Meet Arleen Prost
When I was five years old my favourite pretend game was playing school and being the teacher. I’ve been doing that for real now for over 25 years and still love it! My students are health care workers and I have designed and taught modules on communication, self-esteem, mental health, stress management, family dynamics, death and dying, and conflict resolution… among other things.
I equally enjoy being a student and as a life-long learner I received a degree in Early Childhood Education in 1975. I continued to enjoy spending time with these joyful “little ones” and was delighted that when I was a family literacy animator, I regularly read to them in play groups and schools.
In the early 80’s I embarked on one of the greatest blessings in my life. My husband and I founded and directed a summer camp and resource centre. For eighteen years I joyfully welcomed children, teens, and families to my pristine semi-wilderness site where the beauty of the natural world wowed us all!
During those camp years, I created and facilitated many different workshops with my teenage campers, parents, and staff. I facilitated similar workshops to what I was already teaching and created new ones on substance abuse, bullying, media and body image, and suicide awareness and prevention. I offered hundreds of one-on-one coaching sessions… some of them in a tent, under a tree, around a campfire, in a meadow, under the stars ………
I was passionate about working with the teen campers and by listening deeply to them in a non-judgmental way, I learned what I had to learn in order to serve them better. In 2004, I received a Certificate (Honours) in Trauma / Addiction Recovery Studies from Algonquin College. By truly listening empathically I discovered that some teens considered suicide as an option, so I took Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).
I had a very big AHA moment when I realized that much of the conflict between the 80 or so people at camp stemmed from ineffective communication. After exploring several different models, I discovered Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication also known as Compassionate Communication. This model resonated very deeply with my own beliefs and values and in 2008 I completed a formal program called Nonviolent Communication, Integration and Leadership Training. My trainers, Gina Cenciose and Rachelle Lamb, both trained directly with Marshall Rosenberg. All three people have had a profound and positive influence on my life.
It’s been a love affair ever since! I have been bringing teachings based on NVC to my classrooms and workshops for many years. I am currently offering on-going training based on NVC to a group of dedicated people interested in forming a co-housing community. I also will be working with people that are dying and their family members to help them have opportunities to communicate and get in touch with whatever feelings they are experiencing.
I cherish spending time with my partner and my family. I have two wonderful grown children and their partners, one amazing granddaughter and another grandchild soon to join our world.
I truly love connecting authentically with people and remembering that we all belong to the family of humanity. It is my pleasure and joy to share communication tools that make people’s lives so much more wonderful! I am totally grateful for opportunities to contribute to people’s journeys and I look forward to meeting you!!
