“Every workshop of yours felt very informal and relaxed. It felt like a gathering of friends rather than any official thing, by which I mean it felt comfortable and safe. I never felt like you were reading off of a prepared script (although of course I know that you did put a lot of effort into your workshop plans - I think it takes a lot of effort or skill to be able to make something seem effortless). Any conversations that were had felt spontaneous and real in all of your workshops. They were all very organic and this again is part of what made it feel like a gathering of friends to me. There didn't appear to be a set path in mind that you wanted to adhere to for the workshops. You seemed happy, or at least appeared comfortable, to let the workshops proceed naturally through everyone's interactions, while still keeping everyone on the task at hand without it feeling forced. I've encountered some 'care-based buzz-words' since being involved with different services and a common one I heard was "user/patient led" treatment or groups. I never really understood it, but it does actually describe exactly how your groups ran. It did feel like we were the most important thing to the group, rather than the group having to be the most important thing and we had to fit into it.
Even workshops where issues were brought up that could be quite intense, or personally triggering, it always felt like a learning experience when it happened in your workshops, I think because of how open to people you are. Or you seemed genuinely invested in us. It meant that I personally felt free to talk about it without having to feel embarrassed. It also meant that I wanted to think about what was happening so I could talk about it, rather than just running away from it, which again is the exact opposite of other workshops I had. I think your relaxing and supportive and interested 'vibes' made everyone feel the same way too, so it meant everyone was happy to share experiences and talk about them, which again helped to build that feeling of it being a group of friends.
Your workshops were always interesting. No matter what the subject it always felt like a good use of time and I'm sure I wasn't the only one that felt sad that they seemed to go by so quickly. You seemed to bring out the best in people as your workshops were always lively, in a controlled and relaxing way.”
