Accredited with:
the Institute of Continuing Professional Development, UK. Accreditation No: 12369
Are you interested in helping others talk about all end of life matters more easily?
Do you love witnessing others' transformations?
If yes, then becoming an End of Life Planning Facilitator will enable that in the best way possible!
If you:
- love the idea of helping others be more at ease talking about dying, death and grief
- like being with those who may be facing their own end-of-life
- are moved to facilitate the transformation of others' attitudes towards life and death
- have had your own experience of someone dying
- love watching someone grow through learning new things
AND you want to increase your ability, your credibility, and your confidence in this area, then read on...
You might have had to take care of your parents or someone else close to you who has died, and realized the last thing you want is for your own death to be like that. Or perhaps you’ve been an executor where the person who died was organized, and you understood what a huge blessing that is. Maybe you just feel comfortable with this subject and want to help others feel more at ease too.
Whatever your own circumstances, one thing you do realize is that with an aging population in the western world, more and more people are having to admit to something they have found unpalatable before – that they themselves are going to die.
Do you want to play your part in making your own end-of-life, your parents' and your children's, as easy and effortless as possible?
If you do, then join us in the B.I.G. vision (and it is a big one!)
To have 1 million people have end of life plans before I go myself!
Can you imagine that?
This B.I.G. Academy training in end-of-life planning is part of that vision. If this idea lights your fire, and you want to make a contribution in this way to the world, then welcome, you are in the right place!
Who am I?
Jane Duncan Rogers, founder of Before I Go Solutions and the B.I.G. Academy, and head coach.
When my husband Philip died, I never for one moment imagined I would end up first of all being grateful for both his life, but then also for his death. It sounds weird, that, but due to how things have unfolded, he is still making a big impact in the world, through me, and through this not-for-profit organisation. Mind you, I never for once thought I would end up working in this field!
I had been an award winning counselor and coach for over 25 years, having originally trained with the famous Louise L. Hay, working in the personal growth field in many different aspects. I'd published books and tapes (well before the internet) and was helping small business owners to reach their full potential when Philip died.
Because of the questions he had answered in his last year, I was well prepared in some respects for the admin side of things afterwards. But there was much more we simply did not know about.
Fast forward to 2018, a year during which both my parents died. They had completed a comprehensive end-of-life plan each, the one that Before I Go Solutions offers, now known as the Before I Go Method.
This was very different to my husband who had answered some things, but there was a lot more that I simply had to decide about by myself.
And that difference was huge – as my parents' executor, I simply had to follow all their thoughtful instructions.
What’s more, it was easy to find everything, and I took great solace from knowing I was carrying out what they wanted (and that they had known I would do this). My three siblings and I had no arguments at all, over what was a pretty stressful period (they both died unexpectedly within the same week).
I am so incredibly grateful and appreciative for the organisation they had so carefully thought through.
So I know from personal experience how hugely important this preparation work is, and I want to help you to help others do this too!
Trained facilitator Jane Diamond, England
"By focusing on one's own end-of-life planning, the BIG Solutions Academy training comprehensively takes you through the practical stages of preparing one’s paperwork as well as the more emotive areas of thinking about death itself and funeral preferences. Jane offers a solid, calm and wise presence throughout, carefully balancing the needs of the group with keeping to a well-structured timetable of modules. For anyone interested in how to deliver end-of-life advice and support in the form of workshops, working with small groups or 1:1 then this training is a must!"
Successful graduates will:
- Be authorised and able to work privately in their locality, in any country
- Be able to work with people individually, and groups/families
- Have their own will, POA and Advance Directive completed
- Have completed their own Before I Go Workbook, and thus their end-of-life plan
- Upon successful certification, be accredited to use the Before I Go Solutions® materials
- Be known as a BIG Solutions® End of Life Planning Facilitator, if you wish
- Have increased confidence in talking about these matters with all kinds of people, whether just family/friends, or strangers
Graduates will also:
- Be able to easily facilitate conversations on death, dying and grief
- Learn to handle your own emotions while dealing with others’ challenges with death, dying and grief
- Get extra credentials to add to what you already have
- Receive an understanding of the psychology behind the reluctance to talk about death
- Be able to create your own Before I Go Method® course for those in your locality or your own community; either in-person or virtually
- Be accredited by the Before I Go Academy, the training arm of Before I Go Solutions
- Have authorised use of the B.I.G. logo and other marketing tools and materials
- Receive an outline of how to run a B.I.G. Method course
- Receive further resources, training, and support if wished
- Have the ability to take this course to organized groups such as carers, companies, social groups - or to work just with those you know already
- Receive a copy of the Before I Go Workbook, and ‘Before I Go: The Essential Guide to Creating a Good End of Life Plan’
Trained facilitator Michael Williams, Canada
"Jane's "Before I Go" training has deepened and broadened my understanding and appreciation of the importance of preparing a positive end-of-life plan. While it's not an easy or comfortable prospect, the training allowed me to share my fears and concerns while at the same time providing me with the tools and knowledge to meet this challenge. I am grateful to Jane and to my colleagues on the programme for their support and for providing me a safe space to share my experiences and reflections. Thank you! Michael Williams" michaelwilliamsstorycoaching.com
CONTENT OF TRAINING:
Introduction: to each other, content of course, how it is organized, how best to make the most of it, what you need to do to graduate and practice as a licensed facilitator.
