Customer Feedback

YFO Feedback

Here we provide feedback received from people we have assisted with our services, advocacy and training.

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What did we do that impressed you?

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How amazing tam was with NAME and how confident he was

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Communication with worker and family. Quality of service provision

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The boys just love their sessions - they are always excited to go with Koby and he is very good at honing in on their interests.

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I like Brett’s approach and his skills

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The communication and the time your worker has taken to get to know Jayden so well .It has improved different things in his life.

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NAME is an on going project and he always returned full of enthusiasm

So engaging and welcoming

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Extensive intake information. Support from intake team. First session with Amy was also supported by Tam

fantastic connection and awareness of NAME's needs

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The fit to the child was amazing. The worker was great with leading the interactions and sessions whilst maintaining support and sense of control. My child has never been so motivated to get outside, and he is learning about his heart rate, triggers and the importance of physical activity and outdoors.

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The amazing Communication!

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Communication!

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I love that my son has one on one quality time with a person that is invested in helping him improve his way of life. We struggle to spend a lot of time with our son one on one and love knowing he has that once a week with our youth worker. How our youth worker find what our son loves and is able to do other activities and find ways to teach strategies that will home him in life. Our sons youth worker is a positive role model/ mentor for our son.

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I love the detailed, yet easy to read weekly report outlining from start to finish NAME's behaviours, triumphs and challenges. And the photos are great too.

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How you built rapport quickly and had amazing progress

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The range of activities offered, the weekly feedback/reports with photos

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I love my youth worker, for a start. She was, and continues to be, very impressive! She was super knowledgeable about the outdoors and had a real passion for it, which has rubbed off on me, as we kept doing outdoorsy things that were both fun and, like I said, outdoorsy.

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The level of care and experience is evident in the ongoing reporting.

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The regular reporting with photos, allowing me to see the joy NAME has when engaged in the session.

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Engage with NAME's expression of how is week was and he feels about the session he is currently participating in.

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The communication with Sean between ourselves and NAME's carer has been fantastic. He is engaging and is young person led with every session.

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Just get it. Understanding trauma informed practices. Understanding neurodiversity and the importance of a neuro affirming approach. Understanding the importance of building a strong positive therapeutic relationship.

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Smooth transition between youth-based adventure workers - Amy to Tom

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We have really loved how engaged NAME has been and how each session he comes home having learnt new things.

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Reliable but flexible. Strong Ethics with a productive program.

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The feeling we have someone who really cares about Jayden and wanting to help with his development

 

 

What improvement has your young person made towards meeting their goals?

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His behaviour has improved dramatically in school

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Feedback from Mum: "Yes the sessions have been amazing and they have helped dramatically would def benefit from more, thanks". I haven't had any feedback on progress from YFO.

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More opportunities to participate in the community and try new things, improving their self-confidence

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Starting to acknowledge his responsibilities to his actions and trying to communicate better

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He is now achieving  better goals at school with friendship.

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What changes have there been from session 1 to current

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Self regulation at school

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NAME had the goal of access to the community and to socialise in a safe and supported way whilst partaking in one of his favourite activities (outdoor adventure). He has been able to access the community, increase his self-esteem, exercise, face his anxiety in and to feel comfortable with another carer outside his home - and all of that has been wrapped in a simple concept - FUN :)

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he's been willing to discuss physical/emotional feelings and try to identify them

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My child has never been so motivated to get outside, and he is learning about his heart rate, triggers and the importance of physical activity and outdoors.

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Willingness to go out with Brett

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More able to give things a go

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He enjoys the one on one quality time outdoors. He seems to be able to at times used the strategies that Sean has suggested he use.

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From the reports provided, it is nice to see her progressing in her ability to start regulating her emotions with the strategies taught.

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Communication engagement and love for getting out

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Improve independence and confidence

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Increase in confidence when following instruction.

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I’ve made huge leaps towards my goals because of teamwork with Tam. Mostly goals of losing weight and pushing myself physically. One of the last adventures we went on was a trip to Springbrook to do a trail there that lasted for 100min, which is the longest trail Tam and I had been on! She was very proud, and I was pretty chuffed too.

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From what I read, NAME has developed a great relationship with Tam and her confidence is growing.

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Progressing with his emotional and social skills. Has developed trust in Tam and seems open to trying new things sometimes.

