By Jane Lloyd
I have just returned from a week in Norway spent doing assessments, training new True Expressions Profilers and running a weekend workshop for the general public. It’s extraordinary, but this country with a population one twelfth the size of the UK has the same number of Profilers in training as we have in the UK. The ownership of Bio-feedback devices using technology similar to that which we use for our ground-breaking balancing systems is also the highest in the world.
So how has this come about? Well, many Swedes would say that this is no surprise at all. Norwegians are famously exceptionally nice, well-balanced people and the way they do things generally is envied by the whole of Scandinavia. In fact, I am told by our Swedish representative that there is a move afoot in Sweden to start a war between the two countries so that Sweden can surrender immediately and become part of Norway!
Maud Henrikson, representing Edutherapy in Norway
It’s always a joy to return to Norway and this visit was no exception. The first person I met at the training centre was someone I had first met at a workshop I ran almost exactly a year ago. At that time this lady had not worked for 26 years and had been told by her psychologist that she was cold and unfeeling. Quite the contrary! Her assessment revealed her to be the most sensitive person I had ever come across, but that hypersensitivity was overwhelming her and forcing her to retreat from the world. She is now a beautiful, confident woman and I have to say she almost glowed! She has been working for a year now and is a much valued member of her team.
Our team of Profilers were equally impressive and very varied. Some were looking to add the Profiling system and associated balancing techniques to the approaches they were already using in their work. We had a special needs teacher, a psychologist specialising in the use of drama with children, a Reiki master and teacher and several experts in nutrition and special diets. Some people had seen what the system could do for themselves and their families and wanted to use it in a small way at first alongside their day job or as a way back into work after a break looking after small children.
All of our trainee Profilers had attended a workshop I ran the previous year with their families. In that workshop children had done ‘tests’ on adults, adults had done ‘tests’ on children and everyone had a lot of fun. Some of our tests looked very simple – like how long can you stand on one leg, eyes closed? Others were central auditory processing tests which tell us about listening difficulties. Although listening ability is so important these tests are not generally available, either in Norway or the UK. People often think that if you do not follow instructions, pay attention or do as you have been asked and are not deaf you must be difficult or naughty. That is simply not the case and it is vital to know if people are capable of listening properly.
Testing short-term memory in one of the sessions
Our two-day initial Profiler training was professionally filmed, so before long participants will be able to buy DVDs that help them remember the detail of the instruction and demonstrate clearly how to do all the tests. Other DVDs will be on sale to the general public to help explain how useful this Profiling can be, both for adults and children.
At the weekend after the course we ran another workshop. This was for families and individuals who wanted to take part in a group assessment, have a full individual report and find out more about the system. All of our trainee Profilers could attend with their families free of charge – they had by this stage been given our report-writing software package so they would be able to make their family’s reports for themselves – very useful, but all part of the training too. They had plenty of practice in using the tests they had been taught and all went away happy and confident that they could do all the tests and write up three full assessments in time for the second training module.
