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I looked inwardly and wanted some focus on self, why I was who I was? I wanted to be happier with myself. With the events associated with my ill wife and of her past, I had contacted counselling services who do a great job, but I needed a different level to cope and grow. I read, purchased a few specialist books AND I enrolled in ‘Emotional Health & Wellness’, a WEA course with Alice Bacon as the facilitator. I thought it would offer me another road map toward where I needed to go, importantly it was a risk for me; a sometimes inward & mature age bloke who was pretty set in his ways and mainstream, I was a bit nervous, but knew without doing something different, how else would I learn and cope with what I was experiencing and facing?
The day course provided me with much direction, provoked questions of myself, answers that had connections to potential solutions and it also provided important guidance. All this because Alice set and planned the content; it flowed together and she conveyed empathy and involvement with the questions asked and the topics she covered.
It was tremendously enlightening for me and gave me some answers that I had been looking for for many years. Not only that, Alice was open about herself and her experiences and also the class of mixed people spoke of themselves in ways they were comfortable with. I did too, it was not what I expected, but was much more. Alice brought out in us some comfort that we could be open with some things with total strangers and happy with ourselves. Alice did more though, she offered us the opportunity to contact her for further assistance/advice if needed and she offered this a few times during the day.
Post course Alice volunteered her valuable time with me, face to face meets and importantly many emails where she encouraged me to be open about my thoughts of events in my life and she did so without asking directly. Alice provided numerous book & You Tube references where I could explore myself and where I could decide who I felt comfortable to read, follow and investigate for myself. She did not direct or point me in the direction of her beliefs but offered me much to look at myself through ‘homework’, for me to decide and helped me and supported me with her empathetic and wholeness approach to my situation and to life in general. Her energy and devotion to helping me would reflect what she was also doing for others (and I don’t know how) with her busy professional schedule. Alice replied to every email I sent, she initiated others and the ‘homework’ she sent me to which I replied helped me so much then for me to be where I am now.
I have not needed any other counselling service with the support and guidance from Alice. She allowed me to grow and overcome the pain from my loss and the surrounding circumstances. Without her course, which she designed and created, I believe I would not have the resilience and inner strength to deal with what I have endured and I can look forward to where I want to be in the years ahead.
I have written this long reference for Alice to explain where I was, have been and how I have been able to cope with what Alice provided me. She has done so much and the detail is needed to show what she did for me. I was lost and risked going to her course because not many ‘blokes’ do a course like Alice has designed, but I am so glad I did and more people especially ‘blokes’ should do likewise.
Her course and her way of communicating and helping people is so natural; her empathy and knowledge on what we need to cope is ever so extensive, and she knows absolutely how to do it and with what thought process and energy we need. Alice Bacon has been very generous and thoughtful throughout my journey and the invaluable support was so helpful and complete. I would be but one of many who is now a better person through having done her course and having met her. Her energy and strength has been invaluable and I know with the challenges I face ahead of me that I can cope through her efforts, and her knowledge and skill in imparting it to us so we understand what we are, what we need to do to be what we need to be.
Thank you Alice,
Tony Fitzpatrick 14 August 2022
If you or anyone you know is struggling with emotional, health & wellness you can contact Alice via this link
