Your Hosts
Where & When
A confirmation with the zoom link will be sent to registered participants the week of the event.
Live attendance required - no recording.
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 2:00-4:00 pm EDT (New York - US)
8:00-10:00 pm Central European Time
Times worldwide: convert to your time zone
Family is usually considered to be the most important agent of socialization.
All children have the right to be protected, live in a safe environment, and live with their families.
But what if, a child does not have the support of a family, and for whatever reason, they have to live in foster care?
In this Roundtable, we would like to invite you to explore how we can be with, and listen to children in our care, taking in their experiences one day at a time. Through the complexity of their life situation, how can we help them to find their way to a safe place inside.
During our Roundtable, we will discuss the challenges of children’s behavior, and share experiences about cooperation and inclusion.
Our guest speaker will be Derek McDonnell, who will share his experiences with working as a social care practitioner in the area of child protection in Ireland.
Derek is a Coordinator with The International Focusing Institute and has offered ‘Focusing Through Interactive Pausing’ skill-based intervention in a variety of settings.
Questions and themes we might explore together are:
- How can we create a safe environment for children to connect with their inner experiences?
- How can we stay grounded while we support children through their process?
- How can children, parents, and educators support each other through inclusion?
Other topics and themes may emerge from our mutual exploration during the Roundtable.
Who might be particularly interested in attending this Roundtable?
Anyone who is around children, especially working with children in foster care, or with children in groups, or classes. Also, anyone who would like to explore their inner child experiences.
CONNECTION>CONVERSATION>COMMUNITY
What to expect from Focusing Roundtables: Each Focusing Roundtable is designed to promote informal peer-to-peer conversation. Rather than acting as expert presenters, the Hosts will serve as conversation moderators to encourage sharing and exploration of the topics from the participants’ own perspectives. All participants’ sharings are welcome and valuable, no matter what level of experience or knowledge you have on the topic. To preserve the nature of informal conversation, the program will be offered live only and no recordings will be available. Registration is limited and on a first-come, first served basis. Participants are encouraged to create follow up opportunities for connection among themselves after the Roundtable.
The TIFI Membership Committee is pleased to offer this series of Focusing Roundtables designed especially for members of the Institute. If you are not a member, please join at http://www.focusing.org/membership, then return to this page to register. This program will afford members a valuable opportunity to engage in casual peer-to-peer conversation with other members who share Focusing-related interests.
About your hosts:
Laura Bavalics is an early childhood educator, play mentor, and drama teacher. She is a Certified Focusing Professional and a Focusing-oriented educator, who has been working with young children, parents, and professionals for over twenty-five years. She is a professional director of the Pendula inclusive kindergarten program for children in foster care and with special needs at the Világszép Foundation in Hungary. She is also teaching at ELTE University, Hungary, in their College of Education. Laura is a member of the International Leadership Council and the Children's Focusing Advisory Board.
René Veugelers is a Coordinator specializing in Children’s Focusing, with an emphasis on the non-verbal world. René teaches parents, therapists, teachers and others how to be with children in a Focusing way, how to (re)connect to their own inner child experiences and how to integrate creativity and flexibility into their life and work. His work and experiences as a psychiatric nurse and as an art therapist with children, of any age, embraces an expanded richness of creative elements and supports a natural unfolding of creative process. René lives and works in the Netherlands, where he teaches Children Focusing and specializes in working with children with ADHD, ADD, trauma and attachment disorder.
Registration Information and Price
Registration Closes: Monday, September 26 at 9:00 am, or when the class is full, whichever is sooner.
Zoom: We use Zoom for all of our online offerings. Please attend by computer so that we can have your video presence as well as your audio. Calling in by phone is also possible but not preferred.
Price: The co-hosts are volunteering their time in order that this program may be brought to members of TIFI at no charge.
PLEASE NOTE: When you register, if your dues are current, your registration is confirmed. If your dues are not current or or if you are not yet a member, please go to the membership page to pay your dues or join and then return to this page to register. Membership page: http://focusing.org/membership. Because this is a members only program, your spot in the Roundtable is not held until your dues are paid. Thank you!