FAQ: Person Centered Ways to Build Community with PATH and MAPS #2

We love offering this course and find it’s a pretty full-on experience for us. The pandemic has brought us into offering this course virtually online even while we consider when we might be able to again offer the course in person. We keep learning and pushing our edges as we teach and host the course.

We want the course to be the best possible learning experience for everyone. We realize it is a collaborative endeavour. Participants come together and create a learning community with one another for the time we are together.

We offer this FAQ in hopes to help clarify some of our hopes, intentions and expectations.

~ Lynda and Jack

Jack Pearpoint and Lynda Kahn, Course Guides

[email protected]


What are the course dates of the Spring 2022 virtual Open Enrollment Person Centered Ways to Build Community with PATH and MAPS ?

We will meet on the following dates, and we’ve included here a few notes about the course outline for each date. We are posting the times in Eastern time/Toronto. The Winter 2022 course engaged folks from across North America in five (5) time zones. Please use this World Clock to confirm the time in your location https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

  • 2-hour Orientation Session, Tuesday, May 10 from 9:30-11:30 am Eastern

Five full days-  Each day, we will start at 9:30 am and end at 4:30 pm Eastern. The daily workshop will be in two blocks of 3 hours (with breaks), and one hour for lunch. 

MORNING SESSIONS: 9:30am – 12:30pm Eastern;  BREAK 12:30-1:30pm Eastern;   AFTERNOON SESSIONS: 1:30pm -4:30pm Eastern 

  • Monday, May 16 (Listening Practices, Values; Circles of Support; Solution circles)
  • Tuesday, May 17 (Values, Listening Practices, PATH intro; PATH demonstration; Form PATH practice teams)
  • Thursday, May 19 (PATH Practice in teams, and more)
  • Monday, June 6 (Reconnecting, ‘Practice and Stretch’ Check-in; MAPS intro and MAPS Demonstration)
  • Tuesday, June 7 (MAPS Practice in teams)
  • A Follow-up session, Tuesday, June 21 from 9:30-11:30 am Eastern

How do I prepare for the course?

COURSE RESOURCES and MATERIALS: Upon your registration and confirmation of your shipping address, we will ship you a course resource pack, which is included in your registration fee. There are three (3) course books, several person-centered posters, a Workshop Journal, the Learning Journey Booklet included in the course resource pack.

GRAPHICS SUPPLIES and MATERIALS: Each participant will want to have a Sketch pad, water-colour/washable markers (thin and thicker chisel tip), soft chalk pastels, etc.  All materials needed for course participants will be outlined for participants upon registration, including a description of the kind of wall chart/ mural roll paper used in graphic facilitation for practice on wall space. 

  • Photo Phone and Email Directory After registration, each participate will be asked to confirm their preferred contact information including email and telephone, and to send us a headshot photo for our participant email directory so folks can readily find one other during the course.  The Directory will be shared with the group only, so a selfie from your iPhone is just fine.
  • Zoom! Participants need to download and be able to use Zoom.  The course is designed for each person to be seen well and heard on an individual Zoom screen. A laptop or ipad is preferable to a telephone for taking this virtual course.

How do I get the most from this course?

  • We encourage you to form an intention for your own learning journey in this course.  Bring Curiosity, an Open Mind, Open Heart and Open Will to your own learning and engagement.
  • There are suggested reading before and during the course.  We have created some outlines for the readings to help guide you.  It will make a positive difference in your learning if you make time to review, read and prepare.  We will convey the priority readings before the PATH and MAPS demonstration and practice.  These are not overwhelming readings– but they are important. 
  • There is ‘a three-week Pause’ between the PATH and MAP sessions.   Our hope is that participants will do their best to ‘practice’ (hands-on engagement) with real people between sessions, if at all possible.  As a minimum – components of the conversational practices of PATH and MAPS, and other facilitation practices we engage in through the course can be ‘practiced” between sessions with your family, co-workers and beyond. 
  • We hope that people’s commitment will be on-going – with other participants and colleagues and families.  In our experience,  this is an invitation and a challenge to deep engagement.  We hope you share that deep commitment.

