Available Trainings

Person Centered Thinking

Person-Centered Thinking™ (PCT™) training is an, interactive skill development training where participants learn PCT™ skills developed by the Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices.

Twelve specific skills are taught across two days. A core value in person-centered practice is to understand and experience the skills before leading the process with someone else. Consistent with this, an important part of the PCT™ training is participants' work in pairs and small groups to develop their own person-centered descriptions.

This training is available in multiple formats both in person and live online, and consists of a variety of sessions and times depending on trainer and organization.

Learning Objectives

PCT skills help us get to know people, discover how to respectfully support them, and keep learning as we act on what we hear. They are effective to use with all people and are especially helpful for individuals and teams who are working to:

  • determine the best supports and services
  • sort through issues at work or at home
  • develop plans for students or others facing major transitions
  • plan for the future with a partner
  • support families through a variety of life transitions

The two-day interactive training will focus on:

  • Learning to balance what is important TO a person and what is important FOR a person
  • Practicing PCT Discovery Skills that help us better understand a good balance for the person and how to best support them
  • Introducing PCT Everyday Learning Skills to capture ongoing learning and support the person to create a life they envision

Interested in hosting a training at your location for general questions, or for more information, contact: Email: [email protected]

Interested in becoming a Trainer

If you have any questions about becoming a Person centered thinking Two Day Trainer please contact one of the Minnesota Mentors Below they can support you to better understand the requirements and the certification process.

Find Person-Centered Thinking trainings

Picture of a Life, Person-Centered Plan Facilitation Training

(Prerequisite – Person-Centered Thinking)

Person-Centered Planning is two days of learning and applying person-centered thinking and planning tools that are focused on helping people envision the life they want in their community. Multiple methods are applied to capture what a person really wants and out of this, a "picture of a life" is created, which contains all the elements of that person's desired future. This method can help teams increase creativity and facilitate more satisfying and effective planning meetings.

This training is designed for participation by key staff, especially managers and those who write or supervise the writing of support plans. This training is ideal for those involved in supporting folks through transitions.

Social Work and Nursing CEUs are offered

Two days of learning and applying person-centered planning tools that are focused on helping people move:

  • Completion of 2-day Person-Centered Thinking is required
  • Learn to create a picture that contains all of the components that define a person’s desired life
  • Apply multiple methods to capture what a person really wants in life
  • Increase the creativity of teams and facilitate a more satisfying and effective planning process
  • Organize information to impact the design, selection, and evaluation of support services
  • How to implement all of this within our system requirements!

Interested in hosting a training at your location for general questions, or for more information, contact: Email: [email protected]

Find Person-Centered Planning trainings

Person Centered Thinking – Coaches Training

The PCT 2-day training provides information for everyone to use, however, we need coaches, persons with a passion for PCT practices, to help support others and continue to spread the word about how PCT can improve lives. The idea is that coaches can lead by example and through the ripple effect, touch all those around them in positive ways.

  • Coaches make changes that improve the lives of the people receiving services and the effectiveness of direct support staff
  • Coaches create enthusiasm for using person-centered thinking – The BUZZ!
  • Coaches know what is working and not working for people they support and what would make people’s lives better

For more information regarding Coaches training please contact:

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma-informed care is an approach that helps people understand the effects of trauma and learn how to build trusting and caring people in a someone’s life. The outcomes of a trauma-informed care approach are to prevent harmful events and build new skills that helps a person cope with past trauma. It is also important to make sure that a person does not become re-traumatized.

Find Trauma Informed Care Trainings.

Positive Behavior Supports

Positive supports are approaches that are used to help people using a variety of proven support strategies that do not include punishment or seclusion.

But positive supports are much more than that. Positive supports are about respecting the dignity and rights of every person while offering individualized and effective services.

Whether someone is receiving mental health, housing, educational, disability, or any other services meant to improve a person’s life, positive supports:

  • Build on a person’s unique strengths, assets, interests, expectations, cultures, and goals,
  • Respect the rights and individuality of each person, and
  • Offer solutions that are effective.

Find more information on Positive Behavior Support.