Professional Development Training Programs,
Workshops and Seminars

The Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST) training programs (Levels I, II and III) are for practicing counsellors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, family physicians, nurses, clergy, instructors of family studies and family therapy, child care workers and graduate students in the above fields who are presently working with clients. The focus of the programs is on facilitating transformational change through Virginia Satir's Growth Model. The approach is applicable to working with individuals, couples and families.

Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy Model is unique in encompassing both the intrapsychic and interactive components of therapy. Much therapy of the past has been focused only on clients behaviour, cognition or emotions. This model is focused on bringing about change at the level of Being, as well as changes in doing, feeling and perceiving. The process taps the universal yearnings of individuals within their personal family and social systems and helps them work towards a sense of responsible wholeness and peace.

The process requires that the therapist has a high level of therapeutic competence and congruence. The program will provide hands-on skill development opportunities and participants will be required to work in triads between sessions practicing some aspects of the program. Participants will also work with their own three generational family maps to increase personal learning opportunities in applying a systemic therapy model.

The course leaders will utilize lecturettes, small group discussions, structured exercises, demonstrations, experiential learning and skill practice sessions as part of the program.

All training programs, conferences, workshops and seminars sponsored by Satir Institute of the Pacific are under the supervision of:

Dr. John Banmen
R. Psych., RMFT,
Director of Training

For program information and general inquiries contact Cindi Mueller at our Surrey, BC office.

Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST) Level I

This therapy training program is for practicing counsellors and therapists who are presently working with clients.  The focus of the program will be Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy to bring about transformational, energetic change.  The approach will be applicable to working with individuals, couples and families.

The course leaders will utilize lecturettes, small group discussions, structured exercises, demonstrations, experiential learning and skill practice sessions as part of the program.  The course leaders will link transformational, experiential systemic therapy with current therapeutic, neurological and biological research.

The program will provide some hands-on skill development opportunities and participants will be required to work in triads to practice some aspects of therapy.  Participants will also work with their own three generational family-of-origin maps to increase personal learning opportunities in applying a systemic, experiential therapy model.

Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST) is unique in encompassing both the intrapsychic and interactive components of therapy.  Much therapy of the past has been focused only on clients' behaviour, cognition or affect.  This model is focused on bringing about change at the level of Being, as well as changes in doing, feeling and perceiving.  The process taps the universal yearnings of individuals within their personal family and social systems and helps them work towards a sense of responsible wholeness.  The process requires that the therapist has a high level of therapeutic competence and congruence.

This program will include several voluntary therapeutic demonstrations with program participants.

This Program will help Counsellors and Therapists:

1. use experiential process throughout their therapy sessions to tap healing Life Energy
2. surface clients' survival communication and coping patterns and help clients choose more positive possibilities
3. sculpt relationships among family members and tap somatic wisdom for change
4. learn the Satir process of transformational therapeutic change from Life Energy
5. help clients access, accept and utilize their internal strengths and resources in the change process
6. map the internal processes of clients and help them access and change their behaviours, feelings, perceptions and expectation
7. help clients integrate and maintain their changes

Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST) Level II

This program is for counselors and therapists who have completed a Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy Level I training program offered by the Satir Institute of the Pacific (or an equivalent program approved by Dr. John Banmen, Director of Training who are presently working with clients in a counselling or helping role/position.

The focus of the program is to improve participants competence, congruence and confidence in doing transformational, experiential, systemic change therapy.  The course leader will utilize lecturettes, small group discussions, structured exercises, demonstrations, experiential learning and skill practice sessions to assist participants to move their therapy into a positively directional, change focused, experiential process. 

The emphasis will be on bringing about transformational change in individual therapy, couples therapy and family therapy.  As well, some attention will be given to working with specific symptoms in therapy. 

Participants will work in triads for a minimum of 3 hours between sessions to practice different aspects of the program.  As in the STST Level I training program, participants will use their own process of personal growth as the arena for their learning. 

This program will include several voluntary therapeutic demonstrations with program participants.

This Program will help Counsellors and Therapists:

1. Use their Self in a competent, confident, congruent and creative way throughout the Satir therapeutic process.
2. Make therapy experiential throughout each aspect of the therapeutic process.
3. Make therapy positively directional throughout each aspect of the therapeutic process.
4. Make therapy change focused throughout each aspect of the therapeutic process.
5. Make the therapy process systemic, working on changing the intrapsychic within the context of interactive relationships and changing the interactive from the intrapsychic changes.
6. Tap clients' Life Energy as the stimulus to growth and transformation.
7. Help clients access their subconscious processes and bring them into awareness.
8. Reframe symptoms into solutions and find the positive resources in symptoms.
9. Help clients access, accept and utilize their internal strengths and resources.
10. Help clients to increase their ability to own their internal processes and increase their choice-making possibilities.
11. Collaboratively work with clients to set positively directional therapeutic goals in both intrapsychic and interactive systems.
12. Facilitate bringing about transformational change and anchoring and integrating the changes.
13. Help couples and families connect in an accepting way
14. Help couples and families resolve differences.
15. Appreciate their own personal and professional growth process.

Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy Level III

Every year SIP will offer a variety of two-day weekend workshops on therapeutic topics using the Satir Model.  These will include working with grief, childhood sexual abuse, at risk adolescents, and marriage preparation.  As the weekends are confirmed, they will be announced in the Wisdom Box and on the Website

Program Prerequisites
Participants of STST Level I training programs are all invited to attend the workshops. Certificates of attendance for each two day workshop will be issued by SIP.  In order to receive a STST Level III graduate level certificate, participants must:

1. Have successfully completed a STST Level II training program or equivalent (at the discretion of Dr. John Banmen, Director of Training).
2. Have a Master's degree or equivalent (or special permission from Dr. John Banmen, Director of Training)
3. Complete a minimum of 5 of the 8 two-day weekend workshops in a period of 24 consecutive months.
4. Complete a written case study of one of their client cases dealing with one of the topics from one of the attended workshops.
5. Upon completion of five weekend workshops, submit your case study to Dr. John Banmen, Director of Training, Satir Institute of the Pacific, 13686-94A Avenue, Surrey, BC V3V 1N1

STST Level III program may be taken concurrently with STST Level II.  Participants wishing to receive a STST Level III graduation certificate must have completed STST Level II before completing the 5 required weekend workshops for the STST Level  III program.

AVAILABLE PROGRAM BROCHURES AND REGISTRATION FORMS