Every woman carries with her the strengths and weaknesses of her background.  She carries the legacy of her past into all her relationships - family, business and church.  This program will show participants how to free themselves from the past and focus on the future.  It will provide strategies and skills needed to make positive and lasting changes in relationships.

Sessions

The Arena of Healing

The aim of this session is to briefly cover the Four Interrelated Areas of Recovery, to introduce the mind and heart attitudes necessary for growth and change to occur, and to introduce the Arena of Healing which provides a visual image to help participants identify the healing process.

Functional and Dysfunctional Family Dynamics

This session aims to outline functional and dysfunctional family dynamics, to assist participants in understanding the significant impact of the Family of Origin in shaping behaviour and attitudes, and to describe how the family becomes dysfunctional when it lacks the skills to cope with life's challanges.

Coping Strategies of the Child and Adult

The aim of this session is to describe coping behaviours in the dysfunctional family, to identify a role/roles participants may have used in the family of origin, to enable participants to identify coping behaviours they use in current relationships and to describe learned and unhealthy ways of communicating.

Denial and Anger

This session aims to explain the meaning of denial and describe the ways it manifests itself, to identify anger as a secondary emotion and explain its relevance to the experience of grief, to identify the effects of repressing anger, to describe the sources of anger and give guidelines for recognising each of them, to describe the skills required for managing conflict and to outline the issues pertaining to domestic violence.

Rebuilding after Grief and Loss

The aim of this session is to develop awareness that grieving is a necessary part of the healing process, to describe the results of unresolved grief, to outline the variety of circumstances in which people can experience loss, to explain the outcome of accumulated loss, to describe the elements of grief, to develop awareness of how to give and get support and to focus on embracing life in the midst of challenge.

The Influence of Shame

The aim of this session is to explain the difference between shame and guilt, to describe the factors that lead to shame, to describe the range of reactions to shaming messages, to explain the ways that shame influences relationships and to explain ways to find healing from shame.

Overcoming Co-dependency

The aim of this session is to explain the spiritual roots of co-dependency, to explain the difference between dependence and interdependence, to explain the effect of co-dependency on family dynamics, to explain how co-dependency effects communication, to describe the effect of fear of rejection, to describe healthy relationships and the role of boundaries and to explain how to find healing from co-dependency.

Sexuality and Intimacy

This session aims to increase awareness of personal attitudes and values relating to sexuality, to examine the influence of culture, media, relationship experiences and religion in shaping attitudes to sexuality, to examine misbeliefs surrounding women and sexual desire, to describe the spiritual nature of sex and sexual imprinting, to examine Jesus' view of women and to explain the need to develop a healthy view of sexuality and how and where to find healing from past negative experiences.

Forgiveness - Letting Go

The aim of this session is to identify forgiveness as a necessary process in the healing journey, to describe the personal ramifications of not forgiving, to explain the meaning of forgiveness and its impact on relationships, to describe the way Jesus Christ modelled forgiveness and to have participants answer the forgiveness self test.

Stepping into the Future

This session aims to highlight the way God's grace can do amazing things in our lives. It teaches the value of perseverance, explains the need to anchor one's life in Christ, encourages participants to pursue their dreams by looking at a next step, encourages the value of enriching the lives of others, and talks about "where to from here?"