Hearing Voices Group Facilitator Training, ON-LINE, October, 2020

Overview

This form is for the purpose of applying for the RLC's next “Hearing Voices Group Facilitator” Training. 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.

PLEASE NOTE: This training is being held ON-LINE via Zoom. This is not something we intend to do often, and is being done strictly to bridge the gap while the COVID-19 pandemic is happening. In general, we recommend in person trainings wherever possible.

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.

Currently there are a growing number of Hearing Voices Groups in the United States, and our vision includes both supporting and bolstering existing groups and expanding the overall numbers and accessibility. We hope that you will join us in bringing this vision to reality! Learn more at www.beyondpossiblefilm.info.

Please complete the application below in its entirety no later than Wednesday, September 9, 2020, in order to be considered for this training. We will be notifying everyone about whether or not they have a spot in the training at the start of the following week.

See Below for Further Training Details:

TRAINING DATES AND TIMES: Dates for the training are scheduled for Tuesdays, October 13, 20, 27 AND Thursdays, October 15, 22, 29 from 1pm to 5pm Eastern. Reading homework may be assigned ahead of time and/or during the class. Attendance at all 6 sessions is required to complete the training.

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. You should be already facilitating or have an active interest in starting an HVN group or supporting an existing one.

COST: We offer many trainings for free, and try our best to keep any ones that we charge for as low cost as possible. In the case of our on-line charges, we are requesting a few as follows:

$200 for people who are based OUTSIDE of Massachusetts, and have an organization that is able to pay for their spot.
$150 for people who are based INSIDE of Massachusetts and have an organization that is able to pay for their spot.
$75 for people who do not have an organization that is able to pay, but who are able to pay for themselves.
$25 for students and others with lower income.
$0 for people who have low or no income, and no organization to assist them in paying.

These fees help cover trainer time, including the time needed to adapt in person trainings to an on-line format.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFO: This training is open to people who identify as voice hearers, allies, friends and family, and anyone else invested in the approach and starting groups.

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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 six sessions (Tuesdays, October 13,20,27 AND Thursdays, October 15, 22, 29) in their entirety (1pm to 5pm Eastern)?

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 six 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. Have you taken any on-line trainings before? If yes, how was that experience for you?

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* 13. If an in person training were available, would you prefer that? Please explain your response.

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* 14. Training materials will be made available to you on-line. Will you be able to access them and print them for yourself if you want a hardcopy?

Yes, I can access materials on-line, and print them as needed.

No, I can access materials on-line, but wouldn't be able to print them.

It would be hard for me to access materials on-line, and I would need a hard copy shipped to me.

I am not sure.

Other (please specify)

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* 15. Do you have access to a computer with a reliable internet connection and a webcam for use in this training?

Yes, I have access to a computer that has a reliable internet connection and a webcam that I can use for each session of this training.

No, I have access to a computer that has a reliable internet connection, but it does not have a webcam and I would not be able to be visible on camera.

No, I do not have access to a computer with a reliable internet connection and webcam.

I am not sure.

Other (please specify)

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