client testimonials on training
“The training has been truly much broader in content than I had anticipated. It has included an enormous package of theory and tools, guidance discussions, as well as experiential exercises. I could not in any way have anticipated the tremendous change that the training has brought about in me personally. La modifica ha contato la forma de pensar, pensar e acte. Há, a.
I do not recall having previously experienced such a conscious questioning of the self in a way that took place in an environment and situation safe enough to enable inspiring change, instead of awakening various defence mechanisms. Changement has certainly taken place continuously, in small steps and at times in bigger ones, but I now believe I have learned much more from it because I have been able to examine the whole chain of events consciously, on a meta-level. I have learned a great deal about myself and my inner structures.
Una. På EASEL, jeg har, och,, och. The joy of learning that has arisen in me will carry me far.
One of the finest lessons of the training has been how sensitive and vulnerable we can be when encountering something new or when sharing a piece of our authentic self with others. Trainings gave me the opportunity to experience this feeling myself, yet within a herd so safe that vulnerability did not feel shameful or crushing. I now believe that, through my own experience, I understand vulnerability and shame better than before, which helps me to empathise more deeply with the experiential world of my clients as well. I have had the chance to visit Rivendell, and I am profoundly grateful for it. I would like the same for my clients as well.”
“Coach Mari Louhi facilitated two workshop days for our organisatio.
Mari has a special ability to create an atmosphere where we could talk about things that had not previously been said aloud.
created values-based ground rules for ourselves. We received a great deal of information about factors that influence well-being and the importance of conscious interaction. The most important area for development that emerged from the most recent day was giving and receiving feedback.
In addition to what the days themselves offered, the work community has received extensive material that can be used to continue reflection and development both on the individual level and on the work community level.
The building of a culture of cooperation and interaction is now off to a good start for us. The pulse survey in the autumn showed that our sense of community has clearly improved. For the first time in ten years, the survey results state that the work community is positively oriented towards development! Control over one’s own work and the experience of leadership have also improved. We will continue the work of improving interaction on a regular basis.”
“I have spent my entire working career in children’s substitute care, first as an instructor, later as the person responsible for care work, as a supervisor, and as an entrepreneur. I began the EASEL Facilitator training among the first participants in the mid-2000s. Later, Mari Louhi and I have collaborated extensively in different networks and also as co-trainers. The development work Mari began in the late 1990s has given rise to a way of working that brings together, in a wonderful way, effective elements from many theories and methods into an experiential whole. EASEL® is a method and a way of thinking which, in all its complexity, is ultimately very simple. It compels one to face oneself, and in fact everything is about who we are and what happens in relation to others.”
“In my own case, the year-long process has been impactful and has opened up new ways of understanding my own and others’ emotions and behaviour. The social constructivist view of learning includes the idea that cognitive structures are formed through social interaction. I feel that the workshops with our group have helped to build a cognitive and experiential ‘bookshelf’ that will serve as a good foundation in my work going forward. It has been especially rewarding to hear and learn perspectives on emotions and social interaction through our group members working in different professions. The multidisciplinary group has opened up the themes addressed in the training from many different angles.
It could be said that the process has been a journey that does not end when the training finishes, but continues as personal growth throughout life. I feel that, with the help of EASEL, I have been able to ‘pack into my suitcases’ the necessary and practical tools for this journey. Wherever my path may lead, I will, so to speak, have ‘good provisions’ with me. The personal process I went through during the training has deeply touched on the fundamental experiences of my existence. The great gift has been precisely that EASEL, as a way of working, has opened up my experience on many different levels, from intellectual thinking through my own emotions and experiences to fundamental questions of what it means to be human.
In EASEL, the question is asked: ‘Who am I, and what happens when I come into interaction with others?’ At the beginning of the facilitator training, my answer to this question was, looking back now, rather narrow and full of question marks. Now that I am in the final stretch of my final project, when I think about the question, my answer to it is broad and multi-layered. I have gained an understanding of myself, of others, and of the fact that we are not separate from one another but are psychophysically built for connection and interaction. This is something shared by all social animal species. Through my own process, my motivation to understand the interaction and relationship between animals and humans has grown and strengthened. I know that I am on the right path.”
