• Identify the mental states that are conducive to well-being and those that destroy it.
• Learn how to train in and meditate on loving kindness and compassion
• Explore how to go from the lose-lose situation of selfishness to the win-win attitude of altruistic love
• Hear current scientific research that is providing fresh insights into the capacity of the mind for change.
   

About your workshop leader

Matthieu Ricard, France Best-Selling Author of Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skills

Matthieu Ricard is the best-selling author of Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill which explores the meaning and fulfillment of happiness. He received his PhD in Cellular Genetics at the Institut Pasteur in France, before forsaking his scientific career to concentrate on Tibetan Buddhist studies. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work setting up clinics, schools and orphanages in the Himalayan region. Since 1989 he has been French interpreter for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and has a long-standing interest in science and Buddhism

About the book Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill
Never has happiness as an emotional and physical state been so widely discussed. Matthieu Ricard is one of the most compelling voices on the subject, and one of the few who can bring together the teachings of eastern and western thought. In this accessible new work, Ricard provides a straightforward assessment of how to create true and lasting happiness.

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Post-conference workshops
Saturday 22 November 2008

Workshop 1: Recognition of emotions, truth & lies with Dr David Matsumoto, Professor of Psychology, San Francisco State University, USA; Director and CEO, The Ekman Group - Research Division; Author: Culture & Psychology

Micro expressions - facial expressions of emotion that are very brief (1/15 of a second) - are signs of concealed emotions. When viewed in slowed motion they look like ordinary expressions of one of the seven universal emotions: happiness, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, contempt or surprise. Micro expressions are the result of either deliberate suppression or unconscious repression. Most people do not recognise micro expressions without the specialized training provided in this workshop. First the participants will take a test of how well they can recognise micro expressions. Then they will receive training and practice. A post test will reveal how well they can now spot micro expressions and feedback on which emotions they are still missing. The use of information taken from micro expressions in family relationships, friendships, and in the workplace will be learned through interactive breakout groups.

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Workshop 2: Building better relationships using CBT with Dr Ross Menzies, Associate Professor of Psychology and Head, Anxiety Disorders Clinic The University of Sydney, International expert trainer in CBT, National University of Singapore

The findings from a range of studies suggest that relationship disharmony is associated with higher rates of depression, alcohol abuse, sexual dysfunction and even poorer physical health. CBT has been shown to produce clinically significant improvements in relationship satisfaction and is associated with increased happiness scores on standard tests. CBT empowers couples to generate cognitive and behavioural solutions to problematic aspects of their relationships. Typically this involves changing specific habits and behaviours, and reappraising negative or unhelpful thinking patterns.

The aim of this workshop is to increase participants skills in: (1) recognizing the causes of dysfunctional  relationships; (2) understanding and preventing conflict; (3) increasing intimacy and connectedness; (4) applying practical, creative procedures to build better relationships.

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Workshop 3: The ESSENCE of Health with Dr Craig Hassed, Senior Lecturer, Department of General Practice, Monash University, Australia and Petrea King, Founding Director, Quest for Life Foundation, Australia, Author: Your Life Matters

ESSENCE is an acronym which stands for:
Education
Stress management
Spirituality
Exercise
Nutrition
Connectedness
Environment

The ESSENCE model also incorporates a range of behaviour change strategies. It has been successfully integrated into the core curriculum for medical students at Monash University and demonstrated significant improvements in coping, well-being and quality of life. It has also been used for both personal and professional development with professional groups, allied health practitioners, schools and the general community.

This experiential and interactive workshop will firstly give the background evidence and rational for the model. It will then introduce mindfulness-based stress management and the behaviour change strategies and then look at how these help to facilitate healthy change for other aspects of the ESSENCE model. We will then consider how the model can be applied to various situations such as "The ESSENCE of ..." preventing illness, mental health, healthy ageing and managing chronic conditions such as heart disease or cancer.

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Workshop 4: How much is enough? with Arun Abey, Executive Chairman, ipac Securities Group, Singapore & Australia, Author: How Much Is Enough? and Bernadette Bolger, General Manager, A & B Publishers; Managing Director, Vitality Plus Pharmacies

Learn directly from the founder of one of the world's largest and most successful financial planning firms as well as from a woman nominated for a number of prestigious business awards.  Arun is also the author, and Bernadette the publisher, of the global best seller How Much is Enough?, a book that has been featured over five weeks in Singapore's Straits Times.

About the workshop:
Most of us spend much of our time planning and helping ensure the success of our employers, but little time on ourselves.  We don't plan to fail: we simply fail to plan.

• Learn about the relationship between money and happiness.
• Build your bridge to wellbeing with a financial map that identifies your key goals and values and which will help to increase both your wealth and wellbeing. 
• Learn about property and share market investment and why the astute favour shares. 
• Develop the mental and technical skills that helped make Warren Buffett the world's most successful investor. 
• Understand how to prepare strategies for retirement and avoid the fate predicted for many Singaporeans by the SMU-Wharton University Report: Asset Rich but Cash Poor in Singapore. 
• Women will learn the importance of ensuring that a financial plan takes account of their special needs.

Workshop 5: Applications of mindfulness to health, wellbeing and stress-reduction   with Dr Belinda Khong, Consulting Psychologist and Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Australia

Meditation and mindfulness practice have gained wide acceptance in helping individuals improve their health and well-being, and to reduce stress. This workshop explores the psychological foundation and benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices. Current research on mindfulness and the relevance of mindfulness to health, well-being, inter-personal communication and stress reduction will be discussed. The workshop will also explore clinical applications of mindfulness to health issues such as depression, anxiety, cancer and eating disorders. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and experience meditation and mindfulness practices.

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Workshop 6: Mental health and emotional resilience in the workplace   with Clare Yeo, Principal Clinical Psychologist & Head of the Department of Psychology, Institute of Mental Health/Woodbridge Hospital, Singapore and Dr Patricia Yap, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Department of Psychology, Institute of Mental Health/Woodbridge Hospital, Singapore

Learn how to be HARDY at your workplace!
In this workshop, you will learn how to have mental health and be emotionally resilient at your workplace.  At the Institute of Mental Health, we have put together a resilience package that will teach you how to be HARDY at your workplace:

H  – Hype about resilience
• What is resilience?
• Why is resilience important to us at the workplace?
A  – A resilient mind
• Be aware of what you are thinking
• Learn to challenge your negative thinking and win at work
R  – Relationships and resilience
• Learn how to have resilient relationships with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates
D – Difficult hurdles to overcome
• Dealing with our mistakes and successes at work
• Developing our personal control
• Goal setting at work and in our lives
Y  – Yesterday once more
• Our reflections on what we have learnt
• From theory to applying it at work and beyond

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