Empathy Buddies
Viola
47 monthly session x 60 mins from July 2020 - present
Viola and I met at Shari’s ENVC course in 2019. We were ‘assigned’ as empathy buddies. We both wanted to practice NVC and were enthusiastic about being buddies. We have a lot in common, both recently retiring from academic life, and both interested in language and literacy. I appreciate Viola’s wisdom. She brings Reiki, energetic healing and a gentle exactitude to her interactions and relationships. We supported each other through the pandemic and have developed a deep friendship along the way. To sum up our monthly buddy sessions, I would say we work in and around needs, particularly self actualising and spiritual needs. She likes my energy, insight and humour; and I like her thoughtfulness, consideration and warmth. We are a complementary pair. I expect us to stay connected over many years.
Cristina
28 sessions x 60 mins from June 2020 - present
Cristina and I met at Shari’s ENVC course and then reconnected during one of Alex’s practice groups. We were both struggling with our daughters who were living with us during the pandemic. We decided to informally meet monthly to support each other as we worked to approach our daughters differently, from the heart and with compassion. We did a lot of translating jackals into giraffe and offering our thoughts on what our daughters’ needs were. This has continued reasonably regularly, particularly when something is alive for us. Our support for each other really helped us and the gift has been healthier relationships with ourselves and our daughters. I am deeply grateful for this.
Leena
18 sessions x 60 mins from June 2020 - present
Leena and I also met at Shari’s ENVC course. We felt a simpatico straight away but it wasn’t until we were at Alex’s practice group that we discovered each of us planned to certify. So we started talking regularly. Leena was wanting to certify while at the same time enrolling in a Gestalt course. We were empathy buddies during her training and through the pandemic. A lot of our sessions were around family and learning NVC. She joined our candidates pod, but as her involvement in Gestalt increased, she found it a challenge to stay connected. Nonetheless, she and I have continued to support each other through empathy and sharing experiences in relation to teaching and supporting ‘clients’. She is both a friend, a professional colleague and an empathy buddy.
I owe deep gratitude to these three wonderful women. Their love and care for me, and support through deep listening, insightful offerings and warmth has sustained me along my journey. I have felt safe with each of them and been able to work through my triggers, feelings and needs. As I reviewed my journal writings, I realised just how much they featured as significant inputs to my understanding of self and my triggers. They were safe harbours for self exploration, honesty and growth.
