Open Awareness Facilitator online training guidelines

The following guidelines are for participants who are enrolled on the OA Facilitator Certificate training (module 4)

Approved by the International Association of Coaches, Therapists & Mentors (IACTM)

This 1-year programme includes 3 personal training sessions with a Licensed OA Trainer and 12 group supervision sessions. The personal sessions take place as outlined below and the group sessions are every month (see schedule). The group sessions are recorded and recordings are provided to all participants.

Complete the following 9 steps:

Step 1:

Fill in the Needs and Values Elicitation Form with the intention to clarify your desired outcomes for this course and to set your training trajectory. The content that you fill in is for your personal reference, and needn’t be submitted.

Step 2:

Download the following 2 training manuals and audio programme:

  1. Open Awareness Handbook
  2. ASE Facilitator Training Manual (provided upon enrollment)
  3. Mindful Power audio programme (provided upon enrollment)

Step 3:

Start reading the above 2 training manuals and begin watching our 44 training videos sequentially.

Step 4:

Provide answers to the set of questions that appear below all 44 training videos. Your answers to each video review question should consist of only 1 or 2 sentences. Submit all 44 video reviews in 1 document and schedule your first personal training session – in which you will receive feedback on your video reviews and your OA related questions will be addressed. The scheduling of your personal training sessions involves emailing your available dates and times over the forthcoming 3 weeks.

Step 5:

Listen to all podcasts, with the exception of those related to smoking cessation, weight loss, fertility and birthing. Submit 3 written reflections of 100 – 150 words each (in one document) for your favorite 3 podcasts. One of your written reflections may be for the Mindful Power audio programme, with 2 podcast reflections, if you prefer. Once the document with your 3 written reflections is complete, send it to us by email.

Step 6:

Read at least 20 of this website’s articles (choosing the ones that you find most relevant for you). Email us your 3 written reflections of 100 – 150 words each (in one document) for your favorite 3 articles. Schedule your second personal training session.

Step 7:

Place at least 2 substantial posts in the Transpersonal Coaching & Therapy Network Forum. You may post in any two of the current forum topic threads, or create a topic of your own.

Step 8:

There are 2 options in this step. If you intend to use OA exclusively with individuals (1-1 sessions) then select Option 1. If you intend to use OA exclusively with groups (teaching, coaching teams, or in organisations) then select Option 2. If you intend to use OA with individuals and groups, then complete half of Option 1 (25 1-1 sessions) and half of Option 2 (5 group sessions). Schedule your fifth personal training session after your fifth client/group session.

Option 1
You are to log at least 50 hours of facilitated OA sessions with clients (paid or probono) and submit a report for 10 of those sessions (10 case studies). Schedule your fifth personal training session after your fifth client session. Each session’s report should consist of brief answers to the following questions:

  1. The reason why the client came for the session.
  2. The trigger of the client’s issue (if any).
  3. The unwanted state, in your client’s words (if any).
  4. The problem behavior (if any).
  5. The client’s desired state.
  6. The new behaviour(s) or conditions that your client hopes to manifest.
  7. Your means of intervention.
  8. A rationale outlining why you chose to intervene as you did.
  9. The client’s response to the intervention, or the outcome of the session.
  10. The type of action (next steps) that the client has committed to taking.
  11. Your means of checking if the client’s next step(s) will be ecological?
  12. Your client’s state at the end of the session.
  13. Your recommendations to the client in terms of follow up, their ongoing practice, accountability, etc.
  14. Your overall impression about how the session went.
  15. What you have learned about yourself as a OA Facilitator and as a person as a result of the session.

In addition to the report, your OA session hours should be submitted using the IACTM Coaching Hours Log. All of your clients and yourself are to sign the OA Session Agreement Form (this is for you to keep on record and is not submitted with your report). With respect to client privacy and confidentiality, your report and the coaching hours log should use pseudonyms and not reveal any of your client’s private or sensitive content. If we suspect that any particular sessions might not have taken place or if inaccurate information has been provided, we maintain the right to investigate such cases.

Option 2
You are to facilitate 10 sessions with groups of 3 or more people in the context where you intend on using OA with groups in the future. Although there are various ways in which OA can be applied in group sessions, the OA Integral Process is designed for this purpose. Therefore, it is recommended that you aim to practice the OA Integral Process process within this module. Each session should be documented according to the following points and submitted in a report once all sessions have been completed.

  1. What was the group’s agreed intention for the session?
  2. Which means to facilitate OA did you use, and why?
  3. Which words and expressions did the group members use to describe their experience of OA?
  4. What was the group’s most prominent collective experience and expression?
  5. Did the group’s collective experience of OA lead to a unified idea? Note: If the group’s intention is to address a particular issue, then you should elicit their unified idea that addresses the issue.
  6. How did you facilitate the integration (commitment to ecological action) of the group’s OA experience, or, if relevant, their unified idea to address their intention for the session?
  7. How did you bring the session to a close?

Step 9:

Your report will be reviewed and you will receive feedback in your third personal training session. If the feedback involves revision of particular training materials or an additional case study, then this needs to be completed.

Certification:

Your Open Awareness Facilitator Certificate will be issued once all assignments have been completed and all training/supervision sessions attended or watched (6 of the 12 live group sessions may be missed, in which case you will be required to watch the recordings of these. All 3 of the personal training sessions must be attended).

Please note: These certification criteria are achievable in 12 months. If you wish to obtain the OA Facilitator Certificate and you need more time, then after 12 months you will be required to pay the Supervision Group membership fee – for which you will obtain another year of monthly group supervision sessions, additional fireside conversations with experts and access to our other professional resources.    

OA Facilitator Licence:

By obtaining the OA Facilitator Certificate, you will be eligible to become a Licensed OA Facilitator (Euro 200) – which includes having a profile featured in the Licensed OA Facilitator Directory and continued professional development through ongoing access to the 12 group supervision sessions per year and the Licensed OA Facilitator resources.

Enjoy your transformative learning journey and remember: support from your OA Trainer is available!