The JOURNEY to SELF, part I & II

An exploration of the self and family using the SATIR METHOD

The Journey To Self . . . starts by reconnecting with your family roots. In both of these 4 day workshops we will revisit the mysteries of past generations. Virginia Satir's Family Reconstruction and other Satir processes are healing and integrating ways to make sense of ourselves and others.

The family of origin is our first source of learning. Each family, over generations, passes on morals, beliefs, rules, attitudes and methods of coping that are absorbed consciously or unconsciously. Character is developed in the process of learning to survive and cope with the realities of one's particular family. What was useful in the past, however, may not be useful in the present. Our past can contaminate the present and we often become victims of our old patterns of coping.

You will learn -

• to update the past and to reduce the negative impact of some things learned or experienced in the past.
• to discover your parents as people .... to connect with them as human beings instead of seeing them in their stereotyped roles.
• let go of what no longer fits.
• to provide freedom for new choices and revised conclusions.
• to access your resources.
• to connect with your creative energies and to move into new directions in gaining deeper recognition and acceptance of self and others.

This workshop will appeal to those who:

• want to become clearer about their own identity, autonomy and boundaries.
• want to become more accepting of and responsible for themselves.
• desire to deepen their connection with their family roots.
• want to move beyond their survival pain toward actively growing.
• want to find a way to balance freedom and belonging.
• want to feel safer in taking risks to explore new ways of living.
• are willing to put the past in a museum.
• want to become freer to experience the flow of life energies.
• wish to achieve their highest potential for the future.

This workshop includes both didactic and experiential elements. The concepts of the Satir method will be discussed and several tools will be presented and experienced - family mapping, family chronology, family rules, transforming coping stances, etc. The workshop process incorporates elements of psychodrama, Gestalt, guided imagery, accessing the unconscious, sculpting and triadic modes of being - within the framework of the family system and the special principles underlying Virginia Satir's approach to the human being.

An opportunity to:

• learn the basic concepts of the Satir Model through experiential demonstrations.
• participate in experiences to integrate the model for one's self.
• * prerequisite for Level II.

An opportunity to:

• extend a deeper personal experience with the self and others.
• explore the process underlying Maria's interventions.
• explore and integrate Satir concepts into the participants' personal and working levels.

Maria Gomori Ph.D.,M.S.W.,Dip.C. is an Approved Supervisor with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, and a retired Associate Professor with the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. She has worked intensively with Virginia Satir for over 20 years and has been an advanced trainer in Satir's Avanta International Training organization since 1981. Maria has established an international reputation as a workshop leader, teaching, demonstrating and applying her interpretation of the Satir model. She has conducted workshops throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, South America, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia. She co-authored with Virginia Satir et al "The Satir Approach to Communication" and the "Satir Model - Family Therapy and Beyond." The Satir Model book was chosen by the AAMFT Foundation for the 1994 Satir Education and Research Prize. Maria has a unique creative way of integrating Satir with her learnings from many other great teachers combined with her own.