person centred blog

music widgets are cool and can say so much!

2009-03-25T16:31:00.006Z

Domestic Violence Survivor and Author

2008-11-12T15:10:00.006Z

Maliaka Cohen is a Survivor and Author of Shackles - Overcoming Domestic Abuse. See the new Video made by Person Centred Designs at you tube . If you think someone may need to see this video or to buy the book please pass the link on and direct them to the website http://www.refuse-abuse-dont-give-up.com

See the Video below

Conference against Honour Killings and Launch of new Helpline

2008-04-15T17:38:00.003+01:00

Dua Aswad was 17 years old and died for no reason other than so called 'honour', at the hands of men, including her male family members. She was killed because she dared to fall in love, and because she COULD be killed, in a village that denied her any human right. Even in death she was faced with degradation and the chorus of baying men after blood and continued power to oppress and kill, strike out and destroy, anything that resembled defiance and a stand against the denial of human rights.

'Those that defy can die' is the inherent chant, aligned with, 'those that question our (male) rule will be held accountable with every drop of their blood.

The conference run by IKWRO Iranian Kurdistan Women's Rights Organisation in London on 14th May will bring together people to face the atrocity that is honour killing and honour crimes, launch a helpline and hopes to help prevent this continued degradation of girls, women, communities and humanity and their rights

please attend or send your support.

Media Camp Bucks 2008

2008-04-09T12:10:00.004+01:00

Media Camp Bucks 2008!

For all things social networking, new media, web developments and virtual world connections . This un-conference looks like it will be bigger and better than lasts years a NOT TO BE MISSED Event.

Think I am singing again..

2007-10-15T22:12:00.000+01:00

Forgetting the words, but not the sentiment.

Watch the Survivors Stories DVD Montage

2007-10-01T06:37:00.000+01:00

This montage is approx 2.5 mins click to start..

Doing Theology In Altab Ali Park - Rev Kenneth Leech

2007-09-27T09:54:00.000+01:00

I am attending a ( real in person ) event this afternoon to mark the launch of a book of Rev. Kenneth Leech - 'Doing Theology in Altab Ali Park'.

Ken has been wonderful and inspiring to work with in the East End of London, and the most equipped to write as a 'social and theological scientist!' Fearless, from a community development perspective, he has been able to instigate work where no-one 'dared' to go, but everyone thought was a good idea. Indeed others may have thought, 'yes this work needs to occur, but I can't do it'.

There is nothing 'virtual' about his reaching out to 'connect with communities', and is where I and many others learned just how to do that, just how hard it can be to ensure that engagement is kept, and just how prepared we will have to be, when working in areas where our hearts and the silent communities call, but 'politics and fear' invade!

A source of literary strength, to all working in community settings.

Emotional Offload??

2007-09-25T17:33:00.001+01:00

I had been writing a reply to Alex Bellinger on the smallbizpodnetwork at ning and was full of emotion and wanted to put it somewhere.. I thought of coming here straight away.. and wondered what that was about. Not wanting to share a side of me like that.

I then read chris hambly's blog and found an answer or had I?

need to think more on this.

Media Camp Bucks.

2007-09-19T00:55:00.000+01:00

This sounds like another exploration in all things web 2.0 based and innovative.

Yes, yes, I like ALL that!

Media Camp Bucks is a gathering and 'participatory happening' in October in Buckinghamshire. I have decided I will do a talk on a couple of web 2.0 based concepts too. It may even be a good source to greater networking for the Virtual Launch of the Survivor's Stories DVD and website.

Click the banner below for further information and to register your attendance. The event is FREE

If you are attending, say hi to me here and we can network on the day too.

Tish

Survivors Stories DVD and website Virtual Launch

2007-09-18T16:54:00.000+01:00

Click on the player below to hear the background to the Survivor's Stories DVD Project.

