Mari's greetings

Welcome! I’m happy you found your way here!

With our clients, we are committed to building psychologically safe communities, workplaces, families, and relationships. – Environments where everyone can do their best, grow, learn (and sometimes stumble), thrive, and be well.

In the late 1990s, I was teaching a special education class in middle school for “challenging” teens. To integrate social emotional learning to our school days, we created the first version of EASEL method and psychoeducational tools together. (A few years ago, we had the best class reunion ever – filled with laughter and tears!) Back then, they wrote in their class journal how they choose the mountains they want to summit. My role, they wrote, was to help them pack the right gear, keep them safe on the journey, provide extra oxygen when needed, help carry their “stuff”, read the weather conditions, and know the best climbing routes. This became the guiding metaphor for all EASEL Facilitators. We strive to be good sherpas.

EASEL® today is rooted in solid theoretical and experience-based foundation. It integrates evidence-based methods from coaching, education, adventure pedagogy and experiential learning, and psychotherapy, supported by insights from social neurosciences and related fields. For simplicity, we refer to this integrative, interdisciplinary method as “EASEL”—short for Experiential Social Emotional Learning.

Thanks are due also to every EASEL Facilitator training group as they, too, have contributed to the method’s evolution by adapting it to new contexts and professional applications. At this point, I no longer know what version number EASEL® should have – but it has stood the test of time remarkably well. The core elements, facilitation principles and tools remain effective, and its theoretical foundation has only expanded over the years.

The first EASEL Facilitators received their certifications in 2007. Over 200 EASEL Facilitators have been trained in Finland and internationally, with more than 30 completing the two-year-program of EASEL Coaches and 8 EASEL Trainers who have experience in training the facilitators. My own training and coaching clients have come from small businesses to international corporations, municipalities, all levels of education, healthcare, social services, media, sports, and organizations like the UN and European Commission. I have delivered EASEL – workshops and lectures also in China, USA, Belgium, and Sweden, as well as in few international conferences. It has been a transformational journey also personally and one I hope will continue for many more years.

EASEL® is a bit like the LEAN methodology of interaction and well-being. We eliminate obstacles and enhance what works. Everyone wants to be well, succeed in what they are trying to do, get along with others without losing themselves, and build meaningful relationships. While these needs may take slightly different forms based on age, culture, and context, the fundamental principles remain the same – and they apply not only to humans, but to all social mammals. In an increasingly complex world, it’s important to pause from time to time and reflect on the basics. It gives clarity and inner peace.

One of the students in my 1990s class joined from my English class. When I asked why she wanted to transfer to my class full-time, she replied that she didn’t get along with female teachers. When I asked her what I was, she looked at me puzzled and said I was Mari. She taught me another important lesson in my early professional years. To connect with others in any meaningful way you need to be you, but you can still be professional and act within the boundaries of your position. Therefore, in EASEL® we don’t talk about roles. We talk about “hats” that tell the position and perspective we are coming from. With a mother-hat on I think… with a therapist-hat on I would ask you… with the teacher-hat on I am telling you respectfully to start doing the math now…

At ET, we promise to bring our authentic selves and our professional expertise into every interaction. We are a warm source of support, an active conversation partner, an honest sounding board – and we are sherpas. We tailor our services to meet our clients’ needs. For individual coaching and therapy, this flexibility is expected, but we take pride in our ability to fine-tune also group trainings on the go to ensure that content and methods align with the questions and needs that arise in the participants.

Whatever service you choose, we will do our best. You choose the mountain you want to climb and one of us will be there to guide you!

The only way to reach new landscapes is to start moving. So, welcome to your journey with us!

Mari