Required reading:
Three books are on the required reading list; and then there is also a list of suggested reading.
Module 1: What is death?
Religious beliefs; importance of ritual; exploration of major beliefs and attitudes; importance of leaving out your own beliefs/religions and how to deal with others' thoughts and feelings. How to start a conversation about dying, death or grief.
Module 2: Exploring Deathstyles – Your Own and Others
Fears about dying and death; facing facts; last days wishes and how this ties in with advance directives and POA’s; moral dilemmas and conflicting values; preparing for your own death; bucket lists; workbook completion and how to facilitate this.
Module 3: Who am I and what is a body?
Understanding the difference between who you are and the body that encompasses this; why knowing this is important; how to embrace this for yourself and introduce it to others; working with different belief systems; energy work and its importance in this area.
Module 4: Wills and Powers of Attorney
Overview of course; purpose and focus of the course; guidance and rules. Legals: What they are, why we have them, how to work with solicitors, how to find one who will support you; how to advise people; how to deal with questions.
Module 5: Advance Directives and Last Days Wishes
What they are; how to write them; intro to values and how to intro them to others; understanding the emotional impact of this; guiding people to make them; common questions. Includes anticipatory care plans (UK)
Module 6: Assisted Dying
Legal position – and what to do; ethics and morals of such; options other than assisted dying and how to communicate about these.
Module 7: End of Life Preparation
Preparation for death – how much do they want to do? what can they do?; language to use; understanding what happens when someone is in dying process; definition of ‘end of life’; financial affairs – trusts, accounts, inheritance tax etc
Module 8: Funerals
Funeral wishes; Funeral costs; DIY – what you need to know re practicalities; care of the body at home; celebrancy and other options; funeral costs and how to keep them down.
Module 9: Bereavement
Models of loss; resilience; impact of grief – behavioural, spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, social; dealing with complicated grief; building a new life
Module 10: Listening and Action-taking Skills
Importance of listening; how to give feedback; judgments vs curiosity; how not to take things personally; how to communicate information so it can be easily heard; communicating with those who don’t want to know; how to enable action to happen; what to do when it doesn’t.
Module 11: Working with Groups
Group dynamics; communication skills within groups; how to run an ongoing BIG group – practicalities; dealing with conflict in groups. What to watch out for.
Module 12: Working with Clients; Presentations.
Essentials of coaching and working with individuals and couples; presenting an aspect to the group of an area of interest.
Module 13: Money and Marketing
Definition of marketing; intro to the basics; pain and pleasure island; the importance of knowing your ‘why’; benefits vs features; pricing myths and how to charge
Module 14: Completion and What’s Next
Learnings, takeaways, how to implement; how to set up in business (if needed); basic marketing skills. Further training available in how to market your courses to make a bigger impact.
The training also includes:
Group follow up call
Individual assessments
Private follow up sessions
Trained Facilitator Nuala Lindsay, Scotland
"Having been through the end of life process I totally understand the benefits of being prepared. When an opportunity at work presented itself a couple of years ago to provide such information for our clients, it was a no-brainer to get involved. When Jane launched her Before I Go Facilitator Training it was an even greater opportunity to embrace. It has been a chance to enhance my knowledge, skills and confidence with a view to creating and delivering supportive and informative workshops for those too afraid ‘to go there’, or blissfully ignorant of the fact that end of life planning exists. From learning to delivering, this is a humbling experience and ultimately a chance to change lives on so many levels, for the better. You don’t often get to say that about a course you’ve been on"
We promise to:
- help you develop new skills in discussing and facilitating all matters to do with dying, death, grief and end of life planning
- provide you with something unique to offer those you work with (after all, we are all going to die, so we all need this!)
- provide an exceptional quality of training (accreditation has been received through the CPD Certification Service, the UK's leading body for continuing professional development courses.
