FACILITATORS

GIANFRANCESCO SISTO

Process-Oriented Psychology, known today as “Processwork” is based on Jung’s psychology. It is a humanistic and systemic paradigm that addresses the whole person, their emotions, thoughts, physical sensations, and beliefs.

Processwork appreciates also the intersection of environmental, social, economic and structural dynamics and their impact on the well-being of a person.

In my practice, as a processworker, I facilitate people who are experiencing a range of issues including anxiety, depression, loneliness, sense of isolation, low self-esteem, trauma, addiction, gender, sexual and relationship diversity, relationship dynamics and conflicts, altered states of consciousness, spiritual or existential experiences with their quest for meaning.

Ultimately, the focus of my facilitation is what really matters to you. Whether you are struggling with a specific issue or seeking greater self-awareness and personal growth, I am here to facilitate you.

I also use a variety of techniques, including dreamwork, body awareness, movement, and creative expression, in order to access your own inner wisdom and transform disturbances into sources of growth and freedom.

I understand healing as re-connection with disavowed parts of oneself; those left behind by impactful events, personal or collective beliefs.

In a warm, welcoming and confidential space, nourished by a compassionate spirit of curiosity your soul-deep-nature will be explored and appreciated.

My teacher, Arnold Mindell, founder of Processwork, writes: “The basic idea […] is that whatever you are able to experience contains its own evolution, solution, and growth. The stuff of your visions, voices, and body pains is […] an express train to yourself.” (A. Mindell, Working on yourself alone, 39, 1989).

Thank you for your time and I look forward to the opportunity of our working together. For sessions online, on the phone or in presence, you can contact me here:

 gianfrancesco.sisto@gmail.com

I speak Italian, English, French, Swahili and Spanish.

 If you like to know more about me, read below.

 “God needs your needle in the world”.

When I was 3 or 4 years old I had a recurrent dream. A room in the basement was separated by a wall.

On the left side there was a religious nun with a set of candles on the table. They were shrinking without burning. On the right side of the wall there was a young curly-haired woman, intent in throwing dollies stung with needles into a burning furnace.

Arnold Mindell during a seminar in London, when he heard of my dream, summarised it with the words above: “God needs your needle in the world”.

When I think: “what shall I say of myself?” A few aspects of who I am come easily, others I find more difficult to describe at once.

I am a cis-gendered man born in Italy, racialised white, gay and a member of a religious fraternity founded by Francis of Assisi. Francis found God in creation and in the excluded of that time, the lepers. I joined the franciscans when I was 18, fascinated by the relational skills of St. Francis.

He called the stars, water, earth, fire, lepers… even death, own relatives.

The inclusive heart of St. Francis gave me a sense of belonging to this world, where in fact, I have often experienced alienation, hatred and marginalisation due to my non-mainstream sexual orientation.

After becoming a dentist technician, I left Italy in 1994 and lived in East-Africa for 13 years, between Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Kenya. I learnt Swahili and English at the same time.

The peoples of those Countries, thanks to their formal and informal skills, have taught me the grammar of language and the grammar of life. I am particularly grateful to Mwalimu Joseph who, in Kipalapala (Tanzania), taught me Swahili and introduced me via story-telling to the local cultures and the animated universe. Some of those stories are still working within me.

While in East-Africa I realised the impact of both colonisation and Christianity on the land and on people. I became acutely and painfully aware of the privileges I carry with me by being a cis-gendered white man and a member of the clergy. My blindness was due to structural racism, patriarchy and sexism passed on to me by the Italian culture and my family. My sense of justice and involvement with the world are rooted in my sexual orientation and related experiences of exclusion.

In 2007 I started and directed in Nairobi the office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of creation for the Franciscans in Africa (JPICFA) with the goal of addressing some of the issues I mentioned above.

In Nairobi I met Anup Karia, a processworker who facilitated mine and other NGOs working in the aftermath of the violent elections of that year. At JPICFA we were caring for traumatised and internally displaced people. I thought I was spared, but in fact I was in pain as anyone else and needed a place to process it.

Thanks to Anup my interest in the philosophy and methodology of processwork grew and that led me to formally begin studying it in Portland, Oregon with Arny and Amy Mindell, and later, for 10 years in London, at the Research Society of Process Oriented Psychology where I graduated as a process oriented psychotherapist / facilitator.

As I write about my journey, I feel profound gratitude to all teachers, colleagues and clients who have taught me through their experiences and knowledge.

I am particularly fond to remember the late Jean-Claude Audergon and Arlene Audergon, Stanya Studentova and Anup Karia, Iona Fredenburgh, Andy Smith, Gill Emslie, Sue Milner and so many great teachers who have contributed and still do to my growth.

