Towards Wellness Programme
- Community Collaboration
In collaboration with Complex Chronic Illness Support, a charitable organisation that supports people diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME), Fibromyalgia (FM) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Kira has been involved in the creation of the Towards Wellness Programme, specifically designed for people diagnosed with these conditions. With the ever-increasing 400 members that CCI Support support in the Tauranga region, it became evident that creating a programme to help navigate the ME/CFS/FM/POTS journey was a necessary 'next step' for our community.
As co-creators of the programme, Kira and Tina Richards (see image above), currently present 16 workshops in the Bay of Plenty but hope to bring an online version to the nation in due course. With the programme being described as 'life-changing', our collaborative vision is to ensure that this funded service is brought to other main centres across New Zealand.
For more information on this programme please refer to https://ccisupport.org.nz/
As co-creators of the programme, Kira and Tina Richards (see image above), currently present 16 workshops in the Bay of Plenty but hope to bring an online version to the nation in due course. With the programme being described as 'life-changing', our collaborative vision is to ensure that this funded service is brought to other main centres across New Zealand.
For more information on this programme please refer to https://ccisupport.org.nz/
"For me, the Towards Wellness workshops have been life-changing. I would highly recommend these workshops to anyone suffering from ME/CFS and/or Fibromyalgia. Through them I have learned that acceptance of ME and FM is not defeat, but a means to start moving forwards with my life."
- TW Graduate, 2015
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"When everyone was settled, Kira and Tina, the course leaders, introduced themselves and we were asked to say a few words about ourselves to each other. The scene was set and even though I kept closing my eyes I was relaxed and thrilled to know that everything was being given to us in handouts to take home. I could use my energy to focus on the amazing information that was being revealed to us. The relief, the feeling of not being alone was very real. I was understood. I was respected. I was accepted. Most of all I knew that at last I could begin to re-evaluate my life, and even with this invisible illness, I could structure my life so that a new 'normal' would give me a truly rewarding rest of my life. I felt a sense of freedom and belonging. I felt the loving energy as though I could touch it. Time seemed to stand still for me and as the course unfolded, I knew the jigsaw puzzle, called my life was evolving. The pieces that I didn't know how to put together, were in the process of completion. I had come full circle, I was coming home."
- Sue Gaskell (TW Graduate)
Towards Wellness Programme Details
Purpose Statement: To learn foundational principles to assist participants to navigate the ME/CFS/FM journey and create an individual road-map to support increasing health and wellness.
Facilitation: Tina Richards (CCIS Field Officer), Kira Follas (Counsellor/CCIS Towards Wellness Service Leader)
Guest Speakers: Justine Laidlaw (Nutritional Coach), Dr. Heath Sumpton, (Physiotherapist)
Course Structure: 2 hours fortnightly (in total 10 workshops) based at the premises of Tauranga Counselling Services, with a follow-on 5 workshops to reinforce key learnings and equip participants with the skills to run their own group independently moving forward.
Facilitation: Tina Richards (CCIS Field Officer), Kira Follas (Counsellor/CCIS Towards Wellness Service Leader)
Guest Speakers: Justine Laidlaw (Nutritional Coach), Dr. Heath Sumpton, (Physiotherapist)
Course Structure: 2 hours fortnightly (in total 10 workshops) based at the premises of Tauranga Counselling Services, with a follow-on 5 workshops to reinforce key learnings and equip participants with the skills to run their own group independently moving forward.
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Towards Wellness: Series One
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Towards Wellness Programme: Series Two
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Kira Follas - Counsellor (P.G.Dip.Couns, MNZAC)
Full Member of NZAC,- Professional Association for Counsellors in New Zealand |
Ph: 021 027 18127
Email: [email protected] 
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