Intersect Trainings Archive

Better Together: How Faith Communities, Providers and Government Can Collaborate to Promote Wellness

Course Description:

Seeking the common good of our communities requires working together across sectors. While it’s easy for faith communities and human service providers to be siloed off from each other, promising opportunities exist for a better way. This workshop will provide skills and strategies for enhancing cross-sector collaboration amongst faith communities, human service providers and local government.

Course Objectives:

1. Improve skills and knowledge in developing community-based partnerships that promote the common good.

2. Identity how to cast a vision for a collaborative effort among community partners.

3. Discover what different community partners are able to uniquely offer the community.

4. Learn what is required to successfully lead a cross-sector collaborative effort.

5. Gain knowledge around how to sustain a collaborative effort over time.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities and Human Service Providers

Audience: Faith Community Members, Clergy, Human Service Administrators, Mental Health Professionals, Social Workers

Trainer(s): David Eckert, Mark Boorse

Language(s): English

Boundaries: Why They’re Important, Noticing When We Have Them and When We Don’t, and Some Ideas about Getting Some

Course Description:

This training will equip community members to establish and maintain healthy boundaries within the context of our personal and professional lives. Particular attention will be given to the value of self-understanding as well as practical approaches to helping others without burning out.

Course Objectives:

1. Identify why boundaries are important to our lives at home and work.

2. Examine your own boundary profile.

3. Understand the connection between boundaries and personal wellness.

4. Learn how to set boundaries while still being able to effectively help others.

5. Apply boundary approaches to the unique contexts of participants.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities and Human Service Providers

Audience: Clergy, Community Members, Faith Community Members, Mental Health Professionals, Social Workers

Trainer(s): Mark Boorse

Language(s): English

Cross Training for Spiritual and Mental Health

Course Description:

In the world of sports and fitness, cross-training involves combining exercises to work various parts of the body. The goal is for all aspects of one’s physical health to be addressed. In this training, we will see how the notion of cross-training applies not only to our physical health but our spiritual and mental health as well. Participants will learn how insights and practices from both scripture/theology on the one hand and the mental health field on the other can contribute to one’s overall wellness.

Course Objectives:

1. Gain an understanding of an integrated health framework that reveals connections between one’s mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.

2. Explore wisdom provided within scripture and theology that can be helpful to one’s spiritual and mental health.

3. Discover how insights from the mental health field can be used by people of faith to help them experience a holistic life of worship.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities

Audience: Peers, Community Members, Peer Specialists

Trainer(s): David Eckert

Language(s): English

Healing and Hope for Suicide Survivors

Course Description:

This training will provide participants a way of supporting those who’ve lost loved ones to suicide. Particular attention will be given to the stories and experiences of real-life survivors and what we can learn from them about approaches and resources that are most helpful to finding healing and hope.

Course Objectives:

1. Increased awareness of the experiences of those who’ve lost loved ones to suicide.

2. Identify the unique challenges facing survivors.

3. Gain an understanding of resources available to assist survivors in the process of healing.

4. Gain knowledge and strategies for building a more suicide-safe community.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities and Human Service Providers

Audience: Clergy, Community Members, Faith Community Members, Peers, Social Workers

Trainer(s): David Eckert

Language(s): English

Mental Illness: What is It and Why Does It Matter for Your Church?

Course Description:

This training will provide participants with a basic understanding of mental illness in relation to its causes, defining characteristics, and impact on society. A summarized biblical perspective on mental illness will also be offered to help individuals respond to those with mental illness in ways that are faithful, compassionate, and recovery-oriented.

Course Objectives:

1. Learn a definition of mental illness and increase awareness of its impact.

2. Identify the contributing factors to mental illness.

3. Gain an understanding of patterns of mental illness in our culture.

4. Learn a bible perspective of mental illness.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities

Audience: Clergy, Faith Community Members, Peers

Trainer(s): David Eckert

Language(s): English

Navigating Hard Conversations as Human Service Providers

Course Description:

This training will equip human service providers to effectively address conflict with colleagues and individuals receiving support. Particular attention will be given to common challenges for human service professionals, the value of self-understanding and practical approaches to working through hard conversations.