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NAME has great difficulty expressing how he feels.  This has improved whilst working with Sean.

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We have noticed a significant increase in engagement with NAME at school and with relationships with staff. He is slowly starting to open up about the sessions he is having with Sean, which is a huge achievement as Dustin would previously struggle to have conversation with others.

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They are learning to love themselves again. Remembering how much they are loved and valued. Recognising that they are important and their voice matters!

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Comfortable with carer outside the home. More confident with accessing the community. Positive interactions with others

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He’s learning how to self manage when his emotions are heightened and what to do to avoid these situations!

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NAME is experiencing times of increased confidence and self-worth.

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Doing better then he was in normal therapy

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NAME shows more confidence and independence with daily tasks. He also is gaining knowledge of the outdoors which will bre very beneficial in his future.

 

Do you have a message for the youth worker(s) that have provided sessions for your young person?

 

Thanks so much tam Kaiden has looked forward to every Thursday session and his behaviour has improved dramatically at school

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Tam, keep it up - let's go for another round of 6 sessions :-)

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They absolutely love working with Koby!

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Brett, you are not just a paid worker taking NAME out to one get him out the house and two just for me to have a break. You have the heart, skills and mindset to help, encourage, listen to help and support changes. I appreciate that alot

Thank you for all your hard work.

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What changes have you seen in Xavier from the beginning of the therapy

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NAME has come along way and am so happy how much things have helped him at school

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Thanks for the clear communication, flexibility and positive attitude

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thank you :)

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Amazing support, so holistic, really valuable support. It's instill life long learning, couldn't be more impressed.

Brett thank you so much for all your time and patience. You have been absolutely wonderful for NAME and I greatly appreciate everything you’ve done so far.

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Amy and Brett, thank you so very much for the time and compassion you have shown NAME, you have gone above and beyond and I can’t thank you enough for the support, the amazing communication and dedication you’ve shown us.

Thank you for the amazing work that you are doing with our son. Thank you for being a positive role model/ mentor/ big brother for our son. Thank you for investing into our son and helping him with new strategies as he walks through life. Keep up the amazing support.

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I think you are doing a great job. NAME seems to be enjoying her sessions.

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Thank you Nathan for everything you have done. You do such an amazing job with Jackson. He has really grown and achieved.

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Keep doing what you are doing!

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The smile on NAME's face in the photos says it all!

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Thaaaaaank yooooou! You’re wonderful.

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Keep doing what you're doing Tam!

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You're doing an awesome job. I can see it in the smiles on NAME's face, in the photos.

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Very impressed with how you have engaged with NAME and encouraged responses from NAME.  The reports which you send each week are very helpfull

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Thank you Sean for all that you do - you are patient, kind and caring. The young people engage well with you and enjoy their time with you. You are fantastic at working with young people to support their wellbeing and overall connection

Rasha, we are so grateful to have you as a part of NAME's journey

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Thankyou to both Amy and Tom for a positive impact on NAMEs mental health. The flow on effects for the family are appreciated too.

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Thank you so much for all your help, Archer really enjoys the sessions with you and we love how excited he is each week leading up. We’re really seeing some improvement which is all we could really ask for.

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Sean is beyond fantastic. We need more Sean's in the world.

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Thank you Jacob my son loves you and thinks highly of you

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NAME and his family are very lucky to have him as our support and appreciate the extra efforts he goes to and his genuine care for Jays development. 

 

Group day feedback

What did we do that impressed you?

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Many things, but particularly the down-to-earth communication, warmth and competence of the facilitators. I also loved hearing about the philosophy of enabling participants to "keep their dignity" under stress.

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Friendly and welcoming disposition

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Friendly, easy going, fun

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The Trauma Informed care provided during the challenging activities.

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Jaimee was amazing, calm and supportive of the young people who were feeling anxious.

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The rapport and relationship building was very well done and very clearly made an impact on our YP. The way Sean and Kim were both able to connect with our kids showed they excelled in their positions.

 

What improvement have you or your young person/people made towards meeting therapeutic goals?

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Well, I wouldn't be afraid to try abseiling again

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Family time

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Built more Confidence in them selves as individuals

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A sense of achievement.

