In-house training

First Person Plural can provide in-house training and awareness raising activities for your organisation, group or event.  We can offer a range of workshops, seminars, papers, presentations, talks and displays on dissociation and it's effects on the lives of adult survivors of abuse and trauma in childhood; and on working with and supporting people who have dissociative identity (multiple personality) and other complex dissociative conditions.

Our experienced volunteer trainers are survivors with lived experience of complex dissociative distress who use their own and other survivors’ experiences to introduce, illustrate and bring to life theoretical and professional understanding of dissociation and related issues.

In-house training in specialist clinical skills for working with dissociation is not offered by FPP trainers but we will try to connect you with qualified and experienced individuals and organisations who may be able to offer such training

What participants say about our training

"A very good introduction to DID"; "Real knowledge, not just theory! A rare insight into lived experience delivered with honesty and openness"; "Excellent facilitators"; "Inspirational"; One of the most interesting and informative training sessions I have ever attended"; Presented a complex subject in an understandable jargon-free way"; "An excellent training experience which will help me in my work with clients"; "A well planned day which usefully blended survivor experience with theoretical knowledge and practical ideas to support clients"

Who is our training for?

Our training is designed to flexibly meet the needs of those whose patients, clients, service users or friends/family include survivors of abuse or trauma who may have a complex dissociative condition. 

We train paid and volunteer workers in the statutory, voluntary or independent sectors; in health, mental health, self-help & mutual support, social care, community resource, help-line, or faith settings and students training for any of these. Examples are:-

Community mental health teams; mental health nurses
Nurses, Midwives, Health Visitors, Dentists & dental assistants
Social Workers, Social Support Workers, STR workers
GPs, other primary care workers, Psychiatrists & other doctors
Refuge, crisis, day care, employment project workers
Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Counsellors
Help-line workers, Listening support workers, Self-help group facilitators
Allied health workers e.g. occupational and physio-therapists
Survivors, service users
Family, friends, carers, advocates

One day training workshops are part presentations using personal experience & audio visual tools, and part participatory.  Group exercises are used to encourage discussion and may include role play.  Time for questions is scheduled.  Our one day workshops aim to provide a good basic understanding of dissociation, its effects and the support needs of survivors.  Workshops can be offered to groups of between 5 and 30 people. See sample programmes by clicking links above.

Awareness-raising talks & seminars of varying lengths are offered for groups of service users, survivors, family members, friends, carers, professionals, volunteers, support workers, sexual abuse / domestic violence forums, schools, colleges and other groups of young people (15-19) or any community / interest group wishing to learn about dissociation.  Groups can be of any size.  We offer short talks or longer seminars which may include some participatory activities.  Opportunities for questions and discussion are included.

Conference papers, presentations and workshops.  Our trainers can bring their expertise and experience to your own conferences etc by invitation or peer-reviewed submission.  We are particularly pleased to collaborate to provide survivors’ perspectives to complement professionals' presentations.

Displays & information stands introducing dissociation can be provided for your own training courses, conferences and similar events.

What does the training cover?

We can be flexible to meet your training needs.  Training may include such topics as:-

Defining dissociation & the role of dissociation in surviving abuse and trauma
Types of dissociative experience and their effects on survivor’s lives
The spectrum of dissociative disorders with a focus on dissociative identity (multiple personality) disorder
Self-help and coping skills
Ways of supporting dissociative survivors
Introduction to some theories of dissociation (illustrated from survivors perspectives)
Myths and controversies about dissociative distress and related issues
Prevalence of complex dissociative conditions and other research results
Problems of non-recognition of complex dissociative conditions and inappropriate treatments
Introduction to specialist dissociation assessment tools and other useful resources<
Looking after yourself as helper / supporter

What about costs?

Our fees vary according to the nature of the session.  We generally charge statutory, further/higher education and large voluntary sector organisations standard professional training rates.  This lets us offer lower cost training to smaller or unfunded groups.  Organisational members of The Survivors Trust will usually be offered a 10% discount.  We are committed to providing education about dissociation as widely as possible and are happy to negotiate manageable fees.  For instance, we can reduce our fees if you are able to do necessary photocopying of delegate packs.  However, we usually ask that, at a minimum, our trainers' travel, accommodation and subsistence costs are covered.

To find out more
If you would like more information about our training, or to discuss your training needs, please contact:

FPP, PO Box 2537, Wolverhampton, WV4 4ZL
fpp@firstpersonplural.org.uk