Effective Communication in the Family During Career Planning Process: From Anxiety to Resilience

Aims of the Workshop:

Families examine the role and impact of a positive attitude and taking responsibility on future success and happiness. They think in depth about anxiety, the causes of anxiety and resilience as a skill in managing anxiety. They discuss how dysfunctional conscious or unconscious beliefs and attitudes affect family communication as well as their role in initiating anxiety. In an environment which facilitates comfortable and open expression, families express their current expectations and agree upon common and realistic expectations.

Workshop Outcomes:

• The student’s ideal, actual and ought selves are evaluated by examining family expectations and their personal expectations of themselves during the process of career decision. 
• Realistic and unrealistic expectations are identified and distinguished. 
• Anxiety is defined as an emotional state. The physiological mechanisms of anxiety are understood. 
• Negative automatic thoughts (e.g. I am not smart enough, I cannot succeed, they are better than me), responsible for triggering anxiety, are identified. 
• The role of effort, skill development and taking responsibility in managing anxiety is evaluated. 
• The concept of resilience as integral to effectively managing life, is learned. 
• The complex relationships between internal factors (e.g. instincts, needs, emotions, beliefs and values), as well as how they unconsciously affect decisions and anxiety, is understood.
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Note: Participants receive Effective Communication in the Family: From Anxiety to Resilience Workshop participation document after completion of the workshop.