- support you through a vibrant community of like-minded professionals, all passionate about helping others prepare as best as possible for a good end-of-life
- give you all the materials, experience and back-up required to be able to facilitate the Before I Go Method® in-person courses, or just to have continuing, informed conversations with those you know in a more detailed way - whatever you choose
What is the Before I Go Method®?
This tried and tested Before I Go Method has been developed over the last 3 years, working with individuals both on and offline to enable them to complete their end-of-life plans. You can find the online version here, and it is the contents of this that you will be taught to facilitate, although the modules and the way it is done are somewhat different to the online version.
As part of the training, you will receive full access to the Before I Go Method online course, normally costing £197. This will enable you to complete your own end of life plan
Trained Facilitator Mary Vargas, USA
"I loved this training! This will give you the background and comfort to be able to help others develop a helpful end-of-life plan. You will be able to talk from experience because you will get your own plan in order along the way, and do so with a supportive group of colleagues. Jane has a lovely way of making talking about death something that is normal (as it should be!). You will learn how to organize, think about, and facilitate preparing for end-of-life in a way that is encouraging and supportive. I definitely recommend this course!" www.achievecg.com
Practical Details
Online: This training is online, via Zoom, each class being 2 hours with a short break in the middle; and spaced out over a period of 7 months. Modules are accessed through a dedicated learning platform.
Time Commitment: As well as the live calls, we have a private Facebook group for you to engage in in between the modules. This is an excellent way to ask questions, share your knowledge, post useful information, and in which I will be interacting every day. My research has shown that most people interested in this subject use Facebook as their preferred social media account, so being part of this group will be a working demonstration as to how to create and use your own, if you wish. There will also be some PDF’s, MP3’s and other information attached to most modules.
Outside of this, I estimate the time to be spent on reading/researching will be 2-4 hours per week. This is a very general estimate as it will vary enormously depending on how much of what is needed for graduation you already have in place.
Dates: (the time will be 4-6pm UK time (10am PST; 1pm EST) These will be on Wednesdays, starting date is 22nd January 2020, with fortnightly classes thereafter (all recorded). Full dates are available on the FAQ (see bottom of page).
(If you have not got your own eol plan in place, do not worry – that is not a pre-requisite for taking this training, although you will have had to complete it before you can graduate and become qualified to teach the B.I.G. Method).
Includes access to the BIG Method personal end of life plan course -this normally retails at £197, and taking this is a requirement of completing the training.
Investment:
This is an investment in you, your family and those with whom you wish to work, in whatever capacity. While it is a training in how to help others make end-of-life plans, it is also a course in life and death itself. Once you have done your own end-of-life plan, and have trained and received your licence, all that is still required is that you keep your own plan up to date, and that you meet the annual licence requirements, meaning you will be keeping your skills up to date.
The investment in this accredited training is £1797. (approx US$2500) That total includes the £197 (approx $275) cost of the BIG Method online course, enabling you to have your own end of life plan done too (this is a requirement of graduation.). You will also have your own Workbook, and all materials associated with the course. Payment plans are available, spread over the 7 months of the course, or longer, by arrangement.
Trained facilitator
Shelagh Richards, Scotland
"I have just completed the Before I Go Facilitator group training with Jane Duncan Rogers. It was an invaluable experience, Jane has fantastic facilitation skills and enabled the group to work well together. The pace of the course is perfect, covering all aspects needed to help people prepare their end of life plan, plus more! You get provided with excellent materials that can be used with facilitating your own groups. By the time you reach the end of the course you should feel confident in being able to help people in this very worthwhile area. I can’t recommend this highly enough.”
Application process:
This takes the form of an application form, and an interview. If you would like to have an informal chat with Jane first, please contact her here, with BIG Training in the subject line. Otherwise please use the same form to request an application form. There are also further details available should you want them re all dates, licensing information, insurance, the assessment process, supervision etc.
Trained facilitator
Maureen Kures, USA
"The Before I Go Solutions Facilitator training course is rich and robust. This training empowers me to feel more knowledgeable and confident in the facilitation of family conversations related to end of life wishes. I am grateful to have the Before I Go Solutions in my training arsenal as I help families achieve a peaceful ending through advanced planning".
Trained facilitator Sharon Wood, UK
"As a student of the Before I Go Facilitators Training, I love the fact I have completed my own EOL plan – and it has been a pleasure rather than a chore. We all know that such endeavours don’t often make it to the top of our ‘things to do’ list. And yet, if not done, they remain a concern somewhere in our busy minds. It is truly liberating to get these plans made and as a consequence live a more fulfilling life. I look forward to facilitating others to do the same, and I can thoroughly recommend this very informative course, with its role plays, video critiques, and real life stories that support the learning. I felt very well supported throughout the course by Jane and my fellow students".