Lives are at stake in male family violence telephone counselling. It is imperative that all of our telephone counsellors are adequately prepared to respond to callers in ways that are safe and ethical.

No To Violence and Swinburne University of Technology jointly developed and now deliver a Course in Telephone Counselling (Male Family Violence). Our efforts in this regard have been recognised by awards at international and national levels.

All prospective telephone counsellors are required to complete this training, although some may choose not to undertake the final assessment. Trainees in this course come from many different backgrounds including trades and professions. A number have little or no recent or formal education.

The MRS course requires a large commitment of your time for the duration of the training program – up to six hours per week. MRS also requires telephone counsellors to commit to one three-hour shift every
fortnight ('though some perform a weekly shift if personal circumstances permit). Please seriously consider your ability to commit to the training program and volunteer responsibilities before applying.

The first part of the training program involves one training session per week. Most sessions are held at the MRS offices in Abbotsford. 26 sessions cover the modules:
• Telephone Communication
• Male Family Violence, and
• Principles and Practice of Male Family Violence Telephone Counselling.

The training also includes practical work such as practice and assessment calls, agency visits and observation shifts which you complete outside the training sessions.

The second part of the program consists of 70 hours of telephone counselling work on the phones (23 shifts of three hours each, conducted over a 12 month period or less), visits to agencies and a family violence court, peer supervision sessions and at least one observation of a men’s behaviour change group.

Participants find the training program challenging and informative; it is professionally delivered. As well as equipping people to be effective telephone counsellors for our service, it provides significant opportunities for participants to gain valuable personal growth and development outcomes. Indeed, it is very difficult to do this work without being open to personal change.

Most telephone counsellors continue to volunteer after they complete the course.