it will not qualify me to train other people to be facilitators.

I understand that this training is not intended to provide basic facilitation skills, but rather focuses on facilitation skills and perspectives directly pertaining to the Hearing Voices Network approach.

I understand that if my answers are incomplete or only a couple of words, my application may be discarded. (We do not need essays, but we need at least a few sentences in order to get a sense of where you’re coming from!)

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* 7. In a short statement, please describe why you are interested in doing this training.

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* 8. In your own words, explain what you think makes Hearing Voices groups different from clinical groups?

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* 9. Describe any training or experience you have facilitating groups. If you have no facilitation experience, how will you approach building your facilitation skills beyond this training?

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* 10. Please tell us a bit about the group you intend to start (or the existing group you are hoping to support).

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* 11. Briefly describe the supports and barriers that will be present for you in starting/supporting this group.

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* 12. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What are some of your accomplishments, interests, dreams? What are the qualities you most appreciate about yourself?

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* 13. Are you (or your sponsoring organization) able to cover the training fee of $100?

Yes, I or my organization can fully cover the $100 training fee.

I or my organization can partially cover the fee, but would like to request a reduced cost. (Include details below.)

I am unable to pay the fee, and would like to request a no cost registration.

If you selected 'reduced cost' above, please let us know how much you or your organization are able to pay.