Way of Council

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Jack Zimmerman, Virginia (Gigi) Coyle, Joan Halifax · 1979 · Ojai, California

What it is

The Way of Council is not a psychotherapy. It is a structured circle practice for groups, communities and organisations. People sit in a circle and pass a talking piece. Whoever holds it speaks without interruption while the others listen. Everyone works with shared intentions: speak and listen…

Format

• To move from one stage to the next, the facilitator reads the group: the check-in is complete and attention has settled before the main prompt, and every voice has had a turn before closing.
• Basic council: for openings, closings and sensing the group as a whole.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Council has no treatment phases. It has (a) the structure of a single council, (b) forms matched to purpose, (c) programme formats, and (d) a practitioner training path.
• (d) Training and credentialing
• Council Training Level 1 (CT1, "Foundations"): 16 hours over two days, in person. It covers history, the five elements and four intentions, breath and stress regulation, the centre and talking pieces, prompts, 6–8 forms, appropriate disclosure, and repeated practice as participant, witness and facilitator. It is CAMFT-approved for 15 CE hours for LMFT, LCSW, LPCC and LEP clinicians. The "five elements" and "four…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• people with no private space, and recording, which should be prohibited.
• projecting your own state onto the group. Check with your co-facilitator.
• mandatory participation feeling coercive. Allow passing and offer a role as witness.
• escalating conflict that council can't hold. Pause, separate, and use individual support.
• people leaving activated. Offer to be available afterwards and know your referral routes.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.