The themes of this webinar are relevant to everyone who plays and works with psychosynthesis. Our aim is to cultivate deep peer-sharing and learning on a topic that can be emotionally difficult for some to find their voice, and for others to hear. For this we encourage attendees prepared to co-create a compassionate space for embodied and self-aware participation.
Date/Time: Saturday, 18th September - 1-3pm EST / 6-8pm GMT
Registration is free to Members And $25 to non-members
Registration Closes end of day Thursday, September 16.
BE SURE TO Check your email on Friday the 17th for the link to join.
For some, the past few years of political and social crisis have pulled back the veil to reveal deep wounds within society along the faultlines of identity, power and privilege. For others, these wounds have always been a part of their lives. Given the huge challenges facing humanity, there has never been a more important time to heal these wounds and develop an inclusive and practical vision of unity and equity in difference.
Roberto Assagioli believed that psychosynthesis could be a healing and unifying force, not only within the lives of individuals, but in the world. In this spirit we will explore what psychosynthesis has to offer this fragmented world - how to forge relationships and a society capable of holding the delicate balance between difference and unity; and how to prepare our-selves for this responsibility.
This webinar will support participants to explore and share our experiences, feelings and thoughts about how differences of identity, power and privilege are handled by psychosynthesis - conceptually, within the counselling or coaching relationship, and within our own institutions.
Following on from the theme of the September 2021 Quarterly - The Power of Difference: Intersectionality, Identity and Psychosynthesis - we will use the concept of ‘intersectionality’ as a tool to help participants explore the links between identity and power, and to experience the role that difference and differentiation play in the process of synthesis.
Learning ‘takeaways’ - attendees will:
1. Review the common definitions and interpretations of the term intersectionality, and gain a greater understanding of its potential uses.
2. Experiment with applying the concept of intersectionality to differentiate and disidentify from the overlapping systems of power and privilege imprinted in the personal self.
3. Discuss and explore the relationship between differentiation and integration within psychosynthesis, and gain a greater awareness of the pitfalls and potentials in this area when dealing with issues of identity.
4. Discuss experiences of differences in identity and power within psychosynthesis, to deepen our empathic connections with others, and help widen the space of inclusion for new voices to be heard.
5. Develop ideas for applying skillful Will within our practices and communities to help spread and embed conscious, inclusive and transpersonal approaches to facing the relationships between identity and power. Continuing the evolution of psychosynthesis to meet the needs of an ever-changing world.
Facilitator biographies:
Ryan O'Kane is a graduate of, and current Study Tutor with, the Psychosynthesis Trust in London; and has a small psychosynthesis counselling practice in Wales in the UK. He also works as a Mental Health Mentor for students at Aberystwyth University. He is a former lecturer in International Development studies at the University of East London, with a particular interest in the pitfalls and potentials of complexity and systems thinking. He is also a trained group facilitator who is curious and excited about the dynamics and potentials of groups, communities and civil society, and has spent the majority of his career in charities and projects supporting people to improve their local communities, social justice and environment.
Zoë Alexandra Isdell is a current student at Synthesis Northeast and Chair of the AAP's Committee on Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Her career of nearly 20 years in health and healthcare most recently gave her the opportunity to study and address health equity through the New York State (NYS) Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program. DSRIP was designed to fundamentally restructure and improve the health system, with a focus on improving health outcomes and patient satisfaction, while lowering the total cost of care for the Medicaid (and uninsured) population, who are statistically our most vulnerable, and our sickest, community members. Drawing together health and social service providers across a 5-county region, the DSRIP mission was to collaboratively develop population health management strategies to reduce disparities in health outcomes for roughly 80,000 individuals. In addition to serving as Communications Director and Government Relations Officer, Zoë lead the region's Workforce Development and Cultural Competency & Health Literacy Programs.
