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This 8-week course will create a space for individuals to come together, share and get support for their feelings about the ecological and climate crises, to create more space for new or continued courageous action.
Climate stress is held in the body. When we connect with our body’s wisdom we can engage with difficult feelings of ecological grief and anxiety and rekindle more aliveness, joy, and belonging. Powered by a new sense of resiliency, we can relinquish stories of separation and find deeper connection with ourselves, nature, and community.
This course welcomes professionals working on climate action for years or those just beginning to feel the magnitude of this existential threat.
We will learn and use Eugene Gendlin's Focusing practice to engage with difficult personal and collective experiences about what is happening already on our planet and what is to come. By directly moving towards and being with what is difficult we can shift from stuck feelings of despair, helplessness, cynicism, and rage and sense into resilient responses that support positive change.
Focusing is a somatic mindfulness practice well suited to create the space within us and between us to experience what is there and learn how we can interact differently.
We welcome diverse identities and backgrounds. The course includes practice, education, and community building (community is essential right now!), and is designed to support you personally and professionally with the groups and communities you serve.
By the end of this 8 week course you will experience a paradigm shift and will feel less stuck and more in action.
Format and course content
The course content is relevant to many contexts and grounded in somatic and resiliency-based approaches.
Each session includes an embodied practice, education, and opportunities for sharing for those who feel comfortable, either in the larger group or in smaller breakout rooms. There will also be optional peer dyads (Focusing partnerships, see below) and readings to supplement your learning between classes, including articles about grief, nature, and ecopsychology.
Our 8-week journey will include:
- Sensing nature and remembering our inner wildness and connection to the natural world.
- Deepening our understanding of the impact of emotional and nervous system dysregulation and building our window of tolerance.
- Reckoning with our role in the crisis in ways that foster engagement and action.
- Rewilding our stories to find meaning and connection to ourselves, the land, and the interconnectedness of life.
- Finding our right next steps for personal and collective action.
- Explore the connection between climate change and grief in ways that support a sense of belonging rather than isolation.
Focusing partnerships involves meeting between classes to practice, in an exchange of Focusing and listening. You can also opt to be assessed for the Proficiency in Focusing Partnership Award provided through The International Focusing Institute (TIFI) in the final few weeks of the course (fees through TIFI apply: you must be a member and there is a processing fee).
Timing and other details
Next Groups:
- Tuesdays, May 2nd to June 27, 1-3 pm Eastern
- Following classes - dates to be determined. Please email me at [email protected] if you cannot make the above course to let us know when you would be available for this training.
Group size: each group is capped at 24 people
Fees: $399 US (sliding scale pricing available, see below)
Who is this course for? The course is designed for people working at the center of climate action, and those craving a space to connect with people who would like to make a difference in the world. We welcome space holders (i.e., therapists, coaches), activists, non-profit teams, academics, crisis volunteers, grief counselors, and more. To join you do not have to be working directly on climate issues. This course is open to anyone directly experiencing the impacts of the ecological and climate crisis, including the anticipatory dread, grief, and stress. No prior knowledge of Focusing is required. We welcome Focusers of all levels.
Course location: Zoom
Course teachers: Annette Dubreuil (Coordinator-in-training), Jenn Wesanko (Climate Change Communicator, Somatic Therapist, Focusing Trainer) and Kevin Johnson (PUPA Trainer-in-training)
Sliding scale pricing: This course has sliding scale pricing, offering multiple price points to make the course more accessible and reduce financial barriers for people with different levels of income. Please view the sliding scale fees page for details and codes.
- Full fee: US$399
- 25% off: US$299.25
- 50% off: US$199.50
- 70% off: US$119.70
- 80% off: US$79.80
- 90% off: US$39.90