Advanced Peer Helping Workshop (Level II)

This workshop involves participants in group leadership activities with supervised feedback and coaching.

Participants focus on the issues, skills, and practices associated with training peer trainers, improving peer training abilities, and strengthening program development. A variety of peer program models are examined.

The content of the workshop relies on participant concerns and interests and typical topics which have emerged in past workshops include:

Persons who take this workshop have considerable peer program leadership experience or considerable experience in training trainers.

Depending on participant needs an evening consulting session on a particular topic can be arranged. *There is an extra fee for those attending this evening consult.

Gaining up-to-date knowledge. Here is where experience is essential, since a good part of this day is based on participants describing their programs and identifying issues of program delivery. The emphasis here is on breadth of peer programs rather than helping you with your specific program. The rest of the day is spent reviewing the experiential training model necessary for all effective peer programs. A homework activity (to prepare a training session with a workshop partner) is assigned.
Mastering experiential training. This day is devoted to the ins and outs of successful experiential training. We go over the experiential training model and pairs of participants lead short sessions demonstrating their understanding of the model, gaining feedback from peers and from the leader. What one pair hears as feedback is expected to be put into practice by the next pair presenting their experiential session. The focus of this day is strengthening your understanding of the concepts or principles of experiential training AND your skill as an experiential trainer. We complete the day with a preliminary look at a peer consultation model which will be used the following day.
Coaching others to achieve results. This day is devoted to learning a peer consultation model which is used to help others with their peer program concerns. The purpose of this day is to help participants learn to act as consultants to others who will be doing peer training, program delivery, dealing with various peer program issues, etc. Seminar participants take turns being consultant and peer and practice the skills and procedures of this specific, concrete model using real issues that exist in their "back-home" settings. We finish the day by debriefing the experience and developing action plans for next steps (using the likely results from the consulting model).

While not required of participants, many participants continue on in the following week to act as training assistants to the Level I course participants. This option must be chosen prior to enrolment. There is an additional fee of $250.00 for this option. All participants receive daily coaching and consultation with the Level I course instructor.

Participants will be eligible to apply for national certification as Peer Helper Trainers (Level I or Level II). This certification system is based on national training standards originally developed by the Peer Counselling Project at the University of Victoria. In most cases participants in this workshop must complete a post-session, self-designed assignment in order to be eligible for Level II Certification. The content and timelines for this assignment are discussed with each participant during the course.

Participants who attend all two days of the workshop will receive a Certificate of Completion. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit is also available through the Canadian Counselling Association.