Survivors Stories is a DVD of the real life stories of people fleeing domestic violence and rebuilding their lives. A selection of 13 interviews, in a DVD, which will raise awareness of domestic violence and how front line staff in public agencies can support those that are experiencing / living with, or may be at risk of domestic violence and abuse. It will be launched in November at the start of the White Ribbon Campaign on 26th November during the international 16 days of action against gender based violence / violence against women.

Survivors Stories will be holding a LIVE Launch and connecting with women and groups supporting those affected by domestic violence across the globe. You can get involved in this VIRTUAL LAUNCH or can support it with a donation too.

The Virtual Launch will be a place to connect live online across the globe and send us your support and watch the survivor stories interviews. If you support work with domestic violence or want to help educate and prevent domestic violence in your area, get involved.

The launch venue in Babergh Suffolk County Offices, In the UK will be linked up with internet access, all you need to do is come online and join us. for more information on how to link up on the day please email myself Tish, at the following email address: survivorstories@person-centred-consultancies.com or cathypress1@hotmail.com

Awareness Matters - Training Pages

2007-09-15T10:08:00.000+01:00

Awareness Matters - Training Pages

Cathy Press is the chair of Babergh Domestic Violence and Abuse Forum which houses the Survivors Stories DVD Project and she is also Counselling Clinical Services Manager of Southend Women's Aid.

Cathy is a Counsellor Trainer and counselling supervisor in Suffolk and is a specialist county council trainer with suffolk County Council.

Here is her training page at her 'Awareness Matters' website. subscribe to her mailing list for information on training and news updates on the Survivors Stories DVD and website.

Website Design Support Patricia Mata at Person Centred Designs

Survivor Stories DVD project Interview

2007-05-25T18:57:00.000+01:00

On the Right of this page you can find a link to the person centred consultancies BTTradespace site where the podcast interview of Cathy Press is placed. Cathy Press Chair of Babergh Domestic Violence and Abuse Forum speaks about the background to the Surviror Stories DVD Project.

You will find an RSS feed to subscribe to ( this is free) on the following pages to subscribe and listen to the 20 minutes interview

or at Person Centred consultancies on windows media player ( Firefox Browser the audio has controls and plays on page download. )

Honour? What Honour? Another young woman murdered by a UK British National

2007-05-25T16:47:00.000+01:00

I can't quite fathom out what else the police need to act upon what is known acceptably as an INTERNATIONAL crime, perpretated by a UK National. Any country that houses a murderer knowingly and does nothing to bring the assailant to justice is denying us all of protection and human rights.

12th May 2007

A 19 year old mother is killed by her husband whom was summond back from the UK to help his family to murder her and their baby. He did so and went back to the UK like he had just 'sorted out a problem' he lives and works in the UK and nothing is done? He took part in murder of his young wife and his own baby for pity's sake!

read more about this story here.

Campaign to stop so called 'honour killing' and 'honour crimes'.

If we have Interpol doing all they can to ensure paedophiles are stopped in their tracks then what are we saying about MURDERERS of women and children, if we stand by and do nothing.

" I urge the UK police to bring this man a UK national to Justice"

Campaign Letter - Justice for Du'a & to stop so called 'honor killing'

2007-05-25T15:40:00.000+01:00

Send this campaign letter to urge the Iraqi Prime Minister to investigate the murder of Du'a and to campaign to stop so called 'honour killing'. Copy to your blog too, send it and encourage others to do the same. This was provided by Amnesty International UK

Prime Minister Nuri Kamil al-Maliki

Baghdad

Republic of Iraq

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you to express my horror over the stoning to death of Du’a Khalil Aswad which has taken place at the hands of an unruly mob and appears to have been actively enjoyed and promoted by many of those present who filmed and photographed it. I am particularly concerned to learn that it is alleged that law enforcement officials stood by and took no action.

I am urgently calling on you to:

Ensure that those responsible for the stoning to death of Du’a Khalil Aswad be brought to justice,
That it be investigated if it is indeed the case that law enforcement officials were present and took no action and if so to prosecute them,
Amend Iraqi Law to make so-called “Honour killings” a serious criminal offence.

Yours sincerely

Violence against Women- Murder is OK now?

