Training

We engaged Katherine to provide facilitation skills training for a mixed group of researchers and patients, so that they could lead research co-design workshops at our annual Aortic Dissection patient conference. Katherine delivered an excellent Facilitation Skills training session over Zoom. I particularly liked that she got participants working together on developing their skills, even though the training was of necessity virtual. Also, through the entire training session Katherine was a role model of what she was teaching delegates to do - they saw and they emulated her. Afterwards, she sent through her notes as a Facilitation Guide. As a result, the team Katherine trained was able to facilitate a very effective afternoon of research co-design workshops for 120 delegates at our event at the British Medical Association. I would highly recommend Katherine as a facilitator and a facilitation skills trainer.

Gareth Owens, Chair, Aortic Dissection Awareness UK and Ireland 

We have been fortunate to benefit from Katherine’s expertise both as a facilitator and particularly as a trainer. Katherine has worked with our Patient and Public Involvement Team as well as our researchers in building skills to generate dialogues with patients about research that have improved the focus, conduct and outcomes of our studies. Katherine’s tailored and common sense approach to training is always well received and leaves people feeling positive and enabled to hold complex and sensitive discussions. We are very grateful to have been able to benefit from her expertise.

Andi Skilton (Senior Research Associate Lead) and Karen Bonstein (Manager), NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre

I attended a facilitation training course run by Katherine and it was a game changer for me. I work as a Patient Engagement Specialist and regularly facilitate meetings. Facilitation is not an easy skill. It is hard to find courses and workshops, and the guidebooks out there don’t often apply to my setting. Through Katherine's training, I learned many practical, easy-to-apply skills. She took us through every stage of the art of facilitation, offering different scenarios, and helpful prompts to tackle some of the most difficult situations, including ones that every facilitator dreads. She encouraged everyone to be authentic and find their style. Katherine is incredibly experienced. I'd been in groups that she had facilitated in the past and had always wanted to learn from her. I feel the training has helped me engage different audiences and navigate meetings with patients and family members with confidence. I always find myself going back to the materials she created. I highly recommend Katherine as a trainer to anyone who is looking to improve their facilitation skills.

Dana Arafeh, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto

Katherine is incredibly knowledgeable and experienced in the field of facilitation. She hosted a training session in University College Cork for academics, researchers and those involved in patient and public involvement (PPI). The session was very engaging and thought-provoking. Katherine kept the focus and interest throughout the entire training, which made it easy for all attendees to ask questions and practice our new skills with confidence. She truly cared about our success and modelled the behaviours and techniques she was teaching us, providing real-life examples of successful facilitation in action. From working with Katherine on two projects, she is always patient, approachable, and willing to offer guidance and feedback. I would highly recommend Katherine to anyone looking to improve their facilitation skills. She is a true expert in the field and a pleasure to learn from and work with.

Dr Irene Hartigan, College Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork

Katherine ran a day’s training on facilitation skills for involvement for the Charities Research Involvement Group. Our members have a range of experience and work in very different charities. The training was so good we asked her to repeat it so that more of our members could benefit. She took the time to listen to what we wanted before the training, and then responded to this but also added other things she thought would be useful. Our members really valued her skills and knowledge, and appreciated how she was able to deal with their questions and to make constructive suggestions about how to address some of the challenges they face. We’re likely to ask Katherine to help us again – she was great. And we’d highly recommend her to others.

Bec Hanley, Shared Learning Group on Involvement & Charities Research Involvement Group

"I honestly can't recommend this workshop enough. I used to think that good facilitation primarily happened through natural confidence and charisma. It felt intangible, and possibly unattainable. Katherine's workshop completely changed this, emphasising the importance of preparation and giving us an intuitive structure and set of principles to follow. I now firmly believe that good facilitation is a learnable skill, and am looking forward to practicing."

"Thank you-it was wonderfully facilitated 🙂 ! It was a really nice pace and I had lots of useful discussions. I learnt practical tips and ideas from Katherine and other attendees, which felt like a really nice balance. I'd had a meeting that I struggled with facilitating a few days before, and this session really helped me to reflect on that and how to move forwards with that group more confidently."

"One of the best things about the training was experiencing Katherine's facilitation skills in action, moving us as participants through the training and managing the conversations and time. This really helped to bring to life the theory which was being taught."

Feedback from facilitation skills training delegates