Course Objectives:

1. Identify common challenges to addressing conflict among service providers.

2. Develop self-understanding around personal barriers to conflict resolution.

3. Examine tools and strategies for having hard conversations with colleagues and clients.

4. Apply approaches to the unique contexts of participants.

5. Develop a culture of peacemaking through established structures, processes and values.

Training Type: Trainings for Human Service Providers

Audience: Social Workers, Human Service Administrators, Mental Health Professionals

Trainer(s): David Eckert

Language(s): English

Navigating Worldview Diversity: Providing Support Amidst Disagreement with Individuals, Co-Workers, and Community Partners

Course Description:

Amid important conversations taking place regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, one type of diversity that can easily be overlooked is worldview diversity. During a time of increasing polarization politically and culturally, it is vital that leaders and practitioners learn how to effectively relate to people of different worldviews. In this workshop, participants will learn skills and strategies for partnering with people with whom they disagree both inside and outside their organization.

Course Objectives:

1. Assess how worldview diversity impacts our different working partnerships.

2. Explore how social work principles and code of ethics relate to how we navigate worldview diversity in our work.

3. Identify concrete strategies for handling disagreement with people of other worldviews.

Training Type: Trainings for Human Service Providers

Audience: Mental Health Professionals, Human Service Administrators, Social Workers

Trainer(s): David Eckert

Language(s): English

Nuts and Bolts: Tools for Building a Culture of Care for those with Mental Illness

Course Description:

It is common for faith communities to ask what they must do to start a mental health ministry in their congregation. While this desire is good, it can sometimes neglect the more foundational need for a broad-based culture of care. When a culture of respect, vulnerability and welcome permeates a faith community, specific ministry programs can be successful rather than stigmatizing. In this workshop, insight will be given around the tools for building such a culture within your faith community.

Course Objectives:

1. Discover the importance of crafting a cultural foundation before building a mental health ministry.

2. Gain tools for building a culture of care within your faith community for those with mental illness.

3. Identify tools for doing outreach to those with mental illness in your broader community.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities

Audience: Clergy, Faith Community Members, Lay Leaders

Trainer(s): David Eckert

Language(s): English

Pastors and Integrated Health

Course Description:

This training will provide clergy with an understanding of the unique challenges to mental wellness that come with pastoral ministry. Practical strategies and resources will also be provided to help faith leaders support their own mental health as they seek to effectively minister to others.

Course Objectives:

1. Increase understanding of the struggles many in pastoral ministry are having with their own mental health.

2. Gain an understanding of the complementary nature of spiritual and mental health as part of an overall integrated health model of care.

3. Be exposed to practices grounded in both theology and the mental health field that support clergy mental health.

4. Learn how to develop partnerships with mental health providers equipped to support clergy mental health.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities

Audience: Clergy

Trainer(s): David Eckert

Language(s): English

QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer

Course Description:

This training will teach participants skills for supporting people considering suicide. Specific attention will be given to the methods of question-asking, persuasion, and referring people to community resources.

Course Objectives:

1. Increase awareness of the suicide epidemic in our society.

2. Gain an understanding of the various approaches to asking people about suicide.

3. Learn approaches to helping persuade people thinking about suicide to choose life.

4. Gain knowledge around how to refer people thinking about suicide to community resources.

Training Type: Trainings for Faith Communities and Human Service Providers

Audience: Social Workers, Clergy, Community Members, Nurses, Peer Specialists

Trainer(s): David Eckert, Lisi Fisher, Mark Boorse, Ty Williams

Language(s): English, Spanish / Español

Intersect Trainings

Search Trainings

Better Together: How Faith Communities, Providers and Government Can Collaborate to Promote Wellness

Boundaries: Why They’re Important, Noticing When We Have Them and When We Don’t, and Some Ideas about Getting Some

Cross Training for Spiritual and Mental Health

Healing and Hope for Suicide Survivors

Mental Illness: What is It and Why Does It Matter for Your Church?

Navigating Hard Conversations as Human Service Providers

Navigating Worldview Diversity: Providing Support Amidst Disagreement with Individuals, Co-Workers, and Community Partners

Nuts and Bolts: Tools for Building a Culture of Care for those with Mental Illness

Pastors and Integrated Health

QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer

Trainings Form

Meet the Trainers

David Eckert

Ty Williams

Juli Apple

Mark Boorse

Mike Ford

Lisi Fisher

Delaware Valley

Schuylkill/Carbon/Berks

Lehigh Valley

Subscribe To Our Monthly Newsletter