Attachment Styles in Facilitation and Empathy

While the predominant cultural message is that facilitators, therapists, teachers, healers, parents, and other supporters are supposed to leave their own humanity at the door and show up with only their left-brain rationality, there are huge benefits to whole-brained/whole-hearted connection and facilitation. True learning doesn’t take place when we absorb new information, it happens in relational space. Many of the confusing things that happen when we are facilitating arise because of this phenomenon.

In this teleseminar, we will look at empathy support and strategies for:

• Understanding how attachment paradigms impact facilitation and participation
• The importance of silence and timing for acknowledgement of depth
• Supporting the group in settling in, coming back together after breaks
• Addressing side talking and other distracting interruptions
• Being transparent with solid self-empathy skills
• Noticing ruptures with participants and making repairs
• Working with contempt toward self or participants
• Balancing covering material with processing what arises during the workshop
• Responding to participant boredom, non-responsiveness, crying, resistance/aggression, and confusion/repeated left-brained “strategy” questions
• Holding the whole group when one participant is triggered or needing huge support