Train the Trainer

An Overview 

Developed by Complex Behaviour Change Australia (CBCA), incorporating Rod Catterall & Associates & Mitch Bayliss & Co. The THRIVE Approach, or THRIVE, is a human rights-based approach to enhancing safety and wellbeing.  Building from the Leading Behaviour Change Roadmap, THRIVE has been conceived with the rights and needs of people with multiple and complex needs and/or complex and concerning behaviour in mind.  THRIVE aims to support the development of practice that seeks to understand and transform concerning behaviour while preserving dignity without restraint.   

Grounded in an understanding of the importance of relationships in effecting positive and therapeutic support, THRIVE provides an integrated system of learning and practice development that supports the custom design and delivery of positive services and supports for people who engage in complex behaviour.  THRIVE aims to create cultures and responses to people that enhance safety and wellbeing and are therapeutic by intent.   

As a conceptual model of practice, THRIVE can be integrated and adapted to the unique culture and values associated with any program, service, organisation or community.  When adapted, THRIVE seeks to build on existing strengths and inspire continuous improvement in the provision of support and care.  In addition to external facilitation for general staff, The THRIVE Approach incorporates a Train the Trainer Model for those organistions wanting to further embed the approach.   

The THRIVE Approach is… 

  • Person Centred and Relationship Focused.  Approaches such as Person Centred Active Support and Positive Behaviour Support are integrated into the THRIVE model.  THRIVE respects human rights and where possible actively seeks to enhance a person’s connection to their family, friends, community, and culture.  THRIVE understands that positive relationships are the greatest resource for providing a sense of safety and security, enhancing wellbeing, and releasing a good life.    
  • Trauma and Attachment Informed.  THRIVE embeds a universal view of trauma by integrating approaches that fostering healing from trauma and development of secure attachment for all.  THRIVE integrates a neurobiological understanding of trauma and a phased approach to guiding intervention and support that respects human rights and addresses the need we all have for safety and wellbeing.     
  • Strength Based and Solution Focused.  THRIVE understands that people are their own experts, everyone has strengths and capabilities, and that they grow and change through these.  While mindful of risk, THRIVE focuses on solutions rather than problems.  THRIVE, with its person centred focus, aims to build on existing strengths to create new opportunities that lead towards a positive future. 
  • Emergent and Adaptive to Change.THRIVE is highly responsive to a changing context and the needs of people within it.  It understands that people exist in a nest of interrelated systems and often the wellbeing of one is interconnected with the wellbeing of all, and that change sometimes can only be achieved by working strategically with the whole system.  

Goals 

The primary goals of The THRIVE Train the Trainer Approach are: 

  • Build healthy workplace relationships between the staff of the organisation to create a culture of safety and wellbeing 
  •  Build healthy relationships & wellbeing between the staff and the service recipients and their families to build upon the culture of safety and create an atmosphere of relational security. 
  •  Increase the safety, security, ability, and resiliency of all people thereby fostering their physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. 

Context  

The THRIVE Approach can be applied across a wide range of service sectors and settings including: Disability Care, Out of Home Care, Schools, Aged Care and Health.  

The essential components of The Thrive Approach include: 

Relational Wellbeing Chapters: the first two are required to be taught prior to teaching any other chapters:   

Chapter 1, Building Better Customer Service Skills includes information on how build healthy communication skills, (verbal and non-verbal) is needed to build healthy relationships and how to de-escalate potentially aggressive situations. 

Chapter 2, Building Healthy Conflict Resolution Skills, combines the concepts of healthy relationships and healthy communication to do more than anger management. By learning to work cooperatively, children and adults can resolve conflicts in ways that meet each other’s needs and improve the relationship.  (Chapters 1,2= 1 Day Training)  

Conceptual Chapters: these provide information in specific areas that increase the emotional, psychological, and physical safety & wellbeing of all people:  

Chapter 3, Trauma-Informed Practice, provides a sub-clinical foundation empowering people to be aware of the neurobiological effects of abuse and neglect, and how to respond in ways that minimize the potential for re-traumatization.  ( 1 Day training)  

