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An Intro to Compassionate Communication
January 29, 2022 @ 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Free – $160
Without Coercion, Force, Bribery or Even Praise: An Intro to Compassionate Communication (nvc) for parents, teachers, coaches and counselors
4 Saturdays, starting January 22, 10:30pm
Do you long for more peaceful communication with your children? Do you seek collaboration over coercion and wonder what that means in practice? Do you long for a nonviolent world and wonder how that might begin at home?
Whether it is a two year old kicking on the floor, a 5 year old grabbing a toy from another child, a teenager slamming the door shut or a parent considering doing each of the above – how might one approach these scenarios from a nonviolent communication perspective?
This class is for parents, caregivers, teachers, coaches, counselors and the nvc-curious who are new to compassionate communication with children (whether new or highly experienced at parenting or working with children). The instructor requests that you have a basic understanding of nvc prior to taking the class (three easily accessible options below).
Cost: This course is offered on a sliding scale of $80/$120/$160 for the 8 hours of class time (this price is per household). Scholarships are available on the Honor System — that is — for those with financial need — when registering — you are invited to select the “free” ticket option.
Prerequisites: Some introduction to nvc is requested; this class will assume a basic understanding of Feelings, Needs, Observation and Requests.
Recommended Nonviolent Communication Prerequisites (any or all of the following):
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- Santa Cruz nvc’s one Sunday evening class https://nvcsantacruz.org/introductory-session-in-nvc/
- Marshall Rosenberg’s Seminal Book — Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
- 3 hour Basics workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7TONauJGfc
This class will discuss concepts from Inbal Kashtan’s Parenting From Your Heart to discuss basic concepts of nvc parenting. The bulk of class time will be discussion and exercises — applying these concepts to each participant’s real life examples and discussing the issues that arise.
Parenting is a journey. With learning and support, may your journey be one towards peace.
TESTIMONIALS
“Michelle is a kind, compassionate, and excellent teacher . . . and the whole world needs to know that 🙂 . . . She is a great facilitator, effective not only in teaching but in building trust and compassion in the classroom. She encourages us to take time and slowly integrate the NVC strategies. Her classes helped open my eyes & heart to a new way of interacting with my daughter.” Patricia C. / California, USA / 2020
“I was impressed with Michelle’s astute insights and articulation that were consistently on-point. It was an inspiration to witness and hear her examples of practising NVC as a mature, integral approach to daily life. So, when participating parents presented complex interrelational issues Michelle’s ready responses were practical and empathetic. I wholeheartedly recommend the services of Michelle Leah Gomez as an NVC facilitator.”
Collin / Germany/USA / 2021
“I have found that . . . stopping to check in with my own feelings, and then owning and sharing them with my 13-year-old daughter has helped create paths to genuinely connect with her, and re-connect after we have conflict.” Kim / California, USA / 2021
“I am so grateful . . . for [Michelle] modeling NVC communication throughout . . . I felt myself soften the days after those Monday night sessions . . . What [she] provided was invaluable . . . I really loved . . . how [she] adapted the topics to questions raised . . . I loved hearing [her] process with parents and learning through live examples.” YH / California, USA / 2021
About the Instructor: Michelle Leah Gomez
Prior to parenting Michelle trained as a lawyer and was an academic in law and social policy. Her teaching and publications involved communication research, and it was not until parenting that she found Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent communication.
She was leading an attachment parenting book club when someone recommended Marshall Rosenberg’s book. His work resonated strongly with her. A family friend, who was an nvc certified trainer, recommended she host Empathy Circles. She began doing so as a way of gaining and giving support for living a nonviolent life. She’s been hosting nonviolent communication parenting practice group circles since 2008 – first in Ventura County, California, then in Santa Cruz County and the Monterey Bay of California – and beginning with Covid19 – on Zoom — all around the world.
Michelle has a JD from Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall School of Law, UC Davis and an MA in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from UC Berkeley. As an academic, she taught in Law and Society at UC Santa Barbara and served at the Director of Research and Education at UC Santa Barbara’s Center on Police Practices and Communication. She, her spouse and their three children live in Watsonville, California. She has been homeschooling their three children all their lives.
