Assistant Guidelines
The Guidelines in this section pertain to Assisting in Somatic Experiencing trainings. There are different requirements for each level of assisting. All requirements & applications to assist can be found here: Assistant/Provider Downloads.
Assistants, session providers and case consultation providers are an integral part of the overall training experience for SE students. Assistants provide direct learning support at the trainings themselves. Session providers enhance SE class participants’ learning of SE, as well as provide examples of how SE is incorporated into various practice modalities, by providing direct experience of the SE method in private sessions. Case consultation providers help SE class participants deepen their understanding of SE principles and methods in relation to their own practice modality, help them integrate Se effectively into their particular practice settings, and provide support for developing their individualized practice of SE.
Assistants are an important part of the Somatic Experiencing learning support team. They provide support, containment, and feedback for students during practice sessions in class, help out with organizational matters such as setting up breakout rooms, monitoring times and helping prepare snacks, and fulfill faculty support tasks as requested by faculty members.
Assistants are strongly encouraged to make a commitment to assist at all modules of the training year for which they will assist. Some faculty members may make this a prerequisite to being accepted to the assisting team for a given training.
While we understand that those assisting in SE trainings for the first time may still be learning SE themselves, there are some skills that assistants are expected to have even at the outset of their assisting role. We expect assistants will, to the best of their ability:
- Develop their capacity for containment and self-regulation
- Be a cooperative team member
- Take in constructive feedback and direction
- Maintain appropriate professional boundaries, including confidentiality
- Support the faculty teaching function
- Have a working knowledge of the SE curriculum
- Assist in providing overall class containment by helping faculty, fellow assistants, participants and class coordinator
Each faculty member has his/her own preferences for how assistants are to provide feedback to participants, support the faculty teaching function, etc. As one example of assistant guidelines, the guidelines used for the current advanced trainings are provided in this link. click here>>
If the faculty member has not clearly articulated what is expected, we recommend assistants ask the faculty member to outline what is expected of assistants for that particular training.
Applicants need to be pre-approved as assistants prior to their initial assisting assignment. It is up to the individual faculty members to make the final decision about which assistants will actually assist at a given training, but faculty must draw from the pool of pre-approved assistants. Faculty have the final say in who assists, not the local organizer.
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