Brisbane aged care invited to share stories, listen deeply, and make connections to Listen with Purpose
Meaningful Ageing is inviting Brisbane aged care services to attend Listen with Purpose – a workshop designed to show how to share stories, listen deeply, and make connections between their staff and with their residents and clients to improve everyone’s spiritual health and well-being.
They hope that participants will take their knowledge back to their services, and that Meaningful Ageing can offer listening workshops within other aged care services.
The initial workshop will be held on Monday 14 May at Wesley Mission in Chermside.
Meaningful Ageing has engaged Red Thread Stories as guest facilitators for this unique workshop. Red Thread Stories is a Brisbane based not for profit company of artists and performers who work with groups of individuals, workers and staff developing non-verbal understanding and team building or collaborative skills to improve communications and connections between and within the group. They have worked with migrant and refugee, mental health and disability groups as well as business and staff groupings in team-building events.
“We help people learn to listen and connect with each other’s stories and experiences. We find that listening deeply is at the heart of respecting people assisting them to speak up about the things that matter to them, ” Jen Barrkman of Red Thread Stories said. Jen is an experienced facilitator and performer with a background in psychology and oral history. Kris Plowman – her workshop and performance colleague, a musician and retired environmental scientist said that ”being listened to and knowing that you have been heard is a moving and wondrous experience for many of our participants”.
Ilsa Hampton CEO of Meaningful Ageing collaborated with Red Thread Stories at the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency Better Practices Conferences in Darwin and Brisbane last year. “Meaningful Ageing and Red Thread are both deeply committed to equipping others to live rich and fulfilling lives at all stages. Listening well is the foundation of all quality care, and is the heart of good pastoral and spiritual care in aged care and beyond.”
“These skills can be used in an aged care setting where staff may come from different backgrounds or where residents or clients may be unable to speak or verbalise their feelings to their families or carers due to cognitive breakdown such as dementia, physical conditions such as stroke, or loss or lack of English,” she said.
“This is not just residents and clients communicating their needs for food, warmth or comfort, but also to communicate their spiritual needs, hopes and fears to have them understood and valued. And for staff to respond and communicate with those they care for and with their colleagues.”
This initial workshop is being sponsored by Gow-Gates. Since 1978 their specialty insurance program, The Gow-Gates Aged Care Insurance Scheme, has been committed to protecting the aged care sector. Managing Director Anthony Gow-Gates commented that “Gow-Gates is a strong supporter of high quality aged care and we are delighted to consistently support the sector with their important work.”
Contact us about running a similar session in your organisation.
Enrol for the Brisbane workshop at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/listening-on-purpose-tickets-44174294504