Dear FHE Faculty and FHE Assistants,

We’re writing to share with you the results of the survey that was sent to assistants in May-June 2007. This was a Zoomerang Survey conducted on our behalf by Cindy Goss of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Cindy has assisted us with past surveys, including a prior iteration of this survey. 88 assistants responded to the survey.

For the entire survey summary, please follow this link to the Members Section of the FHE Website.

http://www.traumahealing.com/Members/survey2007.html

Additionally, there are a few highlights that we’d like to turn your attention to as you review these results. First, see in Question 7 that there is a large degree of consensus on what the respondents feel are important skills for SE assistants. 100% of respondents rated as Very Important and Important that assistants be skillful at containing their personal activation. Similarly, 100% of respondents rated as Very Important and Important that assistants: have good communication skills; have good knowledge of SE theory and practice; are skillful in providing clear feedback to students during practice sessions and are skillful at helping contain and manage activation in practice groups.

Two skills about which there were more divided opinions expressed in Question 7 are the knowledge and expertise in related fields and the willingness to support logistical needs of the class, organizer and students.

The two questions that presented perhaps the greatest divergence in responses are Questions 22 and 23, in which respondents are asked the rate the importance of the various kinds of feedback and support they receive as assistants. See in Question 22 that there is a high level of agreement about what assistants need from faculty, and from the FHE administrative office. Contrast these responses with those to Question 23, where respondents rate to what extent they are receiving the kind of feedback and support they have indicated they need. Here, it is clear that the responses are less positive than when assistants were asked to delineate their needs. It appears that this is an area for further inquiry and dialogue.

As you look over these results, you’ll see that overall there are positive responses about the experiences assistants have had. It was heartening to us to see that in response to Question #27, where respondents rated their overall experience of assisting in SE trainings, more than 91% of respondents responded that their experiences have been Very Positive or Somewhat Positive.

In closing, we invite your comments and suggestions on this survey and its results. Our sincere gratitude to all of the folks who took the time to share their insights and perceptions through this survey. This knowledge and wisdom will continue to inform our efforts to continually improve all aspects of our SE trainings.