The Aim
The aim of these courses is to improve the quality of our daily lives and reduce unnecessary suffering. Participants will learn and practice a number of core skills that will help them become more effective in dealing with the many challenges of human life on earth. There will be space and time to raise their awareness of any personal issues that get in the way of using their skills in living. For example, a person can learn better assertiveness skills, but find it hard to apply them, because they learnt as a child to always put others first.
The Structure
Each course will run on a monthly basis for small groups of eight to ten people. The courses are reasonably priced, and a percentage of any profits will be used to include members of the community that are not able to afford the full course fee.
Forthcoming Courses
Loving relationships: How to enhance our ability to forge authentic and nourishing relationships with our partners, friends, and family.
Openness to Life: How to recognise and work through old defensive patterns that narrow our horizons, and lock doors that we need to open for new growth and progress.
Stress Management: How to release tension and stress, and access more fully the reservoir of creativity and intelligence that lies inside us all.
Finding Meaning: how to deal with the loss of meaning (e.g. divorce, retirement) and how to find new paths/sources of meaning.
Assertiveness: How to set boundaries and stand up for ourselves whilst respecting the needs and rights of others.
Freedom and Responsibility: How to cope with Total Freedom and his twin brother called Responsibility
The First Course
The first course starts in January 2015 and will focus on enhancing Communication Skills. The course will cover both listening and expressive skills, helping participants to learn more about “How to talk so people will listen to us” and “How to listen so people will talk to us.” The fee is R100 for each of the four evenings.
The Facilitators
Rigby Hough has recently settled in Prince Albert after working for the last 20 years as a Clinical Psychologist in the UK. He has lectured at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University College in London (UCL).
Hélène Smit is the founder of the Depth Leadership Trust. She has been working as a facilitator and trainer in psychological literacy for more than 25 years for organisations such as Old Mutual and University of the Western Cape and she has also lectured at the Graduate School of Business, UCT.