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Our YP have made clear emotional and social improvements in both their communication and self regulation abilities. This is a direct result of their participation in this program. We were also able to build stronger relationships with our young people which resulted in increased engagement in the classrooms.

 

Do you have a message for the workers?

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Many thanks - the experience was for my birthday, on my birthday, something I didn't mention to them on the day

Thanks. You were all great 😊

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Thanks to the Team; Gram, Jaimee

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You are ACE!

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Thank you for everything and it was a pleasure working with all of you. Especially large shout out to Sean and Kim they are extremely helpful and it was very enjoyable to work alongside them both.

 

Our experience with Sean as NAMEs Youth worker has been fantastic and cant think of anything that needs improving. Our group session yesterday with Sean raft building was a great experince for the family. Sean made us all feel welcome and gave us great support along with NAME while still focusing on NAME. We would love to do more of this in the future. NAME is showing a lot more control at times with his emotions and we have witnessed him resisting the temptation of his impulses taking over. Home life is still a challenge but Sean is helping us as parents along with the other siblings try to come up with stratagies to make things better and can see over time we will get there along as we stay consistent with his weekly sessions.

 

 

School program feedback

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The students are interacting slightly more positively towards one another.

 

Students who may not necessarily engage with one another in everyday school life, come together to create hard-working teams where all students are engaged and kept accountable for their role in their team.

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Students kept journals throughout the process and will be encouraged to refer to their goals and learnings throughout the year. All students learnt a lot about themselves and the importance of teamwork and individual styles and growth.

 

Thank you for your positivity with the students and working alongside them to develop more positive life skills.

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Thank-you once again for you hard-work and awesomeness Jaimee and Darcy! Always a pleasure to have you onsite and having you engage with our students. We all truly love the work you do and the programs you provide for our students :) thank you!

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Thank you so much for support for our students and your willingness to provide such a wonderful program with a flexible and ongoing approach. We are very grateful to the team.

 

This was a possitive program for my daughter and appreciate the opportunity

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I found this program is just what Louie needed to give him that boost, he came home in the week a lot more assertive and talked happy. Thank you so much

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NAME enjoyed the camp. Thank you to the leaders who facilitated it.

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NAME has always had a good heart and I think this was an awesome experience for him he really enjoyed it.

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NAME really enjoyed the activities and I think it was a positive experience for him.

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I think over time we will see more positive changes with the way NAME reacts and responds to various situations and how he identifies and manages his emotions.

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Good program

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This is a fantastic program and I wish all kids could do it, not just the school leaders. Every child would benefit from this, please come and do it more in the schools!

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NAME thoroughly enjoyed the program and shared lots of stories with us about the various activities, challenges and understanding of each other's leadership qualities.

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Thank you so much to the ladies running this program. NAME had such a wonderful experience, she didn't want to leave!

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great course need more of it

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NAME absolutely loved and enjoyed her time on the camp. She talked about the fun she was having and enjoyed the company of the other kids involved.

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NAME wanted me to say that this experience has helped him alot and he thanks the whole crew for everything.

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Internship Feedback

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Intern 1 - 
I would like to start by saying a huge thank you for taking the time to supervise myself and the other interns. I first saw the YFO internship as an amazing opportunity to gain experience and knowledge in a psychology field with young people. What was provided was so much more. I learnt the many different avenues a psychology degree can be taken, how to work with children of many different backgrounds, how to think on my feet and overall gained a great deal of experience. One experience that stands out to me most was from the Noosa camp and how one of the children came and spoke to me about their past and what they had been through while we looked out onto the water. This for me was a powerful moment and made it clear what these adventure camps can do. 

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Intern 2 -

As a student of psychology and someone who loves the outdoors, I was interested to learn more about the research and therapeutic application. I found the training to be incredibly beneficial, and left those two days logically understanding the processes of Adventure Therapy. When on the farm, I found a range of incredibly different but complementary skills necessary to effectively facilitate a space of support for the children in the program; such as various communication techniques, and observational skills.

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Summit Feedback (Government Policy writers)

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Really enjoyed being introduced to concepts around the outdoors, and hearing about the link into Shifting Minds         

Early intervention and potential for outdoor therapies to support youth    

 

In my Department, education, it would be helpful for our frontline staff to know about the services available they might refer to. Our policymakers also need to know to support that.

