Step Into Your Power
Step Into
Your Power
Group work to bring your true self to the world.
Would you like to…
Deepen your trust and confidence in yourself, knowing that no matter what happens, you will be able to handle it?
Develop the skills to communicate more effectively in all aspects of your life?
Experience deeper and more meaningful connection with yourself and others?
Take the fast track to healing and transformation?
Welcome to…
What is an Encounter Group?
In an Encounter Group, participants learn about and develop themselves through their interaction with each other. The focus is on speaking authentically, listening from the heart, interacting with group members, and working through conflict together.
Each Encounter Group is a closed group made up of 8 group members plus 1 facilitator in a non-hierarchical structure. The facilitator participates in the group by sharing vulnerably and offering their conflict resolution experience to help shepherd the group forward towards harmony and connection.
Each group meets weekly for two hours, and there is no set agenda. It is the responsibility of each group member to create the group into what they want it to be by communicating their needs and making requests.
8 members, 1 facilitator, 0 agenda.
8 members,
1 facilitator,
0 agenda
Develop your ability to…
Give and receive honest feedback.
Be with unpleasant emotions, feelings, and sensations in your body.
Clearly express your thoughts, feelings, and needs.
Listen to others even when you don’t like what they say.
Understand others even when you disagree with their perspective.
Assert yourself and ask for what you want.
What will you learn?
You will get out of an Encounter Group what you put into it.
Each session presents an opportunity to get out of your comfort zone, to step out of the version of yourself that you were taught to be and into the version you want to be. Yet it’s just that—an opportunity.
You will be uncomfortable. You will be irritated. You will be scared. And what you choose to do about it will be up to you. If you choose to reveal yourself, you will experience healing. You will experience a deep connection with yourself and others. You will experience your own power.
The more we practice any skill, the better we get. If you practice vulnerability in the group, you will be more vulnerable in life. If you practice asserting yourself in the group, you will be more assertive in life.
An Encounter Group is a practice room for life.
❌ Be nice.
✅ Be real.
Hello, I’m Simon Wiskowski 👋🏼
Encounter Group Facilitator
As an Encounter Group facilitator, I bring my extensive experience in Nonviolent Communication and conflict resolution to help participants express themselves beyond judgment, hear each other with an open heart, and connect when conflict arises.
Aside from leading Encounter Groups, I teach Nonviolent Communication and work as a coach and mediator, helping couples resolve the conflict in their relationships and learn how to navigate conflict with ease.
What participants are saying about their experience…
“In my Encounter Group, I feel free to explore the depths of my own authenticity in relation to others, and participating has improved my ability to empathically connect with and receive people with compassion and curiosity, even when I’ve felt triggered.
As a facilitator, Simon honestly expresses what’s going on for him and takes the time to listen to others in a way that I find authentic and refreshing. I’ve improved my ability to communicate just by watching him.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed participating in the group and had a lot of fun, and I look forward to continuing.“
— Michael Baker, Handyman
A practice room for life.
Money
To participate in an Encounter Group, the initial group membership is eight weeks at a sliding scale of $200 – $400. After the first eight weeks, you can continue your membership at a sliding scale of $100 – $200 / four weeks.
Sliding scale
We all have different financial situations. Please contribute the amount of money that fits your current financial situation as well as your desire to support this work.
More about money
I want to live in a world where the needs of more people are met, and to create that world, I believe we must develop the skills to speak our truth, even and especially when we’re scared to do so. This work is my way to help us develop that ability. I want to support all those who are ready to dive in and confront their fears, and I don’t want money to prevent anyone from participating.
Having said that, I want there to be a mutual sense of giving and receiving in our relationship, both because only giving without receiving doesn’t feel good to me and because without receiving, I cannot continue to offer this work to the world.
While I stand firmly for my need for mutuality, I’m flexible regarding the ways to meet that need. I see money as a useful strategy to meet needs because it is easy for me to transfer it to the exact things that contribute to me. However, if the amount I’m asking for would prevent you from joining, I offer the following options:
1. We can find a different payment schedule that works better for you.
2. We can brainstorm other ways you can contribute to me, though it’s not always easy to find an alternate solution (one that you would enjoy giving and would genuinely contribute to me).
Have a question? Send me a message using the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Group agreements:
When joining an Encounter Group, participants commit to upholding, to the best of their ability, the following agreements:
Commitment
Purpose:
A commitment to participate in the group for a set number of weeks creates a sense of consistency in the group. Consistency allows trust to form between the group members; trust leads to safety; safety leads to honesty, and honesty leads to growth.
Agreements:
– When I join an Encounter group, I agree to remain in the group for at least eight weeks.
Confidentiality / Privacy
Purpose:
Clear agreements about how to speak about an experience in an Encounter Group outside of the group contribute to safety amonst the groups members; safety contributes to honesty; and honesty contributes to growth.
Agreements:
– If I speak about what is said during a group session, I agree to speak about my personal experience, rather than the experience of other group members.
– If I speak about another group member with someone that is not a member of the group, I agree to change the name of the group member.