2007-05-25T11:41:00.000+01:00

I have been involved in a number of campaigns as a youth and community worker over the years to support the day to day lives and human rights of young and adult women. Sometimes the campaigns I have been involved in highlight the death and murder of women and everyday experiences for many, of domestic violence and abuse. The news of a murder of a young woman at a conference led by IKWRO ( Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation) held at Amnesty International offices last week is the most abhorrent and public statement of violence, power and control of one gender over another: men over women and campaigning to stop so called 'honour killings' and 'honour crimes' has to be supported, mobilised, and highlighted across the globe.

( pics campiagn speakers)

The young woman Du'a Khalil Aswad aged 17, had been murdered on 17th April 2007 in northern Iraq, through what is known as an 'honour killing'. This term is not accurate, but is common. It belies the fact that what has occured is the murder of a young woman led by 8 men and a marrauding 'tribe' of over 1000 men whom seemingly felt what they saw either not WORTH intervening for, in any attempt to stop it, or that by standing and watching, were colluding and agreeing in the attack.

This YOUNG FEMALE CHILD of 17 years of age, had apparently brought what was felt as some form of 'shame' upon her community. Members of her family were also involved in the murder.

They videoed their group attack on mobile phones and then published the video onto the internet.

What this 'public statement' also says is " we will exert power and control over you (Du'a and all women killed in the name of so called honour ) because we can. We are not stopped no-one will intervene and stop us from doing this, and no-one will want to anyway. We do this because we also feel you are not WORTH anything. You are less than human and as such we feel nothing towards you and your right to live free from harm and abuse, or to live at ALL. You are expendable and a tool to use for our aggression.

We enjoy the power and control we have over you and thereby, what we have done to you."

I have worked with girls/ young women and adult women for over 20 years in the UK and never have I been so outraged. I am concerned about a number of things which I have to list below:

Murder of girls / young women and women through so called 'honour killing'
The number of girls/ young women and older women murdered since 1991 - 33,000

33,000! murdered in the name of so called honour killing.

The lack of combined public outrage across the world at this
The position of women in society globally because of this
The murder of women is what can be known as 'femininicide' a phrase highlighting homicide based on gender
The numbers of women fleeing feared and expected violence and murder.
The numbers of women whom have been forced to flee their own countries because of this
The apathy or 'collusive agreement' of Security Forces, witnessing the attack and murder,whom were fully armed and could have at least shot warning shots in the air, failing to act
'Torture Porn' and 'femininicide' combined

I feel unable to share more today on this, but have provided the following links to find out information on this abhorrence that seemingly is allowed to continue in order for people MEN AND WOMEN & YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN to campaign.

My feelings at the conference were one of shock and a connection to something which I thought was a historical account of Hitler's naziism and ethnic cleansing and also of the medieval Witch Trials across Europe, brought slap bang into the present day. share your views below and post the links to your own blogs.

IKWRO website

http://www.stophonourkillings.com/

Amnesty International - web page on the murder of 17 year old Dua, Khalil Aswad

Madre - an International Women's Human Rights Organisation

For further support if you are fleeing violence connected to what may be a suspected or actual forced marriage, contact The Forced Marriage Unit - 0207 008 8759 http://www.fco.gov.uk/

person centred accessibility

2007-04-06T15:01:00.000+01:00

Trying to support my ethos of offering 'person centred and innovative developments combined' I embark on a journey that has taken me to all sorts of places in the search for knowledge. My learning curve widens, in promotion of my ethos of 'access for all' as depicted in my website http://www.person-centred-consultancies.com/

My feelings on inaccessibility started with my own experiences of not being able to do the stuff I wanted to do. This was in regards to just getting out there into community and public sector or private sector buildings with a pushchair. I learned that this was not the only way unequal access affected me. I was also realising that there were hardly any creches available and that the lack of street lighting and transport were a pain as well. I was being effectively 'socially and publicly excluded' from the stuff I wanted to do.

