Start your I Matter Relationship Health Learning Journey here
Learn the I Matter Framework and I Matter Process
for Personal Roles
Solid Foundations for Relationship Health
Learn the I Matter® Framework and I Matter Process
Confident Connected Adults and Young People Manage Challenges More Easily
Are you concerned to help yourself or your child or family member
by doing what you can to take forward more relationship health?
I Matter for Personal Roles helps individuals who have relationships that can be challenging to develop an understanding of how to help themselves, and children and other adults using a Relationship Health Approach without having to figure out the details all by themselves and so that they can experience more confidence in finding the way forward with challenges.
To become 'I Matter Relationship Health Ready', your first mission (should you choose to accept it) is to be sitting down with a cup of tea and your I Matter Level 1 Course Completion Certificate, feeling relieved and proud that you have made time (3 months or less) to give yourself solid foundations for supporting a relationship health approach to improving well-being in your varied roles, especially in the face of challenges, and what’s more - you have enjoyed the process!
The Level 1: Learn I Matter programme provides foundations for personal relationship health in a variety of roles adult-adult and adult-child with a focus on insight, understanding, self awareness and wellbeing.
After this the Living I Matter Programme is all about strengthening and consolidating your understanding and skills as you live I Matter in the context of the relationship health needs of specific roles:
Who is I Matter Training for?
+ Improving your confidence in foundations for your own relationship health in adult-adult role
+ Improving confidence in caring for children with typical needs
+ Direct relationships with children with additional needs
Stats show that relationship health is one of the most important predictors of health and wellbeing for children and adults...
Yet, in spite of decades of research on attachment relationships, professionals and parents and young people are still given very little preparation to ensure we have the skills for relationships, especially for times when there is pressure. Then when pressures arise (which they always do), it can be difficult to find the right help - this impacts everyone
The truth is, that entering into any role with children or adults without preparation for the relationship issues involved, or any discussion can leave you feeling hugely ill-prepared for what comes your way. Now that pressures are increasing preparation is vital.
Get some preparation for Relationship Health Practice finally done..
With preparation you can experience the relief, the reassurance, and the rewards this brings through a think global, act local approach.
Rewards? Yes - lack of relationship health understanding in your role and with people who matter in your team can consume your mind, heart and soul - at work and at home.
So making it a priority to develop your understanding and skills can help progress important conversations, help you make good decisions, help you help others, and relieve a lot of pressure
Relationship Health and Global Concerns..
Why is planet earth included? There is now no avoiding of the facts that right now human beings are struggling to work together to solve some very big global challenges. Consequently, the future for all of us will likely be even more challenging than the present.
Care for our local and global environment is also a relationship health issue. So making it a priority to develop your understanding and skills can help you learn to help others through taking part in a constructive fashion and so you can be part of making a positive difference.
Through this programme
YOU CAN GAIN INSIGHT INTO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR FOCUS RELATIONSHIPS INCLUDING THE SKILLS THAT NEED SUPPORTING BOTH IN YOURSELF AND IN YOUR CHILD OR OTHER
Why Make This a Priority?
We get that you are busy and there is a lot to fit in. However relationship health and your skills in progressing this, impacts everything and whether you are in a professional or a personal role, if you are in any high pressure role, this knowledge and clarity will help you to support your own well-being and it will help you be more effective in helping children and others.
So, making time to learn and making time for discussion will support you as you progress your own I Matter Learning Journey. If you develop your insight and skills in relationship health foundations, you have a hugely important role to play in addressing this overlooked issue. As you learn the ideas you will see that some of your learning will lead you to important questioning of professional and personal practices that we have taken for granted. We have seen that it is through discussion that the task of putting theory into practice comes to life. Here are some other benefits of Level 1. You will
MAKE BETTER DECISIONS
Not understanding why children and adults behave the way they do can lead to huge stress and less effective practices - that can be avoided if you understand more
SAVE MONEY
If you and your home or work team have to hunt for support once difficulties have become established getting that help can be difficult and sometimes can be very expensive
REDUCE STRESS
When you have discussed matters to do with relationship health before difficulties arise then if difficulties arise the conversations are much easier to progress.
Content of the Learn I Matter Programme
The Level 1 Learn I Matter programme takes well evidenced ideas that you may already know something about. We weave them together for you so that you complete Level 1 with some very solid foundations to support all decisions. Level 1 introduces the Theory (Step 1-2). Level 2 covers Theory to Practice (Step 3-5)
The detail of the theory to practice stage varies according to the specific roles that you play.
The initial starting place for I Matter was direct relationships of parents with children. However there can be direct relationships with adults at home or at work, or direct relationships with children or adults in the classroom, or there can be indirect relationships. So there is shared content at Level 1 and more variability at Level 2.
A key benefit of this map, is that it can support joined up thinking in teams between professionals and parents and young people, and in families and communities.
Level 1 - The Theory
Preparation and Background to the I Matter Framework
Step 1: Get Started with the I Matter Model
Symptoms of Stress and Symptoms of Wellbeing
The Essentials of Attachment Email Course
Step 2: The Pillars of the I Matter Framework
More about Stress and Wellbeing
Essential I Matter Ideas
Attachment, Alarm and the Brain
How Children Start Thinking
The Power of Our Beliefs and Attitudes
Communication Matters.
Level 2 - Theory to Practice
Step 3-5: The I Matter Process Theory to Practice
Take Stock Assessment
Develop Routines and Systems
Develop the Skills for the I Matter Process
Fine Tuning with Progress Review
Whether in a professional or personal leadership role, your wellbeing, insight and skills and your own relationship health is a key foundation for practice in supporting others.
