Home Base, in collaboration with the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, has developed a program to train and certify instructors to administer the Resilient Warrior and Resilient Family courses to Veterans, Service Members and military families. The four core competencies of becoming a Resilient Warrior and Resilient Family instructor are:
- Awareness and knowledge of how to maintain participants’ safety who may be experiencing psychopathology (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance use) and experience managing group dynamics.
- Knowledge of and respect for military culture.
- Experience and knowledge of the Resilient Warrior and Resilient Family programs.
- Commitment to adopting the resilience skills, especially mindfulness, into their lives.
Each competency area has specific requirements that must be met to become a resilience instructor.
Competency 1: Safety Assessment and Group Process
-Instructors are required to have a safety plan for participants in their resilience groups (e.g., have a referral plan for participants who might need additional mental health support).
-Instructors must be comfortable teaching and leading classes of up to 30 people.
Competency 2: Military Culture Knowledge
-Receive training on military culture through the Home Base Training Institute. You can learn more about the courses offered by clicking HERE. It is expected that instructors will watch at least three of these courses and they are offered for FREE.
-For instructors who have served in the military, this competency area is waived.
Competency 3: Knowledge of Resilient Warrior and Family Program
-Instructors are required to take the “Building Resiliency through Cognitive Reappraisal and Lifestyle Modification” online course offered by the Benson-Henry Institute of Mind Body Medicine [click HERE to learn more about this course].
-Instructors are required to take an in-person or online Resilient Warrior or Family course with a Resilience Trainer. This course is FREE if provided by Home Base.
-Prior to certification, each instructor must teach a Resilient Warrior or Resilient Family course while participating in weekly (individual or group) supervision with a Resilience Trainer. This supervision is FREE and provided by Home Base.
-OPTIONAL: For additional training, instructors are encouraged to take the Benson Henry Institute’s Stress Management and Resilience Training program. This is an 8-week, 90-minute class that is offered online as well as at the Benson-Henry Institute. It is the core curriculum to the Home Base resilience programs. Click HERE to learn more about this program.
Competency 4: Commitment to Adopting Mind-Body Medicine
-Instructors are required to practice mind-body medicine daily. This is essential to effectively teaching the material.
-Instructors are required to take the “Stress and the Relaxation Response: The Fundamentals of Mind Body Medicine” and “Using Meditation in Clinical Practice: Applications of BHI’s RR Meditation Techniques” online courses offered by the Benson-Henry Institute of Mind Body Medicine [click HERE and HERE to learn more about these courses].
-This competency area will also be observed through ongoing group supervision and re-certification of resilience instructors. Certification will be dependent on one’s ability to incorporate and use the skills.
Upon completion of these competency areas, instructors will be certified by the Home Base resilience team and added to our website as certified “Resilience Instructors”. To maintain certification, Resilience Instructors are required to take a knowledge test every two years as well as participate in at least one group resilience training supervision each year.
If you have any questions or are interested in becoming a certified Resilience Instructor, please contact the Program Leader, Dr. Louisa Sylvia at lsylvia2@mgh.harvard.edu.
