STR - Support Time Recovery - Activity 4.5 - Reflective account

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STR / Support Time Recovery Training course

VRQ Level 2 Certificate in Mental Health

Answer to Question 1

Description

I went away for a few days residential training and things did not really go at all to plan.

Feelings

When I went away I was not expecting to learn many new things, but I was looking forward to receiving the training and enjoying a few days away. It turned out to be more like spending a few days in hell! I hated at least 90% of my time there.

Evaluation

Good points:

Its hard to think of any to be honest.

Bad points:

The official trainer, who was a nightmare to deal with. It finished up with me doing more teaching than she did. I also had to correct her on loads of things, as it was obvious that she was teaching things she knew very little about.

Much too long training time, some trainees were service users on medication and the trainer was trying to make us all sit through full days of training.

Spending too much time 'learning' things we did not need to know, the trainer was obviously charging by the hour and out for all she could get.

A lack of support from the organisers did not help. We were told it would be a relaxing few days, take the families as there would be help with childcare (no help was provided at all) and after spending all day training we all had to go off and cook dinner for everybody, not exactly a relaxing break.

Analysis

I think the bad trainer was one of the main problems, it really seemed like she had organised it as a fund raising event for herself. She seemed to have no interest in what the people learnt, purely in spending (and being paid for) as much time there with us as possible.

The problem with the people that 'organised' it is that they are great ideas people, but not always great at making those ideas work. Things are not always their fault, but things do seem to almost always go wrong.

Conclusion

I have been back to the same place, with the same organisers, but not the same trainers. I had to think long and hard before deciding to go and I did not go back for as long, this is due to the bad experience of the first time.

Action Plan

I will not have anything to do with the trainers of the course now and I am also a lot more careful about what I agree to do for the organisers.

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Please note: The contents of the Level 2 Certificate in Mental Health Students workbook are copyrighted, so I have not included any of the questions, purely my answers which are only copyrighted to me! If you have access to the workbook it will make a lot more sense to you. Please do NOT copy my answers and use them as your own, I have just put them here to give you ideas for any parts you may be stuck on.