Now that I have a website. I worked on how to make the services I offer accessible to others. I will book venues that are accessible and ensure that the blocks to my greater participation are not the blocks to others.

However the actual website needs to be made accessible also. There are a range of ways of doing this but as I understand it since the disability discrimination act came into force, only 3% of websites are accessible on the net.

Text readers like browsealoud and others are available for those with visual impairments and I have made some contact with this organisation to support my efforts. However much more is needed to be done. The challenge for web designers is to learn what is necessary in order to ensure the websites they build are compliant.

I am by no means a web designer by trade, but my understanding of the wider aspcets of social and public exclusion was enough to inspire me to take on this too for my own website. Further, any consulting I offer, includes the need to 'think this through' adapt what people have, design with accesibility in mind and not run for a web 2.0 flash presentations that might exclude a vast number of people from the content on the site.

Jim Byrne's book sounds like a great start for my endeavours. '60 Hot To Touch Accessible Web Design Tips' available here at amazon or through his own website www.webaccesstips.co.uk/

This sounds like a good place to start for anyone equally wishing to offer an 'access for all' ethic in their website development and design.

Lifelong Rita!

2007-03-29T02:33:00.000+01:00

I have been studying what seems a lifeltime. Like in the film Educating Rita, ( here belies an 'educated view' ) I have come from a background that said "stay in the pub and be happy to drink the beer girl". I realised I was not happy with this at 18 years of age, the year this film was made.

I 'asked' yes I will say that again, asked my 2 year old's father if he "minded me going to college in order to 'teach the baby'?" I lied.

I played down my dreams of returning to education and played with his permissions and admissions of his stauts quo not being shaken, his masculinity not being challenged. Yes a woman that 'belonged' to him being educated messed with this for him it seemed. I made up some cockamamey story about the local adult education college women's returner course being a "group of mums that just talked kids really, that's all", and I was allowed to attend.

Two basic qualifcations later, English O'level and City and Guilds Maths, spurned me on to taking on the book keeping and accounts course, a women's writing group a video with albany empire and channel 4 and by the time my daughter was three, the creche and college tutors had decided I was simply 'hanging around too long' and I should move on.

I had by now been on the odd march to save the college from closing down ( ILEA days) and was now interested in nuclear disarmament 'of all things'. My poetry wrting was building fast too, and when he decided I was to come off the pill and have another baby and "leave that bloody college", that's when I decided me and Rita really were akin in our dreams.

I left the ' bloody man' instead and carried on learning. Yes my books were burned too. My poetry ripped up and all sorts of other horrid things until I was safe and able to learn and live freely.

Since my initial dreams gently smouldered at the young age of 18, having spent my post 16 years prior, bringing up my child, I learned a great deal about myself and my deterrmination to do something not only for my child, but also for me.

Brixton Hill College, Access course for the diploma in social work, Morley College, for the introduction to youth and community work course, a DfES and Open University National Youth Agency accredited course for Full time youth and community workers (Apprenticeship Scheme), Birkbeck College, for women in management course, and Harrow College and Middlesex University for the certificate and diploma in person centred counselling. Throughout all of this time I had worked often as the sole breadwinner and at times as a lone parent too.

My fight to learn and to be free from the oppression of others is still not over. I will endeavour to be strong and to face that which belies me in search of fulfillment. My lifelong achievement is the following:

Passion to learn,
Courage to learn,
Courage to stay,
Courage to flee,
Passion to be ..what I want to be,
Trying to teach,
Trying to care,
Showing to others .. the love that was there.

To my daughter Michelle, with all my love Mum x

Patricia Mata

2007-02-18T19:11:00.000Z

Person centred counsellor High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Consultancy / Training / Podcast Learning / Mentoring using the person centred approach and counseling skills combined.

The 'EGO' email scam personal exercise

2007-01-03T12:11:00.000Z

What is it like when you get an email scam that just seems a little bit different?

Here the latest one. This at least looks from an emotional and psychological point of view at 'ego' read on to see how Person Centred Consultancies was sucked in a little prior to processing of ego.