Chapter 4, Positive Behaviour Interventions and Support, provides an overview of what positive behaviour interventions and support is and how to implement a strength based approach to behaviour change strategies in non-coercive ways. (Chapters 4,5 = 2 Day Training)  

Chapter 5, Functional Behaviour Assessment Training.  (Chapters 4,5 = 2 Day Training) 

Technical Chapters: these provide specific knowledge & physical skills to provide safety for staff, caregivers and people to whom they provide care.  Note: to accommodate various legal and policy contexts these technical chapters may vary by sector and state.  Further, the physical skills taught in these chapters are based on principles and applied in a way that treats all people with dignity and respect while also avoiding prohibited practices that have a higher risk of harm. The skills are arranged in a graded and gradual hierarchy of interventions (least to most restrictive). Each of the physical skills has an ergonomic assessment that describes how the skills provide safety for the persons performing the skills and the persons on whom the skills are being performed. 

Chapter 6, Liability and Legal Issues, provides a framework to understand the potential legal issues facing paid providers of services when faced with potentially aggressive situations.Incl restrictive practices, human rights. 
 (1 Day Training)  

Chapter 7, Assisting and Supporting, provides the foundation for all the physical skills taught in The Thrive Approach. Included in this chapter are skills to escort people away from danger and towards safety in line with guidelines of each sector.  (Chapters 7,8= 1 Day Training) 

Chapter 8, Managing Occupational Violence & Aggression provides the ethical response to address situations in which service recipients or staff may be grabbed or assaulted by others in the workplace.     
  (Chapters 7,8= 1 Day Training)  

Chapter 9, Medical Risks of Restraint, provides information on the medical risks of physical restraint and how to minimize those risks.     
 (Chapters 9,10 = 1 Day Training)  

Chapter 10, Restraint, teaches how to use and provide restraint with the service recipient in a standing position. The Thrive Approach teaches restraints specifically designed for children, and restraints designed for adolescents and adults. The Thrive Approach does not teach any floor restraints.  Note: Restraints are not included in disability, child welfare or in school programs.   (Chapters 9,10 = 1 Day Training)  

 Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications  – 2 Parts

  • 1st Part – The minimum qualifications are set by the organization’s workplace to work in that industry and undertstanding of the organisations policy & procedures. 
  • 2nd Part – RCA minimum requirements are
    • Evidence of Cert IV in workplace training & Assessment,
    • Evidence of min 5 years full time current industry experience.
    • Evidence of previous training experience min 2 years or equivalent.
    • Must be either a team leader, supervisor , or equivalent and or be able to demonstrates good leadership skills
    • Must be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of positive behaviour support for the current industry
    • Must demonstrate a thorough understanding current industry standards and current legislation.
    • Must be able to demonstrate physical response skills in evasive self defence competantly
    • Must be able to demonstrate good communication skills in dealing with difficult situations, and managing challenging behaviours.
    • Must be able to demonstrate a thorough undersanding of behaviour management strategies for their industry.
    • Must be able to demonstrate best practice in their industry

Education and Training Resources 

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program, and there is training available for this program. 

Training Contact: 

Rod Catterall 
Email info@rodcatterall.com.au  
Phone: (61) 9579 0800 

Training is obtained:   

Training can be provided on-site or regionally. A minimum of 10 or maximum 20 trainers is required to provide the train-the-trainer program. 

Number of days/hours: 

For a general staff member to learn the techniques of The Thrive Approach, depends on the number of chapters being taught. The Thrive Approach has a modular design to provide flexibility to organizations in their implementation of the program. 

Certification 

To certify staff to be instructors, the length of time will depend on the length of the program in which participants wish to be certified. The hours are 9 am to 5 pm with lunch and breaks: 

  • Relational (non-physical) – 1 days (chapters 1,2) 
  • Relational and Conceptual (includes Trauma-Informed Services,
    Positive Behaviour Support and Functional Behaviour Assessment – 4 days (chapters 1,2,3,4,5) 
  •  Relational, Conceptual, and Technical (includes Liability and Legal Issues, Assisting & Supporting and Managing Occupational Violence & Aggression) – 6 days in total (all chapters  1-10)