Welcome to our latest newsletter.  It is hard to believe that we are almost half way through another year!  Joint Training continues to be very busy and we are delighted to meet so many learners at our training events.  Our Learning & Development Officers research continuously to ensure that the courses we provide reflect current thinking and trends and provide as broad a range as possible.  This newsletter contains information on some exciting new courses that we hope will be of interest.  We would also love to hear from you with any comments you may have or suggestions for future courses. 

Finally we would like to wish you all a lovely summer, filled with sunshine!

Joint Training and the Professional Development Unit (PDU)  arranged and hosted our first online conference in March during Autism Acceptance Week.  Featuring a line up of eminent national and international Autistic speakers including world renowned psychologist, Dr Wenn Lawson and award winning author, Dr Luke Beardon, the conference was well received. The whole event celebrated autistic voices from beginning to end.  "So, so powerful.  I think this is the best conference I have ever attended.  Just brilliantly informative, moving and validating.  Will be processing for days, weeks even!  Thank you".

It was Hoarding Awareness Week the week of 15^th May. Hopefully you were able to access some of the free training sessions that were available through www.hoardingawarenessweek.org.uk, including those around Fire Risk, The Hoarded Brain, and Resilience and Hoarding. Research tells us that 2-5% of the population have difficulties with hoarding, though this is only based on the people we are aware of! Hoarding can often be a secret that sufferers keep from their friends, family and professionals. For more information on how we might, as professionals, support people who hoard, join us on our next ‘Supporting Adults who Hoard- An Introduction’ session on 13^th Sept. These sessions can be a really great way to interact and engage with other professionals from different organisations, gain awareness of what is available in our area as a way of multi-agency working and gain knowledge around hoarding and how we can work with individuals around hoarding. We look forward to seeing you there! Supporting Adults who Hoard | Shropshire Council

15^th-20^th May was also Mental Health Awareness Week! A fantastic way to raise awareness of the importance of our mental health and wellbeing and break down the stigma that can still surround this topic. Prior to the pandemic, we know that 1 in 4 people experienced a mental health problem of some kind in England each year. And we have certainly seen a big impact of Covid 19 on people’s mental health, making it even more vital that we look after ourselves and our wellbeing. What’s that saying? ‘Self-care is a priority, not a luxury’.  Never has this been truer! So please take care of yourselves, use your helpful support networks and be mindful of the impact that these difficult times may be having on you.  See here for more information on Mental Health Awareness Week.

The Baton of Hope is designed to be the biggest suicide awareness and prevention initiative the UK has ever seen, the concept stemming from Mike McCarthy and Steve Phillips, two dads who lost their sons to suicide. The Baton of Hope will be travelling from Glasgow on June 25th, down through numerous cities and towns in the UK, to end in Downing Street in London, all to spread Suicide Awareness. In Great Britain in 2021, there were 6,319 deaths recorded as suicide.  Viewed as an urgent public health problem, it is vital that people gain awareness of the issue and how to support somebody who may be experiencing difficulties around suicide.

The Baton of Hope will be marked by a packed events schedule giving local communities, organisations, and neighbouring towns a chance to get involved. Check out their website for more information of how you could get involved, and even become a baton bearer! Here is our Mental Health lead Nicola carrying the ‘virtual baton’ in support. Baton of Hope | It's Time To Start The Conversation (batonofhopeuk.org)

We are very excited about the launch of this new course on 4th July! Our ‘Psychosis and the Importance of Early Intervention’ course will be a 3-hour, face to face session available to professionals, family carers and service users, aimed at increasing learner’s knowledge around psychosis, its impact and why early intervention is important. We look at breaking down the stigma that can often surround psychosis, which can come from a lack of understanding around this as well as from other influences such as the media. But most importantly, we will think about how we can support people who are experiencing psychosis and the services available that can support the individual. A lot to fit into a 3-hour session! Our first session is now full, but we have more dates available- 19th Oct 2023, 13th Dec 2023, 5th March 2024.  Course information - Psychosis and the Importance of Early Intervention

In June we are introducing a new course which will give an understanding of trauma, and how we can best support those who have experienced it through trauma informed approaches. The course is three hours long and will give an awareness level for all health and social care staff. We recognise that this is an important and growing area with research showing high numbers of people have experienced trauma and that it can have a serious impact on their health and wellbeing. The courses are running on the 7^th June and the 26^th of October.  Course information - Understanding Trauma and the principles of Trauma Informed Care

We are very pleased to be offering a new course, Introduction to Sexual Violence to the Joint Training programme. This classroom-based training is being delivered by experts from the Axis Counselling ISVA service. Book now for the first course on 6^th July 13:30-16:30 in Shrewsbury Introduction to Sexual Violence - Joint Training | Shropshire Council