“This learning process has been profound. I feel that I cannot put it down on paper in a way that would begin to describe the impact on my therapy clients. My own year of study, with all its challenges, has been very rewarding; the journey to Vihti is long and complicated. The learning process gave me a very concrete understanding of what the tolerance circle means on a personal level. I would not give away any part of the experience. I had wanted to attend this training for many years, and now that studying became possible, I understand that this process was worth waiting for also from the perspective of personal growth.
Occupational therapy and EASEL are easy to integrate; the experiential social-emotional exercises bring effectiveness and feel natural. Although I still carry quite a large toolkit, I also now understand that a learning environment starts with the meeting of two people.
EASEL® makes it possible to strengthen emotional skills in a goal-oriented way as a natural part of other guidance, educational, and therapeutic work, and it is also suitable for those clients who do not feel they benefit from ‘just talking’. As someone who mainly works in children’s occupational therapy, I believe that children rarely benefit from ‘just talking’; the methods are functional, and through my training, they have become more strongly experiential. EASEL has also given me tools to work more effectively with children’s parents; I can explain interaction-based learning experiences to parents more clearly. My ability to open up the processes created by functional experiential tools has deepened.”
“During the training days, I filled a notebook with notes that, even while writing them down, I often did not yet fully grasp. That is probably why the book in my hands is still being worn through use, because the notes continue to open up in new ways whenever more ‘points of connection’ have emerged.
From the very beginning, there was an open and good spirit in our group. Each person brought a strong element to this process through their own personality. It has been wonderful to become acquainted with a different kind of pedagogy. The book recommendations and reading assignments we received were excellent! The theory sections during the contact days were quite an intense barrage, but in a positive sense. A solid dose of thought-provoking material, from which I tried fervently to create strong memory traces for myself. I also learned about floating.
Above all, this has been a process of personal growth. In addition, I found it valuable that theoretical frameworks were connected to the process. Reflecting on and describing my own framework was useful. I am glad that I was able to travel this route in the terrain of EASEL. The journey continues!
Socio-emotional skills are emphasised in our work when we coach company supervisors, leaders, and work communities. A coach’s healthy self-awareness and ability to feel empathy without becoming submerged in it are important success factors for effective work. EASEL offers a meaningful framework and learning platform for the work of a coach. Mari Louhi has an excellent ability to connect a scientific and research-based foundation with practical everyday life, and her working approach is intensive and convincing.
Many client organisations struggle with constant change and in the fluctuations of the pulse of the market situation. Workplaces need flexibility and adaptability to change, and at the same time, perseverance in achieving goals aligned with chosen strategies. EASEL broadened my understanding of the principles of human behaviour in an interesting way from the perspective of social neuroscience. I have also observed that supervisors in client companies have experienced insights into developing their own way of working as a result of perspectives drawn from the EASEL framework.”
“When I applied to the EASEL® Facilitator training, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I had examined the website very carefully to understand what the training included and what EASEL is. Despite my preparations, I truly did not know what I was embarking on.
My idea of the training beforehand was very narrow, and I received much more from it than I had expected. It is somewhat impossible to describe everything that has happened along the course of my own process. My desire to develop as a facilitator has grown. On the other hand, many more questions have arisen along the way, as well as an eagerness to seek more knowledge and clear gaps in my own theoretical foundation. If, by using EASEL myself, I can give even a fraction of what I have experienced to those I facilitate, I am very happy.
The experiential training process gaining insights, both for deepening knowledge and forhas in many ways been powerful and mind-expanding. The interactive exercises with animals were surprisingly powerful. During the process, I have experienced things myself and worked through tools that were new to me. A desire to learn more, apply, and deepen knowledge has awakened. I have somehow always immensely enjoyed experiencing insights related both to deepening knowledge and to the matters of my own life.
During my process, I feel I have absorbed the EASEL way of thinking quite imperceptibly as part of myself, my own life, and my professional self. I have reflected a great deal on my own life with the help of the EASEL tools, and I notice that I have conversations with myself. For me personally, however, the tool that struck me most was the needs buckets. I listen to myself more, and I am more compassionate toward myself. Awareness of myself and monitoring my own coping have become more important to me. After all, I do my work through my personality, so I must take care of myself. Of course, it is still extremely important to me to do my work well, but how I want to do it has taken shape. I experience the moments with the children at work as extremely important.
