(Online) Helping to Calm Strong Emotions with Resonant Language

Program Description

Do people seem more edgy and argumentative these days? Would you like your own inner voice to be nurturing and supportive during challenging moments? Are you eager to support the emotional well-being of the people around you during these high-stress times? Could you use some easy-to-learn tools to help calm things down without using punishment or fear? Tools you could readily employ to mitigate conflict between students, dispel tension during customer service interactions, reduce workplace friction and intentionally minimize stress with your family and friends? 

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this interactive online Nonviolent Communication workshop will offer you many tools to move toward your goals.

Participants will learn practical strategies for helping calm strong emotions in ourselves and others. Together, we’ll delve into verbal and somatic strategies to move away from brittle reactivity and into resilient responsiveness. You will leave this course with an understanding of how neuroscience and resonant language can help strengthen harmony and authentic connection.

Program Dates and Times

Mondays, February 28, March 7, 21, April 4
4:00–5:30 p.m. ET

Registration Closed

Modality

This dynamic, participatory program will be offered synchronously via Zoom—you’ll need access to a stable internet connection. This is NOT a pre-recorded program.

The Hutchinson Center has a limited number of computers (and plenty of Wi-Fi to go around). If you’d like to participate virtually via the Hutchinson Center, please request support via the form here.

Participants will benefit from having a copy of Your Resonant Self Workbook, by Sarah Peyton (Norton Press).  Please consider sourcing from a local bookstore.

Program Benefits

  • Improve your ability to self-regulate
  • Strengthen your self-empathy
  • Learn how to teach empathy to others–even children and teens
  • Increase your tolerance of strong emotions so that you can move beyond being triggered yourself
  • Experiment with verbal and somatic strategies to de-escalate strong emotions during conflict
  • Gain confidence in your ability to manage strong emotions in diverse situations

Topics Covered

We will explore:

  • practical things to do and say to help people calm down
  • how whatever is happening makes sense and can be worked with
  • sources of trauma and what happens in our brains and bodies when trauma is activated
  • the practical power of Resonant Language

These tools are easily learned and can have immediate results.

Who Should Enroll

This program is designed to benefit:

  • People who work with youth (childcare providers, ed techs, educators, guidance counselors, school administrators, social workers, teachers)
  • Frontline workers
  • People who work in service industries
  • Municipal workers
  • Parents/guardians

Not sure if this program is right for you? Contact Kimberly Lai at um.fhc.pd@maine.edu or 207.338.8002 and we can help you figure it out.

Instructor

Peggy Smith (she/her) holds a master’s degree in literacy and language arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a certified trainer with the International Center for Nonviolent Communication with over four decades of teaching experience. A co-founder of the Maine Nonviolent Communication Network, Smith is at the forefront of bringing empathic thinking and communicating to midcoast Maine. Since 1991, Smith has studied with Zen teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh and is a dharma teacher within his tradition. Smith enjoys designing and implementing programs that support empathic thinking and communicating as part of systemic culture change. She lives in Lincolnville, Maine and greets the day watching the sunrise over Islesboro.

Program Fee: $125

Click here for more information about paying for your professional development, including information about need-based scholarships, group discounts and tips on how to get your employer on board. 

Current UMaine students are eligible for a 20% discount. Use code STUDENT20 at checkout.

Class Capacity

25

Additional Benefits

  • 6 hours / 0.6 CEUs
  • Certificate of completion

Learn more about Continuing Education Units here.

Accommodations

For more information or to request an accommodation contact Kimberly Lai, at um.fhc.pd@maine.edu.

In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, ancestry, age, disability physical or mental, genetic information, or veterans or military status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Room 412, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5713, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).