Collective Care and Shaping Change

The Comhlámh Code of Good Practice for Volunteer Sending Agencies invites individuals and organisations to be open, reflexive and willing to engage in a journey which, while potentially transformative, can be deeply challenging and generate discomfort and difficult conversations along the way. If we are going to walk such a path, we need to be nurturing space within our organisations, ensuring that care is there for each as part of the whole and staying in tune with the wider, changing environment. This one-day workshop is tailored to give us some tools for this journey.

Drawing from Gestalt Theatre, a dynamic and holistic approach to individual and collective change, the workshop will focus on developing participants self-awareness, interpersonal connections as well as personal growth within group dynamics. Post-workshop, there will be further supports in place to assist individuals to weave learnings into their organisations.

What to Expect:

Gestalt favours an embodied, experiential approach to learning so participants can expect the inclusion of movement-based activity, personal reflection as well as journaling. Workshop highlights will include:

Foundations of Gestalt Awareness: Engage in exercises that enhance your ability to tune into internal and external awareness, distinguishing between what is real and what is imagined.

Presence and Sensory Focus: Learn to heighten your senses and cultivate awareness of your environment, interactions, and emotional responses in the moment.

Gestalt in Relationships: Explore how awareness of self and others enhances the quality of contact and connection, both personally and professionally.

Collective Care in Action: Delve into how the principles of collective care can be practically applied within organisations as well as to other contexts, with a focus on fostering well-being and sustainability.

Why Attend?

This introductory workshop is for those who are open to new ways of exploring and embodying change, and who are curious about approaches like Gestalt and their potential to support this. You will leave with practical tools to enhance personal growth, along with insights on what it means to foster healthier, more connected communities.

For some, a workshop like this will be complementary to an ongoing journey. For others it may be a first step into exploring awareness of self and how to bring this awareness into the communities of which you are a part. For some, you might be feeling stuck and in need of some inspiration to hook into the Code journey. All this and more are welcome.

Overall, the workshop will be a day of resourcing and connecting and will provide valuable foundation for ongoing engagement with the new Code and its Holistic Review Process. Places are limited so be sure to register early. Registration closes Wednesday, November 20th.

Post-workshop accompaniment:

To support integration of experiences from the one-day workshop, the following will be offered to workshop participants in early 2025:

Integration Session (Online): In this session, participants will revisit key concepts and experiences from the workshop and consider application to their own contexts. This 2-hour session will be held in January 2025 (time and date TBA)

One-to-One Reflection Sessions (Online): For those who would like one-to-one space, the option of a personalized reflection meeting will also be available in the New Year and in support of application of learnings to own contexts.

Meet the trainers:

Asier Carrasco González

Based in Barcelona, Asier is a dynamic and passionate educator, youth worker, and consultant with over two decades of experience across local, national, and international levels. Holding a BSc (Hons) in Animal Biology and Conservation from Edinburgh Napier University, Asier brings a diverse range of expertise and a deep commitment to empowering young people. Since 1997, they have worked with various youth organisations, playing pivotal roles in public, private, and third sectors. As a seasoned freelance trainer and facilitator , Asier’s areas of expertise are as diverse as their interests—ranging from Learning Theories and Human Rights Education to Sustainability, Gender, and innovative Learning Methodologies. Their curiosity has led them to explore new areas of growth, including Clowning, Storytelling, Story Therapy, and Gestalt Therapy, which they are currently studying. Asier’s approach is grounded in creativity, inclusivity, and a passion for lifelong learning.

Sive Bresnihan

Sive may be familiar to you as Comhlámh's Training and Education Co-ordinator. With a background in Drama and Theatre, Sive is interested in education that startles and shifts, that nurtures agency and orientates towards justice. Sive is a Gestalt Theatre practitioner, having completed a 2-year cycle of training in 2023 and additional training in social justice & somatics. She holds an MEd in Adult Education from the University of Cape Town where she specialised in informal learning and social change.

Extra Notes:

1. Gestalt Theatre is an integrative, holistic and expressive approach to individual and collective transformation. While Gestalt Therapy provides its theoretical and conceptual underpinnings, Gestalt Theatre has a wide application in organisational and education settings and is not ‘therapy'. Gestalt Theatre draws on methods and techniques used in applied drama and theatre and in a gentle, inspiring way.
2. This workshop is being delivered as part of the work of the Rethinking International Volunteering Network, a training network led by Comhlámh as part of the Wheel’s Training Links 2024 – 2026 programme. This network aims to strengthen individual and collective values-led approaches within the Comhlámh community. We also acknowledge the support of Irish Aid who will co-fund this workshop as part of our annual work programme.

Host or Publisher Comhlámh