One would not quite have believed what kind of process one was entering. In my own experience, EASEL is not only a way of working and a method of facilitation. It becomes a way of living for oneself. During the year, my own life has included many big things. However, things are now easier to process and face. This is a good place for a person to continue from. I warmly recommend the EASEL® Facilitator training to every child protection worker.”
“The EASEL® way of working is easy to integrate into a class teacher’s work because it is aligned with the new national curriculum draft. Adopting EASEL as a learning environment has brought into my own work that ‘missing piece’ which I had been searching for in various practical methods. When connected to my own framework, together they form a functional toolkit, the tools of which I of course also use on myself.
EASEL® is a way of working developed to strengthen social and emotional skills, and it is implemented as part of other teaching, guidance, and therapeutic work. It differs from other emotional education programmes in that it is embedded in all learning activities throughout the whole school day. With the help of EASEL® tools, in my work as a class teacher I have been able to get many lessons back on track when emotions experienced as difficult by pupils are not rejected through denial or commands, but are worked through with them immediately when the need for support appears. EASEL® as a classroom learning environment promotes pupils’ self-direction, maintains motivation for learning the curriculum-based subjects, turns the safeguarding of classroom peace into a shared value, offers insight into appreciating one’s own work and that of others, and makes it possible to guide the pupil individually as part of class-based basic education.
Having worked in education for several decades and having grown wiser through many experiments, I now have a way of working that also makes my own work easier. Thanks to EASEL®, my lessons now have a more relaxed atmosphere. I have succeeded in getting to know my pupils even more closely, and building a good school day has become a shared matter for all of us. Beginning the school day without hurry and meeting each pupil with an understanding of their situation opens new doors in our shared task of offering children and young people the opportunity to reach their best. In such a learning environment, adults also do better.”
"The best leadership training we have had in four years in the EU commission. This should be compulsory to all the Heads of Departments"
“I had become acquainted with the EASEL® emotional education approach developed by Mari Louhi while we were first working together in relation to individual pupils, Mari as therapist and I as teacher, and later when I saw the effects of Louhi’s approach in her work as a special class teacher for a demanding special education class. The impact of this work on the empowerment of these young people and their families has been indisputable. As the young people’s self-awareness and sense of self-worth have increased, their wellbeing has strengthened their ability for autonomous, self-directed guidance of their own lives and learning. Now I, too, am an EASEL Facilitator.
An encouraging atmosphere that supports trying is not something that can be taken for granted at school, and yet it is a central element of the assessment section of the national curriculum. Finding a way of mutual respect, creating a shared language, the awakening of trust, care, exploring and learning together also through play are EASEL’s stepping stones in building relationship. They are means of creating safe conditions for learning and are also particularly suited to school work, especially in the light of the new national curriculum draft. As something self-evident in this process, there is also included a participatory and dialogical operating culture based on social interaction and experiential learning. Through psychoeducation, EASEL® brings to formative assessment a deepening self-awareness, an understanding of the power of interaction, and an understanding of the learning process also on the emotional level, including in relation to difficult emotions. The goal-oriented stages of the EASEL® process are in strong harmony with the foundations of the 2016 national curriculum draft.
EASEL® is therefore well -suited as a background instrument for the continuous personal development and strengthening of my teaching and assessment. I also believe it is well- suited as a tool for renewing a communal working culture in basic education, and in this way also in my own work community.”
“In my view, EASEL® is extremely well suited as a method for child protection work, especially when working with children who have difficulties recognising, putting into words, and expressing their emotions, as well as understanding and managing their own behaviour. Usually, these factors also affect the child in such a way that they have difficulties in social relationships. They have no friends, they are withdrawn, or they end up constantly in conflict situations with peers and also with adults, both at school and at home. A child welfare report to the social services office is usually made at the stage when, for example, so-called educational discussions have already been held with the parents at school, the child has been kept indoors during breaks and under house arrest at home, and nothing helps, or the child repeatedly ends up, for example, in contact with the police because of violent situations or offences. With the help of EASEL, child protection services are able to offer a different way of working through matters with the child or young person. The child and young person are given information about emotions and behaviour, as well as concrete models for acting differently, instead of merely being told that they have acted wrongly, which they themselves most likely already know.
