Background manual, training phases and learning materials

This resource collection represents a pedagogical whole. It is carefully built up and tested as a sequence of natural learning: self-directed discovery and then interactive learning in workshops.

It functions best when you use it as intended.

We do realize that not all of you will choose to use the full set of tasks and modules, and that you may wish to use smaller parts or to shorten the training. This will of course influence the outcome: The more effort and time you put into the training, the stronger and deeper and more long-lasting the results will be. Whatever you do, please remember and use the “secret” of why this model inspires such profound changes in health professionals’ work and lives:

  • Always start with a period of self-observation and reflection to enable participants to discover how they communicate and use emotional competence. Then continue with skills-building workshops where interactive reflection in groups plays an important part.
  • Always carry out the training over time (several months) – with an understanding (by the trainer/organizer) of how people learn, and how they choose to change their communication behaviour.

For ease of navigation, the materials are accessible in five main parts:

Part A: Communicating with awareness and emotional competence: The background and the literature showing reasons why the training is needed; the methods used (reflective, experiential); and how to implement the training. Available in one piece only – to encourage readers to get an overview of the systematic and solid work that lies behind the training model, and why we encourage this quality approach to help deal with the personnel crisis in the health systems. Read before you embark on the training.

                There is an extensive and detailed table of contents at the beginning to enable you to navigate within the manual.

Parts B, C, D and E contains materials for running the course process, in four training phases.

For each training phase we will include a brief introduction and clarify which documents are utilized within this phase.