Training Overview for Your Choice Coaches
Your Choice for Your Choice Coaches: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-Informed Training for Professionals Working with Young People at Risk of Serious Youth Violence
Overview: This is a three-day, in-person training, with a follow-up integration session 4-6 weeks after the last day of training (ideally once practitioners have started delivering the intervention).
The Your Choice programme offers a structured, CBT-informed approach to support young people who are involved in, or at risk of, serious youth violence.
Through a blend of theory, skills development, and practical exercises, participants will gain the knowledge and tools needed to deliver the Your Choice intervention effectively. The training will also build confidence in using and adapting cognitive behavioural techniques to engage young people, promote positive change, and help them identify and achieve their personal goals.
By the end of the course, participants will:
- Understand the aims and guiding principles of the Your Choice programme.
- · Have a foundational understanding of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and how it applies to young people facing harm or vulnerability.
- · Recognise the relationship between activating events, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
- · Learn how to set goals creatively and support young people to identify and manage problematic patterns that can hinder progress.
- · Appreciate the role of diversity and individual experiences in shaping engagement and behaviour.
- · Be familiar with a range of CBT strategies and exercises that can be adapted for use with young people.
- · Understand the importance of therapeutic processes and the role of clinical supervision in maintaining good practice.
Training Format:
- · 3 consecutive days in-person, followed by an integration session 4-6 weeks after the last day of training
- Interactive workshops, group discussions, and practical application
- · Delivered by experienced trainers with expertise in CBT and youth engagement
- · Participants are expected to complete and pass a short quiz at the end of the training to demonstrate understanding of the programme.
- · After completion of the training each participant is required to attend monthly individual or group clinical supervision which will be provided locally. In order to qualify for certification participants are required to evidence attendance at a minimum of 6 Your Choice Clinical supervision sessions post training.
Who Should Attend:
This course is suitable for professionals who have experience of and are working directly with young people in settings such as youth services, social care, education, criminal justice, or mental health settings.
Attendees should be working within an organisation and site approved by the Your Choice central team. Part of this approval process is validation that all participants will be provided with ongoing support from a registered Your Choice clinical supervisor. The training provider will check this prior to accepting participants onto the Course.
What do I need to deliver Your Choice in my service:
- A local safeguarding policy and a named Designated Safeguarding Lead
- A Clinical supervisor experienced in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) who has successfully completed the Your Choice Train the Trainer Course
- Capacity and time to provide high-intensity support to young people.
Interested? Find out more from the Your Choice team at YourChoice@londoncouncils.gov.uk. Your Choice Coach training is typically delivered locally, with the cost of training and subsequent mandatory supervision covered by the local delivery organisation.