News

We are really excited to welcome you our new website. We hope you like it and find it informative, user-friendly and want to visit us often to keep up to date with everything we are doing.

The new features will help us to bring you news about the latest workshops and services, free articles for you to download, Odyssey events and special offers and a link for you to follow us on Facebook to share information, 'happenings', thoughts and ideas.

We want to hear from you!

See our Training Pages or contact us for more details on each workshop. (Please book early as places are limited to only 8 per workshop)

• More Than Just A Dress Size (1) Thurs 26th May - Full Day £69 or Sat 11th June - Full Day £69
• Women In Focus Wed 29th June - Full Day £125
• Being More Assertive Mon 4th July - Full Day £79
• Enjoy Better Relationships Thurs 14th July - Full Day £79
• Grow Your Confidence Mon 18th July - Full Day £79
• Mental Health Workout Workshop Thurs 21st July - Full Day £79

Are you a Counsellor or do you use Counselling Skills in your work? Would you like to further develop your skills? Find new ways of working creatively and feel re-energised for practice?

Would you like to meet with other counselling professionals to share ideas and learning? Are you completing your professional training and would enjoy attending workshops that focus on specific practice issues?

We will soon be launching a programme of Continuing Professional Development which has been developed with you in mind!

These will be friendly, informal, small group workshops, covering a wide range of Counselling practice issues. Most will be 3 hour evening or weekend workshops, held at either Claxby or Grimsby.

Examples of these are:

• Working with clients who feel angry
• Maintaining Professional Boundaries
• Abuse - the Healing Process
• Use of Self in the counselling process
• Positive, Person-centred Endings
• Inner Child workshop
• Art & Emotions
• Laughter workshop
• Introduction to Counselling Supervision
• Creating a 'safe' environment
• Counselling Creatively
• Power in the counselling relationship

Call now or email to find out more, or watch this space for launch dates!

01673 828196 info@myodyssey.co.uk

Browsing through the array of Women's magazines at my local newsagents recently I noticed how many of them (approximately half) were running diet features such as 'shape up for summer', 'lose 7lbs in 14 days' and some of the 'real life' stories talking about fat and wearing a pig mask! All of this I believe plays on our insecurities and dissatisfaction regarding our bodies and shape.

Also many of the models in the magazines (especially worryingly in those magazines aimed at younger women) are very thin. These are NOT depictions of real women - the average dress size in the UK being a size 16. If we constantly compare ourselves with these images we will invariably end up feeling inadequate.

The same is true on the TV in films, dramas and even 'soapland'. Most of the female characters are slim and glamourous (aside from a token 'fat bird' such as Heather in Eastenders who is stereotyped as a loser who overeats and can't get a man!) This is a far cry from the first soap of the 1960's (Coronation Street) with screen sirens such as the curvaceous and fiery Else Tanner. These women were in their thirties or forties and depicted as strong but sexy matriarchs.

Manufacturers of 'Dove' products campaign for 'real beauty' and I think we should too - for the portrayal of real women in the media - not the liposuctioned and airbrushed role models of today.

Mags Easton

May 2011