We are happy to announce that the students from the Intensive Trager Approach Practitioner Certification Program that began in May of 2018 are soon to graduate to Practitioner status. This program was the first in the GLTA region to offer students the opportunity to go through the complete training that included all the core trainings, supervised practice days, and tutorials in one location (Cincinnati,OH) and within a specific time frame. The seven students who went through the whole or most of the training lived within a two hour drive of Cincinnati while others who only wanted to participate in selected training segments traveled from various parts of the US.
Originally the training pulled students from two Level l trainings that were held a month apart, one in the Columbus, OH area sponsored by Judy Fasone and taught by Roger Hughes and Gail Stewart and another in Cincinnati sponsored by Elisabeth Contadino and Beverly Cox and taught by Denis Lafontaine and Louise de Montigny. These trainings were followed by A&P with Deane Juhan, Level ll with Cindy Popp-Hager, Mentastics with Roger Tolle and last, but not least, Level lll with Gail Stewart - a wonderful lineup of instructors! Beverly Cox was the dedicated and skilled tutor and supervised practice days supervisor. She also conducted numerous intro classes from which students were recruited. Elisabeth Contadino provided logistical organization and support.
Besides having brought more practitioners into the Trager family, we now have a stronger Trager community in the south-east corner of the GLTA region. Students got to know each other deeply and witnessed and supported each others’ growth and progress. Others who also helped to foster the sense of community were two practitioners from the Dayton area, about an hour from Cincinnati, and several others from the Columbus area who attended some of the trainings either as assistants or repeat students. The participation of a total of 43 people including students, assistants, practitioners, instructors, and even two French translators made the program such a success for our region.
The training also helped to provide incentive for future trainings. Beverly Cox is intending to have a similar program in Indianapolis, IN. in the near future. Judy Fasone is providing strong support to Visar Duane from the Cleveland area, one of the students soon to graduate, who is in the process of sponsoring intros and trainings out of her incredible farm house. Judy is teaching the intros and Mentastics. Tentative plans are in the works to bring Gail Stewart back to Cincinnati to do a Level V or some other class. She has also accepted the invitation to do a Level IV when our graduates are ready for it. There are also tentative plans to bring Michael Lear to our region on a regular basis to provide sessions and tutorials. In addition to all of this, there is a brain storming of ideas and a growing sense of hope that efforts to revitalize Trager will be successful.
So there you have it! If any of you are interested in learning more about how this was pulled off or if you are thinking of doing something similar, Beverly Cox and Elisabeth Contadino would be happy to talk with you. Their contact information is bclight2u@gmail.com and econtadino@gmail.com.