Sat Dharam Kaur is a naturopathic doctor and has supported Dr. Gabor Maté in structuring the Compassionate Inquiry approach so that others can learn it. She created the Beyond Addiction program, a yogic path to recovery. She trains people in Kundalini Yoga and has a private practice in Owen Sound, Ontario.

Espe Garcia has been working in customer relations for over 30 years. She is a compassionate and passionate person with an incredible curiosity for the human experience at any stage of their journey, inspired by a lady with dementia, she became a creative therapist in the search of finding a new way to communicate with her. Espe found her love for the creative process by playing with paint when she moved to England in 2007. She has done visual exhibitions and creative workshops for the most vulnerable in the community. In her latest years she has been working as an integrative counselor at St Elisabeth Hospice in the UK, where she integrates her creative and CI skills to work with terminal patients and their families. She has been recently appointed as CI Spanish Intern and Mentorship Coordinator.

Jinny Jacinto has worked as a performing artist around the world for the past 30 years, much of this with Cirque du Soleil. Her multi-dimensional teaching incorporates her explorations of gymnastics, Feldenkreiis, Pilates, yoga, meditation, and Compassionate Inquiry. She focuses on the human body as a whole, including: all aspects of its unity with the brain; patterns where we unconsciously hold tension; specific body parts where awareness is not yet awakened, or has been forgotten… or just needs a little energy boost.

Celeste Thirlwell MD is a Sleep Medicine Specialist and Psychiatrist with a background in neurosurgery and neuroscience research. She is an international authority on the treatment of PTSD and Concussion with medical cannabis and cutting-edge bioelectric modalities. She has recently trained in Compassionate Inquiry (CI) and the Heart Freedom Method (HFM). She is the founder and director of the Sleep Wake Awareness Program (SWAP), which provides comprehensive, multimodal treatment for sleep/wake health issues. She has presented nationally and internationally on Insomnia, Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Fibromyalgia Syndrome/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (FMS/CFS), Pulse Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF), Eye Movement and Desensitization Therapy (EMDR), and Medical Cannabis Therapy. She has worked extensively with Refugees and Military Veterans. She incorporates innovative approaches such as medical cannabis, psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, and electromagnetic field modalities, such as pulse electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) and photobiomodulation (PBM), into her practice.

Dr. Annamaria Kadar PhD was born in Târgu Mureş, Romania. After graduating as a teacher, Anna obtained a degree in psychology from BBU, Cluj-Napoca. She completed her doctoral studies at the Eötvös Lóránd University, Budapest and at the same time obtained a professional qualification in work and organizational psychology at the University of Technology, Budapest. Anna, in her work, turned her focus towards the fields of systematic family, couple and relaxation and symbol therapy, working as a school psychologist and as a professor at BBU, Cluj-Napoca. Anna’s diverse work portfolio also includes working as a trainer and is also the co-editor and presenter of a weekly TV show. At the core of Anna’s work is storytelling. As a business trainer, professor or therapist, she helps others to tell their stories. As everyone can become the hero of their story, Anna believes in the healing power of storytelling in the development of emotional intelligence. Her books of Fairytale Psychology have twice won the Libri Gold Book Award.

Boroka Horvath PhD is living in Targu Mures, Romania. She is married with 2 children. She has her own professional business, as well she is working as a volunteer for Romanian charity service of the order of Malta. She is a CBT therapist and a PTSD counselor using different psychotherapy techniques e.g. EMDR Therapy, Rewind Technique, Art Therapy and Psychodrama. She is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Chi running practitioner. She believes in the healing power of holistic therapy, which assumes that an individual’s self-perception (or their consciousness) is not to be found in any one particular area but is an integration of the entire person, including their physical body, mind, feelings or emotions and spirit.

