• Knowledge of Indigenous Historical and Contemporary information. 

• Knowledge of Trauma informed practice and maintaining emotional safety. 

• Knowledge of local Indigenous culture(s) with access to Elders and Knowledge Keepers to support the program and caregivers. 

• Experience working with children and families  

• Experience in leading groups and/or training and experience in group facilitation;  

• Readiness to do brief role-plays modeling caregiver-child interactions;  

• Readiness to videotape, review and transmit group gathering tapes;  

• Readiness to participate in a reflective mentoring / supervisory process;  

• Readiness to participate in Program Feedback / Evaluation.  

Leaders must commit to running at least one 10-week group to become certified. Once you complete the full Reclaiming Connections workshop, please reach out to connectattachmentprogram@gov.bc.ca so that we can arrange a Reclaiming Connections mentor to support and mentor you during your first group.

Mentoring consists of the following: 

1. Video-taping each of the 9 Principle gatherings.  

2. Transferring video to your Mentor with enough time to review. 

3. Reviewing video yourselves (1.5 hours/week) 

4. A one hour teleconference per week with assigned mentor(s) / supervisor from Maples Connect Mentoring/Supervision Team. (1 hour/week) 

Mentoring is all about working together and supporting you! 

Prior to training: Wellness workers are asked to review the Reclaiming Connections guide and associated materials. 

During training: Wellness workers will learn about the program, watch sessions demonstrations and prepare for small group practice sessions.

Following training:

Leaders must commit to running at least one 10-week group to become certified. Two trained Leaders are required to co-facilitate one group cycle. Approximately 6-8 weeks preparation time will be needed to promote the program, contact participants and prepare for the program. Approximately 3.5 hours per week are estimated for each Leader prior to group start. 

First time Leaders undergoing certification will need approximately 7-10 hours per week when group starts; Certified Leaders will need 5-7 hours per week. This will include:

• Planning your Reclaiming Connection group, including setting up the date, time, and format (online/in-person), and promoting the program.

• Contacting Caregivers and meeting with them individually.

• Facilitating all 10 gatherings of the Reclaiming Connections program within a complete cycle

• Planning and reviewing gatherings with your co-leader

• (If you are pursuing mentorship and certification) Attending weekly one-hour mentorship/supervision meetings in which your mentor will invite your reflections and ideas and provide support and guidance as needed.

• Support from your agency/organization for approximately 5-7 hours per week the first time you deliver the program; once certified, facilitators will need 3-5 hours per week.

• As needed, on-site community clinical support from within your agency to address urgent client issues. Mentorship is restricted to supporting your training and certification in Reclaiming Connections.

• For communities delivering the program online, you will require a support person who can support carers in navigating the online platform and assist you in recording carers’ responses during the session. This can be someone from your team who is familiar with online work; group workshop training is not required. We can discuss this process with you prior to your first group.