The scam INVITES me to one of two conferences on Children, Young People and Human Rights in California or Senegal, all expenses paid type thing. You are invited to attend and we saw your website at another NGO website.. blah blah, contact us to arrange your registration / and or speaker status etc.

ego wakes up! at this point. After processing charity and voluntray sector GUILT and RESPONSIVENESS GAGUE lol, I worked out the following:

This is just an organised scam. The email I got today,stated they had found me on a NGO website. Their conference does not exist.

This massages the ego, that you have been 'invited' and because the subject matter is of great concern to all of us working with young people or those at most risk, we are tuned into wanting to help. This is how our work in our sector develops. This 'big heart tuning in' to those in need.

This is what they are playing on. I'm a counsellor in the UK and thought oh goodness I'm being asked to attend beacuse they have read a great deal about my work in this field. Because my services are clearly matched with their target group.

Goodness. I stopped and re read everything again and thought, WHY ask ME? What is so special about me in that I feel I am being asked to attend and as they say 'represent' my whole country. I am hardly the best, most qualified person to do this. I've only got my website up and running (and needs work on too) recently.

I was simply spammed from my contacts page.

I laughed also about feeling my ego get shoved straight back in it's box too. lol.. very very good psychological and emotional tactics here in this scam.

If a person is that good about what they do then surely THEY would be running their own conference?

For other email scamns like this ask yourself a question:

What's so special about me? Why should I be 'invited'? If there was someone I would love to hear at a conference on such a matter, would it be ME? When you have answered this and let go of 'ego', logic comes flooding through.

If you are still not sure, then answer the same questions again with 'ego' (ego is a good motivator) and USE This to set up your own conference!

here's a link to show others have been alerted to it.

www.Person-Centred-Consultancies.com

regards Tish(Patricia)Mata

Director Person Centred Consultancies

Email Mentoring has begun

2006-11-06T08:45:00.000Z

The email mentoring has begun. I am pleased for him and for me. It is a very special kind of relationship that is unique to the individual. I hope it proves useful for him in some small way.

Tish :)
Patricia Mata
www.Person-Centred-Consultancies.com

2006-11-02T14:31:00.000Z

Podcast Conference 2006

I'm off to the Podcast conference this year! 18th November 2006 and will update you all on the opportunities for podcast learning, e-learning and combining this with the person centred approach.

warm wishes Tish : )

supporting ethically in the person centred way

2006-10-27T13:07:00.000+01:00

I opened an email today that asked me for advice? Now what's wrong with that? Nothing. However, in offering advice I'd say that I have to be true to my approach. That is to say that being person centred is what I truly feel, is the best approach a person can take with this in terms of accepting any advice being offered.

Then to my next question? "whose advice is the 'best?" A client might ask. I would feel if you are presupposing that someone elses' advice is, then what does that say about your own inner thoughts and ability to find solutions? I worked as an advice worker in London and was used to offering a range of options for the young people to explore. Sometimes there was very factual information and sometimes it was clear to a young person that such and such should be done.

However, this is being person centred with factual information.
Being any other way would be telling someone what to do.

I have offered the chap that wrote the email, the opportunity to embark on his query with me with an openness towards the person centred approach. If he agrees, then he might truly find his own internal advice more useful than that of any 'expert' he might chose to consult.

For me this is what Person Centred Consultancies is all about. If I wanted to just set up a business that was all about offering solutions to people without this person centred approach, I'd be claiming I was 'the expert' in all of their needs. I am not and do not profess to be, regardless of the training, qualifications or experience I have.

YES I have information, and YES some advice, and YES to plans and designer programmes that could help someone or an organisation to develop. However only with a commitment and understanding from them that person centred is what they are after and with the option to create something specific to their needs, uniquely their own and is created between us in a person centred way.

I hope he takes up my offer to 'meet me' in the person centred way with finding a solution to his problem. He might find the results stay around a lot longer as it would have also come from within and not simply have been 'cut and pasted' so to speak, onto him.

chat soon!

Tish
Patricia Mata
copyright 2006

Published in The Voice Newspaper.

