Reflective Writing for Personal and Professional Development
The Transformative Writing Workshop
Tap into your wisdom, challenge preconceptions, and embrace the richness of diverse perspectives for personal and professional growth.
Join our Transformative Writing Workshop offering reflective writing for personal growth. Transformative writing offers a transformative journey of self-discovery, perspective-taking, and connection with both oneself and others. Tap into your wisdom, challenge preconceptions, and embrace the richness of diverse perspectives for personal and intellectual growth.
We guide participants to choose a significant personal experience and engage in collaborative sharing with others. You will reflect and write about the most poignant and earliest memories of the phenomenon, considering factors such as time, space, senses, emotions, and relationships.
What is Transformative Writing?
- A Journey of Self-Exploration and Wisdom: Transformative writing provides a magical space for you to delve deep into your own existence, unravel profound truths, and illuminate the hidden recesses of your soul. It allows for the discovery of wisdom and offers a path of self-exploration and personal growth.
- Enhanced Perspective and Consciousness: Engaging in transformative writing instills a deeper sense of purpose and awareness of life. It crystallizes the importance of perspective-taking, reflection, and conscious thought in understanding oneself, instigating change, and determining the quality of life. It promotes deep thinking and fosters a deliberate approach to decision-making for a fulfilling life.
- Embracing the Fullness of Self: Transformative writing invites you to embrace you authentic self, peel back layers of self-limitation, and see deeper and wider. The writing allows for simultaneous immersion as both subject and object, and even transcending the notion of subjectivity through the practice of bracketing. It encourages the integration of one’s shadow, making peace with past demons, and embarking on a transformative journey of self-discovery.
- Reliving the Phenomenon: Transformative writing offers a unique experience of immersing in the phenomenon being written about. It allows for a vivid reconnection with sensations, memories, and the essence of the experience. Through this process, you may uncover the “whatness” of your own experiences by peeling back layers of analysis and embracing the essence of the phenomenon itself.
- Collaboration and Empathy: Collaborating with others in transformative writing fosters deep intimacy and empathy. It opens doors to unknown expressions of humanness, creates new ways of knowing, and challenges old patterns of thinking. Collaborative writing allows for the exploration of diverse perspectives, embracing the potential to reach new horizons and build connections that enrich one’s life.
FAQ
You can find general information about the workshop by reading frequently asked questions. Contact us for more information.
- What is the duration of the workshop? The workshop runs for 15 weeks. Zoom calls are held every Monday from 8 to 10 AM Pacific Time.
- How are the workshop sessions conducted? Weekly Zoom calls are held, lasting for 2 hours each. These Zoom sessions cover check-ins, feedback, course presentations, collaborative discussions, and support. Reading, writing, and on-line conversations with other participants takes place throughout the rest of the week.
- Which platform is used for course materials and interactions? Our workshop utilizes the Basecamp learning management systems for hosting course readings, presentations, assignments, and videos, and providing spaces for conversations. Zoom is used for video conferencing.
- What is the weekly time commitment for the workshop? The weekly time commitment includes a 2-hour Zoom call, 1 hour of reading, 2 hours of writing, and 1 hour of collaboration with fellow participants. On average, participants spend 6 per week on workshop-related activities.
- Is there any required reading material for the workshop? We would like participants to purchase the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology, that is available from Amazon. Additional shorter readings that are required will be posted online throughout the workshop.
- What is Transformative Phenomenology? Transformative Phenomenology is a philosophical and reflective approach to writing that explores subjective experiences, perceptions, and consciousness. It focuses on personal transformation through the act of writing and self-reflection.
- How experienced are the workshop instructors? The instructors have been facilitating the writing workshop for over 6 years, working with more than 120 participants. Your instructors have personally experienced transformation in the writing.
- How much does the workshop cost? The workshop fee for the 15-week program is USD $1,750 plus applicable taxes. Payments are due before the start of the workshop and are non-refundable. We would like participants to purchase the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology developed by your course instructors, available in the Amazon book store.
- What are the potential benefits of engaging in transformative writing? Transformative writing offers benefits such as heightened self-awareness, introspection, sense-making, empathy, understanding of diverse perspectives, and intellectual exploration. It can lead to personal growth, self-discovery, and a deeper connection with oneself and the world.
The foundations of transformative writing, as described in the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology, rest on an integration of embodied awareness, phenomenological protocol writing, interpretive analysis, and collaborative sharing. Professors David Rehorick and Valerie Malhotra Bentz developed Transformative Phenomenology
Transformative Phenomenology draws from the works of influential philosophers such as Edmund Husserl, Alfred Schütz, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Martin Heidegger, and Hans-Georg Gadamer. This approach utilizes phenomenology as a way of knowing, enabling individuals to delve into the fullness of experience and uncover the essential structures of phenomena. Somatics and hermeneutics contribute to the process by promoting whole-bodied awareness and reflective understanding.
Transformative phenomenologists embody qualities of embodied consciousness, wonderment, authenticity, and contemplative practice, seeking to raise consciousness, promote healing, and drive positive change in individuals, organizations, and society. By incorporating communicative-embodied awareness, transformative phenomenologists offer new avenues for improving well-being and effectiveness in transformation efforts across various practical domains.
