Faculty member of Processwork UK 

Kiro Żabińska-MacIntyre

I am a process oriented psychotherapist, psychologist, facilitator and coach, based in Edinburgh, where I work with clients (individuals and couples) and run groups and workshops at my private practice. After passing my final exams and gaining more experience as a practitioner, as well as refreshing my teaching skills, I have been accepted as a Faculty member of Processwork UK.

Sharing the belief in the uniqueness of every one of us, I feel that for facilitation to be useful, it needs to relate to and reflect the whole identity of the person. That may include the exploration, transformation and integration of parts which they and/or others find unwelcome or disturbing: body symptoms, relationship problems, conflicts, nightmares, addictions, etc. Although it may initially sound scary or challenging, when we embark on this journey, we can grow towards becoming our true selves, instead of cutting off parts of our identity because they do not fit individual or society’s expectations. Moreover, those bits which we do not identify with, can often be seen like gems encased in stone, containing hidden qualities, which, when explored and transformed, are the key to our future growth and creativity. In my work as a therapist and a coach, I am honoured to accompany others on that path of discovery and see them grow and flourish, while still learning a lot from our journey together.

Some more frequently encountered issues, I work on with individual and business clients include stress, motivation, imposter syndrome, inner critic, personality clashes, conflict management, self-esteem, depression, mental health issues, procrastination, middle-age crisis, burn-out and setting priorities in life (often described as achieving a ‘work-life balance’, however I found out that in some cases the concept of ‘balance’ might not fit the individual’s needs).

Background
When growing up I was frequently faced with the opposites and thrown in the middle of polarised situations and conflicts. Obviously at the time I was trying to avoid them or not to take sides, to negotiate and make the parties like one another again. Generally, I looked for the ‘golden means’ which, sadly, rarely worked. Through my Processwork training, I have discovered my role as a connector and facilitator, as well as learnt a new approach which enabled me to act more efficiently and with less exhaustion: This new awareness enabled me to study how the parties involved can re-discover themselves and one another when they start relating to their deep values, which may in turn lead to more mutual understanding and reaching resolution on a much profound level.

I was also actively involved in scouting, historical re-enactment societies and role-playing games which I still consider to be a developmental tool of enormous potential. I believe that games and drama encounters provide people with invaluable opportunities to get to know themselves and experiment with being who they want to be, establish relationships with others, develop creativity, free themselves from routines and old anxieties, learn social skills, experience cameraderie and friendship that often cross the boundaries of fantasy lands and start manifesting in ‘real life’. Gaming and drama can be a safe place to try new identities, be more decisive, sensitive, brave, supportive, idealistic etc., and all of that happens while taking a part in an adventure! Although some critics accuse games of escapism and taking people away from daily life, when used properly, I use them more in the function of rituals, during which the participants enter the supernatural reality in order to learn, overcome obstacles, transform themselves and come back with treasures, knowledge and skills to serve their communities even more efficiently.

As for my educational background, I studied a variety of subjects including English Studies, Business Administration (Management and Marketing) and Psychology, then gained experience in academic, healthcare and business environment, which I find extremely useful for my current facilitating, coaching and training work. I have co-operated with non-government organisations on social and cultural projects, which involved working with community groups and promoting empowerment and inclusion based on Deep Democracy principle that every voice in the field has its role and needs to be acknowledged, in order for the system to develop. I worked for a number of organisations, including Penumbra (providing crisis support), Girlguiding Scotland (developing a nationwide training programme and guidelines for inclusion and diversity), Edinburgh Women’s Aid (working with domestic abuse survivors) and Feniks Support Services Ltd (managing the therapy team).

ProcessWalk
In 2007 I established my private practice called ProcessWalk, as I yearned to do more  Processwork in a transformative space so generously offered to us by nature. Following a long-term passion for the outdoors, I have led numerous integrative weekend walks, personal development tranings, residential workshops and retreats in stunning locations in Scotland and abroad. The topics included, among others, dealing with one’s inner critic, exploring procrastination, managing life changes, healing grief and past wounds, re-discovering one’s career path and searching for one’s calling. During those events the participants can ‘get away from it all’, reflect on a particular issue, listen to their inner voice or just enjoy the surroundings and quality time we so rarely allow ourselves to savour.

Life Myth
One of my passions, stemming from my early fascination with the stories of heroes and mythical lands, and developed into my Processwork Diploma project, is discovering and unfolding one’s Life Myth through a combination of Processwork, Role-Playing Games and immersion in nature. The journey the participants embark on enables them to bring awareness to their potential and to re-discover connection to themselves, other people, nature and the world. They explore why particular relationship issues, health symptoms and childhood dreams appeared in their life and can gain new insights from those encounters. Qualities which they integrate may help them to find more meaning both in their personal life and in their work. Often they also support the participants to re-discover their inner direction or ‘calling’.

I have also researched how working with the organisational Life Myth can be beneficial for businesses and institutions, especially while they go through a crisis, a major restructuring or when they need to re-invent themselves.

Other interests
In my free time I enjoy tracking Processwork patterns in movies, admire magnificent sunsets, contemplate Oriental arts and drink shincha and gyokuro iri sencha green tea. I love travelling to remote places and wandering through spell-binding landscapes, where mountains, lochs, oceans and sky meet. I occasionally practice an ancient art of reading printed books, including all kind of stories from our Earth and the SF&F ones reaching to the lands beyond. I have also written and translated articles, books, reviews and short stories on a variety of subjects. Currently I am hesitantly eyeing a modern and very alien to me idea of starting my own blog…