Engage the Elephant
A Three-Part Processwork Workshop series
Engage the Elephant is an in-person workshop series introducing participants to Processwork, the modality of working with individuals, groups, and organizations developed by Arnold Mindell.
This is an approach that is especially good at working with that thing that we are all familiar with: the elephant in the room.
We’ve all had the experience of knowing something is present that isn’t being discussed. Processwork takes it a level deeper and helps us see that sometimes we know there’s an elephant present—we just don’t quite know what it is.
The Workshops
We are offering three workshops—two short introductory sessions and one full-day immersive experience—in which participants will learn foundational Processwork concepts and experiment with applying them in ways that are relevant to therapeutic, coaching, and facilitation contexts. At the same time, the series is accessible to organizational leaders and individuals interested in deepening self-awareness and relational capacity.
Each workshop stands on its own; Come to one, or come to all, regardless of your prior experience with Processwork.
Each workshop blends clear conceptual teaching with experiential practices that support learning through awareness, curiosity, and embodied experimentation. They are facilitated by James Boutin and Gregory Flynn, both experienced coaches and facilitators. More info on us below!
The workshops are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a modest fee to hold your spot. After the workshop you will be given the opportunity to make an additional contribution based on your ability to pay and the value that you received. See below for more information.
Workshop 1: Understanding Process — Friday, April 17th, 12p-2p
The first workshop introduces the foundational Processwork concept of process—the idea that experiences unfold in patterned, meaningful ways. We just have to learn how to notice them.
Participants will explore how Processwork differentiates between:
Primary process: what feels familiar, comfortable, and identity-affirming
Secondary process: what feels unfamiliar, uncomfortable, marginalized, or “not me”
For therapists, coaches, and other helping professionals, these dynamics often show up when clients circle the same material, avoid certain topics, or express what are called conflicting ‘signals’. Signals arrive via words, emotions, and body language. This workshop offers a lens for understanding these moments not as resistance or failure, but as meaningful information about what is trying to emerge.
Through discussion, examples, and light experiential exercises, participants will practice noticing process as it unfolds. The emphasis is on cultivating curiosity and precision, rather than interpretation and analysis or problem-solving.
Participants will leave with a clearer framework for recognizing where a client—or themselves—is oriented, and how growth often begins just outside that familiar edge.
Workshop 2: Edges, Signals, and the Threshold of Change — Friday, May 1st, 12p - 2p
The second workshop focuses on the concept of the edge—the psychological and somatic boundary that separates primary and secondary processes.
Edges often appear as hesitation, confusion, nervous laughter, strong emotions, body signals, or sudden topic changes. While edges can feel uncomfortable or destabilizing, Processwork understands them as meaningful thresholds where important information and transformation are trying to emerge.
In this session, participants will:
Learn how to recognize edge signals in themselves and others
Explore why edges exist and how they protect identity
Practice gentle, respectful ways of working with edges rather than pushing past them
Through guided exercises and reflection, participants will experiment with approaching edges as places of curiosity rather than fear. This workshop offers practical tools for facilitators, educators, therapists, leaders, and anyone interested in navigating moments of resistance or intensity with greater awareness and care.
Day-Long Workshop: Working with the Elephant — Friday, May 22nd, 10a - 4p
This day-long workshop brings together primary process, secondary process, and edge work into an immersive, experiential learning environment. Think of it as a playground.
Building on the concepts introduced in the earlier workshops (though prior attendance is not required), this session emphasizes learning through direct experience. Participants will engage in a series of structured individual, relational, and small-group activities designed to help them feel these concepts in action—not just understand them intellectually.
The day will include:
Experiential practices that reveal process unfolding in real time
Opportunities to work with personal and interpersonal edges
Reflection and integration to connect theory with lived experience
This workshop is especially suited for participants who want to deepen their embodied understanding of Processwork and explore how these tools apply to real-world situations involving conflict, difference, creativity, and change.
By the end of the day, participants can expect a richer felt-sense of how to engage “the elephant” with curiosity, skill, and respect—both in themselves and in the systems they are part of.
Registration
We are offering the Engage the Elephant series on a pay-what-you-can basis. What does that mean? It means that a nominal fee will hold your seat and after the event, you will be asked to make an additional contribution based on a) your ability to pay and b) the value you received (we will accept cash, check, or card). We are operating with the trust that those who can make a larger contribution will, allowing for those who can’t to be able to access this material.
$15 will hold your seat for either 2-hour workshop (we would typically value these workshops at $75 apiece)
$50 will hold your seat for the full-day workshop (we would typically price this at $250 for the day)
Please let us know if you have any questions. At all. We hope to see you there!
Your Facilitators
James Boutin is an educator, facilitator, and trainer who specializes in group facilitation. He holds masters degrees in education and process-oriented facilitation. James is the certificate coordinator and course producer at the Processwork Institute of Portland, Oregon. He is also the author of a short eBook entitled The Foundations of Generative Conflict. James partners with mission-driven organizations and individuals to help them use conflict as one of their greatest resources for achieving their goals. He also adores local coffee shops, needlessly complicated strategy-based video games, and racquet sports.
Gregory Flynn is a facilitator and coach with over 20 years of experience working with individuals and small groups, drawn to the transformative power of what happens when people sit together in circle. Since 2020, Gregory has focused on creating offerings that meet our times, including facilitating Men Connecting, an ongoing men's circle, developing the anti-oppression program Understanding Whiteness, and co-creating Disrupting Our Practice—both a podcast and program for white-bodied facilitators. He has completed training in anti-racist facilitation with Holistic Resistance, as well as Peace Keeping Circles with Circle Works. He is a new student of Arnold and Amy Mindell's Processwork. He lives in North Seattle with his wonderful wife and goofy dog.