Training

There is a sense of joy I find after each workshop ends, knowing that I have opened myself up more fully to my own experience and to other parents’ experiences. The workshops remind me that I am not alone and that despite ethnic, cultural or age differences, as parents we are all striving to help our children live their best lives possible. The workshops remind me to move from fear to hope and to live and treasure this time we share together, not getting lost in past regrets or future anxieties. This provides a purpose for my life.

– Lee Steel

Facilitation Training

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If your agency would like to offer an ACT for Caregivers workshop, all caregivers and clinicians on the facilitation team must complete two stages of the training process:

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Attend a Workshop: All facilitators experience the workshop themselves (12 to 15 hours).

Clinicians complete a designated Clinician Workshop with other clinicians across Canada.

Caregivers typically complete an ACT for Caregiver workshop through your agency, after which you can invite them to apply for Level 2 training. If your agency is not yet running workshops, you can send caregivers to a workshop offered by CAMH.

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Facilitation Training: Next, all facilitators must attend a 12-15 hour Facilitation Training course spread over 8 to 12 weeks. Both caregivers and clinicians come together for this training. The sessions typically alternate between information sessions and opportunities to practice facilitating the exercises.

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Certificates of Completion are offered to facilitators who attend a minimum number of sessions in their training series. Facilitators who take the Facilitation Training receive an ACT Training Manual and full access to the Resource Portal.

Each workshop requires at least 2, and up to 4, facilitators. Every team requires at least one caregiver and at least one clinician. Learn more about how to build and sustain a team here

Upcoming Training Sessions

The ACT Manual

Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) for Family Caregivers of People with Developmental Disabilities is a Manual that guides trained facilitators through the ACT for Caregivers workshop program. The Manual is not meant to be a standalone training tool; it is meant to be used in conjunction with Attending a Workshop and completing our Facilitator Training.

The Manual presents activities that promote the well-being of caregivers by increasing their psychological flexibility through mindfulness, acceptance and values-based processes consistent with the ACT model. With its emphasis on an experiential approach to learning ACT, the manual presents group-based exercises for both in-person and virtual training.

A physical copy of the Manual is provided to everyone who registers for the Facilitation Training (Level 2). Facilitators can also download a free PDF version upon completion of their training.