After my time in Africa, I lived 11 years in Brussels, Belgium, where I have facilitated international groups by teaching leadership and awareness around rank and privileges, their intersections and the dynamics of polarisation that show up when power is blindly used thus becoming abusive. I am active in the facilitation (but not only) of spiritual/religious and social orientated groups and communities interested in inclusivity.

Processing trauma, abuse, sexual orientation and altered states of consciousness are some of the elements contributing to my individuation. Those processes have been captured in my auto-ethnographic research and they impassion me to date.

The poet, Antonio Machado, speaks of life as a path one builds by walking it. The journey is a constant creative process valued in itself. A personal process part of a whole which too is in the constant movement of becoming, between the already and not-yet.

My individuation journey has, so far, meant travelling and being an international resident of a few countries: Italy, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Belgium and now the United Kingdom.

 I enjoy conversations that include facts, people and their stories, together with their personal feelings and perceptions of life and of the world. The latter brings depth to facts!

I love writing poems, walking in the forest, laying on the grass or basking in the sun. I also enjoy quiet time and meditation, perceiving my body, the breath, sensing connection with what words cannot quite express. I am fond of a spirituality that is embodied.

 “Rumi said, There is no proof of the soul. But isn’t the return of spring and how it springs up in our hearts a pretty good hint?” M. Oliver, Felicity, 29, London, 2014.

I am currently living and working in Birmingham – UK, in a Franciscan fraternity that accompanies refugees and asylum seekers. My work includes also inter-religious and ecumenical networking and encounters.

 This is my current “needle work”. That is, sewing soul and commitment to the world. As Francis of Assisi used to say, the world is my cloister.

BEATRICE LEONE

PhD in Sociology of Migrations and Cultures, she has dedicated years to the topics of cross-cultural relationships and conflict transformation among multiple and transcultural stakeholders as an independent researcher and trainer, working with associations, schools, groups of professionals involved in training professional courses.

During her Ph.D. she conducted her doctoral research on the topic of political participation among national associations of immigrants living in Italy and Venezuela. She also investigated the topic of conditions of life among Roma people in Italy and Europe. She followed the approach of Research Action.

As a trainer she is collaborating with several professional training programs and schools giving courses for groups of professionals (counsellors, coaches, teachers, social operators, mediators, psychotherapists, HR managers) and high school students, on the following topics: Cross-Cultural Relationships, Conflict Resolution, Group Facilitation, Leadership.

As a facilitator she is working especially with associations and no profit organizations involved in programs of social change involved on the topics of intercultural relationships, active citizenship, political participation, social rights.  She is helping groups to become more aware of subtle feelings and experiences that are present in order to deepen the relationships and find more sustainable solutions. As a coach she is practicing facilitation for individuals following Arnold Mindell’s Deep Democracy and Process Oriented Psychology approach.  This practice is part of her learning path as a formal student of the Deep Democracy Institute. As a facilitator and coach she is passionate about the invisible: feelings, emotions, hidden tensions and deep states are her favourite matter with which she loves to work.

She lives in Lecce. She speaks Italian, English, Spanish and French.

ORNELLA CHERTI

I have 20 years of experience in working with minorities, Gender Work, Team Coaching and I was in charge of educational concepts and culture education in non-profit organizations. Have worked in various educational institutions and dealt mainly with youngsters with behavioral problems and their families. Strong emotions I have always been attracted, where I could use pedagogy and Process Work simultaneously.

2012, I moved to Finland and have lived and worked 3 years on a husky farm and where I realized a time-out project for youth in crisis.

Today I live with my dog – an Alaskan Malamute (named Ilaka who is my co-coacher) again in Zurich. I am working now as a therapist and as a coach with young people. I speak German, Italian and English.

PAOLA PECORARO ESPERSON

She lives in London, after attending the diploma training seminars and passed the entrance exams to the therapeutic practice, she has started to working as a psychotherapist and facilitator of Process Work, under supervision of the training school. In 2014 she completed the course of Facilitation for Leaders organized by CFOR.

She is a music therapist, specialized in Assisi at the four­year course in music therapy, has a Master in Art Therapy, she is a musician and a composer. She worked for 18 years as a specialist teacher and music therapist for children with special educational needs, devoted to integration and inclusion of diversities. She has been theorizing and applying Group Music Therapy for integration. She was the founder and creator of the three­year course of training of the Music Therapy FORIFO, recognized by the Ministry of Education, in which he taught music therapy and supervision and that he directed for 13 years. She has taught and conducted music therapy workshops in several university courses, including the course of music therapy for students of Speech Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and seminars for students of Science Education at the University of Roma Tre. She completed four years of training in Core Energy, to study and learn the importance of body awareness and the emotions that live and remain as a memory in our bodies. She has spoken at various national and international conferences, wrote articles and published in Italian and English the book “Music therapy for integration” (Cajola, Esperson, Rizzo, Franco Angeli 2008, RM). She has experience in individual and group therapies.

