Courses, lectures and workshops offered:-

The following course are offered in a number of different formats to suit the contexts in which they will be run. Some of them could be done as a six hour, all day event, with more time given to the experiential elements, or a three hour half day event with less experiential component. Some of them I have also delivered as a 90 minute taster of the topic.

Empathy and self-awareness workshop.

Is empathy a stable personality trait, or can it be learned? Are some people naturally good at it? Is our ability to understand others affected by early attchment bonds? Are people who are good at understanding themselves good at understanding others? Do they tend to do better in therapy?

These and other questions are often put to me by students on this topic, and I attempt to answer them during the course. In the taught element of the workshop I explain empathy from a number of psychological perspectives, and suggest a strong evolutionary link between empathy and self-awareness, and a number of other personality traits : eg: self- control, guilt proneness, all of which moderate our social interactions. In the experiential element of the workshop, participants fill in the research questionaires and generate their own empathy and self-awareness profile and get a chance to discuss this in pairs and small groups, and integrate the ideas with their own life story.

The evolutionary roots of empathy and self-awareness.

This lecture/ workshop is similar to the one above, but is more academic and looks in greater detail at the neuro scientific evidence that suggests evolutionary links between empathy and a number of social impulses.. The taught element focusses more on how pro-social tendencies manifest in a range of species and how this has become so much more sophisticated through the rapid evolution of the pre-frontal cortex, and how this has led on to social behaviour embedded in cultural practices.

Evolutionary explanations for common mental health disorders.

Why are humans so universally predisposed to suffer such high levels of anxiety? What are the main life script triggers to depression? Why are phobias so focussed on marginal threats in our environment? These are questions that form the basis of the introductory part of this workshop, involving looking at ‘ultimate’ causes of human behaviour and then the proximate mechanisms of dysregulation of emotion that are at the heart of many mental health disorders. The experiential element of the workshop focuses on ways that that anxiety and depression have come to be conceptualised and measured, and the meaning of these psychological states in participants' lives; individual and small group work will be involved.

Cross- cultural psychology and identity.

This workshop focusses on how cross-cultural psychology has attempted to identify, measure and explain the great differences in personality, values and behaviour that we see between nations and people in the world today. The focus will be particularly on comparisons of first and third world populations, and even more specifically on collectivism and individualism – how this affects relationships, mental health etc. The effects of migration and integration on this will also be considered. The experiential element of the workshop will involve particpants assessing their own behaviour, value and attitudes in the light of cross-cultural comparisons, and sharing this in pairs and small groups.

Co-evolution of genes and culture.

Why and how has the human species evolved at such a faster pace than our nearest genetic relatives? How has culture and wealth spread so unevenly across the globe? Are there universal cultural practices across all nations? These and other questions are often asked even by those with only a passing interest in evolution. This workshop focusses on evolutionary explanations of how earlier physical changes in morphology led on to our rapid evolution as a hyper-social species, and how this has in turn led to near universal cultural learning processes and practices. This leads on to consideration of how these impact on and influence our everyday lives. The experiential elements may include sharing of the many cultural in fluences on our separate upbringings, and analysing current trends and fashions; this to be done in pairs and small groups. The agenda for this element will be more in response to participants interests.