Institute of Applied Psychology  ·  RTO #70206  ·  Secure Your Place

Why People
Drive You Crazy
(And What To Do About It)

Do people sometimes drive you absolutely crazy?
Do you get frustrated because you know something is off — but you just don't have the answers?

This workshop is for you.

3-Hour Workshop
24th August, 2026 6.30pm-9.30pm AEST

You're not alone —
and it's not just them.

Most of us spend more energy managing difficult relationships than almost anything else in life. Here's what it typically looks like.

The colleague who undermines youThey take credit, shift blame, and somehow always manage to look like the reasonable one.

The boss who can't make a decisionOr the one who micromanages every move, leaving you no room to breathe — or perform.

The family member who drains youEvery interaction leaves you feeling responsible for managing their feelings, their problems, their life.

The person you just can't reachYou've tried everything. Direct. Indirect. Patient. Firm. Nothing sticks. You're exhausted.

The reaction you can't controlThey say something, and something inside you fires instantly — before you've had a chance to choose how to respond.

The situation you keep replayingHours, even days later, you're still going over what happened — and what you should have said.

"In over two decades of clinical practice, the single most common source of anxiety, burnout, and stuck patterns isn't workload or finances — it's difficult relationships. Almost without exception."

— Gordon Young, Founder, Institute of Applied Psychology

The problem isn't that difficult people exist. They always have, and they always will. The problem is that most of us were never given the tools to handle them. We react. We ruminate. We dread. We avoid. And the same patterns keep playing out — at work, at home, in every relationship that matters.

This workshop changes that.

Practical tools that work
this evening.

This is not a workshop about positive thinking or being more patient. It is a skills-based, evidence-driven programme built on real clinical frameworks — the same tools Gordon Young uses and teaches in professional therapeutic training.

You will leave with a clear, practical toolkit you can use immediately. Not theory. Not abstractions. Concrete techniques that change how you respond to difficult behaviour in real time — before you say something you'll need to walk back.

Whether you're managing a difficult workplace, navigating a complex family dynamic, or building your professional repertoire as a therapist or coach, these skills travel with you everywhere you go.

  • A reliable method for stopping emotional hijacking in its tracks — before you react
  • A clear framework for understanding why certain people push your buttons
  • Practical scripts for difficult conversations that don't go sideways
  • The ability to influence and redirect even entrenched, resistant behaviour
  • Strategies for staying calm, strategic, and composed under genuine pressure
  • Tools to stop replaying difficult interactions hours or days after they happen
  • A personal audit of the hidden rules that are creating conflict in your life right now
  • Techniques to get virtually anyone onside — without manipulation

What's covered

The workshop moves through five structured modules, each building on the one before it. You'll have plenty of opportunity to practise skills in pairs and small groups throughout the workshop.

01

It Starts With You

  • Why your reaction is the key to everything
  • Velcro vs Teflon: where you are now
  • Your hidden rules — and how they create conflict
  • The Personal Rules Audit (Tool 1)
  • Honest self-assessment: are you part of the problem?
  • The intent vs impact gap
02

The BLINK VuMU Method

  • What actually happens in your brain when you're triggered
  • The pattern interrupt: blink, count, reset
  • Three questions that change everything in the moment
  • Building the skill: a three-week practice schedule
  • Pairs practice: live application with feedback
03

Understanding Difficult People

  • The Drama Triangle: Rescuer, Victim, Persecutor
  • What's really driving the behaviour
  • The Observer position — and how to find it
  • Pattern recognition across different types
  • The 'That's Interesting' mindset shift
04

Tools for the Hard Moments

  • The CLEAR method for difficult conversations
  • The Switzerland Strategy: staying neutral and powerful
  • Match, Pace, Lead — getting anyone onside
  • Breaking patterns before they break you
  • Reframing: changing meaning, not just behaviour
05

Real Life Application

  • Quick responses for six common difficult types
  • Scenario guides: when it's happening right now
  • The 90-day implementation plan
  • Making it stick — building long-term resilience
  • Take-home quick reference cards

Throughout the Workshop

  • Pairs practice — BLINK VuMU live
  • Small group roleplay scenarios
  • Personal Rules Audit (individual exercise)
  • Historical Conflict Mapping (reflection exercise)
  • Q&A with Gordon Young

This workshop is built for you
wherever you're coming from.

The principles don't change. Only the context does. Whether you're navigating a boardroom or a bedroom, the skills are the same.

🧭

Everyday People

If you have a boss who micromanages, a family member who exhausts you, a colleague who takes credit, or a friend who drains the joy from every interaction — this workshop will change how you handle all of them. Permanently.

🧠

Therapists & Counsellors

Add a powerful, structured suite of interpersonal tools to your clinical repertoire. The BLINK VuMU method, Drama Triangle framework, and CLEAR protocol are all immediately applicable with clients dealing with relationship difficulties.

Coaches & Leaders

Build your capacity to manage complex interpersonal dynamics in teams, coaching relationships, and leadership contexts. Walk away with frameworks your clients can use immediately — and that will differentiate your professional practice.

Gordon Young

Gordon Young

Trainer & Therapist
  • IAP Founder
  • Former HCA President
  • Author
  • 20+ Years

Gordon Young

Gordon Young is the founder of the Institute of Applied Psychology (RTO #70206), one of Australia's leading providers of nationally accredited training in clinical hypnosis, strategic psychotherapy, NLP, and counselling. He is also President of the Hypnotherapy Council of Australia.

Over more than two decades, Gordon has trained thousands of therapists, coaches, and helping professionals, and worked directly with thousands of clients in clinical practice. His integrative framework — Gordian Therapy — synthesises Metacognitive Therapy, CBT, Strategic Psychotherapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy into a practical, present-focused approach to lasting change.

He is the author of The Anxiety Trap, The Fear Trap, Don't Judge Me, The Addiction Myth, and the forthcoming Why People Drive You Crazy — the book on which this workshop is based.

Gordon is known for training that is direct, clinically grounded, and immediately useful. No fluff. No performance. Just tools that work.

Five reasons not to wait.

Ready to stop being driven crazy?

Join Gordon Young for a one-day workshop that will change how you handle every difficult person in your life — for good.


3-Hour Workshop
24th August, 2026 6.30pm-9.30pm AEST

Reserve Your Place Now Limited places available