Diana Curtis is a Grief Counselor, Life Coach and student of Compassionate Inquiry. Her voice is heard around the world as she hosts the “Growing Through Grief Podcast”. Diana is a retired CDC Public Health Advisor who has a passion for supporting individuals wishing to improve their mental and emotional health. Her experience working in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors has provided countless opportunities to partner and serve with diverse groups of people; and, especially the BIPOC community. Diana is always looking to connect with diverse groups to lend her subject-matter-expertise to drive collective impact.

Justin McLean is a Child & Youth Care Practitioner with over 20 years of experience, committed to improving the lives of young people who seek help in overcoming their social, emotional, academic, behavioral, and addiction challenges. He is dedicated to anti-racist and anti-oppression practices, which inform his work in crisis management and creating safe environments for young people with complex needs. Justin finds success in his work through the use of Nonviolent Communication, Collaborative Problem Solving, and Compassionate Inquiry while supporting young people and families at home, in school, through mobile crisis intervention, and live-in treatment.

Siri Dharma (Sheila) is a certified Compassionate Inquiry practitioner and has been a facilitator of the online training since its inception in 2019. She co-leads the Safety and Connection course that is part of the online training, where the focus is on creating safety in Compassionate Inquiry sessions. Sheila has walked a deep path with grief through her yoga work with children born HIV positive in South Africa before anti-retroviral medication was available. She befriended her own capacity for grief in facing the death of many of her young students, who were dying at about ages 10 or 11. She came to see the children as guides and catalysts for releasing deeply held grief in those that came to love them, as she did. She met her foster son here and has him by her side to this day. She is deeply honored to hold others in their grief and has a special interest in the part grief plays in Compassionate Inquiry and in the healing process.

Rhonda is a Compassionate Inquiry practitioner, founding facilitator, mentor/consultant for certification, certification reviewer, circle leader, psychotherapist and plant medicine integration specialist. Compassionate Inquiry is the foundation upon which she works, integrating other strong somatic modalities including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Hakomi, and Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT). She also draws from the Polyvagal Theory, all of which have been instrumental in her own healing process in addiction and illness. She is dedicated to supporting others in their journey.

Beth Ebers is a CI Practitioner, Relational Somatic Therapist and Herbalist, who has worked extensively with plant medicines in ceremonial context. In her capacity as facilitator she assists individuals to prepare for, process and integrate their experiences; drawing on various approaches including Compassionate Inquiry. Beth has worked with Gabor Maté in numerous plant medicine healing retreats. Beth is also a Midwife who approaches the experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting as pathways to healing.

Tony Hoare is founding CI Practitioner and a Relational Somatic Therapist. He has worked in Ayahuasca ceremonies since 2005 and supported Gabor’s plant medicine retreats from 2009 to 2017. Tony has supported participants in plant medicine ceremonies as well as helping them prepare and integrate their experiences. For the last three years he has focused on psychedelic assisted therapy.

Irina Ungureanu is a transpersonal therapist, with a background in performative arts and a PhD in theater and interculturalism. Based in Bucharest, Romania, she is an artistic consultant at the National University of Theater and Film, and for over 13 years a public speaker, breathwork facilitator, trainer and lecturer on personal development and therapeutic modalities, focusing on group processes and holistic approaches. In her private practice she specializes in psychedelic integration therapy and in support for suicidal distress, anchored in trauma-informed therapy. She started her CI journey in 2020, as a result of her own healing process following the teachings of Dr. Gabor Mate, and her personal experience shaped her passion for building a specialized community and compassionate support system for those experiencing or impacted by suicide.

Camilla Monroe is a trauma informed psychotherapist based in Cork City Ireland. Camilla became a psychotherapist inspired by her own trauma recovery journey and is very focused on the mind body connection in her work. Prior to entering private practice, Camilla worked as a therapist and clinical assessor for Pieta House, a suicide prevention charity that supports clients experiencing self-harm and suicidal ideation. Since 2020 Camilla and her colleague Irina Ungureanu have been seeking ways to integrate Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry approach into a treatment lens that shifts the focus from suicide prevention to suicide attention to support both those experiencing suicidal distress and those working with it. Over the last year they have been developing a Suicide Attention Training: A Compassionate Inquiry Informed relational approach to working with clients with suicial ideation.

