• 02 - 06 Apr 2025
  • Chester, CT, USA

Facilitator Preparation Program – Onsite (April 2025)

The Courage & Renewal Facilitator Preparation Program is an 18-month leadership and apprenticeship program for carefully preparing and equipping facilitators to lead Circle of Trust® retreats and other programs rooted in the Courage & Renewal® approach.

The Courage & Renewal Facilitator Preparation Program is an 18-month leadership and apprenticeship program for carefully preparing and equipping facilitators to lead Circle of Trust® retreats and other programs rooted in the Courage & Renewal® approach.

Those eligible to apply for the Facilitator Preparation Program will have completed two essential prerequisites: Foundations of the Courage & Renewal Approach and the Courage & Renewal Practicum.

Courage & Renewal Facilitators have unique capacities and skills, and are passionate about bringing this approach into the world by creating independently led retreats that offer trustworthy space for people to engage their own deep wisdom in a community of shared exploration.

Once prepared, facilitators find ways to create institutional and/or community partnerships from which to “grow” this work (i.e. they do not “work” for CCR). Thus, being a Courage & Renewal facilitator combines leadership and facilitation with responsibility for program development in the facilitator’s community or profession. Once an individual successfully completes the Facilitator Preparation Program they also join other Courage & Renewal facilitators around the U.S., Central America, Canada, Australasia, Europe, and South Africa in a network called the Courage & Renewal Facilitator Collaboration. The Collaboration is a resource and leadership-rich community of learning and practice which supports facilitators on-going growth and formation.

 

Program Structure & Content

The Program consists of four main components:

  • A 5-day/4-night retreat
  • An 18-month apprenticeship with an experienced Courage & Renewal facilitator
  • Quarterly online learning sessions
  • Online mentor cluster circles with a smaller group of fellow cohort members and their mentors

Content throughout the program will include an exploration of:

  • Interplay of Courage & Renewal Core Values, Principles, Practices and Touchstones
  • Mobius Strip of Facilitation
  • Teaching and Practicing Deep Listening and Open and Honest Questions
  • Teaching, Supporting, and Debriefing the Clearness Committee
  • Co-creating and Maintaining Trustworthy Space
  • Trauma Informed Practice in Circles of Trust
  • Culture-Building in Circles of Trust
  • Creating Reflective Questions
  • The Arc of a Circle of Trust Retreat
  • Program Development, Marketing, and Logistics
  • Facilitating When the Going Gets Rough
  • Dialogic Teaching of “Third Things”
  • Themes & Frameworks of the Courage & Renewal Approach
  • Core Competencies of Courage & Renewal Facilitators

During the apprenticeship, cohort members will be paired with an experienced Courage & Renewal mentor, create a learning plan, work on one of the mentor’s programs, and then design, market, and facilitate their own program. Throughout the apprenticeship, cohort members will participate in Peer Learning Calls to support each other in the final steps of their preparation.

Upon successful completion of the steps above and on the mentor’s recommendation, participants will be invited to join the Facilitator Collaboration as an active learning community participant where they’ll receive further support in a community of facilitators who are bringing the Courage & Renewal® approach in the world through retreats and programs in their communities and workplaces.

  • Experience participating in Circle of Trust® retreats and/or other Courage & Renewal Facilitator-led program that includes a Clearness Committee
  • Completion of both the Foundations and Practicum Programs
  • Demonstrated experience in group facilitation and/or retreat leadership
  • Demonstrated capacity to establish and offer Courage & Renewal programs within their networks and communities

The Onsite Facilitator Preparation Program Application can be found here.

 

If you have any questions, please contact programs@couragerenewal.org.

The mission of Guest House is to support opportunities for transformational work and provide a nurturing environment for those seeking to develop human potential and enrich the world. You can learn more about the retreat center here.

The Application for this Onsite Facilitator Preparation Program can be found here.

Applications are available to those who have completed both the Courage & Renewal Practicum and Foundations of the Courage & Renewal Approach programs.

Applications are due by December 2, 2024. You will be notified about your application status no later than December 20, 2024.

  • Experience participating in Circle of Trust® retreats and/or other Courage & Renewal Facilitator-led program that includes a Clearness Committee
  • Completion of both the Foundations and Practicum Programs
  • Demonstrated experience in group facilitation and/or retreat leadership
  • Demonstrated capacity to establish and offer Courage & Renewal programs within their networks and communities

The total program fee is $6,010. This fee is inclusive of the room and board fees associated with your stay at Guest House for the retreat, including all meals. The fee is also inclusive of each of the components listed above.

The total program fee is broken out into two phases: Retreat Phase ($3,485) and Apprenticeship Phase ($2,525). $3,485 is expected to be paid in advance of the retreat in April. Beyond the retreat, a $1,262.50 payment is required to move to the next phase of the program and start your apprenticeship by receiving your mentor pairing. The final $1,262.50 payment is due 6 months after your learning plan has been finalized and you’ve started your apprenticeship. We have listed a breakdown of payment milestones below to help set payment expectations.

Payment Milestones

  • Retreat Phase — $3,485

    • January 15, 2025 — participant should have paid a total of at least $350 for Registration Deposit

    • February 15, 2025 — participant should have paid a total of at least $1,742.50 to meet 50% of retreat phase fee.

    • March 15, 2025 — participant should have paid a total of $3,485 to meet 100% of retreat phase fee

  • Apprenticeship Phase — $2,525

    • As soon as participant is ready to move forward with their mentor pairing, but no later than June 1, 2025 — participant should have paid a total of $1262.50 for 50% of apprenticeship phase fee

    • December 1, 2025 — participant should have paid a total of $2,525 for 100% of apprenticeship phase fee

You can certainly pay the full program fee at one time if you would like. You will have the opportunity to submit payments at whatever pace works for you within the parameters of the noted milestones above.

If for any reason you aren’t able to fit your payments neatly into the parameters described above and/or you’re in need of some form of assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact programs@couragerenewal.org so that we can have a conversation and figure out the best course of action.

(*Please note that the figures above do not incorporate granted scholarship assistance. Scholarship funds will be applied to the above amounts to lower the costs of participation as we’re able to provide.)

Scholarship funding is available to help lower financial barriers thanks to generous underwriting from individuals and foundations interested in supporting people’s journey toward wholeness.

We have a limited amount of scholarship funding that we can offer. The amount of financial assistance provided is based on funds available, your requested need, and the requests of other participants. We typically offer assistance to partially offset tuition costs.

We are very intentional about separating the program application review process from the scholarship award determinations. Your financial circumstances are never taken into consideration when deliberating about your acceptance into a program. After you’ve been accepted to the program, we review your scholarship application and consider financial assistance allocations. We will inform you of the scholarship amount provided at least one month before the program start date, and likely earlier depending on the program.

To apply for a scholarship you will need to fill out this separate Scholarship Application after you have applied for the program.

If for any reason you need to cancel your registration, you must do so by sending an email to programs@couragerenewal.org. If you cancel your registration 30 days or more prior to the program start date you will receive a full refund minus the 10% non-refundable deposit. Between 30 days and 14 days prior to the start date you will receive a 50% refund minus the 10% non-refundable deposit. Refunds will not be granted within 2 weeks of the program start date. Extraordinary circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All refund requests must be made by you, the registrant.

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