How to build your own peer support group - NOW IN AN ONLINE VARIANT (in English)
Attention: this training is provided in English, but with the possibility of having a subgroup in Dutch if some participants have trouble with understanding English.
During this series of online workshops, we will explore communication, group facilitation, support groups, therapeutic relationships and other topics relevant to creating growth-promoting conditions in groups and one-on-one settings.
We will investigate how communicating authentically and vulnerably can deepen relationships and help create facilitative environments through acceptance, understanding, congruence and compassion. Furthermore, we will go into the challenges and opportunities of providing help online during these strange times of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
During this workshop, we'll tune into the unique needs of the group and focus on the topics and questions that naturally arise from the specific group constellation. Our approach is person-centred bottom-up, which means that we will take the role of facilitative participants to dynamically co-create the workshop all together. Your input is as valuable as ours, it could consist of asking specific questions, sharing relevant experiences, simply being present in silent attention or expressing thoughts, feelings and emotions that naturally arise during meetings.
Some examples of questions we could explore:
- How to create a facilitative environment for growth, acceptance and understanding?
- How to cultivate an attitude of unconditional acceptance and compassionate understanding in yourself? And how to extend that to others?
- How to allow yourself to be vulnerable and relate authentically to others in groups or individually?
- How to handle personally challenging emotions arising in yourself or others?
- Why do we personally try to refrain from giving unsolicited advice and what do we try to do instead?
We will organize multiple sessions which build on each other over the next couple of months. What we will explore during these session will be dependent on which direction we deem most valuable as a group and based on your needs, desires and questions.
Practicalities
- Date and time for workshop sessions will be determined using a date planner.
- Each workshop will take approximately 2 to 2.5 hrs including a 15 min break.
If you’re more interested in taking part in an online support group, you can join our Facebook group where we post times and dates for our facilitated support groups. >>> Proceed to the Facebook group here.
When do the trainings take place?
In the evening of a workday. A training consist of three (or more, in agreement with the participants) sessions at a time point that will be collectively decided on with all participants. After you subscribe below, you will be contacted to schedule the groups together with the other participants. You can subscribe at any time. You will be added to a new group.
Meet the trainers
For the last 2 1/2 years, Cas Hebbink (above), Mia Szymanski (second picture) and Gergö Stich (last picture) have been organizing a peer support group alongside their psychology studies. Influenced by ideas of humanistic psychology and through their personal experience, they have developed a concept of how to relate authentically to others in a safe space.
Do you want to sign up?
Do you want to sign up? Great! Please fill in the form below and you will receive a confirmation. Do you have a question about the training? Feel free to ask via the form. Cas, the trainer, is happy to reply you. Hope to see you soon!
This training has been made possible thanks to a grant by Social Run (www.socialrun.nl) #Meedoeniswinnen