Taking the panther seat
Learning a Gestalt-based awareness practice
to become fully present
6 Zoom Sessions
12 CEUs available for LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs
Training Cost
$300 for CEU credit – Sliding scale option for non-CEU participation, and all donations gratefully accepted.
CIRCLE TWO
Learning a Gestalt-based Awareness Practice to become fully present
Our circle will be a gathering of people from many walks of life who hold an intention to express from the deepest knowing of their essence. Suitable as training for therapists, spiritual leaders, practitioners, and chaplains who will also find worth in this opportunity. The heart of this program is about connecting with our own spiritual essence, regardless of faith or belief system.
The intention of this circle is to cultivate a deep self-awareness through Gestalt-based practices adapted from traditions formed at the Esalen Institute of Big Sur and more recently Tribal Ground of Aptos, CA. While we value introspection and awareness, we will be learning how to create a relational environment that supports “awareness” of our inner light, in whatever form that takes. This will require us to go on our own individual paths towards developing inner support and inspiration to hold that light for ourselves and each other.
During our circles, we hope to share the wisdom that came from working with women serving life sentences in prison and who have participated in the Lioness Tale Prison Project, and will include guest speakers who have participated in, and taught the program inside.
GENERAL INFO
Some Important Details
We will offer this workshop via zoom live over six of seven Wednesday evenings. (see Schedule below) We expect participants to zoom-in with video and audio, to be in a room or office that offers privacy to all participants, reliable internet and that allows you to let the workshop be your primary focus from a Laptop or desktop (via smartphone is not ideal).
This workshop may be taken as an opportunity for LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs to earn 12 CEUs while expanding their knowledge of expressive arts therapy modalities and gaining insight into working with women in prison.
We welcome anyone wanting to dive into a greater awareness of their essence and give voice to their irrevocable freedom. In addition, the workshop will serve as a volunteer-training program for the Lioness Tale Prison Project for those who are considering joining our team, though .
INSTRUCTORS
Instructors for this Circle
Russell V. Jensen MA EdM LMFT #87760
CAMFT CE Prov. 147861
Russell Jensen has been studying Gestalt Theory and Practice since 2007. He began studying at the Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy and Training in New York City, then at the Pacific Gestalt Institute in Los Angeles, and at Tribal Ground, a Gestalt-based learning community in Aptos, California. He has been participating in these communities in one way or another through today.
Russell entered the mental health field in 2004. Over the course of his career so far, he has worked in various mental health treatment settings including residential settings, transition houses, schools, in-home support services, outpatient centers, a women’s prison, and at his own private practice. In that time, Russell has worked with a wide range of ages, populations, diagnoses, and levels of acuity.
His greatest interest is working with human service providers; therapists, social workers, spiritual leaders, nurses, teachers, law enforcement, armed forces, and emergency responders.
CAMFT Approved Training Provider
Born in Australia, Nikki Fryn, considers herself a perennial student of human nature, a trait she found invaluable in her coaching and consulting work with businesses.
Nikki participated in the business world for many years, until discovering an inclination for business systems, when she began consulting in systems design, and taking extended breaks to live in Japan, Tonga, and New Zealand for months or years at a time.
Eventually missing deep joy in her life, in late 2000 Nikki decided to fire her consulting clients, began learning to fly, taking singing lessons, and took a deep dive into the world of behavioral sciences exploring meditation, group process, hypnosis, and more.
Nikki completed life coach training in 2001, and began her practice soon after. In 2003 she began to travel the world, but soon discovered a new life of work and personal development with gifted Gestalt practice teachers such as Christine Price and Dorothy Charles at Esalen Institute, in Big Sur, California. Staying for more than 2 years, she learned what it takes to create a fulfilling life for herself, and continues learning from these teachers even now.
Working with the women inside has helped Nikki acknowledge her own inner prison, and how incarceration is as much a state of mind as a state of being.