In my opinion, the knowledge gained from the training is of the kind that should be included in the basic education of every student training to become a social worker. An animal work partner is very helpful in emotional education work, but EASEL emotional skills coaching can also be carried out without an animal assistant. Through the training, I have begun to pay more attention to people’s emotional reactions and to consider the messages behind them. This has increased my understanding in client work and in encountering people.
After many years, I reflect on my social work framework and also assess my current ways of working and think about new ways to help clients. I have gained concrete working methods from the training to also share with colleagues (for example, the needs buckets). Dealing with emotions and bringing them into my work conversations has increased significantly since before. As I have familiarised myself with recent literature in social work, I have received confirmation that EASEL®, as a method in social work is a possible, modern, and child-centred way of working in child protection. It feels to me as though I am moving forward towards the future, and there is no return to the past…”
“What has EASEL given, and what could it give, to supervisors doing demanding interpersonal work? With the help of EASEL’s tools and theoretical foundation, I have been able to travel a wonderful journey towards increased self-awareness, strengthened emotional skills and interaction, and of course to meet many wonderful people, without whom this journey would not have been what it was. Every study weekend was spent in a safe and open atmosphere that encouraged me to explore myself, learn more about my own ways of functioning and pain points, take distance from things, and examine them critically, yet gently. Thank you!
In the role of supervisor and expert in nursing work, I have learned to notice that EASEL’s tools are the foundation and cornerstone on which a well-functioning work community is built together with employees. EASEL training helps a supervisor learn to strengthen self-awareness, clarify a good operational culture, distinguish between one’s own emotions and emotions absorbed from others, understand the significance of stress in interaction, and hold on to one’s own values and boundaries.
With the emotional skills and interaction tools learned through EASEL, a supervisor can support nurses on their own journey towards better self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and empathy, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making ability.
All of these are needed in nursing work and in the everyday life of work communities. Without good emotional and relational skills, an understanding of the importance of one’s own well-being and the impact of stress, and the connection of all these to workplace atmosphere and client work, especially among people with memory disorders, nurses experience more exhaustion in their work.
EASEL’s emotional skills and interaction tools help nurses to encounter and help people with memory disorders and their loved ones, and to cope with strong emotional and relational skills, an understanding of the importance of one’s own well-being and the impact of stress, and the connection of all these to the workplace atmosphere and client work, especially among people with memory disorders, nurses experience greater work exhaustionthemselves in demanding care work.
EASEL has taught me that respectful and considerate behaviour towards others, jointly agreed rules of conduct, and carrying one’s own responsibility strengthen psychological safety in the workplace as well as a safe emotional atmosphere. Creating a safe emotional atmosphere is the foundation for good interaction skills, collegiality, emotionally skilled employees, and an open work community that encourages others and promotes learning, where a human-centred work culture is at the core of the work.”
“I can warmly recommend the EASEL training to a professional or supervisor who wants to broaden their perspectives and ways of working in their own job, and to gain tools, for example, for handling challenging situations, engaging good employees and motivating others, as well as carrying through and embedding reforms and changes in organisational culture.
Behind me is 16 years of post-qualification working life, during which I have attended numerous different types of supervisor and leadership training. All of those trainings, although in themselves of quite a high standard, have unfortunately left an empty gap in the leadership puzzle in matters related to the very core of difficult supervisory, leadership, and collaborative work, namely the profound, courageous, and successful handling of difficult interaction and leadership situations, and the way those trainings have enabled personal growth and self-assessment. The EASEL training has been eye-opening and empowering. I have learned to understand my own reactions and to shape my own ways of working so that they fit each situation better than before. If wrestling with people interests you, but also tires or irritates you, join this training! The perceptiveness and personal nature of the EASEL training have offered me that missing piece which makes me feel that my puzzle is now more complete than before.