2006-10-25T18:25:00.000+01:00

I have just seen that my letter in response to an article in the Voice about Black Business women has become letter of the week! wow. That's brilliant!.. now someone 'must be feeling me' to have done that.
Have a look at the letter from this link http://www.voice-online.co.uk/voicemail.php

speak soon. Tish

Person Centred Wonder!

2006-10-23T11:54:00.000+01:00

I have hoped to provide an opportunity for others in the person centred field to see / seek out innovative ways of using the person centred approach within their working and personal lives.

A moment of wonder I want to share.

I had the cheek, bare faced cheek I say, to ask an eminent American professor what his views were on the late Carl Rogers. He is a great authority on Carl Rogers and I emailed him with a query. It was a shot in the dark, but was about the most pertinent of questions: did Carl Rogers ever have an ethical dilemma in swaying from his own approach into the use of any other at ANY time? This was pertinent to my own self discovery and ethical wrangles within., and I wanted to write about this in my disseration.

I was in wonder when I received his email reply.

He answered my query and stated he was 'happy to answer my questions'

I can't say how that made me feel. I suppose there is just a moment or two when someone could say to themselves , "well why not?" and really go for what they want in life.

I wrote a piece on women in business and creativity, where I state 'I am my own limitator' . and that is exactly how I feel about anything I momentarily feel unsure about. ( Like emailing an eminent professor).

This is also about conditions of worth constantly being processed and overcome. I have opened up to opportunity and facing easily, others choices to not respond, act, partake etc etc. In the therapeutic setting, when we encourage our clients through their process to explore a range of options, ideas, dreams, desires, we are also readily saying ' I have done that too. I have walked these roads, and I am able to assess the limits that affect my life choices, with courage and determination.

How easy that is to say and recall in our work as counsellors, but congruency with this too?

Talk the talk, AND walk the walk? without....... telling ourselves it was our CHOICE not to do such and such. etc.

What does the term 'back burner' really mean in our lives? how does our congruency affect our deliberation of future life decisions?

My email reply became a processed moment on condtions of worth for me. I didn't expect a reply ( he's a busy / clever, eminent, man. ) but when I recived it. It was the wonder of the condions of worth moment that really gave me further insight into myself.

warm wishes,

Tish
Patricia Mata
copyright 2006

Creative Business

2006-10-23T11:39:00.000+01:00

A follow up to 'Women in Business': Creativity update

The creativity is explosive now! NOW I am NOT told by an employer, " sorry maybe in next year's funding round". As an employee this was stifling and brought about a range of feelings that marked the end of 'it's a no go' patterns as a worker. I also feared losing sight of my own 'inner management judgement' of 'when I hear a good idea what would I do with it?' Instead I'd be be left with wondering was I banging my head against a brick wall? Or worse still .. "Ah well just leave all the creative stuff and work like a trooper that should create some satisfaction".

By allowing myself the chance to do something about this and not betray that inner voice, I was free to take up the challenge. Being a woman in Business has given me the chance to bring my creativity to the threshold of experience. To ask pertinent questions to research my own answers, to keep on knocking at the doors of opportunity. I am my own 'limitator' and have direct control over the what ,where, how and when, of anything I produce. I work my own hours and write my own script! let me say that again.

I work my own hours and write my own script.

This is crucial for how and where I feel happiest from day to day. If there has been anything that has made me get up in the morning and stay up till late at night with JOY, then it has to be the wonderful feeling I am left with inside, of being at the helm of my own ship. I am energised and alive, not killing myself either, but more awake and 'tuned in'. Yes LISTENING to that little voice that dared to get louder and louder until it said, " HEY! start up your OWN business!"

For women out there that are needing that little push or great big shove, from inside out, my advice would be - listen, tune in and act!

Motivation, deliberation, satisfaction and self achievement is a wonderful thing to have, but you have to want this first. Working out how to get there and when to get there is another thing. For me it was the day I said the following :

"Yes ok I'm listening"

The back burner? Been there, done that and have a few burned-on dreams that need a good old cleaning off to boot.

