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How to use the manual
This training manual enables you, the trainer, to conduct a three-day workshop. The manual can be used when you are working with, supervising or training a group of helpers. It is also meant for use in settings where you train trainers( Training of Trainers, ToT).
Whenever we refer to the trainer in our text, we refer to the person who is conducting the workshop / training, regardless of whether the participants are active helpers themselves or trainers who will train others afterwards.
The manual sets out preparation and background information for the trainer( the person conducting the training) on the left hand page, and information to be shared with the group on the right hand page. The manual can also be used as a resource by practitioners who are in direct contact with survivors, independently of any training setting. Each step is described, with instructions. We hope that helpers and participants( and practitioners) can learn skills that may assist them to establish a sound and confident basis for their work with survivors. Through practising the exercises, listening to the story, and exploring approaches to trauma and reactions to the traumas experienced, helpers and participants will develop skills that may be useful in their work with survivors.
Who can conduct the training?
Those who conduct the training need to know the manual well and study the sections in Part I as well as the information provided in Part III. Part III provides additional reference material that may be useful during the training, or for more in-depth reading.
The Trainer should also know the group or at least the context in which the training takes place, and should understand or be in command of the local language, culture and traditions.
If possible, professional health personnel should be available for consultation during or after the training, to respond to difficult questions or situations that may arise.
It is important to bear in mind that the training may create distress or anxiety among participants who experience on a daily basis the grim nature of the problem it discusses. Some participants may themselves have been exposed to violent acts and may be triggered during the course. If this happens, the Trainer and the group may need to allow time for reflection and support and find ways to deal with special needs.
The structure of the manual
The manual has three parts.
• Part I, titled Points of departure, introduces some of the main ideas, themes and content of the training. It suggests what trainers and helpers( participants) need to know in order to begin the training and is organised in 15 sections.
• Part II is The training, timetabled over three days. It includes exercises and guidance for both the Trainer and participants, and focuses on learning points in relation to trauma, and in particular on how to stabilise survivors of trauma.
• Part III provides elements of theory, which are supported by a list of further reading in Appendix 3.