The strengths of the EASEL training programme are, in my view, its individuality and depth. EASEL gives concrete tools for relational work, but it also offers a strong theoretical foundation in psychology and research in social neuroscience, through which I now understand my everyday experiences better. The theory deepens into usable capital already during the contact days, because there is time in the small group for powerful experiential exercises and interesting discussions. The themes of the discussions arise from the participants’ experiences, and the trainers make sure that the theory and tools are linked to them. Everyone is coached to shape EASEL in their own way and to apply what they have learned in their own work. And, by the way, during the 15 contact days you do not spend a single moment in a traditional lecture hall.
EASEL studies generate a process of professional and personal development which, for me, was empowering and eye-opening. The process is individual, because during the first half of the training, you must look at yourself and your own work honestly and without hesitation, including those not-so-pleasant or difficult features. The experiential exercises and the group discussions were very enlightening. Once I had become more familiar with myself, it was easier to see any interaction situation that came my way more broadly than before, and I noticed much better what the different personalities in my team needed from me to manage their own responsibilities and to do well even under pressure. Handling matters and solving problems with people became easier and less stressful.”
“For both days, the comments were positive: ‘A successful day.’ ‘The event was a positive surprise.’ ‘Encourages one to keep going.’ ‘A rewarding day.’ ‘Excellent.’ ‘This is needed.’ ‘We are in the same boat and looking for shared solutions.’
The good feedback encourages us to continue the shared reflection in the autumn. The change is substantial and raises many questions. But there are also many things that can already be influenced together and through cooperation, and to which each person can also contribute through their own actions.
"I’ve worked with people like Mari for the past 15 years in helping businesses grow. After just 30 minutes with Mari I was blown away. She has such a wide area of expertise that she is able to help individuals and companies faster than anybody else… I’ve worked with therapists, business coaches, life coaches, performance coaches, impact coaches, you name it. And I am yet to meet somebody who actually understands how to impact and empower people better than Mari"
“What is most valuable in EASEL is its ability to genuinely and deeply transform the person who comes into the training. EASEL is a powerful method for professional growth in the guidance field. EASEL is not just training or a course; it is an experience. An experience that has been healing, developmental, and for me a professional giant leap. No training before has ever led me to change my ways so thoroughly, both in my private life and in my professional way of working, and to do so in such a way that I have genuinely wanted to make that effort voluntarily. EASEL is not just an excellent theory that can be read through; in addition to profound theoretical reflection, it is a method from which only the most hard-headed and least willing to grow emerge unchanged.
Of all the facilitator trainings, EASEL has without question been the best, the most impactful, and it has made me a different kind of career coach: more patient, better able to find deeper solutions, and more inspiring. It has increased my confidence in my work through learning methods that truly work. I am satisfied with my choice among the many supervision trainings available. EASEL has enabled a stronger capacity to tolerate my own emotions, increased my self-awareness and my ability to manage my emotions. It has brought more calmness to my work and opened my eyes to things that are essential for the client’s wellbeing. After EASEL, I use the methods I was already using with an EASEL nuance that makes them more effective. In addition, almost all of EASEL’s tools are excellently suited to career guidance and have enriched my encounters with clients. Through them, I have found ways of working in many challenging situations. Together with the client, we have found, according to the client, better solutions than they could even have expected when they first came to coaching. I would argue that at the moment I provide dramatically higher-quality career guidance than I did before EASEL.”
“One of the most pivotal experiences during the training was when I noticed myself putting things into practice in my work as a day-care centre director. For example, in a challenging client situation the week after a workshop, I noticed myself using ‘two hands’. I experienced it so strongly that I even began moving my hands in rhythm with it. An employee who was in the same room commented on it and gave positive feedback. The client situation also proceeded successfully.
I think that EASEL is a way of being in interaction with others. Through the EASEL training, I have learned to structure and, when necessary, analyse different interaction situations better, both beforehand and afterwards. In addition, EASEL has given me tools for working through different situations. Without really noticing it, I use the tools to support my thinking, or I reflect on what is happening here and why. I want this EASEL journey to continue, because I feel that every day I learn something new again.”