Workshops and Trainings
Want to bring Fireweed Collective to your campus, organization, or community to talk about mental health and healing justice? All 2020 workshops are delivered online only.
Fireweed Collective learning spaces are places to listen and be heard; to grow and to connect. Our offerings build on the legacy of The Icarus Project while expanding our scope in service of collective liberation. We offer workshops with specific content (listed below), as well as more open talks and trainings that are tailored to community needs!
All of the following workshops are available in English and Spanish. We also offer rapid response and custom workshops and trainings. Send us a note at info@fireweedcollective.net or fill out this form.
Emotional Safety Planning
Emotional Safety Plans (Mad Maps) are wellness documents that help us to navigate our emotional terrains, particularly as they relate to issues like oppression and trauma. In our ESP workshop participants examine the way oppression impacts our perspectives and experiences of mental health, and explore non-judgmental approaches to emotional wellbeing, as well as build strategies for coping with and transforming individual struggles, especially in the larger context of social injustice. The insights and tools provided are all developed for and by Icarus Project members. This workshop can be tailored to specifically support LGBTQ people of color and youth audiences. (Minimum 1.5 hours)
Fired Up and Burnt Out: Keeping it together in uncertain times
How can we keep ourselves grounded as we participate in this movement moment? In our current political climate, we’re seeing many new activists and increasing momentum but also increasing burnout and despair. This workshop shares strategies for how to collectively address burnout and make sure our movement work is sustainable. This hands-on workshop will use Fireweed resources, group exercises, and role plays to help activists get tools for sustainable resistance. (Minimum 2 hours)
Emotional First Aid
Do you know how to support someone experiencing a mental health or emotional crisis? So many of us want to show up for others who need support, but just don’t know what to do. This training covers the basics of how to provide emotional first aid for someone you know and love, or even someone you just met. We will offer practical skills that you can practice in your everyday life. (Minimum 3 hours and can be extended to 6)
Authoring our Stories
This workshop has been designed to support participants in understanding the stories they were born into and the stories that have been told for them. Participants will gain new insights about their own stories, how they are related to larger narratives, and begin the process of authoring their stories in their own words. Participants will examine ways in which we exist in the world, and the events and people that have shaped us. (3 hours)
Supporting Self-Determination: Fireweed’s 101 For Mental Health Providers, Health Care Workers, Educators, And Other Professionals
The current mental health paradigm centers around the sometimes alienating language of “illness” and “disorder,” and often discounts the emotional impacts of oppression and injustice. Many people find that these approaches from the mental health mainstream can be a source of stigma and hopelessness. What can mental health professionals and others in the helping professions do to creating caring, just, and non-judgmental support for people with mental health issues? Based on the insights of Fireweed peers and professionals alike, this offering creates a space to share practical insights and approaches to diminish mental health stigma, challenge oppression and foster emotional well-being for all. (Minimum 1.5 hours; Talk minimum 1 hour)
In addition to this workshops we are happy to tailor talks and training for providers. Talks give your group an opportunity to hear in-depth stories and insights from our staff and advisory board members about their personal experiences and community organizing efforts. Trainings are intended to equip participants (peers, faculty, staff, mental health professionals, and more) with impactful skills drawn from the many tried-and-true strategies in Fireweed’s toolbox. The duration and specific content of talks, workshops, and trainings are very flexible – Fireweed-led events have ranged from one hour to one week in length! All topics may be offered online if bringing an in-person facilitator is cost-prohibitive and are available in English and Spanish.
RAPID RESPONSE
We recognize that many communities are especially at risk as a result of systemic oppression. We experience trauma from many forms of violence and often struggle to cope with our reality. This places us at greater risk, whether from burnout due to organizing or from self-harm and suicide due to hopelessness. To combat this we offer rapid response webinars to train community members in the life-saving tools of emotional safety. These are offered upon request by organizations and community leaders from the following communities: people of color, women and gender nonconforming people, LGBTQI+ people, people with disabilities, immigrants, low-income and working class people, and people who are at risk due to their religion, ethnicity, or geography. Please note we do not offer webinars to individuals and we do not provide counseling services to individuals or groups. Our tools are peer-created and community-sourced for personal or organizational use. You can view recordings of past webinars here. We welcome inquiries at info@fireweedcollective.net.
FEES
Fireweed Collective works with schools, organizations, and other groups on a sliding-scale basis. We set our rates in relation to your group’s budget and access to resources.