BARBARA RABINAD COLL

Learner on Deep Democracy Institute (DDI): Focuses on bringing forward multi-dimensional leadership, change management, coaching and large group facilitation training.

I am a passionate and persevering woman, I like to get involved in new projects and use my creative potential to find new solutions to personal and professional challenges.

Human relationships and their strength deeply move me. I’m interested in people’s learning processes and the opportunities for change and transformation that offer clarity and direction in difficult times.

I use different methods to achieve the desired results, adapting quickly to the needs of each moment.

In my professional career, I have led different projects.

As an individual facilitator: I am responsible for the Personal Accompaniment area from where I give support to individuals and couple growth processes www.barbararabinad.com

I have accompanied interventions from the Theater of the Oppressed methodology, I have facilitated companies in times of change, I have given support to incorporate the gender perspective in different areas, I have conducted workshops and training with entities, teachers, groups of women and youth. I am a Coach, an expert in gender and conflict.

I conducted the Technical Secretary for Community Economies at the Barcelona City Council. I facilitated the diagnosis of the training needs of Community Economies. The result was to promote the growth of different groups in quantity and quality, network to evolve and develop, identify opportunities to obtain resources.

I co-founded the Enruta’t Association, Personal Development Training www.enrutat.org

I work applying participatory methodologies, understanding the experience as the centre of learning.

I accompanied the Solidarity Economy Network as a facilitator to take care of personal relationships in the workplace.

I am a facilitator of the Empowered Leaders program, Grunkraft. I worked as a Facilitator and Facilitate business teams dealing with leadership/management. 

CAROLINE BAILLIE

I now work as a therapist in private practice in Stroud in South West Britain. I am interested in trauma, anxiety and depression, self-criticism, the subject of power and privileges and being a parent. I am also a mother, my children are almost adults now and being a parent has been a demanding and rewarding experience. To relax I like listening to music, creating and researching perfumes, being with my children, friends and animals, doing yoga and going to the cinema. I speak English, Italian and French. I welcome people of all abilities, ethnic and racial backgrounds, faiths, relationship styles and sexual orientations. My training is accredited by UKCP where I am a registered intern and whose code of ethics and practice I abide by. I receive regular supervision B.

I am available for personal therapy sessions.

Visit the website: www.carolinebaillie.com

BARBARA LEUNER CORPINA

In 2002 I started a consultancy activity in the field of business and organizational development and change, of teams and leadership, in non-profit and for-profit environments. I also deal with coaching, mediation, facilitation with large groups and the development and conduct of seminars in professional institutes and business schools. In 2013 I started the collaboration with Lukas Hohler and other colleagues, in the role of facilitator of the Empowered Programs of GRUNDKRAFT. For a long time, I have been interested in the therapeutic field which has opened up a new path of experiences for me.

In 2008 I discovered Processwork, which I started to deepen later, first at the DDI / USA (Deep Democracy Institute) with Max Schupbach and colleagues and now at the IPA in Zurich, as a student “cand. dipl. POP”. Processwork accompanies my life and offers many possibilities to support individuals and teams in the context of my professional activity. I also study Processwork to activate my contribution also on a public level, in the context of socio-political issues.

My great dream is that more fruitful relationships can emerge among people considering their diversity and multiculturalism and that so dialogues and relationships are lived in a more conscious, deeper and more perceptible way.

I accompany individuals and groups in the most varied environments. I support transformation processes and accompany experiences in the professional and personal fields. I also work with bodily symptoms and altered states of consciousness. My ambition is that life can strengthen its vitality and energy to face daily challenges.

Visit the website: www.blu-international-consulting.ch

BRIGITA TRIMAJOVA

I am a diplomate in PW since May 2015 and in my diploma work, I addressed the role of the mother in society, how this affects the individual and the society around them and the rank dynamics related to this powerful role. It is available at me, if you are interested, please write to me personally, I would be very happy to share and furthermore discuss the topic with you.

A bit from my background: I studied psychology in Bratislava, and I spent one year in Bilbao, Spain, at the Universitad de Deusto 1994-5, doing one year in Psychology. This is where my connection to Spain and the Spanish language happened. I am Slovakian mother language, I am fluent in English, Spanish, French and quite knowledgeable of the Italian language, have a full understanding, less able to talk.  So it can be useful at moments when we are at the limits of English.

In the past, I worked in psychiatry, later on in the business environment, for quite a long time I was writing counselling articles for magazines and also running a counselling website for 4 years. Nowadays I am mostly a therapist and trainer and many related roles in personal and peoples development.

