PROBLEM SOLVING FIRST-AID:

 Learning the Art of Brief Helping Interactions on the Job

Initial Session: September 9, 2011* – 9:00am-3:00pm

Follow-up Sessions:

September 23 & October 7, 2011 -  9:00am-12:00pm

Community Mediation, Inc.

New Haven, CT

In the workplace, many people tend to respond to problems with “quick-fix” solutions and advice that are more often misses rather than hits. Brief helping is a quick and informal support strategy that can be used on the job by peers and supervisors to help deal with everyday issues as well as difficult professional relationships. It offers a goal-directed format and dialogue that combines counseling, consulting and coaching in order to help colleagues move towards a clear and objective sense of their issues as well as their options.

Brief helping is a support process that enables colleagues to assist one another quickly and systematically with everyday work issues and difficult interactions. This helping approach provides a structured format of steps and guidelines, and utilizes procedures from teaching, counseling, and consulting. Colleagues use listening, questioning, and analysis to help co-workers reflect, clarify, prioritize objectives, and plan next steps. Brief helping takes 5 to 20 minutes, requires little planning or scheduling, and can be done during breaks and short intervals in the work day. This approach was developed for educators in elementary and secondary schools. But it is applicable to colleagues in any fast-paced, demanding work situation that involves problem solving and difficult encounters with co-workers and clients.

Participants in this workshop will learn to:

1)     Differentiate systematic brief helping from everyday, quick-fix advice

2)     Use listening skills and helping language to facilitate reflection, objectivity and problem analysis

3)     Put these procedures and steps into action by following the brief helping intervention timeline

Registration:

Registration is $399.99 per person and it includes a full day training session as well as two half-day follow-up sessions and training manual.  A continental breakfast will be served at each session and *lunch will be provided on the first day.

A non-refundable deposit of $50.00 is required to hold your seat. Payment in full must be received on or before the first day of training.

Application is being made to NASW-CT for Continuing Education Credit Hours for Social Workers.

About the trainer:

Stuart Gerber is a Professor Emeritus of Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University who received his master’s in teaching as well as his doctorate in educational psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He holds a psychology license in Connecticut as well as New York and has substantial clinical practice throughout the years. Additionally, he is currently a volunteer mediator and facilitator at Community Mediation, Inc.

During his time at SCSU, he developed a master’s level program to prepare and educate teachers who plan to work with emotionally disturbed students. He also coordinated the Sixth Year program in Education Collaboration and Consultation, which offers preparation for teachers and clinicians to provide support, consultation and collaboration in working with colleagues who teach special needs students. Mr. Gerber has also presented numerous workshops dealing with difficult colleagues, specifically in terms of resistance to change.

Register for this event