This series is an extension of the work we are doing and will continue to do in Forum, but with a bit more time and a slightly different format. No one will be required to speak, but these are dialogue-based sessions. These sessions are open to any adults interested in and willing to engage in the work and agree to the group norms. Group norms regarding respect for others, the appropriate sharing of space, and honoring confidentiality will be introduced and lovingly enforced. All of these sessions have a shared intention of personal and community benefiit. A community gets healthier when the humans within it are healthy.

All sessions will be facilitated by ESSL Interim Director Amy L. Miller except when noted otherwise. Amy has a background in social work, counseling, relationship coaching, mediation, and communication and loves doing group work like this!

September 23, 1-3 p.m. Hanke Room – Boundaries & People-pleasing

What I’ve learned from my work (and just life/being a person) is that most people are really quite unskilled/uncomfortable at setting and maintaining boundaries. A lot of times people don’t even KNOW THEY HAVE THE RIGHT to do so, much less how to go about it. People-pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries tend to go hand in hand. Let’s sit down and talk about what it means to engage in “people-pleasing” and to normalize how challenging and necessary boundary-setting is.

Saturday Sessions (Tentative Schedule)
September 9- Nonviolent Communication, Healthy Conflict, & Courage (noon to 2 p.m.)*
September 23- Boundaries & People-pleasing (1-3 p.m.)
October 7- Raising White Kids (3-6 p.m.)* w/ Dr. Jen Harvey
October 14- Antiracism and “White Folks’ Work” (1-3 p.m.) also w/Courtnie Scott-Cammarata
October 28 – Healthy Relationships of All Kinds (1-3 p.m.)
November 11- Authenticity, Freedom, & Belonging (1-3 p.m.)
November 18- Aging, Grief, & Death (1-3 p.m.) also w/Kelly Karavousanos
December 9- Shame, Vulnerability, & Intimacy (1-3 p.m.)

*All in Hanke Room except as noted