I live with my son and my partner in Bratislava, Slovakia. I love going to nature, skiing, swimming and the seaside. And when I have time I also love painting and do other creative activities.

My connection to PW stared in 1992 when I participated in my first seminar with Ivan and Marianne Verny. In 1994 I participated in my first WW, then in 1995, I took part in the Intensive in Portland, Oregon. Over the last 20 years, I have been to many different seminars and events in PW. During 1995-1998 I was a formal student in training in Slovakia, from 2002 I was a phase 2 student in RSPOP UK, until 2011 when we opened the program in Bratislava and I concluded my studies there. Since then I am also a trainer in our institute.

Brigita Trimajova, dipl. PW, Bratislava, Slovakia. For more information you can also view  http://www.brigitatrimaj.sk/en/ or http://www.processwork.sk 

MILAN BIJELIĆ

Therapy

A central interest for me, as a Processwork graduate, therapist and facilitator, is the Processwork concept that the things that disturb us contain the seeds of our growth. I have learned the importance of delving deeply into difficult or disturbing experiences of my inner and outer world and of finding meaning and purpose related to stimulating or disturbing events. As a therapist, I try to be a companion on this journey and feel honoured to have the opportunity to accompany a person as they explore these places to seek their meaning, well-being and strength.

I have a strong interest in the individuation process – how Jung showed us and how it was further developed in the Processwork. I am especially curious to know how our bodies, our altered and extreme states of consciousness and our experiences in the community and the world can contribute to our growth / individuation process.

Facilitation of communities and development work

The focus of my work with communities has been on inter-community conflicts, traumas and persistent community polarizations (in Croatia – after the war in the former Yugoslavia and more recently in supporting asylum seekers and migrants in the UK). I am currently involved in a reconciliation program in Rwanda through the “Beyond the Conflict – Rwanda” program with the CFOR – London organization.

I am also a member of the facilitation team of “Who is Your Neighbor” – Sheffield, a small organization that facilitates community dialogue in areas where tensions occur within the community.

I speak German, in addition to English.

I am available as a member of your leadership team and for personal therapy sessions.

If someone likes to have a chat or an initial session first and then decide – that’s fine by me. The initial personal therapy session will be free.

Visit the website: www.brigitatrimaj.sk/en/ or http://www.processwork.sk

LEAH BIJELIĆ

I am also regularly inspired and grateful for the rich learning that comes from processing my own difficulties.
As well as my work with individuals, I work as a community facilitator (as a member of the team of a project called ‘Who Is Your Neighbour?’ Working in areas of community tension in the region where I live, and as a member of the conflict facilitation team for the International, Movement Medicine Association) and host a public dialogue in Sheffield as part of the city’s Festival of Debate.
When I am not working, I do yoga, meditate, run, hike and hang out with my friends.

I speak English and am available for your Guiding Team, and for personal therapy sessions.

I don’t use Skype. I tend to work on Zoom because it complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

RONA RIBERIO

Rona Ribeiro has been working internationally for over seven years as a facilitator with individuals, relationships and groups and is an advanced student of Phase 2 Process Work.
Rona has extensive experience of working with diversity and people from many different cultures.
She is fluent in English and Portuguese and understands Spanish.
Rona offers Skype sessions and has received compliments for her warmth, insights and effectiveness.

PETER LLOYD

I especially value Process Work’s emphasis on being descriptive – following signals and not prescriptive  – with set outcomes. Jung’s influence continually inspires me especially the idea of individuation and the mythic world’s influence on our lives. Learning to trust in our individual (and group) process brings awe to my life.

I spent 7 years living in the Findhorn community in the 90s before returning to my birth city of Hong Kong to be a journalist and editor specialising in environmental and spiritual news, founding and running Positive News Hong Kong and Holistic Asia. In 2008 I became ordained as an interfaith minister and a year later became a Findhorn Fellow, a group of notable folk associated with the Findhorn community who help to create holistic and sustainable solutions and inspirations to our current world situation.

In 2016 I returned to live in the Findhorn community in Scotland. I speak English and German.

Since 2010 I have been studying at the RSPOPUK. Currently, as a supervised student as part of my training, I receive regular supervision.

www.peterlloydpsychotherapy.com 

JENNIFER KLESKIE

Jennifer Kleskie is a faculty member at the Process Work Institute in Portland, Oregon. She began training there in 1999 and received both a Diploma in Process Work and a Master’s degree in Conflict Facilitation and Organizational Change. She works with a civilian-military school in the Philippines to teach alternative ways of dealing with conflict. She also works with communities that are developing peace and development initiatives within the country. As a practitioner of deep democracy, Jennifer works with individuals, groups and organisations to realise their deepest dreams, allowing conflict to be a tool for transformation.