Members of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT ) are to offer hundreds of hours of free training online to help people deal with the tidal wave of stress caused by Covid-19.
ISATT members work extensively with people dealing with stress and anxiety, especially in the field of stage performance, helping them learn very effective coping skills. Amongst actors who have praised the technique are Hugh Jackman and John Cleese.
The Alexander Technique is an internationally proven method which teaches people how to change faulty postural habits, thereby enabling improved mobility and posture while relieving tension and stress.
As a result of Covid, ISATT members were prompted to offer free stress and anxiety webinars after reading that a reported 170,000,000 doses of antidepressants had been prescribed in the first nine months of last year.
“The increase in prescribing rates is being largely attributed to the challenges that have been posed by the repeated lockdowns, and the disruption in all of our lives. Unfortunately, there is also a reported reduction in, or absence of, psychological counselling services to the public. Working collectively, we have put together a specific programme that can help people in dealing with the extra every day stress that has crept into our lives,” Niall Kelly of ISATT, said.
A panel of Alexander Technique teachers will provide a number of 30 minutes online sessions free of charge. They will focus on four crucial coping skills for managing and reducing anxiety and stress, regardless of the source. ISATT is also setting up a podcast to increase the availability of the sessions, both as audio webinars and recorded podcasts.
Details on how the online course can be accessed are available on the Society’s website, www.isatt.ie
