Brief Encounters® Annual Evaluation

An annual evaluation of our Brief Encounters® courses has been independently completed by Dr. Sinéad Hanafin of Research Matters Ltd. The report is an evaluation of 14 Brief Encounters® programmes which were delivered to more than 150 frontline workers. Participants held a wide range of professional roles and include: Family Support Workers, Public Health Nurses, Project Workers, Childcare Workers, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Youth Workers. 

Evaluating courses helps us to ensure that the training we deliver is of the highest quality and that the knowledge and skills gained by participating frontline practitioners are valuable to them in their work. The evaluation measures a range of learning outcomes such as:

•Skills gained

•Confidence 

•Awareness

•Attitudes

•Time management

•Boundaries

•Behaviours

•Likelihood of offering help

The vast majority of participants “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the course enhanced their understanding; was relevant to their practice; stimulated their interest; developed their skills and that the course was useful. 

Other findings include:

•increase their knowledge, understanding and awareness in the area of relationships

•are more likely to recognise, and intervene with, their clients where they suspect there are problems 

•Have very positive experiences of taking part in the course and a high proportion (75%) rate various components of the course very highly.

•Either” agree” or “strongly agree” that the trainers encourage participation (97%), create a sympathetic learning environment (96%) and handle personal experiences and emotions of participants well within the course (96%) 

•Report that the course was relevant to practice, stimulated their interest, developed their skills in respect of their practice and was useful overall. 

One participant wrote: 

“I am really impressed with Brief Encounters model. It’s so user friendly and has given me a sense of confidence and clarity around supporting clients’ issues particularly in more complex situations. I have recommended it already to my colleagues”.

95% of participants who completed the course “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that they would recommend the course to a colleague, demonstrating the value of Brief Encounters® to frontline practitioners.