She’s concerned that exposure to the type of men in that program and their stories is going to be too confrontational and not the best use of my time and effort. She has suggested that other programs or supports might be a better use of my time. Perhaps a parenting program, or 1 on 1 counselling might work better for me.
I can sort of see her point of view. The confronting participants is not something I’m looking forward to. The program is 20 weeks long and can’t start until 8 weeks from now. That means it doesn’t finish until January 2020! So it is a significant investment of time and effort. I get that.
However I do like the list of topics that are covered in the Behaviour Change program. I feel like my needs are not really in the parenting area. I know that I misdirect my anger onto/towards my children, but the anger issues (becoming angry, storing anger, releasing anger, misdirecting anger, etc) are of a type that will be addressed in men’s behaviour change.
Also Men’s Behaviour Change is a title I can point to and say “I did that”. It has a brutal 1984 sound to it. Much more so than the cuddly sounding Caring Dads program. Or other namby-pamby program titles. Men’s Behaviour Change will send a message to my detractors that I understand how broken I am and am in a program to fix me. It is the program that courts send bad-guys to!
Of course I’m not ruling out accessing other supports as well. I’ll keep my psychologist appointment for late July, and the follow-up session mid-August. Those were initially suggested by the Anglicare intake officer on the ohone the day after Mother’s Day. As a immediate urgent measure! After getting my GP referral, those were the earliest, most convenient tines I could arrange. I’ll keep those sessions because... a fresh perspective on the same issues, I guess. I have benefited from speaking to the intake officer in the 2 interviews, but interviews are not therapy. I suppose those conversations and my own reflections can allow me to short-cut into the heart of the problem quicker...
