by Juanita Ratner, EHI Advanced Certificate Student
I recently
returned from a retreat-style experiential training course, a part of EHI’s certificate programs in Existential-Humanistic Therapy. It was held at the Angela Center in
Santa Rosa, CA. In a retreat environment a field was created and
maintained, thanks to the closed, intimate setting. The work was able to
go much deeper; discussions were more open, thanks to the level of trust
created; and the shared search proved fruitful. We were all quite enthusiastic
about the learning that went on, the bonds created, and the support for our
individual practices. Also included were guest presentations by Ilene Serlin on
dance/movement in therapy and Sonja Saltman, executive director, on working with dreams in therapy.
Kirk Schneider, a core teacher, guided us through an exercise on bringing
dimensions of awe into the field of our counseling, and Orah Krug, director of
the certificate programs, helped us to experientially deepen our awareness of
how our own context can affect our therapeutic interactions.
There
were many opportunities to work in dyads and practice with each other, with
faculty observing. I was struck by how much everyone had grown in their
openness and ability to stay with each other since the first experiential
training. I found myself able to do some good inner work that was perhaps just
ready to be done. It seemed others around me and in the dyads I worked in were
also truly searching within and with each other. We were able to see in concrete manifestations
the principles and constructs we had read about—but now they came alive in the
moment; for example, how one’s context manifests in the way we enter into (or
avoid) the therapeutic encounter; the experience of being, of presence. We
practiced attending to both the intrapersonal and the interpersonal.
This
has been my second year in the program; I’m currently pursuing the Advanced
Certificate. I completed all the work for
the Foundations program at the beginning of January and was ready to receive
that certificate. We were all in a
circle for the closing. People offered
their heartfelt impressions and gratitude for the work together. One of us sang a lovely song, appropriate for
the moment and somehow also integrating the poignant energy of leaving and
going on into life. As I walked across
the circle to receive my certificate from Orah, someone began to hum Pomp and
Circumstance. Everyone joined in and I
made my way around the circle collecting hugs from each participant. It was a
beautiful moment; so full of good wishes that I’m sure the memory will remain
with me the rest of my life. I looked around the circle at the faces,
expressions all radiant. During the
brief three and a half days we had let go of so much, found so much, and
learned to enter into the realm of unknowing together. I heard many vows to remain in touch, to come
back next year for more, perhaps every year.
EHI Experientials I & II are held Fall and Spring consecutively...The next dates for the Fall 2014-Spring 2015 Sessions are:
Fall Experiential I -
Oct 31 to Nov 4, 2014.
Spring, Experiential II -
March 25 to
March 29, 2015.
**Note
that the Foundations Certificate is included in Saybrook PII tuition, though
travel and residential fees are additional. These experiential courses offer students’ training in the
application of Existential-Humanistic theory, and opens the individual to the
depth of their being as only a shared experience can facilitate.
Contact EHI at info [at] ehinstitute.org for more specifics on registering for next upcoming Experientials.