Nikki fryn
SCHEDULE
Six Weekly Classes
Class 1
6-8pm Zoom
- Introductions and connecting
- Learning the format for Gestalt Awareness Practice
- Speaking from the here and now
- Closing conversation and check out
Class 2
6-8pm Zoom
- Meditation, check-in
- Finding your “seat”
- Introduction to parts work; talking about, from, and to
- Closing conversation and check-out
Class 3
6-8pm Zoom
- Meditation, check-in
- Panther Journey
- Creating a living dialogue with your panther and other “parts”
- Closing discussion and check-out
BREAK
One Week Break
Class 4
6-8pm Zoom
- Meditation, check-in
- Dialogue, integration and inclusion
- Closing discussion and check-out
Class 5
6-8pm Zoom
- Meditation & check-in
- Open schedule for dyads, discussions, and/or demonstrations
- Closing conversation and check-out
Class 6
6-8pm Zoom
- Meditation & check-in
- Open schedule for dyads, discussions, and/or demonstrations
- Closing conversation and check-out
- Self-evaluation, review syllabus objectives, and personal objectives
OBJECTIVES
Learning Objectives for CEU Achievement
CIRCLE TWO
Goals
The intention of this group is to cultivate a deep self awareness through Gestalt-based practices adapted from traditions formed at the Esalen Institute of Big Sur and more recently Tribal Ground of Aptos, CA.
Gestalt theory clarifies the difference between awareness and introspection in Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality (p 323); “Awareness is like the glow of coal that comes from its own combustion; what is given by introspection is like the light reflected from an object when a flashlight is turned on it. In awareness a process is taking place in the coal (the total organism); in introspection, the process occurs in the director of the flashlight (a split-off and highly opinionated part of the organism which we shall call the deliberate ego).”
While we value introspection and awareness, we will be learning how to create a relational environment that supports “awareness” of our inner light, in whatever form that takes. This will require us to go on our own individual paths towards developing inner support and inspiration to hold that light for ourselves and each other.
OUTLINE
Outline of Main Points:
Dialogue can foster integration and inclusion.
The paradoxical theory of change posits that “By rejecting the role of change agent, we make meaningful and orderly change possible (A. Beiser).”
Our imagination is a bridge to healing and unfoldment.
“Self,” described by Gestalt theory, is an ongoing process, happening in the here and now
Awareness of the intrapersonal and interpersonal relational environment is a critical aspect of the change process.
Awareness and trust can create more opportunity for choices to occur in the change process.
READING
Required & Suggested
Required Reading
The Lioness Tale by diane pendola
The Lioness Tale, by Diane Pendola, is a brief parable in which the main character is an imprisoned lioness who embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the assistance of a panther guide who guides her towards the freedom within. Please purchase “The Lioness Tale” and be sure to read the book prior to our first meeting. This book is the basis of the in-prison workshops and will be our touchstone throughout this course.
“Paradoxical Theory of Change” by Arnold Beiser – Brief article online at gestalt.org/arnie.htm
Suggested Reading
To enhance the learning
You are not required to read the following prior to the workshop though you may find them helpful during and after the workshop.
Chödrön, Pema; The Wisdom of No Escape. Shambhala 2010
FINE PRINT
Terms & Conditions
Scroll up to read full details of this workshop, and if you wish to register, please familiarize yourself with these important points
- The workshop is dependent on adequate enrollment.
- Full refunds will be offered if enrollment is not sufficient for the intended supportive classroom environment.
- Pending complete attendance, CE certificates to be awarded electronically after you submit your course evaluation, and full workshop payment has been received.
- Facilities and programs are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you have a special need and plan to attend the workshop, please contact Russell V Jensen at 559.640.7077. Please allow as much advance notice as is possible to ensure we have ample opportunity to meet your needs.
- Fees for events are non-refundable except in the case the event is canceled or rescheduled. In the event of a course cancellation or rescheduling, Russell V Jensen will contact participants to ensure they are refunded.
- Course meets the qualifications for 12 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
- Russell V Jensen is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Russell V Jensen maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
- If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback please let us know! We value your experience.
- Should you decide your experience with us warrants a formal grievance, we ask that formal grievances be submitted via email to russell@russellvjensen.com with the subject line “Formal Grievance.”
- We will confirm receipt of your grievance within 24 hours and provide a solution focused response within 72 hours. An extended explanation of our grievance procedure is available on the “contact” page of my website.
- Scroll down to complete the registration form or scroll up for full training details and dates.
FORM
Registration & Payment Information
Pricing: $300 for CEU credit – Sliding scale option available on request. No cost for volunteer trainees for the Lioness Tale Prison Project. Be sure to read the terms and conditions above before completing the form.
All donations are gratefully accepted and are tax-deductible to Skyline Harvest, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, and the parent to The Lioness Tale Prison Project.
We're happy to accept all donations, and volunteer hours may be available for those interested in the project.
If you have any questions or need clarification about the training, the cost of the training, or about the project, please add details in the message below.