GPS Circles of Connection for the Jewish Community Facilitator Training 25

Do you want to bring more support to the Jewish community and are interested in learning how to run Support Circles?

GPS Circles of Connection is a new GPS initiative for the Jewish community that builds our communal capacity to care for and support one another during times of increasing trauma, stress, polarization, and rising antisemitism.

Join this upcoming training and learn how to bring GPS Circles of Connection to your community!

Apply for a Scholarship HERE

“I feel like I've been waiting for months to find a space like this. It felt like a relief to speak freely and to hear from folks experiencing similar feelings.”

-Circles of Connection participant

GPS Circles of Connection is a new initiative for the Jewish community that builds our communal capacity to care for and support one another during this time of increasing trauma, stress, polarization, and rising antisemitism. Based on the established evidence and trauma-informed GPS Group Peer Support model, this unique training will prepare you to facilitate peer-led support circles for the Jewish community. Facilitators learn how to create a confidential, protected, respectful, and welcoming space where all members of the Jewish community can connect authentically and compassionately across both shared experiences and different perspectives.

The successful Circles of Connection Program was first launched to address the rising stress and strain in the Jewish community following Oct 7th, 2023. At a time when the Jewish community has struggled to find spaces to share their experiences, thoughts and feelings, especially with increased polarization and differences of opinion, Circles of Connection provides an opportunity to bring Jewish people together to feel connected, listen to each other, and find common ground.

This program was first developed for the Greater Boston Jewish community in collaboration with Jewish Family & Children Services of Greater Boston and JCC Greater Boston, and funding was provided by the Beker Foundation, CJP’s Center for Combating Antisemitism, The Ruderman Family Foundation, and other foundation partners.

Now you can bring this evidence and trauma-informed program to your community!

Learn the GPS Group Peer Support model and develop powerful facilitation skills that foster connection, resilience, and transformation for communities and individuals facing diverse challenges. This training will teach you how to create supportive, trauma-informed, therapeutic group experiences where individuals can find not only connection but also the space to prepare to take the next step for themselves and their communities. If you are a professional mental health provider, clergy, community leader, or volunteer, and have a passion for helping others, we warmly invite you to join us in learning a transformative approach that addresses the unique challenges facing the Jewish community. Become a catalyst for positive change today!

LEARN HOW TO:

• Integrate Jewish values in the heart of a group experience by being grounded in shared ethics, traditions, and teachings like Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), Chesed (kindness), and Kehillah (community) to inspire meaningful interactions.
• Create a trauma-informed, culturally responsive support circle model that is easy to learn and implement in diverse settings, with diverse populations, and in multiple languages including Hebrew.
• Address the intersection of generational, system-based, and current trauma, antisemitism, disparities, and cultural and gender identity with compassion and skill.
• Integrate trauma-informed skills into groups to ensure diverse opinions and differences are held with mutual respect, non-judgment, compassion, and safety.
• Incorporate evidence-based approaches of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Grounding, Peer to Peer Support, and Psychosocial Education in groups.
• Lead a strengths-based group approach that ensures an accessible, welcoming, and transformational group experience for all.
• Run groups that support, empower, and benefit not only the individuals and communities being served, but also the group facilitators.
• Bring people together across diverse perspectives and create environments of mutual respect, non-judgment, compassion, and safety.

“It was really powerful to hear others' experiences, especially when it was different from my own. It's a good reminder we are all entitled to our own and experiences.”

-Circles of Connection participant

• All denominations of Jews
• Jewish Camps - campers, counselors, parents and staff
• College communities - faculty, staff, and students
• Hillels and other Jewish campus-based organizations
• Israelis
• Jewish professionals
• LGBQTIA+ Jews
• Parents of infants/toddlers, elementary, secondary, and college-aged children
• Progressive Jews
• Rabbis, Cantors, and religious lay leaders
• School communities - preschool, elementary, and high school
• Secular Jews
• Synagogues
• Zionist Jews
• Non-Jews in close relationship to Jewish community

THIS TRAINING IS FOR YOU!

Whether you are a mental health provider, a first-time group leader, a teacher, a rabbi, or a volunteer, you will learn skills that will change the way that you run groups and gain the confidence to lead consistently impactful groups for your community.

• All kinds of Jews
• All denominations of Jews
• Activists, organizers, and leaders
• Clergy and lay leaders
• Mental health and medical professionals
• Students - middle school, high school, higher education
• Supervisors and administrative leaders
• Teachers and educational leaders
• Volunteer leaders of all kinds

* Social Work CEUs are available. Inquire about other continuing education credits at

“I could not believe how much people were able to open up in just 1.5 hours.”

GPS Group Peer Support is a strength-based, trauma-informed, and welcoming approach to group therapeutic care, offering consistent mental health support during times of stress, crisis, and change. This evidence- and trauma-informed model has been successfully implemented across diverse populations and settings, delivering impactful results. By incorporating mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, peer-to-peer support, and other evidence-based modalities, GPS effectively mitigates the long-term effects of stress and trauma. The model allows for rapid replication in an easy-to-learn format for both peer specialists, people with lived experience, volunteers, and lay leaders, as well as professionals. GPS trainings are interactive, ensuring participants gain a comprehensive understanding to begin using this proven, impactful approach in their communities. GPS’s innovative, scalable, and replicable approach aims to foster a supportive environment where individuals can find the resources and strength to move through difficult times with confidence and resilience.

Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

Learn more about GPS Circles of Connection:

• GPS Circles of Connection Pilot Report
• GPS Participants share about their experience

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OPENING PRACTICUM

Must attend one live session. You do not have to attend more than one opening practicum session.

• April 28th, 1:00-3:30 pm
• April 29th, 1:00-3:30 pm
• May 5th, 7:00-9:30 pm

* All times listed are Eastern Time (EST)

1:00 pm - 3:30 pm EST

• May 6th - Module 1: Intro to GPS and Power of Groups
• May 7th - Module 2: Mindfulness Rest Stop
• May 8th - Module 3: Guidelines
• May 13th - Module 4: Realities and Principles
• May 14th - Module 5: GPS Check In
• May 15th - Module 6: Reflective Listening, Weaving, Grounding, and Closing

Must attend a minimum of three live sessions. Recommended to attend weekly.

• Tues June 3rd, 7:00-8:30 pm
• Thurs June 5th, 12:00-1:30 pm
• Tues June 10th, 7:00-8:30 pm
• Thurs June 12th, 12:00-1:30 pm
• Tues June 17th, 7:00-8:30 pm

* All times listed are Eastern Time (EST)

1. Opening Practicum. Live attendance is required for one session.
2. Training Modules. 6 sessions. Attend live. Recordings of all modules will be available to registered participants.
3. Facilitator Support & Practicums. Live attendance is required.

HOW TO ACCESS TRAINING AFTER REGISTERING

Access to training materials, live sessions, recorded sessions, and evaluations will be via the Eventbrite online event page after you register. You must have an Eventbrite account to register and then be logged in with that same account to view the online event page content. Click here for more guidance.

Event Venue

Online