News
Updated: 9 March 2023
News & Events
I’ve now set July 2026 as my formal retirement date. By then I will be 73 and, I think, entitled to retire.
By then the new AQA speoifications for their Psychology and Sociology A-Levels will have been published and I have said I will not tutor for the new specifations. Also setting July 2026 as my retirement date allows me one more full 4-year cycle of workshop programmes, to be held at Rossett School Adult Learning. The intended series of workshop programmes for Rossett is set out below.
Of course, 4 years is a long time and all kinds of things may shorten or extend that date…but that’s my current plan!
Courses
Psychology Topics #2: Stress, Change
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme takes 2 key topic areas much investigated by psychologists and sociologists and distils key concepts into accessible ‘bites’ for the layperson. Some previous understanding of Psychology and Sociology is helpful but not essential.
The Stress sessions divide the experience of stress into its biological and cognitive components. The course considers various causal factors for stress and the degree of gender differences in experiencing stress. There are also some practical suggestions for how to manage stress and information on the benefits and risks of using prescription drugs as a strategy for dealing with stress.
The Change sessions consider factors which influence change from the individual/micro-level to the organisational/macro-level. Models are provided to understand and monitor change processes at all levels. Workshop participants can use these models to gain insight into their own experiences of change.
Dates: 26 April – 5 July 2023 (not 31 May)
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: £98
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk
Introduction to Psychology: Understanding Yourself & Others
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme incorporates key elements of Integrated SocioPsychology within the frame of a general introduction to the field of Psychology. Topics include:-
- the concept of self
- the importance of beliefs and values
- what motivates us
- how our temperament affects both thought and behaviour
- the impact of gender differences on male-female relationships
- the criticality of attachments during child development
Academic enough to provide a basis for further (serious) study, the level of study is still light enough for the more casual learner to make practical use of the knowledge and skills taught without feeling intimidated by too much ‘technical stuff’. The aim is to learn while having fun!
Dates: Autumn 2023
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Psychology Topics #3: Crime, Depression
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme takes 2 key topic areas much investigated by psychologists and sociologists and distils key concepts into accessible ‘bites’ for the layperson. Some previous understanding of Psychology and Sociology is helpful but not essential.
The Crime sessions draw from biological, sociological and psychological factors influencing crime and deviance, as well as motivation and temperament. Understanding of crime and deviance will be explored and strategies considered for tackling undesirable behaviours.
The Depression sessions consider possible causes of Depression, gender difference in its incidence, options for treatment and how to be around someone who is depressed.
Dates: January-March 2024
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Psychology Topics #4: Dreams, Personal Resilience
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme takes 2 key topic areas much investigated by psychologists and sociologists and distils key concepts into accessible ‘bites’ for the layperson. Some previous understanding of Psychology and Sociology is helpful but not essential.
A great many people are fascinated by dreams – their own as well as others – and yearn to understand those dreams that seem to offer insight if only they could be understood. The Dreams sessions don’t aim to offer explanations of dream content – though there is some of that – but rather to explore theories of dreams, to understand their nature. This should enable us to decide how much credibility to give to their contents.
Life can be tough – sometimes with more ‘ups’ than ‘downs’. At times it can even seem like an endless struggle. The Personal Resilience sessions aim to demonstrate, both in theory and practice, how to increase your ‘adversity quotient’ – ie: your ability to handle ‘tricky situations’. This will include techniques to increase your personal resourcefulness, so you are more able to bounce back from difficulties. To some extent, we will even look at how you change your mindset!
Dates: Spring 2024
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Introduction to Psychology: Understanding Yourself & Others
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme incorporates key elements of Integrated SocioPsychology within the frame of a general introduction to the field of Psychology. Topics include:-
- the concept of self
- the importance of beliefs and values
- what motivates us
- how our temperament affects both thought and behaviour
- the impact of gender differences on male-female relationships
- the criticality of attachments during child development
Academic enough to provide a basis for further (serious) study, the level of study is still light enough for the more casual learner to make practical use of the knowledge and skills taught without feeling intimidated by too much ‘technical stuff’. The aim is to learn while having fun!
