Family Reconciliation Courses 2011

Peace Bridges’Peaceful Families Program is now receiving early interest applications for our…

Family Reconciliation Training Courses 2011

A Vision for Peace
Peace Bridges is providing an opportunity for 20 local participants who work as counsellors or social workers or community workers or church leaders to cultivate skills in Family conflict counselling, reconciliation and facilitation.

After the training,
Participants will have a further opportunity to join a pool of capable counsellors able to provide support to people in family conflict counselling.

Training Methodology
Training is participant-centred, and our learning builds on the experiences and skills of everyone in the room.

Content is designed to impact all four domains of learning:
~ Attitudes shaped through journaling, personal reflections and discussion.
~ Skills development through regular role plays and coaching.
~ Knowledge increased through relevant resources available
~ Habits formed through review, reinforcement, and application in daily life

Course Outline
(8am- 3pm, Monday through Friday, Phnom Penh)

Unit One: Exploring Healthy Family Relationships June 14-17, 2011
~Introduction to a family reconciliation model/ mapping personal experiences in my family that impact how I see myself and others/ 10 Characteristics of Healthy Families.

Unit Two: Understanding Family Conflict and Violence July 19-22, 2011
~ The difference between Conflict and Violence; Cycles of violence; Exploring personal, family, community and wider systems that support abusive relationships; Problem assessment tools.

Unit Three: Grieving tragic expressions of unmet Needs. August 16-19, 2011
~ 5 stages of grief and building awareness of unmet needs; Understanding trauma and its impact on family life as well as gender stereotypes.

Unit Four: Cultivating Empathy for Self and Others September 6-9, 2011
~ Non Violent Communication: Separating what we observe from what we evaluate; Cultivating awareness of Thoughts and Feelings, Understanding our needs and the needs of others in the family/ Moving away from Demands to Requests / Responding out of empathy for self and others or blame for self and others/ Moving towards Reconciliation: Issues identification, Counselling for transformation, problem management or separation.

Unit Five: Restoring Relationships (when appropriate) October 18-21, 2011
~ Understanding our needs and the needs of others in the family continued/
~Exploring issues that need healing and issues that need problem solving
~Options generation & evaluation; reaching an agreement

Unit Six: Building Community Based Help Structures November 22-25, 2011
~Follow up and changing habits; Network building; Program monitoring and evaluation;
~Collecting Stories of Most Significant Change
~Final review and exam; overall evaluation.
Cost is $400. A limited number of partial scholarships on a sliding scale are available. Please request a scholarship application form from administration if interested.

For more information,
Or To Receive an Application
Contact Peace Bridges
BY PHONE: 023 880 100
BY EMAIL: admin@peacebridges.net

Application Download

Ask for Family reconciliation training application form. Applications are due 1 November 2010.




* Peace Bridges * PO Box 1523 * # 73, Street 608, Toul Kork * Phnom Penh, Cambodia *
* Phone: (023) 880 100 * E-mail: admin@peacebridges.net *
* http://peacebridges.blogspot.com/ *


Additional Information:

Key Selection criteria
- Completed Peace Bridges’ Training for Peace (Part A) or a similar course in basic social work or counselling.
- Support from the participants Supervisor or Director to complete all the training without interruption.
- Evidence of how the training relates to the participants work, and involvements in community and/or the church.
- Good inter-personal skills

Values Based Approach
The foundations for this course are built out of values shared between the Christian faith and other beliefs. Diversity of thought is respected and enriches the learning. Peace Bridges is a Christian faith based organization that seeks to offer services to all the community.

How the Course Was Developed
This course is the result of six years of practical experience in offering family reconciliation work as well as conflict counselling and mediation training in Cambodia. The training builds upon the foundations of Peace Bridges "Training for Peace" and "Conflict Management and Transformation" curriculum.

In 2008 Peace Bridges conducted a literature review called "Understanding Family Violence in Cambodia”. This looked at a selection of world-wide literature on basic understandings of violence in the home and then specifically on Domestic Violence in Cambodia. This literature review supported Peace Bridges to develop a framework for a small case study research. The research, conducted from April to July 2009, explored how participating in the above mentioned Peace Bridges trainings had impacted the ways people experienced and handled conflict in families. Gaps in knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits were identified by this research. So too were strengths in the training to be built into the design of a program focused on equipping people to be involved in family reconciliation.

In 2009 Peace Bridges designed a pilot family reconciliation program. This was delivered from January to June 2010. The Peaceful Families Training Team is currently evaluating this program and reworking the design. We will offer a reworked program from June to November 2011.

The key theoretical assumptions underlying the content of this course include:

Ø Domestic Violence: Peace Bridges understanding consistent with the definition in Cambodian law.

Ø Types of Violence: Along with Johnson (2006) we recognise four types of family violence: Coercive Controlling Violence; Violent resistance; Separation Instigated violence and Situational Couple Violence.

Ø Ten qualities of healthy families:

1. Commitment to each other as a family, and to the well-being of individual members.
2. Fairness among the spouses (equitable sharing, respect and support among spouses).
3. Parenting that nurtures, protects, and guides children.
4. Respect for individual differences and needs.
5. Trust, supported by predictability and stability in family interactions.
6. Flexibility in adapting to both internal and external demands of life.
7. Understanding and open communication between family members.
8. Effective problem-solving strategies, allowing for conflict resolution.
9. Shared life values.
10. Networking with larger social circles (relatives, friends, community, other social systems), thus providing resources for both physical and psycho-social support

Ø Approach to family reconciliation: Family reconciliation is understood to require voluntary participation that respects the needs of all family members.. This includes the need for safety which assumes the absence of domestic violence. In some cases full reconciliation can be achieved, yet in other instances partial reconciliation and managing family problems is more realistic. This is especially true early in a family reconciliation process. There are also instances when reconciliation is not achievable or desired and respectful separation is the only viable alternative.

Ø Understanding of Family: Families in Cambodia usually includes 'extended family members' and the reconciliation process impacts all these members to different levels.

Ø Importance of needs and feelings: Reconciliation must address the needs and feelings of family members if it is to be sustainable. This requires supporting family members to listen to and understand each other more than lecturing them on codes of conduct.

Ø Peaceful Families: Peace Bridges is interested in more than the absence of ‘domestic violence’. The greater concern is the development of healthy families where the needs of all in the family are respected.

The Training Team:
All trainers are Cambodian staff members of Peace Bridges Peaceful Families unit with significant experience in training and family reconciliation. The team were involved in the above mentioned family violence research project and the design of the training. The course is supervised by Peace Bridges Director Sum Chanmony (MA Conflict Transformation Bach Ed) with eight years experience in training design and delivery with Peace Bridges as well as substantial experience in family reconciliation. Barry Higgins (BTh, Grad Dip Family Therapy, and Grad Dip Mediation Practice) advises the program.

The training is fully delivered in Khmer language.

For more details on the Peaceful Families Program, the original Family Reconciliation Pilot and Peace Bridges go to http://peacebridges.blogspot.com/


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