Right now there is also a need to explore the way to respond to cost of living and global challenges with courage and clarity, through building community so that wise decisions can be progressed at all levels.
Relationship Health Matters
I'm Dr Cathy Betoin, founder of I Matter Training and Relationship Health Matters and I get how tricky it can be talking about issues to do with relationship health. It’s often another elephant in the room alongside mental health that everyone avoids talking about, especially with the people you care about
Here with Relationship Heath Matters and I Matter Training, our mission is to make discussion of relationship health as commonplace as discussion about physical health and mental health.
Inspired by my own journey and experiences of confusion in professional and personal roles, I designed this learning journey to help others get their professional and personal roles off to an easier and more start than I experienced
Our aim is to support you in your own wellbeing and in building strong foundations for better joined up relationship health at work and at home
This is done through the the online study course or working with trained and licensed facilitators or coaches who’ve been through our licensed facilitators training programme
With the insight and tools to progress relationship health practice our wish for you is that your own wellbeing, work and home learning journeys will be much easier, simpler, straightforward and enjoyable!
What Others Say
I am really enjoying how thought provoking this information is and how it makes it practical and easy to make sense of so many different areas of my patient care. GP Level 1
"The information drawn together in I Matter Training is like gold dust for parents and carers of the child who is challenging us. I am loving the training and finding it so interesting!" - Parent and Foster Carer
The course was truly fascinating. Having worked in education for 16 years it’s given me a new angle and so much food for thought! I want to know more! I think this could really have a huge impact on how we support families. Year Head
I now see so many of my patients through a different lens. Before this training I used to feel anxious and sometimes intimidated by the highly escalated presentations. Now I know how to respond helpfully and can see a way forward to help them that makes complete sense. This makes all the difference. General Practitioner
Three Steps to Get Started with Building Strong Foundations for Relationship Health
Once past the initial registration steps and registered on the Level 1 training you will have a step by step learning process. You will
YOU WILL WATCH TEACHING VIDEOS
They are carefully designed to be step by step and are very interesting!
YOU WILL REFLECT ON QUESTIONS
Think about your own situation
Discuss and tackle specific challenges
YOU WILL REVIEW YOUR PROGRESS
Review progress and feel good about
making time for this important learning.
Who is this course intended for?
This is for individuals starting with personal roles in direct relationships that feel challenging, who
+ Want to understand more clearly about the role they are playing
+ Want to make a difference - to help themselves and others
+ Are willing to put in the time to study and reflect over time
+ Are open and willing to grapple with the learning needed from them that is not always comfortable
Who is this course not intended for?
This is not for individuals who
+ Are not able to make time to study
+ Are not interested in personal development
+ Are not clear what relationships they want to focus on or why
+ Want others to do the changing and are stuck in blaming
+ Give up when it gets tricky
+ Prefer to avoid conflict and discomfort at all costs
Join the Waiting List - I Matter Personal Focus
We will be opening again for new course members soon. Let us know your interest!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When does this course start?
We run this course on a rolling programme with a new group starting most months. There are some registration steps and some preparation content to complete. The first step is to submit your expression of interest and choose your personal focus
What do you mean by a Personal or Professional Focus?
The aim of the Level 1-2 course is to teach you the I Matter Framework as a foundation for relationship health practice - I Matter is like a map that can help you think about the way forward with a range of challenging situations. You will get most value from this process if you have a clear idea at the start of what relationship health issue you want to focus on. This will usually involve an adult-child or sometimes an adult-adult relationship. We call your desire to see progress, your I Matter Challenge. We encourage everyone to choose a personal focus before moving onto professional applications.
What if I can't keep up?
Though new content will be released each week for 10 weeks, you can go at your own pace. You will also be able to go back and revisit parts of the course.
How long will I have access to the course material?
You will have access for 6 months. We find this increases your motivation to keep focussed. After this there are opportunities to join our Living I Matter Membership Community.
Will I be able to ask questions?
Yes the private course forum offers an active space in which you can ask questions across the time of your membership.
What study support options are there?
We know that opportunities to discuss the I Matter learning as you progress are really important. We are working to build a network of facilitators and coaches who can assist in offering these discussion opportunities.
What can I do with the resources?
The I Matter posters are great! They are for your own personal use only to inform your own understanding of what you seeing in professional or personal roles. They are not for copying or distributing. If you want to use the resources in a professional role, then you can apply to join our practitioner community.
How can I support an I Matter Approach to Relationship Health in a professional role?
To use the I Matter Resources in a professional role you can apply to join the practitioner community initially as a Professional Link. The Link community provides a network for practitioners who are interesting in building an informed network that helps create the conditions that support more relationship health. After a lot of trial and error we have learned the value of slowing things down so as to support those who have readiness for change. So we do not rush into training you to deliver I Matter. Our focus is on helping you to be confident in your role and in creating the conditions that helps others become interested in learning more themselves.
Are there any scholarships?
We offer a number of partial scholarships each month to families linked to member schools on low incomes. Please speak to your link professional who can discuss the options with you. No one is offered a fully funded place
How does the membership programme work after the 4 months initial access period?
At the end of 4 months, you will have the option to continue to receive access to all the course videos and our Members-Only Private Course Forum for a small monthly (or annual) fee. Or you can apply to join the Level 2
Stay updated
We send out Relationship Health Practice News - a sporadic newsletter type communication about Relationship Health and I Matter principles.