Our Philosophy
Training Concept & Approach
A unique training environment that creates and enhances engaging and meaningful learning.
How A Coffee with Garth was Born
The café scene has become major part of peoples' lifestyle. For individuals, it is an extension of their living room where they meet with friends and family to catch up over coffee, and for business, it has become a popular venue for meetings. A café is an environment that creates an atmosphere which is enjoyable, relaxed, informal, and non-threatening. Therefore, individuals feel comfortable and safe to open-up, resulting in constructive and positive communication and interaction. Since Garth is a regular patron of cafés, he realised it would be fantastic to replicate this atmosphere into his courses, and thus… 'A Coffee with Garth' was born!
Even though A Coffee with Garth is designed to feel like sitting down for a coffee and having a meaningful, engaging conversation about emotional wellness, it is not a therapeutic environment, and no one is expected to share personal experiences. By providing opportunities for self‑reflection activities, participants connect the course content to their personal and professional lives in a safe and comfortable way, and the café setting enhances this learning experience. Coming into the session with openness and a positive mindset helps people get the most from the experience and contributes to a supportive group atmosphere.
A Coffee with Garth Set-up
A Coffee with Garth – Community Roadshows
Expanding Emotional Wellness throughout New Zealand communities.
A Coffee with Garth – Community Roadshows is Garth's way to expand Emotional Wellness throughout New Zealand communities, designed to be led by communities, for communities, at a ground‑roots level, because people within a community are in touch first‑hand with the strengths and challenges of their own community. This approach ensures communities build lasting, self‑managed, and community‑owned emotional capability, confidence, and long‑term emotional wellness and resilience, not just a one‑off experience.
Who the Roadshows Prioritise
Even though Garth's goal is to visit all regions across New Zealand, priority is given to communities that would benefit most, including:
- Communities recovering from crisis such as natural disasters
- High risk or vulnerable communities experiencing economic hardship or industry decline
- Smaller or remote communities who may not normally have access to this type of training
- Communities ready to embrace emotional wellness and recognise the value of building emotional capability locally
Community Emotional Wellness Pathways
Communities can choose from several pathways depending on their needs. Each pathway has two parts:
- Which Emotional Wellness option
- Who will attend
Emotional Wellness Options
Communities can select from Garth's Emotional Wellness courses, with the recommended options being:
- Emotional Wellness Leads Course – for communities choosing to roll out the Digital Emotional Wellness Platform, supporting the integration of the digital platform into the community by developing local Emotional Wellness Champions who can guide and sustain its use.
- 2 Day Emotional Wellness Course – builds emotional capability, confidence, and practical skills while developing local Emotional Wellness Champions or individuals within the community.
Who Attends
Participants may come from a cross section of the community such as community groups, community services, schools (staff and youth leaders), churches, aged care, healthcare, social services, NGOs, government agencies, councils, and business associations. They may instead be from one specific entity rather than a cross section.
This flexibility allows communities to tailor the initiative to their structure, needs, and goals.
Developing Community Emotional Wellness Champions
Garth recommends having representatives from different areas of the community attend. These individuals become Community Emotional Wellness Champions who can support emotional wellness within their own groups, workplaces, or networks.
Even when a single organisation participates, champions still emerge within that environment.
The Community Lead
If the pathway is for a cross section from the community, there needs to be a nominated Community Lead. However, there still needs to be a Lead person for an individual group, service, or business. The Community Lead manages the initiative locally. This role is valuable because they know the community, understand the local strengths and challenges, and are trusted by community members. Ideally, the Community Lead is nominated by a local group such as a business association and attends the course themselves.
Key responsibilities may include:
- Liaising with Garth, funders, and community groups
- Co-ordinating logistics such as venue, dates, and catering
- Managing registrations and communication
- Supporting Community Emotional Wellness Champions after the course
- Reporting outcomes to funders and the wider community
- Keeping the initiative alive, visible, and celebrated
Investment for the Community Emotional Wellness Initiative
The price of delivering a Community Emotional Wellness initiative varies depending on factors such as the pathway chosen, the number of participants, and the location. The best next step is to contact Garth with your community's needs so he can work with you to shape the right approach, as he is keen and supportive to make it happen.
Funding the Initiative
Garth would ideally like the initiative to be offered at no cost to the community by securing funding or sponsorship. In the meantime, funding can be obtained directly by communities through grants, charities, donations, community groups, community fundraising activities, or support from local businesses and larger national business chains operating in the area. The initiative can be fully subsidised or partially subsidised, with participants contributing an amount to support commitment and engagement. All payments are made prior to the course and managed by the Community Lead.
Next Step
If you are interested in supporting the emotional wellness of your community, or if you are open to funding or sponsoring this valuable initiative, please contact Garth.
Embedding and Sustainability of Learning
Garth's goal is that the training does not become a one-off activity, but that the desired outcomes are achieved through the embedding and sustainability of the learning. Because of this, Garth applies the proverb, "Give a person a fish and you will feed them for a day. Teach a person how to fish and you will feed them for a lifetime." To support this approach, Garth has developed A Coffee with Garth Journey of Learning — the 4Cs.
- Content: Acquiring knowledge through the Emotional Wellness Course.
- Comprehension: Deepening understanding through self-reflection activities.
- Confidence: Building confidence through regular, intentional application of learning.
- Competence: Embedding emotional wellness into daily life.
At the conclusion of the course, participants complete a self‑reflective and individual Learning Action Plan that guides them through a 3‑Stage Change Process. This supports the embedding and sustainability of learning by helping participants identify what they will apply, how they will apply it, and when they will put it into practice. Their manager can monitor progress, regularly check in, and provide guidance, support, and encouragement. The Learning Action Plan strengthens the 4Cs by turning comprehension into confident action and building competence through regular, intentional application. It ensures the learning becomes part of everyday behaviour and supports long-term emotional capability growth.
Creating an Emotional Wellness Ripple Effect
Once a participant reaches the stage of competence in the 4Cs in their everyday lives, something powerful happens: they create an Emotional Wellness Ripple Effect. This ripple effect begins with small, personal shifts such as increased self-awareness, healthier emotional habits, and more confident responses to everyday challenges.
By sharing or modelling what they have learned, they become a changemaker, offering support, insight, and encouragement to friends, family, colleagues, their community, and even complete strangers. These changes naturally influence the people around them, helping to strengthen relationships, improve communication, and build more emotionally capable environments, often leading others to think, "I want what they got!" in a positive and inspiring way.
The Emotional Wellness Ripple Effect is one of the most meaningful outcomes of the courses, as individuals shift from focusing solely on their own emotional wellness to positively influencing the emotional wellbeing of others.
This approach is intentional by Garth, as it is designed to directly support his greater purpose to expand emotional wellness for individuals globally, starting with New Zealand, creating a foundation for long-term emotional capability across the country and beyond. It reflects the shift from one person making an impact to many people becoming positive changemakers, helping others not just cope but truly thrive in today's world.