Accidental Counsellor Workshop - Full day

Full-day in-person workshop

Anyone, at any time, could find themselves in a position of needing to support someone who is in a vulnerable state or crisis. This can be challenging if you don’t have the skills and knowledge you need to respond in a way that is empathetic and empowering for the person in distress, while maintain your personal boundaries to ensure self-care.

Perhaps you are a receptionist working on the frontline, an operator in a call centre, a health professional, an educator or just a concerned citizen. We believe, you can acquire the skills you need to become an Accidental Counsellor.

Accidental Counsellor will equip your team with the skills required to effectively respond to someone in crisis until they can access long-term support.

You will be equipped with the knowledge to:

• Recognise
• Respond
• Refer
• Reflect

This one-day workshop will help you to:

• Recognise what is an Accidental Counsellor and situations where accidental counsellor skills are required
• How to create a connection through empathy to create open communication
• Use effective listening and communication skills to identify the primary issue of concern requiring a response
• Respond appropriately within the boundaries of roles and responsibilities and determine the appropriate level of involvement
• Evaluate individual responses and reactions to situations and reflect on personal impacts
• Identify relevant organisational policies and procedures including the reporting and documentation of incident
• Identify indicators of where stressful situations have impacted and understand the importance of self-care strategies, supervision, and debriefing
• Respond to disclosed safety concerns and appropriate referral pathways

By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

• Identify situations where accidental counsellor skills are required and assess the appropriate response
• Examine effective communication skills to help identify the primary issue of concern requiring a response
• Review how to respond appropriately within the boundaries of roles and responsibilities
• Distinguish the appropriate level of involvement for an Accidental Counsellor
• Evaluate individual responses and reactions to situations and reflect on personal impacts
• Identify relevant organisational policies and procedures including the reporting and documentation of incident
• Analyse indicators of where stressful situations have impacted an individual's wellbeing
• Discover the importance of self-care strategies, supervision, and debriefing