What can I expect as a participant?

  • We will engage in and experience many facilitation practices together throughout the course, in addition to demonstrating and practicing the pattern of conversation included in two of the family of person-centered approaches, PATH and MAPS.
  • A Course Overview and Outline will be shared with you upon Registration along with Zoom Tips and the materials list needed for graphics.
  • Participants will be able to interact, engage in practice and reflect on the learning.  There will be dialogue and exercises in pairs and small breakout groups.  The course  will have no more than 25 participants.  Prioritizing comfort and engagement, the sessions will include time for health and body breaks throughout the day.
  • We recognize ‘The greatest learning is in the Stretch!’ That is how we learn, stepping outside what’s the most comfortable to us. Participants in the course should anticipate stepping up and taking a stretch during the course to enter into various roles that are part of the planning processes we will introduce and demonstrate. Everyone will practice in teams: the role of the focus person, graphic facilitator and/or process facilitator. There are many opportunities over the days of the course to try on different roles. 

Do I need to attend all the days of the course?

We have all endured the Pandemic and endless Zoom sessions.  That is why we are breaking the course up:

  • An Orientation (2 hours in advance of the first full day of the course);
  • An ‘Inhale’: three (3) days focused on PATH;
  • an ‘Exhale’ when we trust you will be practicing steps of PATH and/or other facilitation practices we experience together;
  • An ‘Inhale’: two (2) days focused on MAPS;
  • an ‘Exhale’ including practice; and
  • a final Check-in later in June. 

We want you to enjoy your participation.  We also respect your schedules and are counting on you to be fully present for all sessions and to advise us if you are facing a time conflict.

How will I know what’s happening each day?  What the emergent daily Agenda?

  • A Course Overview and Outline will be shared with you upon Registration along with Zoom Tips and the materials list needed for graphics.
  • Mostly we need you to be as present as you can be…so set yourself up with a comfortable chair, snacks and beverages.  If you were in Toronto, we would be offering ‘treats’ and snacking our way through the days!
  • Daily/ each time we meet, you’ll want to collect your course materials, writing journal and your pens, markers, chalk, paper, whatever you like to doodle with – because you will be joining with us in creating doodles as we engage in graphic recording, facilitation and conversational practices throughout the course.

Is there a certification provided on course completion?

We offer a signed Certificate of Participation upon request.

What is the course cost?

$695 for the full workshop

$625 for people with disabilities/families and team rate per person of teams of 3 or more

(Materials and standard shipping are included in your workshop registration fee)

Our Cancellation Policy

We want to be as flexible as possible in the event you need to cancel your registration. With a course start date of May 10 for Orientation, enrolling and shipping materials to new participants (even with a waitlist) is very tight.  We’ll do what we can, as we know, life happens! 

  • For teams enrolled, substitutions of participants are possible up to 2 weeks prior to course Orientation, May 10.  Please contact with us immediately regarding any changes in participants.
  • For individual and team registrations, the course resource pack is non-refundable (value of the books and materials list price is $125.00).  The discounted workshop cost is $85.00).
  • There is non-refundable administrative fee of $45 
  • Refunds for Cancellation Before April 12: Full registration fee refund or credit with Inclusion Press for courses or publications, less non-refundable administration fee $45, and course pack $85.
  • Refunds for Cancellation up to April 20:  75% refund, or credit with Inclusion Press for courses or publications, less administration fee $45, and course pack $85.
  • Refunds for Cancellation up to Two weeks Before Orientation:  50% refund, or credit with Inclusion Press for courses or publications, less administration fee $45, and course pack $85.
  • After April 26, the registration fee is non-refundable. 
  • In the event of emergency issues, please contact us.