Feedback on Jean Morrison's talk on bereavement:

Speaker: Jean Morrison, a leading counsellor in Scotland and author of "Loss - an Invitation to Grow"

"Authoritative", "sensitive" and "very helpful" were typical comments. Jean spoke about mourning as a process and said that every experience of it is unique. Thus, we should never presume to say to someone who has suffered a bereavement:
"I know how you feel", because nobody can quite know. And we should not expect a person to "get over" their loss by a certain given time either.

Perhaps Jean's greatest service to us was to help us face the trauma of mourning, by "giving us permission" to do so and by providing us with much needed simple vocabulary with which to talk about this painful and delicate area.

If you would like to know about Jean's counselling service or similar services in the area around Lothian Road, please get in touch with OASIS.

Additional information from May 04:

A David Mitchell, Lecturer in Palliative Care in Marie Curie in the UK, gave a talk on this very subject on 4 May 04 in Glasgow.

This was for a sister organisation of OASIS over there, namely BiG – standing for Business in Glasgow - see www.BusinessInGlasgow.net

David has kindly given permission for OASIS to make that PowerPoint presentation available on this Edinburgh site: to download his PP presentation click here.

Feedback on Ben Williams' talk on dealing with major organisational change:

Speaker: Ben Williams, a respected corporate psychologist here in Edinburgh and gifted public speaker

"Thrusting", "insightful" and "entertaining" were some words used to describe Ben's talk and state-of the-art technological presentation. Also "direct" and "from the heart".

The key question to ask oneself is: does my colleague / friend / relative / client need me to be supportive, or gently challenging? Our starting point has to be really listening and ascertaining where the person is at. There were echoes here of the advice given us by Jean Morrison on being of help to people who have suffered a bereavement.

Ben also pointed out that the level of trust in the general working environment is a key factor. Have key decision makers taken their teams into their confidence? That can make all the difference to a person going through organisational change.

For further information on Ben Williams Corporate Psychology, see: http://www.benwilliams.co.uk

Feedback on Tom Gordon's talk on dealing with a terminal illness:

Speaker: Tom Gordon, chaplain at the Marie Curie Centre, Fairmile and contributor to journals and TV and radio programmes

"An accomplished speaker", "very relevant", "he imparted confidence", "he reassured me I'm doing the right things" were some of the phrases. Tom was deft at opening up what for many is a "taboo" subject, and he did so with humour. Humour, indeed, can sometimes be a key ingredient in helping a colleague / friend / relative / client who may be facing a terminal illness. Certainly, the last thing such a person needs is for us to ignore the issue.

Again, listening is a big service we can offer, especially when the person we are with wants to review their life (which Tom likened to their being in the observation car at the back of the train on the scenic route to Mallaig: they want to look back on the whole view of where they have come from).

Examples of insights: instead of talking of helping "the dying", we should rather see them as "living people who are facing mortality"; and if they are angry, we should not assume this is personal rejection of us . . .

Tom left us with a helpful list of resources. Do contact OASIS if you would like a photocopy.

Feedback on Hazel Bech's talk on struggling to achieve lifestyle balance:

Speaker: Hazel Bech, a chartered occupational psychologist with Champfleurie Consultants who specialise in performance improvement


Those who came to this, the best attended talk in the series, have said things like, "This is very much a live issue," "It was entirely relevant," "I was helped personally," "Hazel left us with lots to go away and think about," and "We were scribbling like mad!" Hazel gave us interesting research findings and then touched on several management philosophies which, when understood and applied correctly, can be helpful to all when it comes to achieving lifestyle balance, e.g. the 80's emphasis on getting to know yourself, the environment, others and the organisation.

Hazel mentioned the Gallup Organization's Q12 checklist and scoring system. Great food for thought . . . It reads thus: