What is a teleclass?

• A teleclass is a group workshop using telephone conference call facilities.
• All you need is a telephone.
• The class is free: you only pay the cost of the call (2p/minute from BT landlines inc VAT; calls from mobiles and other networks may be higher).
• If you're calling from abroad, you'll benefit from cheap international call rates.

Free Student Teleclass - 12th September - 11am

"How can I get off to a good start at University?"

• Other people are much cleverer than me
• I'm not coping with the pressure
• What if I can't get through my reading lists
• I swot too much
• How do I motivate myself
• I just want to give up

This one-hour class is for students in higher education, who may be uncertain how to handle the larger volume of learning and the heavier sense of responsibility that university life can bestow. There will be an opportunity for you to volunteer your story or ask questions if you like. Otherwise, just listen in.

To register, please send a blank email to eileentracy1@googlemail.com with the heading, Student Teleclass Registration. Then I'll send you a return email with the telephone number you need and a pin code, plus instructions on how to make the call.

(Calls cost 2p a minute from BT landlines; mobiles and other networks may be higher.

Free Parent Teleclass - 13th September - 11am

"How can I help my son/daughter cope with failure and success?"

• He's not doing himself justice
• She's getting too stressed
• I'm getting much too involved
• I'd like to offer practical help
• How do I stop worrying
• How can I offer support at a distance
• How can I help without interfering

This one-hour class is for parents who have teenagers at school or older children at university and would like to know how to offer practical and emotional support that will be welcomed and not rejected. It will help you to spot hidden signs of stress, and deal with them constructively; it will also give you the facts on typical conflicts between parents and teenagers. Parents of university students will get a sense of how to lend support from a greater distance. There will be an opportunity for you to volunteer your story or ask questions. Otherwise, just listen in.

To register, please send a blank email to eileentracy1@googlemail.com with the heading, Parent Teleclass Registration. Then I'll send you a return email with the telephone number you need and a pin code, plus instructions on how to make the call.

(Calls cost 2p a minute from BT landlines; mobiles and other networks may be higher.)

"Andrea was an A-level science pupil who needed top grades to get into medical school. She was working very hard and getting As in her tests, but she was also getting tired and stressed..."
(read more)

"David dropped out of university when he was 20 and spent 10 years doing other work.
Then he got another place on a university course and wanted to be sure not to drop out again. So he came to see me to get study skills help. What worried me was how much he talked of making a good impression on his new course, resolving to give his work his 'one hundred per cent commitment' and to hand in every homework assignment 'on time every time'.  He planned to spend all spare time working and had already stopped seeing friends. This attitude was likely to lead to a breakdown especially because as a mature student David felt he had so much to prove..."
(read more)

"Jonathan was in his first year at university, studying Economics. But he was not working hard enough and this made him feel so guilty that he could barely look at a book. He was also smoking a lot of dope and feeling guilty about that too..."
(read more)

"Monica was working in Spain in industry. She called me a week before her Business Studies module with the Open University, which she needed to pass to get a promotion in her work. She wanted a few sessions on the telephone because she was feeling ‘scared stiff’ of sitting her exams. She didn't think she'd even make it into the exam hall. We went through her papers piece-meal, discussing her exam technique and essay planning in detail, until she was confident of using a good method for tackling her paper..."
(read more)

"12-year old Stan was extremely nervous about oncoming tests, partly because of his dyslexia diagnosis, partly because he found it impossible to work: like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, Stan would freeze at the prospect of work and find other things to do to distract himself from any academic demands.
(read more)