Organisations & Communities
Helping you create spaces where people can be seen and heard - and find their own way forward
Many organisations are supporting people who are carrying a lot.
They may be caring for someone else, navigating change or uncertainty, dealing with difficult circumstances or simply trying to keep going while life asks more of them.
Often there is practical information available. Sometimes there is professional support. But there can also be a need for something simpler:
A place to talk. A place to listen. A place to pause and work out what matters now.
That's where The Compass Experience may help.
What is The Compass Experience?
The Compass Experience is a structured four-session facilitated learning experience that combines practical ideas, reflection, conversation and The Compass - a simple framework for helping people find their bearings, explore what they want, notice new possibilities and take meaningful next steps.
It is not therapy or counselling, and participants are not told what they should do. Instead, they are supported to explore their own thinking, hear different perspectives and apply The Compass to their own lives in a way that feels relevant to them.
The Compass gives them something practical and memorable to take away and use beyond the Circle.
Start by listening
We don't assume that the same Compass Experience will work for every community.
You understand your people, their circumstances and the support you already provide. We bring experience of The Compass, facilitated experience and creating spaces where people can reflect without being directed towards somebody else's answers.
So our starting point is usually a conversation.
- What's happening for the people you support?
- What do they tell you they need?
- What support already exists?
- Where might there be a gap?
Together, we can explore whether The Compass Experience could add something useful.
The Compass Experience for your community
One way to begin is with a small Compass Experience facilitated by us.
A typical starting point might be:
- 4 weekly sessions
- Around 90 minutes each
- Up to approximately 12 participants
- Online - live
The exact shape can be adapted with you to suit the people you're supporting.
The Compass can provide direct support while also giving your organisation an opportunity to experience the approach and decide whether it has a place within your community.
What we've already seen
The approach behind The Compass Experience has grown through our work with people navigating real and sometimes difficult circumstances.
In a previous programme with family carers, participants used The Compass Experience alongside facilitated group conversations and reflection. They were supporting family members with dementia, Alzheimer's, mental-health challenges, degenerative conditions and additional needs.
What they told us afterwards was striking.
“It was the first time I didn't feel alone.”
— Norah, caring for her partner with Alzheimer's
“When life throws you a curveball, having real human connection can be a game changer. And for me, it really has been.”
— Cheryl, caring for her husband and young son
“I've learned how to shift my mood and my mindset - and that has changed everything.”
— Karen, supporting her young adult son
Building capacity within your organisation
Our longer-term aim isn't for organisations to remain dependent on us to run every Compass Experience.
Where The Compass proves useful, we can help you develop people from within your own organisation or community who can facilitate The Compass Experience themselves. That might be a member of staff, volunteer, practitioner or someone with lived experience who is well placed to create this kind of space for others.
Potential facilitators first experience The Compass themselves before developing the skills to facilitate it so they 'Live it, then learn it, then share it'.
The Compass Facilitator Pathway combines personal experience of The Compass with practical facilitation skills, practice and reflection.
Facilitators learn how to listen without fixing, ask thoughtful questions, work with silence and emotion, hold appropriate boundaries and create space for different voices.
Who could The Compass support?
We're particularly interested in working with organisations and communities supporting people who may be navigating challenging, uncertain or changing circumstances.
That could include:
- unpaid and family carers;
- parent carers;
- families supporting someone experiencing illness or mental-health difficulties;
- people navigating bereavement, transition or significant life change;
- staff or volunteers carrying demanding roles;
- and communities where people would benefit from greater connection, reflection and peer support.
The context may be different. The underlying principle remains the same:
We don't tell people where to go. We help create the conditions in which they can discover their own direction.
Could The Compass work in your community?
You don't need to know exactly what you want before getting in touch.
You may already run groups and be wondering whether The Compass could add something. You may have people asking for support that doesn't quite fit what you currently offer. You may be looking for a way to develop staff or volunteers who can facilitate reflective spaces. Or you may simply be curious.
Let's start with a conversation.
Tell us a little about your organisation, the people you support and what you're noticing. We'll listen first - and then explore together whether The Compass Experience could be useful.