Team of Life Facilitator Training
Learn how to deliver a unique resilience programme based on Narrative Therapy
For allied health and educational practitioners working with children and young people. Can also be used for resilience building with adults and team building with staff groups. Includes access to session plans and resources.
Unlike other mental health resilience programmes, Team of Life moves beyond an internal and individual focus and acknowledges people’s social and cultural context, helping to reduce stigma.
"Telling stories in ways that make us stronger"
We loved the above drawing that Lucy Rothwell, Education Mental Health Practitioner with Liverpool Mental Health Support Team did, which really brings the Team of Life metaphor to life.
Participants decide who they would like to think of as being in their ‘team of life’ from among their family, friends and other people who are important to them
Recognising the skills in their teams helps them to build confidence
Drawing how they worked together with their team to achieve a goal is an innovative way of telling stories of achievement and hope
People are reminded that celebrating goals with a team is much more fun than on your own!
Being part of a team makes it easier to think about how to tackle problems together
Team of Life provides a common and universal language for all children, whether or not they like sport
Perhaps you are thinking that Team of Life is for children who are interested in sport? Our research has shown that this is not the case; Team of Life has been used with children of different genders and children who are not so keen on playing or watching sport still benefitted and enjoyed taking part. As it is a highly playful approach children can play with the metaphor and go with alternative interests if they wish. Team of Life also provides a space for some of the problems within the sporting arena to be explored. The exploration of positive sporting values within the programme can also potentially ignite interest in sport among children who have "switched off" from sport.
In addition, don't worry if you don't know a lot about sport yourself, the language used in Team of Life is simple and we will give you all the tools you need to draw on the sporting metaphors that are used.
"Quite a lot of people like sports but even if you don't, you still know what it means without having to ask, you sort of understand" Year 7 Team of Life participant.
Research, led by University of Liverpool in partnership with Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust found groups led by staff in schools trained to deliver Team of Life helped children to:
Feel less isolated
Be less socially withdrawn
Show more pro-social behaviour such as kindness and friendliness
Team of Life can be beneficial for anyone. It can be helpful to all of us to think about the important people in our lives; those whom we have learned from or who have helped us through life. Children and young people who have become or are at risk of becoming socially isolated are particularly likely to benefit, including children who have experienced:
Losses, trauma, or hardship
Low-level mental health problems
Concerns in relation to transition to secondary school
Difficulties with friendships
Problems related to self-esteem
Qualitative research with children who participated in Team of Life highlighted benefits in a number of domains:
Appreciating Others - "It reminds you of who's there for you, and like who can look after you when you're down"
Getting Support - "If I wanna do something I try and ask my parents if they wanna help me"
Improved Interactions - "It helps you realise that sometimes when you be mean to somebody you don't have to be mean to them over a tiny thing"
Team-work - "Yeah, I used to just kind of work on my own but now I like working in a team"
Helping Others - "I think just like being kinder to people and like if someone's sitting there upset I'll go over and talk to them"
Achieving Goals - "Team of Life helped me achieve it and it'll help me because now I know I can achieve my goals I think I might set a few more"
Increased Confidence - "I'm a lot more confident speaking out in class"
Choose between our Online Course, Face-to-face Training or Live Online Training. All options include access to the guidance and downloadable resources to support delivery of the Team of Life Age 10-100 Programme
All Courses, Team of Life Narrative Approach
Study at your own pace - 6 hours of study time available 24/7 over 90 days
£140
All Courses, Team of Life Narrative Approach
One day face-to-face training workshop. Develop an understanding of the principles of narrative therapy underpinning the approach and become a Team of Life Facilitator
£240
All Courses, Team of Life Narrative Approach
One day or two half days live online training workshop. Develop an understanding of the principles of narrative therapy underpinning the approach and become a Team of Life Facilitator
£180
All Courses, Team of Life Narrative Approach
Full step by step instructions to deliver the Team of LifeAge 10-100 Programme. Familiarise yourself with all the resources which you can then download and print.
