This is the programme as it was on 10 October 2026, kept unchanged for groups who pinned it. See the current version
Eight sessions for advocates, Before we begin
When we talk about our own work, we need to agree how we will hold what is said. These agreements, and the care routes behind them, come before any practice.
75 minutes: The card 5, A short talk 10, Discussion 10, The activity 30, Private reflection 10, Closing 5, Five to spare 5.
Nothing here asks anyone to share something painful or to look well. Taking part silently is taking part, and passing is always allowed.
Anger, fear and exhaustion are normal in this work, and so is grief for a future we hoped for. These sessions are no substitute for therapy. If these feelings weigh on you, you do not have to carry them alone: turn to support through your work, peer support in your field, or a doctor or counsellor you trust. If anyone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services.
If someone is struggling, follow the care route your group agreed in its first session. This is not yours to carry alone.
Arriving here, in its adult wording
Welcome. Before we begin, take a moment to arrive here, wherever here is for you today, and sit in whatever way is comfortable.
Let your attention rest on three things: a sound around you, a feeling in your body and a thought passing through your mind.
You do not need to change anything you notice. Paying attention to it is the whole practice.
When you are ready, bring your attention back to the group.
Anyone can pass, and quiet is taking part.
When we talk about our own work, we need to agree how we will hold what is said. These agreements, and the care routes behind them, come before any practice.
Groups learn more when people feel safe to speak up and to get things wrong in front of each other. Agreements made together at the start are one way to build that. (Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350 to 383.)
Trauma-informed practice puts safety, choice, trust and collaboration first, and avoids asking people to retell hard experiences. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014). SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA.)
Nothing in these sessions asks anyone to disclose anything. Every question can be answered privately or passed.
Which of these agreements matters most to you, and why?
What would make it easier to pass, or to step away, in this group?
Questions in pairs or small groups. Anyone can pass.
Online. Share the starting agreements on screen and invite changes by voice or in the chat until everyone can live with them. Agree camera and caption norms, name the care routes, then give ten quiet minutes, cameras optional, for each person to take the private "Where I am now" reflection.
In a room. Put the agreements on a flip chart, change them together and keep the sheet for every session.
Starting agreements:
1. What is said here stays here. What is learned here can leave.
2. Speak about your own experience, and leave out names and identifying details of anyone else.
3. Passing is always allowed, with no reason needed.
4. Cameras are optional, and captions stay on for anyone who wants them.
5. Step away whenever you need to, and come back when you are ready.
6. Disagree with ideas, and stay kind to people.
Care routes. Before this session, the group's host names its care routes: who to contact if someone is struggling, inside and outside the group, and how to reach local emergency help. Write them in here and keep them on screen. Harassment or threats connected to this work are for the host organisation and the relevant authorities, and are outside what these sessions can hold.
Where the answers go. The "Where I am now" reflection stays on each person's own device and is never collected. If your group also runs an evaluation, it is separate, with its own consent, and the group's host says who holds those answers.
Try it this week. Notice one moment this week when the work felt heavy, and one thing that helped, even a little.
Quiet time. Nobody shares what they write.
Before you try it, the field log asks:
What matters most to me in this conversation?
What am I assuming about them?
What will I do when I notice the first sign of stress?
One word for the road, in its adult wording
Before we close, I will invite each person to offer one word for how they are leaving. Any honest word is welcome, including "tired".
We will receive each word without asking for an explanation or responding to it, with a little silence between people.
You can say your word, type it in the chat, say "pass" or stay quiet, and I will move on.
I will go first, and then we will go round.
For your peer circle. What would help you feel able to speak honestly in this group?
Anyone can pass, and quiet is taking part.
Because sessions run over, and that is fine.
Practices to try at home: Let the Day Catch Up, The Ones Who Keep You.
https://rfweducators.netlify.app/advocates/session-0/
Recipes for Wellbeing. Free to use and adapt under CC BY-NC 4.0.