(Founded in 1998)

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• (Founded
  in 1998)
• Active Adaptation Counselling
• Based in the Grenoble - Isère area (France)
• Providing Counselling for Personal Difficulties
• Addressing Intercultural Professional
  Environments
• Bringing a positive Perspective to Adapting
  across Cultures

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Quick Bio Trudi
Penkler

• South Africa
• (B.Sc Psychology H.Ed Guidance and
  Counselling)
• Red Cross / Nursing / Teaching / Counselling
  
• France
• Voluntary Associations
• Founded Active Adaptation Counselling /
  Intercultural Training
• Awareness Programmes / (In progress - Master
  II Psychologie VAE)

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Services Provided - for International
Companies / Globally Mobile
Professionals / Individuals with Personal
Difficulties

• Individual, Spouse and
• Family Accompaniment
• (adjustment difficulties personal, medical,
  childrens
• educational or other specific
• needs)
• Counselling Clinical cases (psychological and
  emotional Difficulties)
• Crisis Counselling
• Grief Counselling

• Cross-Cultural Training Programmes / Workshops /
  Lectures
• Preview Visit / Welcome Orientation
• Pre-departure Preparation
• Return Reintegration
• Independent screening
• Cross-Cultural Coaching / Mediation /
  Facilitation

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Adapting across Cultures
Professionally
Basic Assumptions

• Mostly Internationally transferred professionals
  want to relocate in the first place
• They are highly motivated and pro-active
• Relocation concerns are often personal rather
  than professional
• Most adaptation just happens - being prepared
  can make things easier

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Mission Statement
Focus on Intervention for Companies

• Internationally relocating personnel do not
  immediately have the infrastructure and resources
  they had before at their disposal, especially if
  there are language difficulties to begin with.
• Active Adaptation Counselling strives to bring
  some perspective to the challenge of adapting in
  a new culture, and so help to avoid intercultural
  misunderstandings, to safeguard a company's
  investment in its key people and to prevent early
  returns.

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Adapting in our Personal
Situations
Basic Assumptions

• We do have the necessary resources within us to
  be able to cope with our lives.
• Sometimes - for whatever the reasons - we are
  unable to tap into our strengths and resources.
• Working through our difficulties with qualified
  help in our own mother-tongue can be constructive
  in finding a way out of negative behaviour
  patterns towards more positive and functional
  ones

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Mission Statement
Focus on Personal Counselling

• The counsellor strives to work with the client,
• developing a therapeutic relationship within
  which,
• the clients cognitive, emotional and
  psychological
• experience of lifes demands becomes easier
• so that more functional and positive behaviour
  patterns may be established.

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A bit about Workshops, Mediating
and Cultural Awareness Programmes.

• A Tri-pronged Approach
• Cognition - what we can know practical
  information / history / useful facts
• Emotion and Understanding what we can feel why
  things are the way they are
• Attitude and Action - what we can do
• being more efficient in the new situation

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A bit about Workshops, Mediating
and Cultural Awareness Programmes

• Not a list of do and donts
• Useful information feeding does not
  necessarily lead to comprehension
  and then translate into action !
• A
  different approach
• Using resources we already have within ourselves
• Developing a deeper understanding of the culture
  we need to
• operate in
• In so doing, developing a deeper understanding of
  our own culture
• Working towards socio-cultural competence

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Examples of Success Stories in SituationsWhere
little or no French was spoken

• Miscommunication in Intercultural management
  teams
• Professional demotivation and helplessness
• Preparation for performance evaluations
• Marital difficulties exacerbated by moving
• Severe sudden onset of medical difficulties
• Culture shock and adaptation in children
• (isolation / refusal to speak / traumatic
  incident recovery)
• Death and berievement (loss of a spouse in
  France)
• Two successful Adoption processes
• Cross-continental custody difficulties
• Substance dependency dificulties
• Post dramatic event - traumatic neurosis (rape /
  robbery)
• Regular Intervention as a Service provider for a
  corporate
• targeted International assistance program