Wishing you luck, with ' tuning in and going for it'.

Tish -
Patricia Mata
copyright 2006

Buckinghamshire Business women - start up!

2006-10-18T22:19:00.000+01:00

I have started my own Business in Buckinghamshire and want to ask women what their aspirations are in developing their own business? What had made them interested in sticking at it? What motivated women to do this?

I'd also like to know if you haven't started your own business and your reasons why?
I'd like to know; What’s stopping you? What will you lose? What ARE you losing?

I'm a person centred counsellor living in Buckinghamshire and this is a short snippet of my journey to where I am now as a new Business Start Up in Person Centred Consultancies.

My working life has been offered for the good of others in the voluntary, statutory and charity sectors for over twenty years. I decided that the time has come to put my own ideas into practice. I have given my skills and services to others for the use of the community for this time and hoped that where funding allowed, my creativity would be utilised for the greater benefit of all.

The NYA( National Youth Agency )supports youth work across the country for anyone wanting to get involved in youth and community work and is the best place to start learning about how to begin a career in this sector.

As an employee, when opportunities to develop projects and programmes arose, but funding was not available to support them, I would feel at times despondent and almost like " ah well, it was probably too expensive to run anyway". However this kept gnawing away at me. I used the experience to ensure that by 'working on a shoe string budget' the community would still get as much help and support as was available, given the resources. and in the bargain, I'd get the opportunity to share my ideas and creativity.

STILL, this was not enough. I would not take no for an answer. What was the question? and who was asking? The query came from a small voice inside of me asking, "why ever not"? I decided to answer, a little at a time. I will tell you more about this voice tomorrow. To face the challenge and begin my own support resource for the community meant planning, deliberation, feeling scared and excited all at once.

I have been proud of my work as a youth and community worker and sometimes, just sometimes, a little bit of this would rub off onto others when I had the chance to do freelance training and workshops.

I have now taken this so much further! I now feel so much more satisfied within myself for listening to what's inside. This, I believe is the effect of the Person Centred Approach in my own life.

See tomorrow’s account of what creativity has done for me and why it's been worth every moment.

ciao till then Tish

Patricia Mata
copyright 2006

That was long!

2006-10-17T17:46:00.000+01:00

apologies.. for my first Blog being as long as it was. I will edit down and produce snippets in future.

warm wishes Tish :0

A world of e-learning in the person centred way

2006-10-17T14:22:00.000+01:00

This is my first posting here at person centred blog. I am a person centred counsellor and trainer living in Buckinghamshire and have a website Person Centred Consultancies that is still being developed. I want to be able to share some of my thoughts on e-learning and how it can be of use to a range of people that are interested in how to use the person centred approach and e-learning combined.

what is e-learning ?

It's what you are doing right now, for one. We use the Internet for a range of reasons and with a range of needs. As a student, to research, as families to seek what's on guides and as individuals to open up our horizons for accessing some of the most amazing information across the globe. Through just these simple terms, e-learning is part of that.

It's also the use of PCs, software and programmes that can be accessed through a PC, mobile phone, internet and a range of other telecommunications.

You hear a particular talk radio show and within seconds you could have that information fed to your mobile phone and played back to you at your leisure. Now imagine your teenage son daughter using an ipod. Yes they are listening to music, who isn't, when they get the chance? what now if they have just downloaded a podcast of the latest course work revision tips or study skills, or support from a teenage helpline podcast about the realities of drugs, STI's or report-a-bully.

I'm hoping to develop this alongside a range of other pod casts and e-learning resources that would merge with the Youth Services across the whole of the UK, and other Youth Providers. ( and develop adult learning opportunities too)

Now how about being person centred?

The person centred approach was developed by Carl Rogers. In therapeutic terms, and simplistically, offering of the core conditions by the therapist.

Being genuine or congruent
Offering empathy
and having unconditional positive regard

This 'way of being' is adopted by many workers that are not counsellors. The people that simply share in an experience with an individual and offer themselves in this way.

