Teenagers are vulnerable to higher rates of anxiety, depression and poor self-esteem. With this practical CBT programme you can equip young people with the right skills to cope positively and to overcome mental health problems.

The Working Things Out Programme can be delivered to teenagers both as:

• A preventative youth mental health programme to promote positive coping 
• An intervention for young people with identified mental health problems such as anxiety, depression or self-harm.

It is flexible and can be delivered over 6-12 weeks to small groups of adolescents or with individuals.

By training as a facilitator of this programme, you will learn how to support young people to:

• Learn practical cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) strategies
• CBT coping skills
• Deal with anger and conflict
• Understand the key to solving problems
• Develop helpful thinking strategies
• Behavioral therapy strategies
• Manage feeling down
• Improve relationships with friends and family
• Reduce stress

“We had a waiting list of more than six months for young people waiting for counselling. We had numerous anxious parents looking for support.

Since running the Working Things Out Programme and Adolescent Programme we have supported numerous families through the challenges faced in adolescents.”

Niamh Kelly, Adolescent Health Project

The Working Things Out facilitator training is practical and solution-focused and will provide you with the essential skills and learning to achieve the best outcomes for the adolescents who attend your service. The training focuses on:

• Developing an in-depth understanding of this programme
• Delivering the programme via face-to-face and online sessions to groups and individual young people
• Providing opportunities to observe and practise the skills to become a solution-focused facilitator
• Building on parents strengths as a basis for ongoing change
• Strengthening inter-agency and community partnerships

Facilitator Training
Our next facilitator training for the Working Things Out programme starts on 9th April 2024 and consists of three online workshops, delivered via Zoom. Participants are also invited to complete a short assignment between workshops.

A summary of the training schedule is provided below and a more detailed breakdown can be accessed here:

Parents Plus offer a small number of part-sponsored places on the training when accessing finance is difficult.  

The Parents Plus facilitator trainings are open to qualified education, mental health and community professionals who work with families.

Our programmes are successfully delivered with impressive outcomes in a variety of Primary Care, School, Health, Disability and Mental Health settings.

• Attendance at our facilitator training for this programme is compulsory prior to delivering it to families attending your service.
• Parents Plus programmes must be co-facilitated, therefore, at least two facilitators need to be trained before a programme can be delivered to families in your agency. Facilitators who go on to complete our accreditation process are licensed to run the programme without a co-facilitator.

Please read our licensing guidelines here. 
prior to booking a place on our training.

Studies in secondary schools and mental health settings have shown that young people who complete the Working Things Out programme report:

• Improved coping skills
• Reduced behaviour and emotional problems
• Improved family communication 
• Significant gains on personal goals

You can learn more about the impact of this programme, and all our other programmes here.

Research shows that families achieve the best outcomes when facilitators and their managers are supported pre and post-training to deliver programmes. We provide a comprehensive package of pre and post-training supports to our facilitators and managers in order to ensure a sustainable and effective delivery of the programmes within their agency. 

Our supports include:

• Implementation support to get groups off the ground, including planning workshops and coaching for managers.
• Individual and group supervision sessions with an experienced Parents Plus Trainer.
• Advanced training workshops on specific topics.
• Extra resources to facilitate delivery, e.g. fliers, posters, certificates, practice articles, parenting articles, supplementary handouts.

• Support to promote your Parents Plus courses in your community.
• Advice and guidance on evaluating and monitoring outcomes in your agency to ensure your groups are effective.
• Access to two individual supervision sessions free of charge in the first year post-training.
• Sponsorship for further supervision is available on application.

You can read more details about our pre- and post-training supports here.

Certification 
On completing the facilitator training for the Working Things Out Programme, you will be licensed to co-deliver this programme under supervision in your agency, to groups and with individuals. You can read our full licensing guidelines here.

Accreditation
For facilitators who want to take their practice to a higher level, Parents Plus also has an established accreditation process which supports you to refine your facilitation skills and professional practice and reach a high standard of delivery. Representing a major CPD achievement, accreditation allows you to deliver our programmes independently and to work towards becoming a Parents Plus supervisor. You can read more about our accreditation process in the resources section.