Become a Clinician Facilitator with Sharing Kindness
We’re holding training for individuals interested in becoming clinician facilitators for our peer grief support groups. You are needed to provide compassionate support to families and individuals grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. We are looking for Master’s-level and licensed clinicians willing to companion children and adults through their unique grief journeys.
View our updated list of peer grief support programs.
Job description
Following completion of Sharing Kindness Peer Support Group Training, clinicians will:
- Understand and implement Sharing Kindness’s model of peer support
- Commit to facilitating a monthly peer support group (or bi-monthly for family groups) for at least one year
- Agree to lead Sharing Kindness groups in the following:
1. Pre-group meeting to plan and share themes and activities for the evening
2. 1.5-hour peer group support with children, teens, or adults
3. Post-group debrief meeting - Maintain safety for all participants and volunteers
- Supervise volunteers
Expectations
- Master’s level clinicians supervise volunteers. Supervision topics often include:
1. How volunteers are impacted by working with bereaved families
2. How personal grief reactions may be activated
3. Current research on grief and loss
4. Challenging group interactions
5. Conflicts with other facilitators - Respect the confidentiality of all participants except in cases of suicidal or homicidal
ideation, child abuse as defined by state statute, and chemical dependency on the part
of any group participant. If identified by volunteers, these concerns will be reported to
the clinician BEFORE the post-group debrief to ensure the family’s safety - Address safety concerns with Lead Clinician, or the Executive Director
- Respond to any questions from parents/caregivers
- Ensure the safety of participants at all times
FAQs
Why is it important?
Sharing Kindness wouldn’t exist without clinicians. Your caring presence and willingness to be with children, teens and families is the cornerstone of the grief support we offer.
What is a clinician facilitator?
A clinician facilitator is a contract employee (1099) affiliated with Sharing Kindness, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. The clinician leads monthly evidence-based peer grief support groups (or bi-monthly for family groups) with our volunteer co-facilitators. Sharing Kindness provides these services free of charge to our Cape & Islands community.
Why do I need to be trained?
Clinicians are required to attend our three-day training to enable them to follow our peer grief support model. The training helps participants gain a clear understanding of our philosophy, principles and approach to peer grief support. Through learning and practicing the essential skills of awareness, reflection and facilitating play, facilitators are better able to understand their roles and explore the dynamics of child, teen and adult grief.
What are the benefits of becoming a clinician facilitator?
This position offers a rare opportunity: to make a difference in the lives of people who are grieving. Together with our staff and trained volunteers, you can play a role in helping participants on their grief journey, through forming connections and fostering resiliency.
Time commitment/reimbursement
Clinicians and volunteers are assigned to a group that meets every other week on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings. We ask clinician facilitators to make a one-year commitment of three hours (5-8 PM) every other week, including a pre-group check-in and post-group debriefing. The new groups run from January to June 2023, and then on an academic schedule from September-June. Currently, our support groups take place in various locations throughout the Cape.
Training details
All clinicians and volunteer co-facilitators must complete a two-day training on our peer grief support methods. Our training is intentionally designed to honor the sensitive and powerful nature of grief balanced with the needs of our volunteers and clinicians. Due to this, our training has size limitations to ensure that participants receive adequate support throughout the process.
**We may receive more applications than spots available for the training. Please note that applying does not guarantee entry into training. Also, completion of training does not guarantee assignment to a group.
Upcoming training:
No trainings are scheduled at this time.
Things to consider
Please consider the following before you decide to join our clinician facilitator team:
- If you have experienced the death of a significant person in your life within the last year, we ask you to discuss this with us before applying. The required training can be an intense experience for those who are newly bereaved.
- After the training, you will need to complete a Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) form.
- Are you able to make a long-term commitment?
- What evenings are you available?
- What age group would you prefer?
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