FDS 2023 Annual Report

35 Feedback from attendees at volunteer Training… o Thank you for keeping it real. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of FDS and to grow within the framework I resonate with. o Well organised and challenging when reflecting on self but this good experience for personal growth. Thank you o I really enjoyed these last two days. Thank you for taking the time to get out here and allowing this training session to happen. It was invaluable. Something I will remember for a long time o Such an enjoyable and informative weekend - learnt so much about myself and how best to support families o Tony and James are both amazing and level of training is very high. I enjoyed it all, and information during the training is very useful. FDS Volunteer Training – Facilitator… Support Group Facilitator Training is run by Tony and is a full day workshop for volunteers and FDS staff, generally these people have already been through the Volunteer Training for the Telephone Support Line. FDS provides this additional training to volunteers who are interested in being involved in the delivery of our face to face and online support meetings. This training includes modules on:  Other models of family support  The FDS model of family support  The roles of Facilitators, Co-Facilitators and helpers  Problematic group members  Language, Labels and Unhelpful concepts  Themes that occur in groups  Group rules and things not to do  Stages of Change for Families and Substance users  Communication strategies and negotiation skills  Self-disclosure and discussion points A comprehensive manual is provided to potential facilitators with guidance on how to promote and advertise new groups, and the reporting requirements for recording attendee numbers and previous attendance. Trainees are then stepped through a process of attending a group with an experienced facilitator as an observer, then potentially as a helper, co-facilitator or facilitator. All volunteer group facilitators have scheduled debriefing with FDS staff every month to discuss the group or groups they have facilitated, or at any other time if a difficult/challenging situation has arisen. This provides an opportunity for the volunteer to talk about any issues/challenges they have encountered at the group, any triggers that have arisen for them, and guidance on strategies to handle these. Nationally FDS facilitated Three Support Group Facilitator Training courses in the 2022/23 FY which was attended by 24 volunteers and four staff members.