– (Online only) I agree to be recorded. Recordings of group session will be available for viewing only until the next session.
Responsibility
Purpose:
Clarity around responsibility diminishes the presence of guilt and shame in an Encounter Group, deepens the safety of all group members, and makes growth and transformation possible.
Agreements:
– I acknowledge that this process can stimulate intense feelings of fear, anger, guilt, shame, etc, and while the words of other group members can stimulate my emotional experience, others are not the cause of my feelings.
– I acknowledge that I am 100% responsible for my feelings and I agree to make requests of the group, to the best of my ability, to meet my needs.
– I agree to take 100% responsibility for my experience in the group – if I want the group to be different, it is my responsibility to express myself, seek to understand what is important to others, ask for what I want, and search for a solution that works for everyone.
Honesty
Purpose:
By agreeing to express ourselves honestly, we respect and care for the well-being and growth of all group members. Honesty is truth, and there is no growth without truth.
Agreements:
– I agree to share how I feel about other group members, the group as a whole, and/or the facilitator, to the best of my ability.
– I agree to initiate interaction in the group. I will prepare for each session by taking a few minutes before the start of the session to reflect on how I feel towards each group member. If I experience tension in relation to another group member, I will bring it up.
Openness
Purpose:
Remaining present and open to receiving help keeps the collective energy of each Encounter Group flowing and moving forward.
Agreements:
– I agree to remain open to the possibility of receiving help, even and especially when I’m triggered.
– I agree to remain open to understanding the experience of other group members even if I don’t like or agree with what they say.
– Once the session starts, I agree to do my best to remain physically present until the end of the session (remaining in the room, keeping my camera on, keeping my mic unmuted).
Time
Purpose:
Clear agreements around time ensure respect for the lives of all group members and the effective use of group time.
Agreements:
– I acknowledge that my presence and perspective is a contribution to the other members in my group. With that in mind, I agree to participate in all group meetings unless I have an emergency or something very important to attend to, or am on vacation.
– I agree to do my best to start and end all meetings on time.
– If I intend to miss a session or arrive late, I agree to notify the group before the meeting starts.
– If I am late for a group, I agree to join the group whenever I can rather than miss the entire session.
– (Online only) If I miss a session or part of a session, I agree to listen to the recording(s) before the next session.
Engagement
Purpose:
Clear “rules-of-engagement” bring order to group sessions and ensure group time is utilized to its maximum benefit.
Agreements:
– I agree to initiate interaction in the group. If I have something to say, I will bring it up.
– I agree to prepare for each session by taking a few minutes before the start of each session to reflect on how I feel towards each group member.
– When conflict arises between two group members, I agree to support both of them with empathic understanding and refrain from taking sides and giving advice.
– When conflict arises between two group members, if their conflict stimulates pain in me, I agree to wait to share my experience until after the original conflict has come to resolution.
– When conflict arises between myself and another group member, I agree to resolve that conflict within the group and not outside the group.
– While I will strive to honestly and transparently share my experience, I acknowledge that all participation in this group is voluntary – there is no demand that I say or do anything in the group. With that in mind, I will do my best to engage in the group in a way that cares for myself.
1:1 Facilitator Meetings
Purpose:
Individual meetings help participants get clear about what skills they want to develop and how to best utilize the group space as a learning environment.
Agreements:
– I understand that I can schedule a 30-minute 1:1 meeting with the facilitator once every eight weeks and that it is my responsibility to contact the facilitator to arrange such meetings.
Leaving a group
Purpose:
Participants in an Encounter Group develop close connections with each other and when one group member leaves, all group members are impacted. For that reason, participants are asked to leave their group in a way that brings a sense of closure/completeness to their fellow group members.
Agreements:
– If I want to leave the group, I agree to talk to the group about my intention to leave before leaving and explore with the group the reasons why I’m considering leaving.
– I agree to inform all group members of my intention to leave the group at least two weeks prior to when I leave the group, and use my last session to process any feelings and needs that arise from my decision to leave.
– If I miss two consecutive sessions, I agree to forfeit my spot in the group unless the other participants decide to make an exception.
Ready to join a group?
Step #1: Search below to find the group that works best for you.
Step #2: Click “Join Group” to schedule a free 30-minute Zoom call with the facilitator to see if joining an Encounter Group is a good fit for you.
When / Where do groups meet?
Groups listed as “open” are accepting new members.
Wednesdays
Every Wednesday | 6:00 – 8:00pm ET | Open
Mondays
Every Monday | 1:00 – 3:00pm ET | Open | *New group starting soon! (My time zone)
Tuesdays
Every Tuesday | 7:00 – 9:00pm ET | Open | *New group starting soon! (My time zone)
Wednesdays
Every Wednesday | 1:00 – 3:00pm ET | Open | *New group starting soon! (My time zone)
Stay in the loop…
Want to join an Encounter Group but there are no groups listed as “open”, or the day/time of an already existing and open group doesn’t work for you? Email us to be notified when new time slots become available.
Questions?
Have a question? Please feel free to reach out!