Optional CEs for STAR October 2018

STAR was developed in the months following the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and from its inception integrated multi-cultural perspectives, sensitivity, and awareness. By attending this 4 1/2 day training, you will join thousands of STAR graduates from the USA and more than 65 countries who have been equipped with strategies for handling post-traumatic stress and leading others beyond traumatic events, informed by the latest trauma healing and resilience research from the fields of neurobiology, restorative justice, nonviolent conflict transformation, and broadly defined spirituality.

The curriculum was developed by internationally-renowned faculty and training staff of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA. The STAR Training alumni include Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee, the former President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mahamud, US State Department Officials, Foreign Service Officers, and Military Personnel.

In Minnesota:

• 98% of STAR graduates rated the STAR Training as “Very Good” to “Excellent”
• 100% increased their confidence to appropriately aid and assist when their clients, family, friends, and community members face stressful and traumatic circumstances.
• 99% indicated they recommend the STAR Training to others.

STAR Training Course Objectives

By the end of the STAR Training you will have:

1. Distinguished between various types of trauma and responses to trauma and related this information to your individual, community, and social history.
2. Examined the links between unhealed trauma and cycles of victimhood and violence and described how you have seen these cycles operate in your own situation.
3. Studied STAR's integrated trauma-informed healing model, analyzed it in light of your experiences, and identified ways to integrate it into your current life and work.
4. Examined ways to build resilience and accompany individuals or groups on their healing journey by identifying personal and systemic trauma-informed interventions.

Daily schedule of this STAR Training:
Monday, October 22 8:30pm-4:30pm
Tuesday, October 23 8:30am-4:30pm
Wednesday, October 24 8:30am-4:30pm
Thursday, October 25 8:30am-4:30pm
Friday, October 26  8:30am-1:00pm

Once your online registration and tuition payment are received, additional training materials will be emailed to you. During the training snacks and beverages are provided. Lunch is available for purchase nearby. If you have questions, please contact Peacebuilding at info@mnpeace.org or 612-377-4660.

To avoid the online processing fee, please contact the Peacebuilding office at info@mnpeace.org and request registration for payment by check via regular mail.

The STAR Training Objectives and Guidelines

Welcome to The STAR Training! We are delighted that you are interested in joining us to interact, learn, and grow together. During many STAR trainings, trainees come from different countries and from various parts of the United States as well as Minnesota. Trainees represent different political leanings, cultural practices, religious traditions and understandings of spiritual practices. The STAR Training originated at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. Mennonites are a historic peace (Christian) church denomination and is Anabaptist rather than Catholic nor Protestant. The STAR Training is not a religious program and warmly welcomes people from all backgrounds.

As you can imagine, this rich diversity makes a dynamic learning environment as we explore issues of trauma and healing, human security, justice and peacebuilding and relate these concepts to our own contexts. In order to create an optimal learning environment, please take time to read the following understandings about the training, beginning with the training objectives.

1. STAR Training Objectives:
By the end of the STAR training course, you will have:
a. Distinguished between various types of trauma and responses to trauma (both positive and negative) and relate it to your individual, community, and societal history.
b. Examined the links between unhealed trauma and cycles of victimhood and violence and described how you have seen these cycles operate in your own situation.
c. Studied the strategic trauma healing model used at STAR, analyzed it in light of your experiences, and identified ways to integrate it into your current work.
d. Examined or practiced ways to build resilience and accompany individuals and groups on the healing journey through identifying personal and systemic interventions and rituals.

2. STAR recognizes that trauma affects body, mind, and spirit and addresses all of these aspects.

Psychological trauma hits us where we are most vulnerable and makes chaos out of the order of our lives. Healing processes need to address body, mind and spirit. As human beings, it is normal for those coming from a spiritual tradition to seek comfort and reassurance from their faith at such times or to address deep questions of meaning. All of us are aware of the religious tensions that exist in our world today. Your STAR cohort will likely be a microcosm of our diverse world and we see it as a rich opportunity to build bridges of understanding.

3. STAR is conducted as a multi-cultural, multi-faith gathering.
This is different than conducting the sessions as an interfaith or intercultural seminar (see definitions below.) It means each of person is given the safety and space to interact with the content of STAR freely using the language of his/her own culture and faith tradition or spiritual practice. We ask that you exercise respect and sensitivity in this and at all times, speak only for yourself.

We have also found that, given the diversity of people who come to STAR, many issues, both individual and structural, could be used as case studies of trauma and the resulting cycles of victimhood, oppression, and violence. Because of the complexity, long history, and emotional intensity of such issues, getting centered on any one could result in diversion from the primary training objectives for the week and jeopardize the learning atmosphere for others.

Therefore, for the emotional safety of the group, we ask that STAR not be used as a platform for the promotion of a particular theological, ideological, or political issue.

4. STAR is an educational event.
Many STAR trainees have found the week to be therapeutic, but STAR is not designed to be therapy. The experiential exercises are to illustrate ways of working in communities affected by trauma. The academic input is educational in nature. Neither should be used as diagnostic or professional treatment tools. Any concerns you might have about psychological issues should be discussed with a qualified mental health professional. If you have questions about this during the week, please discuss them with STAR staff.

Following from these understandings, we offer the following guidelines for the training:

a. See the week as an opportunity to stretch and grow, owning that many of us have much to learn about other people’s cultures, faith, and perspectives.

b. Speak for yourself rather than being prescriptive for the group.

c. Share who you are, but refrain from theological, cultural and philosophical debates and proselytizing.

d. Use the “Ouch, then educate” principle if someone says something that offends or hurts. Example: “Ouch, making that generalization about Africans, Muslims, etc. reinforces tired, outdated stereotypes. In fact…).
e. Assume that no one in the group is out to deliberately hurt or degrade one's faith or one's people.

f. Tell personal stories to illustrate why you feel a certain way about something controversial rather than making general statements or pronouncements.

g. Ask rather than make statements about another’s culture or faith. Example: “I understand that Hindus... Am I correct?” “Is it true that in the US you …?”

STAR staff reserves the right to ask a trainee to withdraw from the training early if, based on our experience and judgment, his/her disruptive conduct jeopardizes the group’s educational experience.

STAR and all of Peacebuilding's trainings are available by contract arrangement for