Rainbow Competency Trainings
InsideOUT Kōaro is the national provider delivering free rainbow and takatāpui competency training to the mental health and addiction workforce in Aotearoa. The goal of these trainings is to make it easier for rainbow and takatāpui service users to access safe and inclusive care from mental health and addictions.
Our training is open to all mental health and addiction services and practitioners, with a focus on access and choice providers and primary mental health and addiction services, as well as those working with youth, Pasifika, and Māori communities
There are three streams of this training (including workshops or wānanga, resources, and follow-up) available: a kaupapa Māori stream, a Pasifika stream, and a Tauiwi stream.
If you are a mental health/addiction provider or practitioner interested in these trainings, please fill out the following enquiry form and our team will be in touch shortly:
“All people from rainbow communities deserve to be treated with respect when accessing support. This training will equip services with more knowledge to be able to provide rainbow competent services for rainbow people, who we know face disproportionately high mental health and addiction challenges in Aotearoa.”

Tauiwi Stream
ARC: Advancing Rainbow Competency
The ARC training includes a workshop, resources for further learning, and an hour of follow-up with InsideOUT to support you in making your service or practice safer and more inclusive for rainbow service users. Learn more about the workshop via the drop-down boxes below.
About the Workshop
The standard ARC workshop is a 5 hour interactive workshop for up to 25 participants covering eight key learning objectives ranging from understanding of key concepts and terminology, to practical tips on professional practice, and applying learnings to common scenarios, covering the following topics:
- Rainbow concepts and terminology
- Key factors
- Professional practice + service
- Answering key questions
- Protective factors and resilience
- Gender affirming healthcare
- Intersections of discrimination
- Applying learnings and key concepts
The 5 hour version of the training is highly recommended and InsideOUT can work with you to find a solution that works for your service or practice where the 5 hour workshop isn’t possible. Multiple workshops can be run for larger services where capacity allows.
Workshop Delivery
The ARC workshops are delivered by two of InsideOUT’s education facilitators. Full 5 hour workshops include group work, activities, discussion groups, and scenario exercises.
All staff working in the service (clinical and non-clinical) are encouraged to participate in the workshop. A ‘whole workplace’ or ‘whole service’ approach enables the whole team to be on the same page, and recognises the valuable and significant impact that non-clinical staff have in making the service safe and inclusive for rainbow service users.
We will be holding some workshops open for individual practitioners to attend. Fill out our form to express your interest in one of these and we will let you know when we have something available in your region.
Contact [email protected] for information or questions.

Kaupapa Māori Stream
Whakaahu Whakamua
We are currently not accepting bookings for the Kaupapa Māori Stream of our trainings; if you’d like to be notified once these resume, you can contact us at [email protected]

Tagata Moana Stream
We are currently not accepting bookings for the Tagata Moana Stream of our trainings; if you’d like to be notified once these resume, you can contact us at [email protected]