DATE: SATURDAY OCTOBER 5th 2019
VENUE: The Osprey Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare
Book online HERE Cost: €90 (non-members) and €81 (members – discount automatically applied on website payment) Cost includes lunch and coffees.
PROGRAMME
9.30: THE MORNING KEYNOTE ADDRESS
‘Choice Theory Psychology and The Politics of Choice’ with Brian Lennon
This presentation will examine the role of Choice Theory psychology in group decision-making. How can we apply Choice Theory to group decisions? In families? In communities? In politics? The presentation will explore the role of the Quality World and the practical implications of a shared Quality World. We also examine the role of consensus and how this might be applied in a way that is practical, avoiding the extremes of majority and minority rule. The ideas are relevant to any group decision-making whether this be in committees or even at the level of national voting
Presenter: Brian Lennon
Brian is a senior faculty member of the William Glasser Institute and former director of WGII. He was chosen by Dr. Glasser to be the first Chairperson of William Glasser International. He is the author of two books on Choice Theory published this year, one on Stress and one on Anger Management. Now retired, he worked as a Psychologist and Guidance Counsellor with Co. Louth VEC. His presentations are always energetic and informative, and we are looking forward to a quality experience.
11.00: COFFEE
11.30: MORNING WORKSHOPS
Workshop A: Our Choice Theory Journeys (A Structured Therapeutic Approach)
The workshop aims to create a space to reflect on the Basic Needs concept of CT, how we meet them as individuals in our day to day lives outside the counselling room. Graham will take us through his own CT journey and then invite participants to explore and share their own unique journeys, looking through the lens of Choice Theory psychology. There will be plenty of interaction, with opportunity to share ideas and experiences using different handouts and exercises that Grahame incorporates into personal effectiveness programmes he rolls out with various groups in his current role as a case worker.
Presenter: Grahame O’Connor: Grahame has been working in the Voluntary sector for most of the last decade specialising in the field of Addiction rehabilitation (Case worker) rolling out various programmes for groups within this context, as well as one-to-one work and various inter-agency initiatives. Educated in addiction and Community Development as well as Group therapy, CBT and others. I am currently in the Advanced practicum stage of training with WGII and incorporate CT into all areas of my professional as well as personal life.
Workshop B: Parenting with Choice Theory:
This workshop looks at a vital application of Choice Theory – What can it tell us about helping our children to grow into responsible, need-satisfied adults? Why should we be very careful about the children we put into our quality worlds? What do we know about our children’s quality worlds? How can we best avoid the hurting habits and use the caring habits in our negotiations with them? These and many other questions will be open for discussion.
Presenters: Doreen Maher and Tracy Fox: Doreen is a guidance counsellor in New Cross College, Finglas. She is a supervisor and accredited counsellor with the IACP. She also works as a counsellor in the “SoSad” organisation in Drogheda. She uses Choice Theory in her daily life and work and ahs reader a family of five children using Choice Theory.
Tracey is a Family Support worker of many years’ experience. She works with parents both individually and on training initiatives, and uses Choice Theory to help them cope with the many difficulties that they face.
1.00: LUNCH
2.15: THE AFTERNOON KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Choice Theory in Ireland: How did we get to here?
In this presentation we will hear about the beginnings of Choice Theory in Ireland. All of the presenters knew Dr Glasser personally, having been with him on his numerous visits to Ireland. They will take us down memory lane and share experiences and anecdotes from the time Dr Glasser first came to Ireland. It promises to be a fascinating and fun insight into the origins of RTCT in Ireland.
PRESENTERS: Arthur Dunne, Ken Lyons, Eileen Hearne, Jimmie Woods, Brian Lennon are all Faculty members of WGII, and have all shown enormous commitment to the teaching and development of Dr Glasser’s ideas in Ireland over the past thirty years.
3.15: COFFEE
3.45: AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS
Workshop A: Turning Students’ Lives Around.
The workshop will focus on The Quality School and how the use of Choice Theory has such positive impacts on students, staff, parents and the wider community. Sarah will present case studies on how Choice Theory has turned the life of her students around and the impact it has on everyday school life. Sarah will also speak about and demonstrate what Glasser’s means when he states that “Quality is continuous improvement” through an interactive painting demonstration with the participants.
Presenter: Sarah O’Reilly: Sarah is a qualified Secondary School Art Teacher and Primary School Teacher. She works in the Primary Sector and this is where her introduction to Choice Theory started. She worked in Scoil Aoife Community National School, where the Principal Stacey Mc Auley is a facilitator at The William Glasser Institute of Ireland. Sarah’s love of Choice Theory drives her in both her professional and private life. She has used Choice Theory to deal with behavioural, social and academic issues in her classroom. Choice Theory in the classroom has provided children with the necessary skills and language to make better choices, taking responsibility for themselves and their work, as well as how they interact with their peers, focusing their language around Glasser’s Seven Connecting Habits.
Workshop B: Learning to Love the Chart!
Even for many of those who love Choice Theory, that multi-coloured, complex-seeming chart of “The Brain as Control System” is just a step too far. The perceptual system can’t cope, it filters it all out and if it does, this workshop is designed to challenge any resistance you may have to the Chart. The aim is to change it from frustration signal to quality world picture. It will present the chart as a powerful tool in our efforts to gain better control of our lives, and to help others do the same. It is interactive and invites sharing of ideas and experience.
Presenter: Arthur Dunne: Arthur is one of the founder-members of WGII and is a Senior Faculty member. He was former president of the European Association for Reality Therapy. He worked as a school guidance counsellor for many years where he found young people engaged so easily with Choice Theory ideas. He is currently working as a lecturer in Maynooth University and is an accredited Reality Therapy Psychotherapist in private practice.
5.15: WGII Annual General Meeting (WGII Members Only)
Have you booked yet? You can do so HERE!