What is included in the Workshop?
Join our 15-week reflective writing course and embark on a journey of personal growth and self-expression. Through weekly Zoom calls, individual support, and the use of a comprehensive learning management system, you’ll engage in collaborative discussions, receive feedback, and connect with a vibrant community. Explore the transformative power of writing, enhance self-reflection, and unleash your creativity. Enroll today and discover the potential within you through transformative writing.
15-Week Workshop
Our reflective writing course is a 15-week workshop. We will guide you through a profound journey of personal growth and self-expression. Each week, you will participate in a live Zoom call, lasting for 2 hours, where you will engage in check-ins, receive feedback on your writing, attend course presentations, and take part in collaborative discussions with fellow participants. These Zoom sessions provide a supportive and interactive space for sharing insights, gaining inspiration, and fostering a sense of community. You can trust that you are in capable hands throughout your transformative writing journey. Our instructors have collectively facilitated this writing workshop for over 6 years and worked with more than 120 participants.
Individual Support
Individual support and review are integral components of the reflective writing course. The instructors understand the importance of personalized guidance and will provide one-on-one support to help you navigate your writing process. They will offer feedback, address your questions and concerns, and assist you in refining your writing skills. The course utilizes the Basecamp learning management system (LMS) as a central hub. The LMS hosts a wealth of resources, including course readings, presentations, assignments, and videos, enabling you to access materials at your convenience. Basecamp offers dedicated spaces for conversations, allowing you to connect with fellow participants and engage in meaningful discussions about the writing process and personal experiences.
Writing & Collaboration
Commitment and dedication are key to the reflective writing course. The weekly time commitment is as follows: a 2-hour Zoom call for interactive sessions, a recommended 1 hour of reading to enhance your understanding of the writing process, 2 hours dedicated to writing your own transformative narratives, and 1 hour collaborating with fellow participants, fostering connections and shared learning. The workshop encourages active engagement, and you can expect to spend approximately 6 hours per week on course-related activities. To ensure convenient scheduling, the live Zoom calls take place every Monday from 8 to 10 Pacific Time, providing a consistent and structured framework for your participation. Embrace this opportunity to dive deep into transformative writing, explore your potential, and embark on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth.
Testimonials
The experience I had in the writing has changed my life forever. There are moments throughout this journey called life that we experience and for some reason, we have difficulty connecting the hows and the whys. Those moments, however, remain in our memories so vividly that they shape the way we interact with our environment and the people in it. While on my writing journey in this course, I discovered that the memories and thoughts that lay in my subconscious was critical to understanding the phenomenon more deeply and drew out observations that spoke to the souls of others in the course. It brought out a level of human connection around the phenomenon that I did not know existed. When those moments and connections were unraveling, I knew that this course was a necessity for bringing forward great research that would be life changing for those impacted by the phenomena being studied. I continue to write using the techniques taught. There is no other way for me to document my experiences in a way that impacts how I take the next steps on my journey. For that, I am humbly grateful!– A.T.
As a professional, I have a renewed speech pattern. This could also have come about as a language instructor, facilitator, and creativity scholar, but somehow phenomenology has instilled a deeper sense of purpose and awareness of life generally that I express in language as well as though action. Perspective taking matters and phenomenology has crystallized that for me as a scholar and writer for change. It is in becoming more conscious of the self that I am better to instigate consciousness among others for problem solving and consciousness in determining quality of life, regardless of where one might be demographically. Reflection and reflective conversations have fallen away in culture. Rarely do people sit around contemplating life and what is the whatness of anything. Phenomenology turns the tides of random unconsciousness to become more conscious and deliberate for quality of life choices. Deep thinking is a cornerstone of 21st century education. This does that. I highly recommend phenomenology for anyone curious about what anything, everything is all about.– T.K.
Meet Your Facilitators
guiding hundreds of participants from around the world over the past decade
Whitney Strohmayr PhD
Whitney earned a Ph.D. in Human Development from Fielding Graduate University, where she remains active as a teaching and research assistant and an Institute for Social Innovation Fellow. She serves as an adjunct professor teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. Whitney works at a certified domestic violence shelter as a community education advocate, facilitating presentations on domestic violence and human trafficking prevention. Her academic and research interests include feminism, intuition, phenomenology, and intimate partner violence. Whitney contributed to the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology that we use as a foundation for the writing program. Whitney enjoys spending time with family, being in nature, reading, and practicing meditation.
Carol Estrada PhD
Carol earned her Ph.D. in Human Development from Fielding Graduate University. Professionally she is a private educational coach, consultant, and tutor to neurodiverse students and their families assisting them to reach their potential in school and in life. Carol has facilitated Phenomenology for the past six years through learning, coaching, writing, and facilitating workshops and courses at several universities. Carol co-edited the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology that we use as a foundation for the writing program. She most enjoys all the time she can get with her young grandchildren.
Jim Marlatt PhD
Jim earned a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems, and is an Institute for Social Innovation Fellow at Fielding Graduate University. He is a phenomenologist, adjunct professor, researcher, certified executive coach and leadership development consultant, dedicated to making a positive impact. Jim co-edited the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology that we use as a foundation for the writing program. Jim takes pride in being a father and finds joy in photography. Foundations of Transformative Writing