H. Özden Bademci holds an associate professorship in clinical psychology at Maltepe University in Istanbul. She is the Founder Director for Research and Application Centre for Street Children (SOYAÇ) at Maltepe University. Bademci obtained a BSc degree in Psychology from Ege University (Turkey). MA in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies from Tavistock Clinic (UK) and PhD in Migration Studies from the University of Kent (UK). Following her PhD research on the service provision for street children in Istanbul, Bademci has played a leading role in the establishment of the first University Centre in Turkey that is dedicated to address the rehabilitation and protection needs of vulnerable children and youth. In recognition for her contribution and commitment to create positive social change that improves the lives of vulnerable children in 2017, The British Council in Turkey awarded Bademci with the UK Alumni Social Impact Award.

Jo Cavalot is a specialist working with people with hoarding, chronic disorganization and extreme clutter through a non-profit in the UK (Hoarding Disorders UK CIC). She started working in this area after identifying the similarities with her own mental health difficulties. Jo joined CI in the September 2021 cohort after hitting a block with her journey in recovery from alcoholism, and to further help in her work with others. Since joining CI she has got divorced, fallen in love, bought a campervan and got a massive dragon tattoo.

Mary O’Connor is a certified Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach and Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner. She is a facilitator for the Compassionate Inquiry Circles. Mary coaches clients individually and in groups to move away from unhelpful beliefs and build compassion for themselves. Mary practiced law in Silicon Valley, California, and in Ireland. She holds an LL.M. from the University of San Francisco and an LL.B. from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Mary holds and M.Sc. from the South East Technological University, Ireland. Mary began to explore the more human side of people and how that can be pushed aside to meet deadlines in business settings. She now supports people who realize that they need to overcome certain beliefs about themselves in order to sustain and nurture themselves and their career. Mary volunteers with an organization that supports people affected by stress, depression, and mood related conditions by co-facilitating online group meetings.

Hi. My name is Luke. I enjoy moving, meditating, cooking, and playing with my son, Jack. My doctoral research focused on meditation as an intervention for men with porn addiction. The take-home message was clear: We can all strive to practice more self-compassion with our self-destructive behaviors because the triggers, emotions, and contexts beneath the surface are the cause of our difficulties, not the behavior itself. As a Wellbeing Coach and Somatic Therapist, I’ve been able to integrate my broad personal, academic, and professional experience into a unique approach for helping others. Today, I utilize compassionate inquiry, somatic practices, and healthy lifestyle strategies to help clients experience more vitality, authenticity, and inner peace in everyday life.

Sat Dharam Kaur is a naturopathic doctor and has supported Dr. Gabor Maté in structuring the Compassionate Inquiry approach so that others can learn it. She created the Beyond Addiction program, a yogic path to recovery. She trains people in Kundalini Yoga and has a private practice in Owen Sound, Ontario.

Leah is a lifelong adventurer of sound and listening—as a community choir leader, vocalist, pianist, improviser, singer/songwriter and facilitator. I direct the Song Keepers Women’s Choir and the JoySounds choir, both on Gabriola Island. I am co-founder of Sound, Belonging & Wholeness, offering programs that explore vocal sounding and focused listening as portals to healing and transformation. I’ve worked with many esteemed vocal artists and sound healing pioneers, including Chloé Goodchild, Jill Purce, Rhiannon, and Karina Schelde. I have composed and recorded two volumes of Diamond Chants—musical settings of ecstatic poetry by Rumi, Hafiz, Hildegard of Bingen and others. I have also written, produced, and performed two albums of original songs: Facets (2019) and Portals (2021). I live with my partner Greg on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, with gratitude for our community, the Coast Salish people and the Snuneymuxw First Nation.