Relationship Expertise & Advanced Leadership
REAL Personal Growth Program
Through REAL connection we learn that who we are and what we have to offer is valuable.
We believe REAL Authentic Connection transforms lives for the better, personally and professionally. We know it requires courage to wholeheartedly care. Putting care first into any relationship, any interaction, any moment can be a scary vulnerable act, and yet it can make all the difference in your world – including right now. The question is not whether we have any impact, but rather what kind of impact do we want to have?
Be a transformational agent in your own life and in the lives of others. If you have a deep desire to keep growing, learning and becoming your best self, if you empathize with other’s pain and want to ease that pain, if you see the potential in people and want to help them achieve that potential, then you have the foundation to learn how to maximize your positive influence in your relationships, personally and professionally. If you believe that integrated healing requires focusing on mind, body and spirit then our REAL program is for you.
Relationship Expertise & Advanced Leadership
REAL builds on the foundation of the first year of our PRAC program, but from a purely personal growth perspective. As with our 3 year PRAC Counsellor Training Program, REAL is built on experiential, relational and transpersonal work, fostering the self awareness and relationship skills required to transform lives: including your own. The REAL Program runs concurrently with PRAC, with students attending all the same classes, but is not intended for counsellor training. Participants can elect to take each year consecutively, or not.
PRAC Year 1: REAL You
The prerequisite for REAL is participating in PRAC 1 which is an adventure of self discovery, with your life as the curriculum. Self awareness is the foundation for relationship skill. The first year of the program will introduce you to aspects of your real, authentic self that are essential for you to have REAL impact on those around you.
Human Development and Family Systems Theory are the focus of Year 1. Students engage in many creative learning activities and emotional processes designed to foster cognitive and emotional self awareness, so that reactive behaviour is minimized and proactive behaviour is maximized. This includes writing an autobiography, doing a family of origin study and presenting your family story. Many choose to take PRAC 1 for personal reasons, to become better parents, better partners and healthier, more fulfilled human beings.
REAL Year 1: REAL Connection
The REAL evolutionary journey now shifts to the interpersonal dynamic, exploring self in connection with other. The skills required to be a good counsellor are the same skills required to be a good human being; and for this reason, our REAL program provides participants with the opportunity to learn alongside our counsellor training students, without the pressure of academic requirements. Students discover how to be in authentic contact with another, and how to be genuinely supportive and helpful, rather than resorting to ‘fixing’ the situation or the person. Through this relationship process students develop a greater awareness of who they are and how to connect in an emotionally responsible way.
Year 2 is intensely focused on theory and practice of the experiential and relational techniques that we believe are the foundation for lasting change. These include, but are not limited to, Person Centred, Gestalt, Existential, AEDP, ACT, Psychodrama, Buddhist/Mindfulness, Transpersonal and Somatic approaches. Although we incorporate these psychological approaches, ours remains a unique body of work. Learning activities in REAL Year 1 lead the student to reframe pain into purpose, experiencing that who they are and what they have to offer is valuable.
REAL Year 2: REAL Impact
REAL Year 2 continues with an exciting and challenging journey into leadership, integrating the learning and skills from previous years, as well as offering specific training in group leadership skills. The program delves deeper into your own personal motivation or ‘why’: the values that drive your decision making in life, and your self-defined purpose.
This final year of integration and practice culminates with the student’s delivery of their ‘universal constitution’. Drawing from their work from previous years, students articulate a personal commitment to the values that will drive their decision making in life, and to their unique self-defined life purpose.
Application process
We are now accepting applications for the upcoming year. Read the in-depth REAL Course Outline here and let us know if you’re ready to get REAL!
If you are ready to apply, connect with us to speak with our Program Services Director who can walk your through the application process. Just email us here or call: 1.604.513.9001 (ext 1). We’re happy to answer any questions you might have.
