CONNENCTIONS  Certification 

Detail on connections 

​TRAINING DATES 

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CONNECTIONS Certification Process

1: Confirm Your eligibility 
Please read carefully

Connections For a Life Worth Living is for use by trained helpers in suicide prevention. It teaches awareness of positive mental health as a protective factor against suicide, as well as a 4-way model of steps which suicide-aware helpers can take to help someone at risk of dying by suicide. Finally, Connections highlights the importance of self-care in the process of helping others.

Certification is currently offered to individuals with the following qualifications
  • Experience of working in a relevant setting: pastoral care, social care, or education, either in a paid or voluntary capacity    OR  
  • Qualified counsellors, or those working towards counselling qualifications; OR
  • ASIST-trained or equivalent.

You also must be:
  • Governed by a professional body with a disciplinary board and a code of ethics. (eg. BACP, NISCC, PHA Quality Standards for Services Promoting Mental and Emotional Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention.)
  •  Carrying professional liability insurance or indemnity insurance.
  • Facilitating psychoeducational work must fall under the scope of work you are trained /licensed/certified to do by your profession’s governing body (please see below).
 
 
SCOPE OF WORK
Connections For a Life Worth Living is a curriculum that should be used in conjunction with existing skills and integrated into Candidates’ and Teachers’ existing practices. Certified Connections Teachers and Candidates are only permitted to practice within their existing scope of practice as dictated by their licensure, training or certification. Certification does not provide you with the skills to start a new line of work
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I understand that:
  • If a person is not trained/experienced in group work, then s/he should not be facilitating groups.
  • If a person is not trained in suicide intervention (minimum requirement ASIST), then s/he should not be facilitating groups with clients where these skills are necessary.
2: Submit Application 
Once you have confirmed your eligibility, you will need to complete an application. This process consists of:
  • Providing personal and professional information (N.B. Fresh Minds Education is GDPR compliant.)
  • Uploading an electronic copy of your current professional license/ certificate (must show expiration date) and professional liability/indemnity insurance (must show expiration date). NOTE: if official documents are not available in English, please provide a copy of the original and an English translation. 
3: receive acceptance email  
Please allow up to 3 weeks for Fresh Minds Education to review your application. Once your application has been fully reviewed, you will be notified by email:
  1. If your application has been accepted, you will receive information on how to register for training. OR
  2. If additional information is needed to process your application. OR
  3. To give you feedback on the reason(s) why your application was not accepted this time.
4: REGISTER FOR CERTIFICATION TRAINING   
Once your application has been accepted, details on how to pay for and confirm your place on the training event (L2T) will be provided in the acceptance email.
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REGISTRATION COST:
The cost of registration covers:
·      Pre-work
·      In-person training
·      Connections Trainer Manual
·      Connections Trainer Resources Starter Pack
 
Note: It is suggested at this stage that if you have not already done so, you should prepare for the in-person training event by doing some background reading. We recommend that you research statistics and scholarly articles relevant to suicide in N. Ireland specifically; but also read more widely to include other communities’ and cultures’ experience of suicide. 

5: Attend A Three Day In-Person Training 
While attending the 3-day in-person Learn To Teach (L2T), you will experience the Connections course, practice facilitation, and have time to get to know the course materials and your licence requirements.
 
Schedules will be provided including lunchtimes and other breaks in advance of the training. Lunch and refreshments will be provided each day throughout the training.
 
Registration begins at 9:30 am, and we aim to finish no later than 4:00pm each day.
 
Following the in-person L2T, you will be asked to complete a training evaluation which will be sent by email. Your feedback will contribute dynamically to our Connections L2T delivery.
 
  • While the topic of mental wellbeing and suicide in our community is a serious matter, we believe from the feedback that we have received since our first L2T event that our in-person training is a very positive and enjoyable experience. We hope that this is also your experience.

6: Practical certification Process
Once you have completed your 3-day L2T successfully, you will move on to the practical part of the certification process. It is strongly recommended that you avail of our Mentoring Package to assist you with the practical part of the certification process – please see below for further details.
Trainee Candidates:

  • Will experience one Connections session as observers, while on their L2T event.
  •  Are then required to complete the practical part of the certification process within 6 months of their L2T. In certain circumstances, an extension of this 6-month period may be agreed with your Training Mentor upon application.
  • Are required to undergo a direct observation by a mentor, who is authorized to certify the candidate to deliver Connections programmes. 
  • If the mentor believes that the certification candidate is not yet ready for certification, the mentor will give the candidate written feedback and agree a plan with him/her.
  • The candidate will then undergo a second direct observation with the mentor, where the candidate will either;
              a.     Be certified to deliver the Connections Programmes or:
              b.     Be advised and given written feedback as to why they are                              not ready to deliver the programmes. The candidate will                                also be advised that if they still wish to become a Certified                            Trainer, they must repeat the process (L2T) from Step 1                                  again.  
              c.      Unsuccessful candidates will be advised that they have the                         right to appeal the decision to the Director of Fresh Minds                             Education in writing. The Director of FME will provide a final                         response to the appeal.
 
Mentoring Packages:

During the practical part of the process of working towards certification, a Training Mentor will be available for support through a planned support package, which will be tailored to your individual needs and experience. Please contact the office directly by email or phone to discuss your individual needs, and to receive costs.

7: Certification 
Congratulations!
You have undertaken the theoretical and practical steps of the Connections For A Life Worth Living training, you have been certificated to teach and will now receive your Connections training certificate. Hereafter you must:
 
  • Maintain high standards of ethical practice
  • Demonstrate mastery of Connections core beliefs and concepts.
  • Continue to refresh and update your knowledge of the issues around mental wellbeing and suicide.
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8: Stay Connected
You can order training resources from Fresh Minds Education giving up to 4 weeks in advance of need, although Fresh Minds Education do carry some stock at all times.
Resources should be ordered through jill@freshlittleminds. Jill will be able to advise of costs.
Spread the Connections message, stay Connected – we’re on Facebook - and don’t forget to self-care!
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