 

Intersection of Trauma Strategy and capacity for outdoor organisations to work with complex trauma              

 

It would be useful for a formal evaluation to be carried out of a service like YFO to support approaches to government for funding. It was difficult to find evidence base for outdoor therapy

 

Importance of outdoor activity in social connection. Including trauma informed practice

 

The trauma informed conversation, including how this needs to be incorporated or considered across all therapies      

 

First Nations culture and values embed the context of all outdoor therapies           

 

I enjoyed hearing about different approaches.              

 

It was all very interesting.  

 

We need more collaboration, and need to get the work out more broadly

 

The research and the way people made it feel like it was bringing it back to what humans are all about  

 

I would really like policy makers to think about the fact that current residential mental health (AMHS model) runs completely counter to the research and what we know.

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Complex Trauma-Informed Training Feedback

 

This was such a great training, I enjoyed it a lot and found the content really helpful for me and my practice. I'm keen to begin utilising the skills and knowledge gained and build on the programs I run. Thanks so much! I'll be recommending the training to others.

 

inspirational in your stance to ensure young people have dignity and truly therapeutic experiences with you and us, your trainees. Thank you for a great couple of days!

 

Such a great course, taught from a place of genuine passion and deep knowledge. Amazing!

 

Such an informative, eye-opening and fun couple of days! Learnt so many new things and excited for what is to come

 

You are the best in Adventure Therapy. This would be a good orientation training for your new staff

 

an excellent course and fresh perspectives on mental health and on adventure therapy was stimulating leaving me wanting to learn more. Much of what I learned is relatable to my counselling with children and young people

 

Really enjoyed the delivery and content. Good opportunity for understanding foundations of adventure therapy/human rights and knowledge of credible resources but from a lived experience perspective. 

 

Great work, great delivery. Explained in a down to earth way. Thank you for sharing your work, research and insights.

 

I highly recommend for anyone in the mental health field. Thank you

 

Thank you. Engaging and valuable.

 

i really liked the intellectual approach of the theory, how it was research backed and presented as frameworks we can use. it was a great course, will be recommending to colleagues.

 

Thank you so much for making this engaging, understandable and relevant. It’s been the best training I’ve done in a long time

 

 love how easy it is to process and apply the knowledge. I look forward to implementing this in my practice

 

Loved the content and strongly believe we need more education for practitioners in this field. YFO is doing an amazing job !

 

Loved the course and great all round information. It's great to see alternative methods in this field

 

Loved the course and great all round information. It's great to see alternative methods in this field

 

Thoroughly enjoyed the training and would recommend to others. Very in line with my practice framework and see it being of great benefit.

 

I thought the training was excellent and facilitated a lot of lightbulb moments for me. Complex theories were broken down and explained very well. It was great to also have discussion time with the participants to learn from their experiences. Have been recommending the course

 

The content was very relevant to my job and can also be incorporated into my personal life.

 

The training has been the most thought provoking and enjoyable training that I’ve attended over the last few years. I’ve been so very impressed by the amount and depth of research that has gone into the training and the framework. Whilst I’ve come across some of the ideas previously, I haven’t come across training that focuses on the link between complex trauma and disassociation and then puts it together into such a wonderful framework. I’m looking forward to putting the framework into practice.

 

I would recommend this training course for anyone that works with children, particularly educators and sport coaches.

 

The training was informative, insightful, and brought to light the issues that many people around us face everyday.

 

The coersion theme was great. I think that's something more people need to understand. 

 

overall- extremely interesting and had lots of great takeaways which will inform my practice

 

Really enjoyed the course, was very informative and aligns with my own personal and professional views and values. Thank you

 

Thanks very much. Learnt a lot. Made me think. Will use this professionally and personally

 

Very well delivered. Informative and professional.

 

really feel like this was an immensely valuable training

 

Brilliant delivery with very transferable to work relate experiences. Great facilitation and group involvement. Amazing level of academic content. Thanks!

 

Thank you for your time and specialization in this area. It challenged some of my personal thinking

 

Good use of theory and how to utilize it in practice. Great personal to accompany training

 

Super stoked with the content and all that YFO does

 

Training was great. Theory explained in a very accessible manner for practitioners from different backgrounds.

 

Helped me feel confident in knowing that it’s simple, common sense, thank you

 

Fabulously presented and very engaging. Will recommend to others