Mental Emotional Social & Spiritual Health

Support Group Facilitator Training

For teachers, administrators, parents, counsellors, mental health professionals, nurses, youth & family workers, and anyone involved in human services and relationships.

change            learning           connectedness            family           breakdown

relationships          anger management            absenteeism        smoking

drug & alcohol use                   bullying            crisis intervention          hope

grief and loss       resilience       behaviour management         optimism

emotional intelligence

Are these issues of concern in your school, work-place or community?
Are you adequately trained and prepared to support students & parents, employees or clients in dealing with these issues?
Would you like to develop a comprehensive program and skills to address these concerns?
Would you like to make a good school and/or community even better?

The MESH* program is about the heart of who we are as human beings, providing a powerful and profound framework for nurturing ourselves, each other, and our children.

This program is highly congruent with many other programs used in Education and Employment in Australia today, including MindMatters, You Can Do It! Education (inc Program Achieve), Circles, Values, Rainbows, Rock and Water, and Stronger Smarter to name a few. It also addresses core elements of Essential Learnings and key aspects and outcomes of social and emotional health recognised in every state and the National Curriculum.

The primary focus of the internationally acclaimed MESH* Support Group Facilitator Training is people: students, parents, teachers, employees, employers: Communities and their needs. This Kinder – Adult Learners program prepares educators, parents, professionals and other personnel to empower people to deal with the issues listed above in healthy and effective ways.

What others thought of the training…

Some of the most valuable professional development I have ever undertaken. I found it so useful in both my personal and professional life that (staff) committed to come back during their holiday time to engage in this powerful professional learning. MESH is aimed at building stronger relationships, which after all, is the foundation of all good teaching and (I believe) should be a mandatory part of all teacher training. I cannot recommend it more highly nor the outstanding skills of its highly skilled leader. If you do no other P.D. next year, make sure you do this!’

Jenny Vince, Principal, Mt Faulkner Primary School

‘Personally I found the experience enlightening, challenging, most valuable and rewarding. Great experiential training from people who know their stuff. As a school counsellor it is proving a wonderful pro-active tool – very pertinent and it works! The best value for money PD I’ve found in a long while.’

Alan Dear, Student Counsellor, The Hutchins School

‘This is the best P.D. I’ve done in my 35 years of professional learning.’

Urda Herbst, Northholm Grammar School, Sydney

‘What an amazing experience – personally and professionally! This program can make a huge difference in young people’s lives.’

Julie McClimont, Kangan Batman TAFE, Melbourne

This program has given me the tools to move on with my life and help others heal too. A profoundly moving experience—it’s just wonderful’.

Maggie Peart, Counsellor, Mediator & Parent, Launceston

‘It changed my ideas about Youth Work, challenged me to make new changes, and the best part; it gave me the confidence to begin making those changes.’

Shane Stamos, Youth Worker, Moonee Valley City Council Youth Team

‘What can I say? At 45 years of age, this workshop has changed my life. It’s given me the confidence and power to step out of the comfort zone and take the next step. Connecting to youth and their problems is much easier now, especially in dealing with (issues like) drugs and alcohol, family breakdowns, crisis interventions and grief and loss.’

Debbie Groves, School Attendant, Perth Primary School & Founder of the Perth Youth Skate Park

‘If you hadn’t been, you would never believe how powerful the depth… could be. An overwhelming experience never to be forgotten.’

Roxanne Saunders, Assistant Principal, Montello Primary School

‘This is the best training I’ve ever been to, and I’ve attended heaps. It’s the most effective way I’ve found to access senior students ‘where they’re at’. I’ve been searching for this for a long time, and it’s exactly what I’m looking for. Thank you!’

Jan Adams, Chaplain & Pastoral Care Leader, Upper Yarra Secondary College

This is an amazing, worthwhile and enjoyable experience – I’m keen to attend a third time and the positive MESH feedback and experiences my students have had are fantastic – they are asking to come back too! A P.D. everyone should do.’

Andrea Harding, Learning Support Teacher, Penguin High School

Purpose of the Workshop

This very intensive 3-day workshop is highly experiential and will teach participants all the skills necessary to set up and facilitate a comprehensive Support Group Program.

The three days cover:

  • enabling, codependency and intervention
  • communication skills,
  • dependency & addiction issues,
  • the importance of support groups,
  • grief and loss: the healing process,
  • child abuse, shame and neglect,
  • the basic components of successful programs
  • working with children from dysfunctional homes,
  • intervention, treatment and recovery,
  • suicide & other high risk behaviours and provide participants with skills to facilitate support groups.

These groups empower individuals to:

  • deal with their situations, thoughts and concerns in a safe environment,
  • develop healthy communication skills,
  • identify and express feelings appropriately
  • learn to treat themselves and others with respect and dignity
  • learn that we are responsible for our own lives and based on our choices, have the power to change.

The MESH Program addresses and supports individuals’ emotional needs, health and well being. Life, school and work therefore becomes a far more positive and productive experience.

Purpose of the Program

…is to provide a comprehensive primary prevention and early intervention program for people of all ages, Kinder – Adult. The program includes a systematic effort to educate, identify, assess, refer and support individuals to optimise educational outcomes, psycho-social protective factors, health, well-being and life development.

Nairn has worked across a broad range of Industries