Workplace Wellness Courses & Workshops
Dr Arien offers multiple cour
ses & workshops in the workplace developed according to company specific requirements to increase productivity and decrease absenteeism & sick leave.
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1. Wellness Educator Training Course
Wellness Educators have to develop the following skills set as an inherent part of the training:
- Knowledge of the subject being trained on. In this instance health and wellness education on various related subjects (refer to content outline further on)
- Understanding and discussing the concept of roll models: we are not only our physical bodies. Often those who seem, on the surface, to be poor roll models, make the best peer educators/wellness champions! This concept is explored and discussed extensively.
- Communication skills: listening, interpreting messages, correct and persuasive communication skills, body language
- Public speaking skills
- Preparing a Powerpoint presentation from articles, Web-site info and books
- How to facilitate a learning process
- How to facilitate a behaviour change process
- Ability to accept people of different beliefs, values, cultures, races, genders, religions, sexual orientation
- Encourage analytical skills: questioning why & how you’ve always done things a certain way, also unquestioned beliefs that perpetuates from generation to generation; building new neural networks, reprogramming the brain for health enhancing behaviour
- Monitoring and evaluation skills
- Simple research skills
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Ability to evolve emotional support
- Problem solving skills
- Basic project management skills
- Basic report writing skills
The primary purpose of Wellness Educators and Practitioners is to facilitate positive, health enhancing behaviours and decrease negative, risky, health harming behaviours.
After completion of this course, candidates should:
- Be able to define & conceptualise wellness and understand the important effect of the educational approach for sustainable and lasting health and wellness behaviour change.
- Have a clear understanding of the roles, qualities, limitations of good wellness educators
- Have a workable knowledge of basic anatomy, physiology, wellness, nutrition, stress management, fitness and mental-emotional health, and be able to teach this to others
- Understand how to integrate the above into a practical wellness solution driven approach to health and wellness.
- Be able to use chronic diseases of lifestyle(or rather, health challenges) as an integrative model to finding lasting solutions for these.
- Be able to understand the benefit in regarding HIV/Aids as one of the CDL’s, rather than a loose standing entity
- Be able to facilitate a series of lectures to wellness educators in various workplace settings.
- Have good, experiential knowledge of presentation skills, capturing and holding audience attention and facilitation skills
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2. Stress Solutions Course in a Workplace Setting
The Stress Solutions Course in a Workplace Setting is aimed at groups wanting to learn how to identify and manage their stress triggers. Would you prefer a calmer, more peaceful life, managing the daily stress triggers with equanimity, as a human being (vs a human doing!) from the still centre of a quiet mind? Practical stress management techniques and wellness principles for the workplace and the home, will teach you how. Stress management and wellness will be considered from an integrative perspective, where physical body, mind, emotions and soul are equally important. The tone remains light, with emphasis on personal experience and interaction. Life is also about fun and laughter, especially while learning new life enriching tools and techniques! Become all you’re meant to be!
The Stress Management Training is available as an Introductory Talk (45-60 minutes) as an awareness tool, also as a 2 hour seminar, 3 hour workshop, 1 and 2 day Stress Course, or 1 hour per week or every 2 weeks over a period of 6 months, to address each topic on a deeper level, with more participation from the group, and to demonstrate how health and happiness can be unconsciously sabotaged by habitual behaviour patterns, events and activities. The longer periods allow participants to experience a variety of practical exercises and tips, to use on a daily basis when confronted with stressful events and circumstances.
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3. Short Course in Workplace Wellness
Workplace wellness interventions have become essential to successfully address the burden of disease in South Africa. It is time for a paradigm shift: for too long we’ve been focusing our attention on the problem (i.e. managing disease). Wellness interventions focus on the solution: health promotion, optimal health and wellness through awareness, education and new ways of thinking.
The course would be of value to anybody interested in the promotion of wellness, but in particular for those in the following fields: all the medical and health consulting disciplines, wellness practitioners, nursing professions, occupational health, human resource and employee assistance, paramedics, psychology, biokinetics, human movement sciences, spiritual and religious work, community workers, nutrition, medical aid and medical insurance representatives, child care, government, education, complementary health arena, occupational social work and recreational consultancy.
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4. The Soul of Leadership™: Optimal Resilience and Integrative Health Coaching Program
Combining the science and mental training of mindfulness, with an understanding of the challenges, complexities, opportunities and responsibilities of today’s leaders
The Science of Leadership
- Approach: Practical, enjoyable, experiential approach with interaction, small group activities, integrative learning and sharing
- Science and optimal brain function
- Mind, brain and consciousness
- The science of meditation with practical experience
- Heart and brain synchronisation: from high beta to beta, then alpha, theta and delta brain rhythm, touching on the high performance gamma range. Ways to access preferred brain wave ranges using the 3 P’s (practice, patience and perseverance).
- Brain entrainment and resonant frequencies of brainwaves for whole brain functioning and creative thinking
- The effect of negative stress on the brain, heart and immune system
- Neuroscience, new biology and quantum physics
- Epigenetics, DNA activation and EPS (emotional positioning system) process work, tuning into the right brain (and right mind!); thoughts, emotions and resonant brainwave patterns; unconditional love as key business tool of the new leader: the heart as brain!
- Enhancing leadership strengths with a salutogenic* approach
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5. Integrative Natural Medicine Course
The spin offs (such as life skill training, leadership development) from the basic training in health, wellness and an integrative whole being approach to the chronic diseases of lifestyle, are very encouraging. It is also a clear indication of the success of wellness educator training as a workplace wellness intervention, and the only intervention to consistently demonstrate long term, lasting and sustainable, health behaviour change. Developing life skills and leadership qualities, experiencing personal growth, learning to manage emotions, increased self esteem and self confidence, lowering blood pressure, improving the health and wellbeing of colleagues, friends, family and community, all added to the increase in knowledge on health and wellness, show that wellness educator training has to be one of the best return on investment wellness interventions available today. WET is also becoming a powerful EAP tool, as employees learn to trust their Wellness Champions and discuss problems with them rather than a call centre assistant. Wellness Champions then refer to the necessary health professionals for further management.
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6. Workplace Wellness: Longevity. Preparing for Wisdom Years
The wellness needs of mature employees, from age 50 to infinitum, is where the current and future focus of companies is and will be – how to deal with an ageing workforce who, with health and wellness guidance, will be quite able to work well into their 70’s and even 80’s, with the correct preparation for their wisdom years. Companies will be wise to utilise the cumulative years of expertise, knowledge and wisdom that can support a succession planning protocol for any company. Nearly 20% of the work force will be age 50 or older at any given time, with most of these planning and able, to work well into their very senior years. Business leaders are already scrambling to develop strategies for dealing with the impact of an ageing workforce. It’s about time to consider ways to improve longevity and positive ageing, through lifestyle factors and re-activating the DNA telomerase enzyme deep within our cells!
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Please feel free to contact me should you have any queries
Dr Arien van der Merwe MBChB FRSPH MISMA
Medical Specialist Health and Wellbeing
Director: Health Stress Management Gauteng (Pty) Ltd
E-mail: arienvdm@samedical.co.za
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