Nonviolent Communication (NVC)

NVC was created in the 1960's by Marshall Rosenberg, PhD. Tired of the way that traditional therapy diagnosed people (labeled them with what was wrong), he built a curriculum (he called a "language of life") based on our shared needs.  Rather than fixing people, he wanted to support people in "making life more wonderful" for themselves and others.

NVC is both philosophy of lovingkindness and nonviolence, as well as a set of tools that are incredibly helpful for understanding oneself.  I can support you in deepening your awareness of the wisdom of your body, developing clarity on your emotional experience, discovering the vital needs at the base of your conflicts and honing your capacity to know what you want and how to ask for it. 

NVC is equally powerful in understanding others.  Together we can explore what those we are in conflict with might be feeling and needing.  We can practice reflecting what others are saying so they feel truly heard and we can develop the capacity to express ourselves with honesty in a way that people can hear.

Lastly, I see NVC as a spiritual practice and orientation where we  can know in our bones that every action living beings take is in order to meet valid needs...even if the outcome doesn't meet needs for themselves and others.  When we can turn toward our own selves or others with the knowledge we are all precious children of the universe, empathy can be the basis for our interactions with ourselves and others.

In addition to Marshall Rosenberg, I am grateful to many teachers, specifically, Sarah Peyton, LaShelle Lowe-Charde and Timothy Regan for what they have gifted me in NVC.