De-escalation and Active Bystander Training

Offered online in partnership with Maine-based Prevention.Action.Change. This 4-hour training is divided into two 2-hour sessions and you will be able to choose either a daytime or an evening track.   

Morning Sessions:
Thursday, September 19, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Thursday, October 10, 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Evening Sessions:
Thursday, September 19, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Thursday, October 10, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Purpose: Prevention. Action. Change. works to counter harassment, assault, & abuse through safety strategies, verbal and physical skills, increased confidence & awareness, and promotion of healing and growth.

Goal: To help Maine Council of Churches clergy and member parishioners to build awareness and skills to prevent, interrupt, and respond to an array of situations from microaggressions to threats of harm through boundary setting, active and effective bystander intervention, and de-escalation.

Content:

Session 1: Active Bystander Intervention – focuses on situations in which participants witness boundary crossing, microaggressions, and other identity-based harassment experienced by others with a focus on the election context. This session explores the 5Ds of Active Bystander Intervention: Direct, Delegate, Distract, Delay, Document, as well as the roles race, gender, class, position, and power play in intervention.

Session 2: De-escalation – focuses on the direct skill of de-escalation: recognizing the stages and signs of escalation, methods for de-escalating oneself, awareness of personal escalation triggers, and the use of effective intervention strategies and tools at the anxiety, aggression, and acting out phases of escalation.

Meet Clara Porter

Clara Porter: Clara Porter, (she/her) is the Director of Prevention. Action. Change. A nationally certified instructor in Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) with the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation and the Center for Anti-Violence Education with 30 years experience in the field. Porter holds a Masters of Social Work, is a trained Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, and certified in Advanced Trauma First Aide. She and has extensive experience working with organizations and people of all ages, backgrounds, and identities including those with physical, mental/emotional, and developmental challenges.