I have just returned from the Satir World Conference in Hong Kong where I assumed the role of President of the Satir Global Network. I came away from the conference feeling connected, touched and inspired!  At a time when there is so much pain around the world, this conference gave me hope that we can add to the positive energy moving us toward Virginia’s dream of more peace within, peace between and peace among.  I would like to share with you some of the highlights for me:

The Opening Ceremony—the Hong Kong Tourism Board sponsored an exciting lion dance ritual to “awaken” us and ready us for new experiences from the conference and this was followed by many balloons being popped to start us off with a bang!  Maria Gomori then welcomed the group and created a beautiful verbal frame for the conference.

Jeff Zeig gave the first keynote entitled, “Experiential Therapy: The Art and Science of Impact.”  It had an amazing impact on me as I had the privilege of being partnered with the chair of the conference, Caesar Chan, and felt a deep heart connection with him. To me, this is what we are all about, helping people through experience, to make heart connections!  And speaking of Caesar, he was the chair of the conference and his leadership, along with that of his vice chair, Esther Lau’s, was amazing.  The conference was so well organized and administered.  I am so grateful to them for the time and talent that they contributed to make the conference such a success.

Dr.Wai-yung Lee gave the second keynote entitled, “The Fun and Challenge in Applying Family Therapy to a Diverse Cultural Context.” Dr.Lee’s presentation was extremely validating as she shared her humanness and her humor regarding her mistakes over the years.  She not only told of her experiences but showed some amazing videos demonstrating her points.  I was impacted by her expertise and her willingness to be vulnerable with us so that we could give ourselves permission to risk and not think we have to do it perfectly.

Dr.s Peter and Grace Cheung presented the third keynote entitled, “The Satir Model in Culturally Sensitive Practice-A Hong Kong Exploration.” As with each of the other keynote presentations, it was impactful in a different way. They presented a play using role-players to demonstrate the treatment of a young woman that had been torn a part by the separation of her parents.  You watched her family members interact and deal with their conflicts, as well as her internal parts. The unique cultural issues of her situation plus her universal human feelings and needs were powerfully presented.

Dr. John Banmen gave the last keynote, but unfortunately I was unable to attend as I had to leave prior to his presentation.  However, I am sure it was also impactful as he has been so impactful in Asia.  I believe the attendance and success of the conference are a testament to his impact, as well as that of Dr. Gomori!

Other highlights for me were the people I got to know through the workshops that I helped present on the “Enriching Your Relationship with Yourself and Others” program that Margarita Suarez and I created.  Grace Yung, Doris Cheung, Alice Fung, Rebecca Wong and Brenda Choi teamed with me to bring two workshops to the participants.  One was the basic program and the second demonstrated the many different ways it can be applied.  I presented a third workshop also on applying it to disabilities.  My co-presenter for this one was Rob Schlesinger who was not able to attend due to his disability so he presented his part via a DVD.  The excitement for me is that this was the launching of this new application which will be available on-line to persons from around the world.  If you wish to know more, contact me through www.enrichingskills.net.

Well, if you are not a member of Satir Global, I hope you will join us we work to promote peace within, peace between and peace among!

Here are videos from three of the participants, I encountered at the conference sharing why they are members of Satir Global.  They are Eva Wieprecht from Germany, Mavi Serpini from Italy and Grace Yung from Hong Kong. Take a look.