Better Life Courses

Courses

Better Life provides a number of courses to meet the needs of families, children, youth and adults.

Mindfulness Meditation
A 6-week course

Meditations for Inner Peace
A 4-week course

The Book Circle
Turning good readers into GREAT readers

Band Aid
Post-operative support course for Gastric Band Recipients

Turning Worriers into WARRIORS
Addressing childhood anxiety

There's no such thing as NO HOMEWORK!
Study skills for adolescents

Small Group Skills for ASPIES
Sharing space with others effectively

After the Floods and other Disasters
Dealing with Post Traumatic Stress
(child and adult programs)

I Know They're Looking at Me
Changing social phobia
(child and adult programs)

I'm No Good, It's No Good, It'll Never be any Good
Dealing with depression
(child and adult programs)

Cutting Edge Courses
Career Development for teenagers and young adults

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THESE COURSES PLEASE EMAIL choice@betterlife.com.au

Meditations for Inner Peace

These classes cover a variety of meditation techniques, providing you with a choice of meditations to suit your individual needs. They will assist you to find a deep sense of calm and help you to find the silence within, bringing an inner peace and clarity into your daily living. We also cover meditations for special purpose and healing. Classes start with a basic breathing meditation, followed by sound and/or visualization meditations. This hour of beautiful meditations provides you with a space away from your busy life in which to look within.

Classes are suitable for beginners and those who have meditated before.

Bring a comfortable cushion to sit on and water. Chairs are provided if you prefer.

Band Aid

Many gastric band recipients enjoy the contact and understanding of other "banders". Having the support of professional guidance in a group can enhance this contact. Group size is limited for personal attention. We look forward to seeing you there.

Contact us to find out about our next scheduled course.

Turning Worriers into Warriors

A small group program for students in Yrs 1-3 and Yrs 4-7 to develop understanding, skills and strategies in dealing with worries. Research shows that early intervention can reduce long term difficulties with worry.

There's No Such Thing as No Homework!

Understanding the skills, routines and abilities to make out-of-school time most effective and productive is an art form. Make the most of a balanced life by knowing how to get work done.

Small Group Skills for ASPIES

Small group social skills for aspies: Many of us think the skills of getting along should come naturally for kids...well, they don't! Sometimes we need a little extra tuition on interacting with others.

I'm No Good, It's No Good, It'll Never be any Good

Depressive thinking is often linked to poor self-esteem, that leads to negative focus on life and its circumstances. In this group program participants learn to understand their thinking and develop strategies to manage the mental processes. The groups are age specific and limited in number, so book now.
(child and adult programs)

For further information please E-mail us: choice@betterlife.com.au

Mindfulness Meditation

The practice of mindfulness allows you to pay close attention to the present moment, noting your thoughts, feelings and body sensations with an attitude of curiosity and non-judgment. This observing, non-reactive perspective enables one to consciously respond with clarity and focus, rather than react out of a habitual pattern. It opens up the possibility of working more wisely with difficulties in life and to choose what is nourishing to ourselves and others.

Through this training, people actually change their behavior, not just learn about how they might change it.

Participants engage at the levels of physiological stress regulation, emotional regulation and cognitive training - all leading to enhanced emotional, mental and physical resilience. It also engages people at the level of values and purpose, which can increase satisfaction at work and in life more generally. It encourages people to engage fully with every aspect of their lives.

Programs can assist individuals to:

• Reduce stress
• Increase stability in the midst of complex or highly charged situations
• Enhance clarity and creative thinking
• Improve communication skills
• Cultivate leadership and teamwork
• Improve overall effectiveness in the workplace

The Book Circle

The Book Circle turns good readers into great readers by increasing emotional connectedness to literature. It's about making children aware of the richer emotional role of storytelling and the links to understanding the nature of people and the world we live in.

By developing this richer emotional understanding through discussion of symbolism we find students are tuned in and turned on. The Book Circle excites the imagination, motivates the reader to read, extends vocabulary and challenges thought.

