Workshops

:: UPCOMING WORKSHOPS ::

Full-Day Workshop

Seminar: How To Develop Self-Esteem and Friendship Skills

The development of a healthy self-esteem is not straightforward and is affected by many factors but is crucial to a child’s happiness. Children need high self-esteem to feel good about themselves, their world, and the contributions they can make to it; and the connection between self-esteem and relationships is well documented. Our interpersonal experiences have a huge impact on our self-esteem in that if a child feels valued and accepted by others, they will have a higher self-esteem than the child who struggles with friendships. Children with low self-esteem live in a world that segregates or isolates them as they often lack the social skills to make and maintain friendships. As Rubin says, ‘Social skills are central to making a child a good friend and well-liked’ (2002). So, these two areas, self-esteem and friendship skills, are linked, but they are also inextricably linked to the area of social skills.

Speaker: Alex Kelly and Rhian Bond

Alex Kelly is the author of the Talkabout publications. She is a speech & language therapist (SLT) with over 35 years’ experience of working with people with social and emotional difficulties. She spent 23 years working in the NHS but then set up her own training company – Alex Kelly Ltd – in 2009. She then set up her own speech and language therapy company – Speaking Space Ltd – which also offers a unique day service for adults with intellectual disabilities. She has recently handed over this company to her friend and colleague, Naomi Pearson, and so now divides her time between writing & lecturing around the UK & abroad, and a number of personal commitments. She is a highly engaging public speaker who is passionate about improving the quality of life of people who are struggling with the challenges of navigating a social world. Alex is married to Brian Sains – her business partner and best friend – and who is now a beekeeper. She has 3 boys who are all now grown up and she has recently become a granny. Her passions outside of work are animals, the countryside and music. She also sings and plays in a local band.

Rhain Bond is a speech & language therapist with over 12 years’ experience. Her area of specialism is supporting individuals with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. She spent 9 years living and working in London, providing assessment, intervention and training to a range of education settings including schools, post 16 colleges and alternative resource provisions. In more recent years, Rhian worked within the Youth Justice System to provide Speech and language therapy advice and support to young offenders. Rhian has worked with Alex for over 3 years & is currently the Therapy Manager & SEMH Lead Therapist for Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd. She has a real passion for raising awareness that behaviour is communication that can be accepted and supported, and aims to achieve this through training others. Rhian enjoys being active and spends a lot of her spare time running or trekking in the countryside. She enjoys books and films and is happiest when surrounded by family and friends.

Course Outline

This training will introduce you to self-esteem and friendship skills and what can be done about children who have difficulties in these areas. It is a practical and interactive course using mixture of lecturing, videos and practical exercises to keep you engaged, interested and amused. The programme is mainly focused on working with children, but Alex also with adults can discuss the differences where relevant.

Course Objectives

Participants will learn how to:

1. Define self-esteem and understand the development of self-esteem.
2. Understand how self-esteem is affected by factors such as contingencies of self-worth and attachment.
3. Identify children with low self-esteem.
4. Develop self-esteem through ten key aspects to intervention.
5. Define friendship skills and understand how friendships can contribute to a child’s development.
6. Identify the key factors that cause friendships to develop and be maintained.
7. Develop self-esteem and friendship skills though effective group work.

Who Can Benefit?

This course is suitable for anyone working with children (or adults) who struggle with their friendship skills, self-esteem or social skills and who want to promote a healthy self-esteem, friendship skills and positive social interaction. It will be of interest to teachers / educators, teaching assistants / aids, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists.

Testimonials

‘Alex is a vibrant, energetic presenter who had me enthralled. She is incredibly generous with her ideas and suggestions. One of the best workshops I have ever attended – and I go to lots! Thanks!’ - Clinical Psychologist, Sydney, 2016

‘All in all, Alex, what a wonderful world for kids it would be if your social skills programme were in all schools across the continents’ - Parent, Melbourne, 2016

‘Informative, fun, awesome and professional’ - Anon, Penang, 2018

Course Fees & Closing Dates

Registration Type	Closing Date	Fees (S$) / pax
	15 Oct 2023	550
Normal	Till Full	630

3 Days Alex Course Bundle (How To Develop Self-Esteem and Friendship Skills and Social Skills (Day 1 and 2)

Registration Type	Closing Date	Fees (S$) / pax
	15 Oct 2023	1350
Normal	Till Full	1450