Dates: Autumn 2024
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Psychology Topics #5: Memory, Prejudice & Discrimination
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme takes 2 key topic areas much investigated by psychologists and sociologists and distils key concepts into accessible ‘bites’ for the layperson. Some previous understanding of Psychology and Sociology is helpful but not essential.
The Memory part of the course explores models of memory and how memory and forgetting work. It considers practical applications from how friends and partners mishear one another, resulting in discussions turning into rows, to the reliability of eyewitness testimony in court proceedings.
The Prejudice & Discrimination part of the course looks at the difference between prejudice and discrimination. It explores the nature of prejudice and considers strategies for undermining racism and other forms of ethnic and religious discrimination.
Dates: January-March 2025
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Psychology Topics #6: Biological Psychology, Consumerism & Shopping
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme takes 2 key topic areas much investigated by psychologists and sociologists and distils key concepts into accessible ‘bites’ for the layperson. Some previous understanding of Psychology and Sociology is helpful but not essential.
The Biological Psychology part of the course looks at how our biology influences our thoughts, behaviour and experiences. From hormones regulating a woman’s cycle and predicating aggression in males to the relationship between mental illness and brain dysfunctions, our biology has a profound expect on our psychologies. The course also considers Epigenetics and the redundancy of the Nature-Nurture Debate.
The second part of the course considers the modern Western phenomenon of Consumerism as a key element in modern society. From that macro perspective, the course scales down to explore individual motivations behind the drive to shop.
Dates: Spring 2025
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Introduction to Psychology: Understanding Yourself & Others
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme incorporates key elements of Integrated SocioPsychology within the frame of a general introduction to the field of Psychology. Topics include:-
- the concept of self
- the importance of beliefs and values
- what motivates us
- how our temperament affects both thought and behaviour
- the impact of gender differences on male-female relationships
- the criticality of attachments during child development
Academic enough to provide a basis for further (serious) study, the level of study is still light enough for the more casual learner to make practical use of the knowledge and skills taught without feeling intimidated by too much ‘technical stuff’. The aim is to learn while having fun!
Dates: Autumn 2025
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Psychology Topics #7: Grandparents, Parents & Teenagers
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme takes 2 key topic areas much investigated by psychologists and sociologists and distils key concepts into accessible ‘bites’ for the layperson. Some previous understanding of Psychology and Sociology is helpful but not essential.
This course looks at how, on the one hand, values are transmitted down the generations; on the other hand, values are shaped by cultural and societal elements. There are also individual temperamental and experiential factors that lead to value variations within generations and even within close-knit families. Using the material on this course, participants will be able to identify the causes of values conflicts between parents and their children – especially teenagers. For grandparents, generational values shifts can seem bewildering. This course will give older people the knowledge to understand how and why these shifts occur and some ideas on how they can stay ‘in tune’ with their children and grandchildren.
Dates: January-March 2026
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.
Psychology Topics #8: Politics, Conflict Management
This 10-week ‘night school’ type programme takes 2 key topic areas much investigated by psychologists and sociologists and distils key concepts into accessible ‘bites’ for the layperson. Some previous understanding of Psychology and Sociology is helpful but not essential.
The Politics part of this course looks at socio-psychological explanations of how and why people tend towards particular political preferences. It also looks at how political systems are changing and why longstanding traditional party allegiances are breaking down. The relationship of intelligence, brain structure and political preference is explored. Certain brains prefer certain politics – myth or reality?
The Conflict Management part of the course looks at how to manage conflicts – from the micro (e.g: a husband and wife locked in to a long-running dispute) to the macro (e.g: countries threatening each other with war). Some key conflict management models will be explored, including the one used to end Apartheid in South Africa. Participants will have the opportunity to consider their own conflict patterns in a safe environment.
Dates: Spring 2026
Venue: Rossett School Adult Learning, Harrogate UK
Places remaining: 16/16
Price: tbc
To discuss content, please contact me via the Contact page. For other queries and to book, please call Melissa or Catherine on 01423 563768 or email: adultlearning@rossettschool.co.uk.