About Training for Trainers

The first Training for Trainers (T4T) in Scotland was in Livingston in April 2004 with another 12 held since. There are now over 250 ASIST trainers throughout the country.

Attendance at the 5-day residential T4T is the only way in which you can become an ASIST trainer. A challenging, intensive and practice-based course, T4T teaches participants the content of ASIST and the skills needed to deliver a workshop. Attendance at the full five days plus one evening through the week is essential. Support is provided throughout by LivingWorks International Coaching Trainers (one for every five or six candidates). After T4T, support is provided by the Choose Life training team and local consulting trainers.

The course is split into three parts:

The first two days are spent participating in an ASIST workshop, facilitated by two coaching trainers. We require that you have already attended an ASIST workshop before attending T4T, to ensure you have a full understanding of what will be expected and whether you are fully comfortable with the content of the course. These two days will then serve as a refresher.

The next three days are spent on coaching sessions and practicing the content of the workshops with feedback received throughout. This will allow you to gain confidence in delivering the materials in a friendly and supportive environment.

There is then a final debrief on the Friday afternoon where you will have an opportunity to discuss the practicalities of organising workshops and will be given information on how to order materials and access support from both Choose Life and LivingWorks.

Having successfully completed T4T, you will become a Provisional LivingWorks ASIST Trainer and LivingWorks require that you hold three workshops within one year to become fully registered and one per year thereafter to maintain your status. In Scotland, however, we expect trainers to deliver three workshops per year on an ongoing basis. All workshops must be facilitated by at least two trainers so it is useful to either attend the course with a training partner or link with your local Choose Life group beforehand.

New trainers are supplied with the necessary trainer materials to enable them to deliver both ASIST and SuicideTALK.