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Volunteering at GLCS ** THE NEXT INFORMATION NIGHTS FOR PROSPECTIVE VOLUNTEERS: THURS 30 SEPT 2010 and WED 13 OCT 2010 6.30pm - 8.30pm.** ** TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST TO ATTEND AN INFORMATION NIGHT or FOR MORE INFO ON FORTHCOMING TRAINING DATES, PLEASE EMAIL This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ** The GLCS is a community-based organisation which provides short-term telephone counselling, support and referrals to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people throughout NSW (as well as their families and friends) 7 nights a week, every week of the year. Our volunteers are everyday people giving their time to help other everyday people. They staff our state-wide telephone counselling and information referral lines, facilitate coming out workshops, drug and alcohol recovery groups, provide quality educational services to the GLBT as well as the wider community, and also help with fundraising or promotional activities from time to time. Why volunteer at GLCS?Volunteering at GLCS gives you the opportunity to make a real difference for another same-sex attracted or gender diverse person, their families and their friends. Being there for another person and really listening to them is an incredibly rewarding experience for both the caller and the volunteer. “A feeling of being part of something significant” What’s in it for you? The benefits of learning counselling skills are two fold. We can support our clients in a professional “counselling” sense while at the same time providing ourselves with an opportunity to enhance our own personal communication styles with our family and friends.
If you would like to get involved as a GLCS Volunteer, please call 02 8594 9500 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to find out more. The GLCS Volunteer Training ProgramGLCS receives a lot of interest from people wanting to attend our Volunteer Program which includes the nationally-recognised Certificate III in Telephone Counselling.The program is open to people who self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer. Not GLBT? Have you considered volunteering with our partner Twenty10? http://www.twenty10.org.au/ The Certificate III in Telephone Counselling CourseAt GLCS we train our volunteers in conjunction with an RTO (Registered Training Organisation) which means you can also complete a Certificate III in Telephone Counselling Skills. The benefits include:
Places in the training course are limited so entry is by invitation following selection based on written applications, attendance at an information night and possibly an informal interview either face to face or on the telephone. **We have also developed a training package in Group Facilitation Skills - for more information on this and for upcoming training dates, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ** The GLCS Certificate III in Telephone Counselling training is in two parts – the first a series of four face-to-face training workshops usually over four consecutive Saturdays. This part of the course combines theory and practical exercises for experiential learning, and covers interpersonal and basic counselling skills, as well as knowledge designed to enhance community awareness and self development. The second part of the training involves a series of shifts (listening shifts first and later, speaking) sitting in with one of our qualified volunteer counsellors. The shifts are designed to give you the opportunity to gradually practise and increase your counselling skills in real situations. When you feel you are ready to take calls on your own you will take your final practical assessment in the form of a live counselling shift supervised by one of our assessors. Trainees found competent will receive their Cert III in Telephone Counselling Skills and be able to take phone shifts unsupervised as a telephone counsellor. “The course is intensive, very comprehensive and enlightening. Just the right mixture of practical and technical”. What does the training course involve?The course may include: · Approximately 25 hours of face-to-face training (usually four consecutive Saturdays, 9am to 5pm) · Supervised practical telephone counselling sessions, 3 hours each (approx 20 to 30 hours total) · At least one 3 hour practical telephone counselling assessment · Possible follow up training, coaching and or peer support sessions Once you are accredited we ask that you participate in annual ongoing training to maintain your skills and broaden your knowledge. Certificate III Telephone Counselling Course Fees*
*Payment plans are available subject to approval. Please note that our fees are reviewed annually so may be slightly higher at next intake. ** Concession rates apply to Full-Time students, unemployed etc.
“the interactive workshops helped me to practise the theory learned. It was practical and engaging” When is the next training intake?GLCS has one or two volunteer training intakes per year. If you would like to find out about the next intake, please call 02 8594 9500 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it What is the selection process for potential counsellors?As part of our selection process we hold an information night which introduces applicants to GLCS, answers their questions about volunteering and the training course, and helps them decide if they would like to join and/or volunteer at GLCS. It also helps us to determine if applicants would be suitable as telephone counsellors at GLCS. Volunteers at GLCS are very diverse, and there is no particular “type” of person we are looking for, although we do require our counsellors to self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, same-sex attracted, queer, transgender, genderqueer or some other identity within the GLBTIQ umbrella. Other desirable attributes might include a willingness to:
What is a typical telephone shift like?Taking a regular phone shift at GLCS can be exciting, rewarding, challenging, and even frustrating at times. During a three-hour shift you might take up to ten calls, only a few and sometimes maybe none. You may have other volunteers on overlapping or the same shift as you, or you might be the only volunteer on the phones at the time. Some may find that the opportunities to socialise with other volunteers on a telephone shift is rather limited. GLCS recognises the importance of having opportunities to mix with other volunteers and we have social and developmental activities throughout the year to give our volunteers the chance to mix and be supported. If you are interested in becoming a GLCS Volunteer Telephone Counsellor or would like to know more, please call (02) 8594 9500 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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| Last Updated on Friday, 03 September 2010 18:00 |
| gay & lesbian counselling service of NSW |
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