Register for August 2025 cohort here.
I really want to invite you to consider how you have felt during 2024 and 2025 as a HIP and also as a human, and if you feel there is room for improvement. If you are looking to develop your confidence, job satisfaction, and of course, skills, the course might be the kind of commitment that points you in the right direction, and makes you feel those things.
Join this part live, part self-paced transformational online course on how to flex and flourish more as a human being doing the job of a HIP, taught by me, one of the very first HIPs in Aotearoa back in 2017, who has herself experienced a severe episode of burnout as a HIP which resulted in a resignation and a one-way ticket to Panama.
About the course:
Flexing & Flourishing as a HIP in Aotearoa
Join me on a 6 week journey of non-judgemental guidance, korero, mentoring, and mistake-making, where we explore new ways of working, and seeing our mahi
I help Health Improvement Practitioners, with imposter syndrome, confusion, job dissatisfaction, and burnout risk, so that they can feel more satisfied with their mahi, and have better life-work balance. I help HIPs stop trying too hard to do everything for everyone, sacrificing their own health and hauora, and instead how to be the person they most want to be outside of work, as well as during working hours.
The things that make us vulnerable to burnout actually aren’t what you would guess, and are different depending on what we are trained as (occupational therapist/nurse/social worker/psychologist/counsellor). Its not as easy as “remember to do self-care!”
Testimonial from Lesley Hawkins, “HIP for 3+ years in Northland”, Sept 24 cohort:
“The course itself is extremely good, the content is engaging, and the pace and tone is comfortable. Alysha keeps the content alive, she has really lived and breathed it. What drew me do to the course was ... how can I stay engaged and motivated, and keep the HIP mahi enjoyable? The course really helps with that, no matter what stage of the journey you are in. If you are in need of a revival of your passion, if you are wavering in motivation or feeling uncertain, this is the course for you”.
- Phoebe, “Very Great HIP, Many Many Years Experience, Poneke” Sept 2024 cohort
“The reason this course resonated with me was I was feeling a bit stagnant, possibly a wee bit burnt out... needing a "refresher" and something to revitalise myself and my practice! If that also resonates with you, then I would 100% recommend this course. Alysha knows the intricacies of this work, struggle points, and has real, tangible advice and support to help. Every single lesson there were so many gems, I found myself making so many notes and using the tips and tricks (with huge success!) in consults.”
- Dean, 3+ years HIP in Manawatu, Sept 2024 cohort
“This course is amazing, and you are amazing. Thank you so much for all the knowledge reminders of who and what we are.”
- “S”, 3+ years HIP in Auckland, Sept 2024 cohort
“What were your goals before starting the course?” - burn out prevention, to gain more understanding of the whys of the model, more conviction and confidence in the model, especially to do with the half hour time frame.
“Did the course impact you at all?” - definitely has given me more confidence and tips to keep things 'in the lane'; the group sessions were great for sharing ideas about areas of struggle. I now tell myself that if you say yes to one thing you are saying no to another (such as admin time or a break!) Still hard to keep to time but I'm definitely better at it than I was.
“What was your favourite part about working with Alysha?” - your energy, passion and knowledge and tips.
“How are you feeling about your mahi as a HIP after completing the course?” - more confident, more in charge, a bit more 'on board' with the model.
“How would you rate your HIP job satisfaction before F & F and after, /10? 10/10 being completely satisfied, 0/10 not in the slightest.” - 5/10 and 7/10
Please share any accomplishments or “wins” you have had since joining the course, no matter how small you might feel they are :) - Taking charge of the session more confidently, keeping inside the guard rails of the bowling lane, keeping more focused on the time without feeling bad about it, being more open about the time with the patient is helpful to keep this more on track.
✺ Frequently asked questions ✺
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Each week contains two 30min lessons which are released on Mondays at 9am. The live Q&A / Roleplay sessions are 1hour long, so allow 2 hours per week, plus maybe an extra 15min for logging in, looking at worksheets, and bonus material. Everything will be recorded so you can view it all at your own pace
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Email me at hello@alyshasimonsen.me
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You will have lifetimes access to the pre-recorded video modules, but the recording of the live calls will be taken down 8 weeks after the completion of the course - this is due to intellectual property laws
What you’ll get
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UNLIKE OTHER COURSES OUT THERE, this course is made specifically for YOU, in your unique role and context
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UNLIKE OTHER COURSES OUT THERE, lessons are 30min or under, designed so that HIPs can use space in their week to engage in the course content, instead of long and dense videos that yo have to keep rewinding and coming back to
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UNLIKE OTHER COURSES OUT THERE, this course is made for the Aotearoa context where we have a duty to uphold Tiriti o Witangi, and other unique cultural lenses
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UNLIKE OTHER COURSES OUT THERE, there is a 1 hour live component every week were I respond to questions, and roleplay requests submitted by YOU
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UNLIKE OTHER COURSES OUT THERE, I will be updating and tailoring the course as we go, based on real-time real-life feedback from YOU
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UNLIKE OTHER COURSES OUT THERE, I am going to lean into and showcase my strengths AND weaknesses, and my humanity, so that you can all see how these things only make us BETTER HIPs!
This course is for you if you can relate to any of these ….
You often run over time, and are frantically trying to keep up within your day
You are playing it safe in your sessions by giving the same 3-4 handouts to most clients and are fearful of trying anything new
You are scared to ask the /10 Helpfulness question because you don’t feel confident that it WAS helpful
You often stay late and work extra hours trying to catch up on tasks you didn’t get to during the day
You feel drained, depleted, exhausted at the end of a week of HIPping
Feel anxious when you need to block time out of your template, that you might get in trouble
Feel scared or guilty when you aren’t “hitting your numbers”
Aren’t sure if you are doing it right …
Are offering EVERY client 1 or more follow-ups because you feel you should’ve done more for them
Have thought seriously about quitting
Struggle with imposter syndrome or lack of confidence
Complain to your significant other perhaps a little too much?
Are curious about how you could improve your HIPping
What’s inside
Week 4
Packed full of real-play role-play demonstrations, we start to see how to use contextual science persepctives, and fACT tools, to let our clients guide us toward their plan, really efficiently.
Week 6
Putting all our new knowledge together, and learning how to do it imperfectly - that is, how to turn mistake-making into an excellent opportunity for connection, therapeutic alliance, and growth in our own practice. We talk about self-care, self-compassion, and a growth mindset - but perhaps not in the ways you’d expect …
Week 1
We must begin with Whakawhanaungatanga, of course. Lets get a sense of who we are, where we have come from, so that we can really know where we are going.
Week 2
Here we start to dig into the hard mahi of facing head on, the barriers and challenges we face as HIPs to thriving. We look at where we each are on the continuum from flourishing to burning out, and how we build awareness and resilience for ourselves and those we serve.
Week 3
Okay, so how do we do a good job in 30min or less? This week we focus on learning how to effectively interrupt clients (respectfully and gently), to take the reigns of the consult, and to skillfully turn a consult around when it is headed down a rabbit hole, or if we have made a mistake and need to backtrack.
Week 5
We get extra practical on science-based tools to help clients make effective and efficient behavioural change, including lessons on case conceptualisation, using ACT and CBT frameworks, but in a 30min consult