Bridges | Professional Development Center for Person-Centered Values
What is person-centered thinking?
An evolution in human services, person-centered thinking (PCT) helps organizations worldwide to succeed by fully integrating people in their own social care – not as a problem to be “fixed,” but as the best source for identifying interests, preferences and desires that, when integrated into their own social care, can lead to positive control over a full and meaningful life.
This simple change in thinking can make a profound difference.
- Better outcomes based on a deeper understanding of personal interests and desires
- Better lives for people empowered to share their gifts and live on their own terms
- Better results for managers and facilitators, including renewed purpose and satisfaction
We established Bridges | Professional Development Center for Person-Centered Values in 2015 as an independent division of Community Bridges dedicated to providing essential professional development services and training to individuals and organizations wishing to facilitate better life experiences and personal outcomes by learning about person-centered strategies.
Your best resource for person-centered training
With more than 15 years of experience in person-centered practices through our work at Community Bridges, we are in a unique position to share our knowledge regarding proven, real-world skills and strategies. That’s why Bridges is the first organization in Northern New England with credentialed trainers affiliated with The Learning Community for Person Centered Practices.
What types of organizations can benefit?
We created Bridges to provide essential training in person-centered thinking to:
- Organizations serving people with intellectual disabilities and behavioral health issues
- Health care providers serving people of all ages
- Schools
Inside a Bridges person-centered thinking workshop
Each two-day Bridges workshop provides the basic skills to apply the principles of person-centered thinking to your daily work. The knowledge gained will not only help you make a difference, but you can share what you have learned with your colleagues, contributing to continuous quality improvement within your organization.
Day 1: Group Work and Discussion. Through applied stories and exercises, participants learn how to sort information using a variety of frameworks, including:
- What is important “to” and “for” a person
- Core responsibilities for support givers
- Using judgment and creativity
- Matching support givers and recipients
Day 2: Guided Partner Exercises. By pairing participants for exercises in directed conversation, listening and information sorting, your staff will learn:
- Applied person-centered principles
- Discovery skills
- How to develop person-centered descriptions
Meet our trainers
Our experienced, enthusiastic PCT trainers make each Bridges workshop a process of discovery – helping you find skills and strategies that improve lives with examples and inspiration you can apply in your own person-centered work.
Schedule a Bridges workshop today
Simply click below to find dates and times for currently scheduled workshops in person-centered thinking. If you are interested in bringing person-centered thinking to your organization, we can create convenient on-site sessions customized to your organization’s needs and drawing upon examples that relate to your specific work.
To learn more, call 603-415-7000. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities can contact us through the Federal Relay Service (NH Relay) by calling 7-1-1 or 1-800-735-4423.
Community Bridges is a non-profit agency serving the communities of central New Hampshire. Disability is a natural part of the human experience and may occur as a result of developmental impairments, injury, or aging. We advance the integration, growth, and interdependence of people with disabilities in their home communities in ways that promote their ability to have positive control over the lives they have chosen for themselves.
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