Graduates of our Foundational Studies are welcome to apply for Support Centre Membership. Acceptance is partially based on the satisfactory submission of the completion exercise described below. Some vetting may also be involved as we want to make sure this is mutual fit.
The completion exercise is to demonstrate mastery of the material in the foundational studies. The assignment is to make sense of a child in your life (or alternatively, in literature) using the understandings gleaned from Foundational Studies. Please use essay style, aiming for 4-6 pages.
To register your interest in Support Centre Membership, please contact the director of our Support Centre and she will guide you through the process.
To prevent any misunderstandings or unnecessary disillusionment along the way, we suggest you read the following caveat before proceeding.
The Support Centre is a place of connecting with like-minded people; a place to gather and share a love of learning and mastery of material, and to mine the treasure trove of resources that have been accumulated here. It is a place to deepen understanding as well as to find support to share the material with those in one’s sphere of influence.
A word of caution, however, for those seeking authorization to forward this approach and to charge money for doing so. We have learned our lesson the hard way that this is not likely to happen. Historically, we had attempted to use the facilitator training program to help people reach a place where they had our ‘blessing’ to engage in parent education using the Neufeld Approach. Only a handful of our course facilitators have been able to consistently run groups with remuneration. Undoubtedly there are a number of reasons for this, including the current climate regarding how and where parents look for support. We are saddened by this and do not wish to offer false assurances. In keeping with this, we have retired the facilitator program. Not only did we not want to turn into a certification mill, but even more so, become a certification mill that was based on false premises and promises. Our previously graduated facilitators remain tremendous resources in their communities and assets to the Neufeld Institute but few have enjoyed a financial benefit.
That being said, joining the Support Centre and continuing to be an enthusiastic learner places you among the masters of this paradigm. You can become equipped to lead study groups, including study groups for one or more of the courses we offer in this format. People are hungry for insight; we believe this Study Group model is effective in helping make sense of children. This charitable activity may well bring financial success in your other endeavours and, at the very least, a sense of fulfillment in helping children by helping their adults.