Information for Proposed Training Site

The ETM Basic Seminar is available to the host church or organization virtually free of charge. We are even willing to offer it as an opportunity to certain organizations as a fund-raiser.

Trauma Education & Consultation Services brings in a trained staff of lecturers and small group leaders to meet the individual needs of those in attendance. The ETM Basic Seminar offers four complete days of instruction which includes: teaching for the entire group by Denice Colson and others on the staff; small group interaction (which allows each attendee to practice facilitating and participating in mock TRT through role plays); and will be individually coached and critiqued in their ability to follow the structure.

In addition to the teaching and practice sessions, the registration fee includes a complete set of training manuals, a copy of Stop Treating Symptoms and Start Resolving Trauma!, by Denice Colson, and individual time with the staff, if needed. The registration fee for 2007 (outside the metro-Atlanta area) is $699 per person for registration paid 30 days in advance, $850 per person if paid less than 30 days but more than 10 days in advance, and $875 if paid less than 10 days in advance or at the door. Alumni registration is $100 if paid more than 30 days in advance or $150 if paid less than 30days in advance or at the door. Personal Enrichment (certificate of attendance only, not certified to use the TRT as a professional or lay-counselor) is $299 per person if paid 30 days in advance, $350 if paid less than 30 days but more than 10 days in advance, and $375 if paid less than 10 days or at the door. With the registration fee, which is sent directly to Trauma Education & Consultation Services, we pay for the printing of brochures and their mailing to our list, marketing in professional magazines and newsletters, accommodations, travel expenses and salaries for all the staff and, of course, books and training manuals. If you are accustomed to hosting professional seminars, I'm sure you can figure out that the ETM Basic Seminar is a bargain.

Your participation in sponsoring an ETM Basic Seminar involves "soft costs" such as janitorial, electrical and mailing. Additionally, your local committee handles the organization of any meals you would like to offer, snacks for breaks, and setting up the small group rooms. Since the ETM Basic Seminar operates on a small margin, we require full support of the sponsoring organization of the event that would include the mailing of brochures to your mailing list and promotion at your various events. Whether attendance is high or low, the ETM Basic Seminar is a wonderful service to make available to your church and community. The ETM Basic Seminar allows your ministry team to learn from our experienced trainers with a minimal financial commitment.

As an additional benefit to your organization, TECS will provide to sponsors their choice of either: 1) one fully paid Professional Track (clinical or associate certification) registration (valued at a total of approximately $699 to $875), or (2) two Personal Enrichment registrations (certificate of attendance only, not certified to use the TRT as a professional or lay-counselor) for every ten fully paid Professional Track registrations as of 15 days in advance of the training date (valued at a total of $600 to $750). For example, if there are 100 fully paid Professional Track registrations by the 15 day in advance of training date, your church would receive twenty complimentary Personal Enrichment registrations, with a total value of $6000 to $6750!. The sponsors can give these complimentary registrations to whomever they wish. Sometimes the sponsor will give these complimentary registrations to counselors, Pastors or assistant pastors, church personnel, or Sunday School teachers. Some churches may choose to give these to professional counselors in the community who are interested in developing their trauma recovery skills and work with the parishioners of the church. If the individuals who receive these registrations wish to receive the approved continuing education units, they may do so at an additional cost of $10 per person.

To schedule the ETM Basic Seminar and make it available when most people can attend, we've learned to avoid the following:

First two weeks of January

Any federal holiday

Spring Break in your area

Graduation week in your area

Week after Mother's Day

Week after Father's Day

Week before and after Thanksgiving

Last two weeks of December

Any other large function or event in your area that would fill the flights into and out of the airport(s) in your area and fill up the hotel rooms.

The ideal facility has:

1. A major (at least national or international) airport within an hour’s drive of the church or conference center.

2. A reasonably priced, clean, safe hotel located near the church (we don’t need the Ritz but we don’t want a dump) OR a conference center with on-site lodging, meals, and training rooms.

3. A training room (with a sound system). A room large enough to comfortably fit classroom-style tables and chairs for the attendees–but not so large they are swallowed up. We also need registration tables near the entrance to the training room, product tables at or near the back of the room, and a place for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.

4. One classroom or meeting place (that will comfortably hold 10-12 people) for each small group.

6. Access to the facility on Thursday and Tuesday afternoon or evening for the TECS staff to set up the registration and product table.

5. Optionally, the sponsor may want to provide lunch on Saturday for informal discussion with the staff and other attendees. If so, a separate space for setting out lunch buffet-style on Saturday would be required. An additional option is to provide lunch on each day and take advantage of meeting with the staff in an informal way to discuss the training and application of TRT. These meals would be provided by the sponsoring organization.

Those who have attended the ETM Basic Seminar will have a better feel for the needs of the ETM Basic Seminar attendees. Therefore, it is recommended that the Sponsor, who will be the liaison with TECS, be an ETM Basic Seminar graduate. Often the Sponsor will coordinate with another individual at the host church or conference center where the ETM Basic Seminar will be held.

If the ETM Basic Seminar sounds like a program that would benefit the men and women of your community for 2006 or beyond, send me an email. The ETM Basic Seminar can be held on a Wednesday through Saturday or Monday through Thursday outside the Atlanta, Georgia area. Within a one-hour radius of Atlanta, it can be offered on either those days and/or two consecutive Fridays/Saturdays. Once you contracted to sponsor an ETM Basic Seminar, we will provide a complete manual with a timetable outlining the sponsoring organization's responsibilities. A minimum requirement for attendance outside the Atlanta, Georgia area is 30.

Please feel free to review the other pages on the TECS website regarding the ETM Basic Seminar for additional information. Or, feel free to contact our office to receive an ETM Basic Seminar brochure. The brochures we would provide for your ETM Basic Seminar would be very similar.

I hope the ETM Basic Seminar will be right for your church or organization. I look forward to hearing from you! Please contact our seminar coordinator at 770-898-2966.