Emotional Safety Academy

Training Course

17-25 August 2024 | village of Drugan, Radomir municipality, Bulgaria

An experiential training to explore creating emotional safety for ourselves and others through practicing authentic relating, radical compassion, awareness, and somatic-oriented communication tools.

Infopack

Emotional safety is an empowering sanctuary, nurturing the mind and soul. It weaves a tapestry of well-being, where positive development and healthy relationships bloom. In the context of youth work emotional safety eases the burdens of anxiety and stress, allowing young hearts to grow, learn, and express their innermost feelings freely. In such an environment trust takes root, social skills flourish, and the courage to take risks and embrace growth emerges, fostering self-esteem, confidence, and resilience. When young people experience emotional safety, focus sharpens, engagement deepens, and creativity flows, inviting youth to explore their identities with authenticity.

For teachers and youth workers emotional safety is a cornerstone of well-being and growth. It serves as a shield against stress and burnout, promoting mental and emotional health. The ability to cultivate emotional safety for oneself and others strengthens bonds, enhances collaboration, and builds a cohesive, effective work environment. Thus, emotional safety is not just a protective layer but a foundation upon which the entire community of learners and educators can thrive.

Program Goals

We invite you to join us in exploring and growing our power to create and sustain emotional safety by showing up authentically in communication through the courageous acts of vulnerable sharing, allowing ourselves to fully experience whatever is, and supporting each other in the process. To this end we invite all program participants to commit to stay in contact especially when difficult emotions emerge, and maintain respectful acceptance of different experiences and realities.

In this experiential program, we will explore authentic relating, radical compassion, awareness, and somatic-oriented communication tools in order to:

• Welcome our whole selves into relationships and let our guards down 
• Connect to ourselves and others in a deep, honest, and compassionate ways
• Learn and test tools to encourage deeper intimacy and grow our capacity to be vulnerable
• Practice taking emotional risks in a safe environment
• Have difficult conversations without falling apart
• Discover healing in relationship and community
• Attune to our body senses and express whatever arises in the moment: excitement, attraction, anger, fear, etc.
• Experience being fully present and grounded in the moment
• Co-create cooperative environments by making clear agreements based on consent and honesty
• Create and sustain Emotional Safety in our communities.

Expected learning outcomes:

• Creating a habit of checking-in with our bodily sensations
• Being at ease with the uncomfortable – expanding our comfort zones
• Asking for what we want; expanding our ability to give & receive
• Living out loud – laughing, crying, yelling, smiling, and getting inspired to transform our lives
• Learning tools to create and sustain emotional safety in oneself and others
• Enhancing and enriching our leadership, communication and conflict navigation skill sets.

Importantly, we are envisioning this experiential program as a no alcohol and drugs space (excluding nicotine). 

More information at: SALTO