New Facilitator Distance Training Program
SMART Recovery® (Self Management And Recovery Training) is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of its new Distance Training Program platform on September 1, 2011.
“While our Distance Training Program has continuously received high marks from our training participants, we knew we weren’t able to keep up with the increased demand for the training. We were in a situation where individuals expressing a desire to train to start a SMART Recovery meeting were being told they had to wait up to three months before being able to attend a training session”, said Jim Braastad, Volunteer Distance Training Program Coordinator. “It’s a great problem to have, but we quickly realized something had to be done to meet the increasing demand.”
Jim and other volunteer Distance Training Team members began exploring various options, with the goal to increase both the availability and the flexibility of the program for training participants.
September will debut the new “Get SMART FAST” (Facilitator and Support Team) Distance Training Program utilizing the online Moodle training platform. The use of this new format will allow for training sessions to take place monthly, instead of bimonthly, as in the past. Training participants will view all reading materials, DVDs, PowerPoint presentations, and other training materials online. Upon completion of the “study” portion of the training program, participants will attend two real-time meetings, via the SMART Recovery Online (SROL) Message Board Chat System. The first meeting is a role-play of a SMART Recovery meeting, where trainees take on the various roles of individuals and participants of a SMART Recovery meeting. The final meeting, consisting of a presentation and Q & A session with SMART Recovery President Dr. Tom Horvath, wraps up and completes the training session.
“We believe this new training platform will meet the increasing demand for the training of our online and face-to-face Meeting Facilitators, online Message Board and Chat Volunteers well into the future”, said Dr. Horvath. “A number of volunteers participated in a ‘test-run’ of the new training platform, and we are right on track to officially launch this new format in September.”
Member feedback:
“I just now had a chance to take a peek and I am blown away! It is excellent! The format is very approachable and well organized … I was immediately drawn in and engaged. I am envious of the opportunity your future students have with this new format…”
“Things look really good for the new “Get SMART Fast” program. You and others have done a great job on this and I wanted to show my appreciation, since creating training materials is part of my business…”
Interested in becoming a SMART Recovery Meeting Facilitator or assisting with any of our online activities? Please visit our website for additional information.
