Connect Deeply and Enhance Therapeutic Alliance
As empathetic professionals serving clients with chronic illnesses, you may have your share of uncertainties and doubts.
Your clients crave understanding, yet you find yourself at times feeling hesitant and scared you’ll say or do the wrong thing. Perhaps the fear of misunderstanding or underestimating the wide ranging impacts of persistent conditions is holding you back from diving into this work wholeheartedly.
Your Future Clients Will Thank You
The fact you're reading this now indicates your desire to gain a deeper understanding of what it’s like to be chronically ill in a world where inaccessibility is a daily experience.
Building Chronic Condition Competency enables you to create genuine connections with clients whilst fostering trust and creating space for each person to feel seen, heard, and valued.
As a colleague, I see your desire to
- listen to voices of lived experience
- dismantle barriers to compassionate care and
- hold hope for clients when they are feeling hopeless
Guided by lived experience and community
This training is unique because it has been designed by someone with current lived experience of chronic illness. This is not a “lesson learned before I recovered” training. My lived experience of multiple, complex incurable chronic illnesses is ongoing.
Hi, I’m Melanie Foulkes an online counsellor and disability advocate based in Far North Queensland.
The fuel that feeds my energy-impaired body and mind is the desire to take the grit of suffering and harvest the resulting pearls of wisdom to empower professionals to do better for their clients.
While preparing this training, I asked my community what they wanted allied health professionals to know about life with persistent illness; the things they wish they could say to professionals. I have endeavoured to capture the most frequently repeated concerns to share with you.
Please note:
This training is NOT suitable for those who are unwilling to engage deeply with the experience of chronic illness or are seeking quick fixes. To become an ally it is essential that you are committed to continuously learning, evidence-based therapies and reflective practice.
This transformative training is designed for
- Practitioners who are seeking to integrate their lived experiences into their therapeutic work.
- Allied health professionals and students working with chronically ill clients, including psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, psychosocial recovery coaches, counsellors, therapists, and mental health nurses.
Self-paced online webinar series includes
- Resources to help you support your clients better
- Tangible steps and actionable strategies
- A comprehensive understanding of accessibility
- Guidance on what to say and what not to say to your chronically ill clients
- Increased knowledge and insight into the chronic illness experience
- Things your chronically ill clients are too afraid to tell you to your face
Course curriculum
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1Introduction
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2Explore Lived Experience and Research
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3Support Grieving
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4Validate Medical Trauma
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5Provide Accessibility
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6Listen First
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7Conclusion
FAQs
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Due to my own energy limitations, I have pre-recorded the webinar in several sections so that you can complete the course at your own pace.
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You will have 2 years of access to the content including any updates to the materials.
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The webinar will include a short assessment and certificate. It is your responsibility to check with your professional member organisation guidelines to ensure this training meets your needs before purchasing.
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Yes. There is a comment section below the videos in each module where you are welcome to add your questions. I will respond to you as soon as I am able.
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I estimate that the course will take you approximately 90 minutes to watch all the videos and complete the assessments.
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To ensure people are committed to action, we will only be welcoming individuals who have completed this webinar into the Professionals Community. More details to come.