|
The Keep - Life Coaching
Menslink believes young men have lots of potential and much to offer our community. We understand that everyone including young men go through difficult times in their lives. Our staff can help you find the next step to get past such difficult times, and if you want to talk at a more personal level you can talk to our life coach, Russ. The task of the life coach is to work with you, listen to you, and help you access strengths you have, and the support that is available for you. Our life coaching centre at Menslink is called the Keep. Talk to our staff if you are not sure what to do next. Contact Menslink: Email: info@menslink.org.au Phone: (02) 6239 4699 Life Coaching - Your Options Life Coaching: it's all in the approach Doing Anger Differently - DAD Life Coaching - Your Options What services are available in the community? Are you not sure exactly what the problem is, but know you need to do something about it? You can see Russ, the Menslink life coach, for many reasons: Trouble in the family. Relationship difficulties. School hassles. How to deal with conflict or really strong emotions that are weighing you down. How to get the best out of a tough situation. If you are interested in talking with Russ: Call Menslink to arrange an appointment. You may want to come along for one appointment only. You can decide after seeing Russ if it is the right step for you. You can then work out your next appointment. Waiting time may vary depending on a waiting list, but we can put your name on this list and call you as soon as there is a place available. There is no cost for this service. Life coaching has two components - the initial intake/assessment element and the life coaching experience. Intake and Assessment Our intake and assessment procedures determine initial advice and referral. We try to work with people as the first point of contact to assess their needs and strengths in a friendly way, and whether Menslink or another service can assist them. When you ring (02) 6239 4699, we will ask you a number of questions to assess options, potential for engagement, and the exact nature of the problem. Life Coaching: it's all in the approach Colin's mother tells Menslink life coach Russ that she is noticing some changes in Colin. Already involved in Menslink through the Mentoring Young Men program, Colin and his mentor Neil are working out well. Despite these improvements, he still struggles to have a good relationship with his mother. His mother says that Colin gets on really well with his mentor Neil, and Neil is great for Colin, but she and Colin are still having heated arguments that are beginning to intimidate her. After bad experiences with counsellors in the past, Colin wasn't keen to see a life coach, but his mentor convinced him life coaching was different, and Colin found the courage to go for it. Despite being nervous, Colin struck up a rapport with the Menslink life coach. Initially, Colin just wanted to talk about what his mum was not doing right, but after a while he began to realize there were things he needed to do to make the situation better. Russ and Colin identified some triggers that were making Colin angry with his mother and they were able to work on different ways Colin could respond. After a while, Colin was able to do things differently. Soon Colin's mum told Russ she was noticing some changes in Colin. Colin was getting better! Colin no longer sees Russ. He still has some work to do and with his mentor, and he is more able talk about how to get through things. Why did life coaching make such a difference? Russ was able to talk to both Colin's mentor and mother to encourage them to notice when Colin gets it right. Through this positive reinforcement, everyone is working together, and Colin is happier! (Names have been changed for confidentiality.) Doing Anger Differently (DAD) Michael Currie, Newcastle University Anger leading to abuse or violence can be really destructive for young men and the people they are angry towards. This is unfortunate because anger can be a useful emotion indicating that something is not right or that we are not being treated properly. Menslink piloted Doing Anger Differently (DAD) in the ACT, and trained facilitators working with partner school Melrose High. We worked in the school environment with 12-15 year old boys who were using anger destructively and experiencing all sorts of negative outcomes for themselves and others. Firstly, DAD was fun. This motivated young men to attend the workshop. DAD utilised African drumming, group dynamics and a carefully constructed therapeutic framework. The aim was to provide opportunities for young men to become self-aware of their emotional triggers and responses, leading to better choices in how they responded to situations of conflict. |