Choose between Option 1, 2 or 3
Option 1 - Online Course - study at your own pace; approximately 6 hours of study time which is available 24/7 for 90 days
Option 2 - 1 day Face-to-face training - 1 day face-face workshop led by Dr Vicky Eames (NB this option cannot be purchased online, please contact us)
Option 3 Live Online Training - two half days online workshop led by Dr Vicky Eames (NB this option cannot be purchased online, please contact us)
Team of Life Resilience Programme - online access to step-by-step facilitators' guidance and session plans to our flagship Team of Life programme. The programme is 6 x 1-hour sessions that can be adapted for groups of different sizes. Some of the core activities can also be adapted for 1-1 and family work
Introduction to Narrative Therapy - the approach underpinning Team of Life provides a philosophy and methodology for conversations that places children's stories, knowledge, and skills at the centre
Downloadable resources: everything you need to deliver Team of Life including session plans, printable handouts, and optional PowerPoint support
Team of Life Facilitator Community - online community accessed via the Team of Life Hub, enabling you to connect with us as well as share practice experience with fellow facilitators
Session plans, printable handouts and PowerPoints
All the materials you need to support delivery of the Age 10-100 programme are included. You will be free to download, print and re-use these resources as often as you wish.
Understand more about Narrative Therapy and the Team of Life Approach
Develop skills for narrative conversations that can be used with children, families and adults
Run our Team of Life Programmes within your setting
Build resilience and reduce social isolation among your client group
Deliver this cross-cultural approach that can be adapted to a range of client groups including BAME and those disadvantaged due to socio-economic status
£140 per delegate
£240 per delegate
£180 per delegate
We have trained practitioners from services and organisations from a range of sectors including the NHS, Education and Third Sector. Some of our partners and customers include:
Cheshire & Wirral NHS Foundation Trust; Wirral Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service, Wirral Mental Health Support Team
Alder Hey Children's Hospital Trust; Clinical Health Psychology Team, Liverpool Mental Health Support Team, Sefton Mental Health Support Team
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust; Buckinghamshire Mental Health Support Team
West London NHS Trust; Hounslow Mental Health Support Team
St Helens Educational Psychology Service
Cheshire West and Chester Educational Psychology Service
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; Grenfell NHS Health and Well-being Service, Adult Mental Health Services
West Sussex County Council; Thought-Full: Mental Health Support Teams in Schools
Hendon Football Club; Silver Jubilee Park Community Hub
Here's what other practitioners have said about our Team of Life training and programmes
Our mission is for all children and young people in the UK to have the opportunity to take part in Team of Life; ensuring they have a sense of connected identity and know they are not alone but have a team around them to help.
No specific qualifications are required to attend the training and become a facilitator. We aim to involve service users and experts by experience and young people working as peer mentors in the delivery of Team of Life as well as professionals.
Access to the Team of Life Online Hub is valid for one year. Following this a small additional administration fee (currently £25) is charged in order to have continued access to the Hub including resources that are regularly being updated. The downloadable resources can be printed for use with young people. There is no additional charge for this.
Training is delivered face to face, online via Zoom or through a self-study online course.
No, this would be a copyright infringement. The resources are for individual use by the person who has undertaken training. This is important to ensure that people delivering Team of Life have the necessary understanding of the approach. If you would like to purchase training as an organisation please contact us on [email protected]
Yes! We highly recommend attending training as a team as you get added team building benefits due to the experiential nature of the training. Why not take time as a team to think about your shared values, support networks and goals? Contact us for more information.
The Age 10-100 programme is aimed at any age and is suitable from approximately age 10 and is 5 sessions long. We have an additional programme aimed at children aged 7-13 that can be purchased separately by facilitators who have trained as a Team of Life Facilitator.
No, Team of Life is for everyone. You can use the approach with families, individuals, adults and staff groups to help build resilience and teams.
No, our research has found that children enjoy and benefit from taking part in Team of Life whether or not they like sport. Team of Life doesn’t involve any sporting ability. It uses sporting metaphors which provide an easy to grasp universal language that is familiar to people of all ages. Space is provided to share knowledge and experience of sport good and bad.
No, our research has shown that girls enjoy and benefit from Team of Life just as much.
We'll be in touch soon with more information on how to access training