2019
Training and the End of Personal Therapy
1988-1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
21st Century Group HemsMESH Humber MeshWORKS Humberside MESH Network
January-March: Ran Psychology Topics #7: Grandparents, Parents & Children evening classes at both Shipley College and Rossett.
Commentary: Both programmes were hugely successful, though, for various reasons, the Rossett class ended up smaller than it had started. Feedback was very positive and encouraging, with a couple of participants saying it had been a life-changing experience.
Gallery: Rossett participants, March – click on photo to enlarge.
May-July: Ran Psychology Topics #8: Politics, Conflict Management at Rossett.
Commentary: Back in Spring 2018, developing a course using Integrated SocioPsychology to examine the rapid changes Western politics were going through with Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump had seemed a good idea. While it was already clear that the Brexit process was turning into a dysfunctional mess, I don’t think anyone could have anticipated just how disastrous it would become through the first half of 2019. The course was supposed to run at Shipley College as well as Rossett but there simply weren’t enough participants for it to be financially viable there. I attributed this to ‘Brexit weariness’!
The fate of the Rossett course hung in the balance for a couple of weeks but some late signing-ons enabled it to run. Pleasingly, the group gelled incredibly well – especially considering there was just one Brexiteer in the class, with the rest being varying degrees of anti-Brexit! Feedback at the end of the course indicated all the participants had found it highly worthwhile.
June: Video of an interview I had done with René de Beer the previous month was broadcast to the first Integral African Conference.
A still from my IAC video interview
Commentary: Back in December had been asked to speak at the conference by co-organiser Rica Vilajoen (who was a prime mover in 2018 Spiral Dynamics Summit on the Future, at which I had spoken). I turned Rica down as I felt I needed to stay at home to support my A-Level tutees in the middle of their exams. However, Rica is a great flatterer and eventually persuaded me to do a video interview which could be broadcast at the Conference.
The interview was far-ranging, going from my introduction to Spiral Dynamics back in 1998 to the development of Integrated SocioPsychology to applications of these concepts to major world crises.
August: With one exception, all the Year 13 Psychology tutees reported sccoring Bs while Sociology student Ellie Moody achieved an A.
Commentary: In a year considered pretty tough, with fewer As than usual, Ellie did incredibly well to score an A while the Psychology students all did well to gain Bs. All reported they were going to their university of choice.
A fun representation of me turned into a ‘Thank You’ by Rosamund at the BBS workshop, Sept 20`19
September: Carried out the first of 2 days training for counsellors and advisers working for Bradford Bereavement Support – this one on Cognitive Development, with a particular emphasis on children.
September – November: Ran Understanding Yourself & Others: an Introduction to Psychology for Rossett.
Gallery: Rossett participants, November – click on photo to enlarge.
October: Completed the second day of training for Bradford Bereavement Support – this one on motivational development and temperament.
Commentary: the BBS training was at the instigation of their chairman David Darby. David, a retired counsellor himself, had been on several of my Shipley College courses over the previous year or so and thought some of the material covered could provide excellent continuous professional development (CPD) for the charity’s counsellor and advisers. In recognition of the invaluable work BBS does, I gave my time pro bono (without charge).
The training went down so well I was asked if I would consider doing further training for them in the future.