The Book Circle is for children aged 11-14 years (one group for upper primary and one for lower secondary). These children need to be competent readers (this is NOT a remedial group) and emotionally mature enough to participate in discussions.

After the Floods and other Disasters

The subtle, chronic exposure to war, turmoil, disasters and crime that our children face through the media is prompting a wave of anxiety that, if left unchecked, interferes with day to day life. Be more resilient in the face of these daily events by this inoculation process.
(child and adult programs)

I Know They're Looking at Me

Worries about others and their opinions are natural but can get beyond being helpful. This small group program helps individuals deal with social worries.
(child and adult programs)

Cutting Edge Courses

"Things have changed so much since I was at school! I can see my child struggling to decide what to do with their life and I just don't know if what I'm saying is helping."

This is an all too common experience voiced by parents who talk to Santo Russo & Ralph Hunter from Cutting Edge Courses. Parents today are the most influential source of support for teenage career decision-making, yet between 15 and 30 years of major employment market changes have occurred since they themselves were in the same situation facing the same decisions as a young adult.

Twenty years ago young Australians had multiple career options in a bullish economy. Tertiary education was free. Training was widely available. Today, career options are rapidly changing. It is anticipated that today's youth will change careers, on average, five times in their life. There will be jobs that haven't even been thought of yet.

Tertiary qualifications may cost up to a hundred thousand dollars. It IS difficult for families to balance these differences in order to make appropriate career decisions. While parents bring the wisdom of experience, youth focus on the energy of possibilities - how do the two come together?

Santo Russo, from Better Life Psychology suggests, "When families have an understanding of the development of careers, the knowledge of career opportunities and the ability to communicate appropriately, they not only make better decisions but have more satisfying family time going about it."

Today, more than ever, families need support to wade through the exploding range of options for youth. 94% of students that applied for tertiary places received an offer of a place in one of Queensland's tertiary institutions. However, an average of 30% drop out of university in their first year, leaving the family with expensive Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) liability as well as being out of pocket for text books, etc.

In 1995 the introduction of the Australian Qualification Framework and the continued deregulation of higher education and training means that a large number of courses are marketed to young adults. Even Degree courses, once the sole domain of Commonwealth funded Universities, are under pressure from private, fee charging, training providers.

How do you as a consumer judge the value of the courses offered at both the traditional institutions and the new providers in the market?

There are ways, according to Ralph Hunter, from In Work. With the expansion of the New Apprenticeship system and traineeship options families can be overwhelmed with information. Ralph points out that innovations, like the Cutting Edge Workshop "Planning your working life - getting started", can assist families avoid a parent vs youth approach to one of the most profound decisions in a person's life.

Are you and your teenager coping well while trying to make those vital decisions about future career/job options?

'Cutting Edge Courses' offers a program to help teenagers and parents
· gain a better understanding of career choices
· develop planning skills for working together for better career outcomes
· gain an understanding of behaviour, pressures, influences and expectations around career decision making
· improve ability to communicate regarding career decision making

Endorsements from 'CUTTING EDGE COURSES':

"This has allowed me to see that everyone isn't perfect, and when I put myself down it is a negative and I'm just being hard on myself. I can change it if I choose. It was a great course and I would do it again." Kristy - Year 11 - St. Paul's School

"Gathering information and knowing yourself plus employment gaining and retaining". Kim - Year 10 - St Patrick's College

"All of the requirements of getting a job were covered magnificently. Nothing is blurry now, it's clear as crystal". Brad - Year 12 - Wavell State High School

"This course has shown me very effective ways of getting and keeping jobs. It has shown me that you're the only one who can effect your future". Sarah - Year 10 - Mt Alvernia College

"It has opened more choice for me and helped me accept myself and yeah it really was great, enjoyed myself while I was here".
Melissa - Year 12 - Mt Alvernia College.

The above testimonies were taken from some of the last course evaluation forms. They are printed here with participants permission and without editing. They speak for themselves!