Person centred means also believing that the individual are their own experts and directors in their own lives, have the power and autonomy to believe this in themselves and support this belief in them also.

As a counsellor I may be asked, "So what do you think I should do?" ( about their concern).

My role in being person centred, would be to create an environment for the client to work out what THEY want to do, what THEY believe is important to them and what THEY feel is THEIR course of action.

So how can being person centred help with e-learning?

How would you feel if you were at a PC and just had a sense that someone was stood over you and was telling you how to go about learning this or that or they were actually doing this?would you feel pressured? embarrassed? irritated? A person centred approach would be to ask what do you want to learn? To respond, sensitively, to the person's request, to believe they have the ability and that when they are stuck with something they will ask for your help or work out how to do it through a help page they have just found for example, and yes any good teacher would do this too. Sometimes these are feelings that can emerge from the learner for a range of reasons and even with no intent on the teacher's / tutors part. Our history and blocks to our learning can affect how we enage in current learning or re-engage with learning at all, if we are a post 16 retuner.

Privacy and autonomy.

How can the e-learner feel they have both privacy and autonomy and feel better about themselves in their e-learning efforts? singluar PC booths whilst on the internet at the local Library, yes go some way to helping this? being at home on the PC? yes, this too for those that have a PC and are online at home, but many do not, and those that do have to also negotiate time for this with other family members that need to 'chat on MSN' or google something or other. A young e-learner will have this also to attend with and be motivated not to simply chat with mates and see the latest videos on Youtube.

By creating e-learning and virtual learning environments that support the belief in the individual being autonomous directors of thier own learning, hold the person centred ethos at heart, the individual could then feel and be autonomous in their learning, feel sensitively 'listened or responded to' and direct their own approach to the task at hand, pull themselves up for 'wasting time' by setting their own time limit to completion of modules. The task that THEY set for themselves. It also encompasses the belief that they could begin to see the consequenses of their own actions ( "aggggghhh Youtube trawling, for an hour means I've logged out now and can't finish!!!" ) and thereby take responsibility for that along with the family members demanding 'their time' on the PC.

Modular e-learning and the need for sensitivity, prizing and supporting the belief in self

By taking modules, bite sized chunks at a time, the e-learner can assess their own approach to learning, ask for feedback and see virtual recognition from their virtual tutor if and when they chose. This might make all the difference for e-learners returning to log in to their course again, feel they got something back and feel motivated to return again. Yes we all want to feel the ' I got a gold star!' feeling when we have achieved something well done. Person centred modular learning would support the individual to asses themselves and how they felt about the module, exercise, test AND offer that if they didn't want to return for a bit, that's cool, possibly with an option to assess why they didn't feel to continue.

As a trainer with young people ( and adults) I relied on a range of evaluate tools to get feedback. Flip charts, post it notes, graffiti board, scribe 'one thing I liked/ didn't like group discussions and individual evaluation sheets. This would then form my approach to developing the next programme workshop.

Evaluating E-learning - honestly

By asking the e-learner to offer this virtually for example, the e-learner has the chance to say what she/ he really feels. At any course I have attended and was given an evaluation sheet to fill in, I would know this was crucial to planning and development for the trainer. However, even I would fall foul of the time trap and 'hurry it up' as I'd invariably have a train to catch. I would then scribble ineligible comments here or there, and feel obliged to say something good about the food, trainer, venue. It's difficult to hand something in that says otherwise.

Why? because the 3 minutes left, was going to be needed to catch 'that person that I clicked with for their number, email and agency contact details. Networking when you meet like minded folk is also important. Just as important as a young e-learner that wants to say hi for the one minute that THEY have left between walking from one class to another. Just as important for THEIR social networking, study partner chats or gossip moments. This is just as important in school as it is in the workplace.

If you have any views you want to share, please do.

warm wishes

Tish :)

Patricia Mata -
copyright 2006

www.Person-Centred-Consultancies.com or email me @ :-

info@Person-Centred-Consultancies.com