Aging, Ageism and Me Workshop with Elaine Patterson and Karyn Prentice from PattersonPrentice Designs

Join us to explore the impact that aging and ageism has on us as people and as practitioners who are aging and the impact that this might also have on our practice and the clients that we may now be attracting.

We will gently explore – using an eclectic blend poetry, music, myths and creative approaches – how ageism impacts our inner ageist us as we all naturally (and inevitably) pass into this milestone. What does this means as we bridge the unknown into later life and still feel a call to contribute, but differently? How we might want to shift into our own wise elderhood as we find fresh ways of being and doing as we reconfigure our lives?

As we move into the late summer or autumn of our lives, we start to imperceptibly notice that our priorities, our relationships, our energies, and our interests – as well our bodies – are subtlety changing. These feelings may be familiar from previous life stages but – with the sense of days rapidly passing – they now feel so much more significant and urgent. We can sense that we are being beckoned into a new terrain which can be as disorientating as it feels tinged with hints of wonder and excitement. Crossing this bridge will bring both joy and some heartache (and everything in-between) as we search for new meanings, new balances, new agreements, let go to let come, and sense into a rejuvenated sense of belonging which may or may not have formal work as an element in it. We believe that working with these evolving questions requires a different preparation to hold this precious – and often uncomfortable and sometimes taboo – space for ourselves as well as for others.

Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event

• Explore our own (perhaps hidden) attitudes to ageing and ageism and shadows that might be there for us– and appreciate how this might be affecting us and our work
• Discover the terraine of eldership and the opportunities this presents for us and our clients moving into their third age
• Experience a taster of our new lens for ‘Bridging the Unknown: Moving from Role Work to Soul Calling in Later Life’ which forms the bedrock of our new 9 month programme

How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?

• We believe that practitioners need to do their own inner work to be able to work authentically in this joyful and also sometimes difficult and taboo space. This workshop will gently invite participants to have a small peak into what is required from which they can develop their own personal development plan for creative reflection and inquiry.