Help the Helper Programmes
Counselling Training
We currently run a counselling training programme which is an approved training of the Australian Counselling Association. There are a variety of courses which run as part of this programme including courses such as Grief and Crisis Counselling, Helping People with Psychopathology (mental illness), and Counselling Skills.
Students who participate in the programme often are natural helpers from voluntary organizations, religious groups or those who are interested in bettering their helping skills. The majority have no plans in a career in the social services but feel that the skills they learn will be beneficial to their helping others within their network. The students enrolled in the programme currently range from a Hospital manager, TV producer, social workers, civil servants to housewives.
The programme fees is kept low to benefit a variety of helpers who may not receive sponsorship for their studies.
For more details, click on the following links:
- Counselling Training Programme (brochures and application forms)
- Current running modules
- Upcoming modules
Befriending Training
The network wants to help others network better, and sometimes this means understanding people who are viewed "differently".
One such group is the hearing impaired who cannot communicate through conventional verbal means. The centre is running an ongoing programme to help the hearing to learn basic sign language so that they can communicate with the hearing impaired. The instructor for the programme is a hearing impaired person which makes the class all the more exciting as students learn first hand how to interact with someone who is hearing impaired. For some this is a huge step to go beyond their comfort zone to reach another.
A second group consists of those who are struggling with gender and sexual identity issues. These individuals are often misunderstood. Thus we ran for a whole year a programme that helps better understand the needs of this population and how to effectively befriend such individuals. Plans are underway to run this program again later this year.
A third group that are often viewed differently are those with mental health issues. This group is often stigmatised and alienated. Often they lose touch with friends who are unable to accept their ackward behavior. The centre will be running in July 2007 a programme called Mental Health First Aid. This programme which is an internationally recognised programme developed in Australia helps individuals become better equipped to identify those in various stages of mental health crisis and support them until they are professionally treated.