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October | November 2026

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A 5-Week Developmental Learning Lab

Sundays, Oct 25 - Nov 22 | 12 - 1:30pm

Fee: $195 | $145 | $75 | Sliding Scale

Mark Twain, Pablo Neruda, Ursula K. Le Guin, Nazim Hikmet, Lev Vygotsky, Bayo Akomolafe, Mahatma Gandhi and many others have given us words that can stop us, move us, make us think and feel—and suddenly help us see differently. Join Lois Holzman as together we open our ears and hearts, roll up our sleeves, and play with their provocations drawn from her Words to Ponder archive. Together we will spark our imagination and widen our gaze, question assumptions and make new, unexpected connections. 

A 4-Week Group

Mondays, Oct 5, 12, 19, 26 | 6 - 7:30pm

$175 | $125 | $60 | Sliding Scale

Helen Abel (USA) and Nicola Pauling (NZ) invite you to play with the experience of aging, to explore and reshape how we relate to being older and being seen as older. Together, we’ll discover creative ways to respond to physical changes and illness, to give and receive care, and to honour our right to lifelong development.

A 5-Week Guide to Building Life Teams

Sundays, Oct 25 - Nov 22 | 10:30am - 12pm

Fee: $150 | $85 | $45 | Sliding Scale

Building a meaningful life is something we can do together. In this five-week Developing Across Borders workshop, social therapeutic coaches Lea Csikós and Elyse Mendel invite you to explore where you feel stuck, experiment with new ways of responding, and strengthen the relationships that support you. Through conversation, improvisation, readings, and group-building, you’ll discover how to live more socially—and build your life with others.

A 2-Day Introduction to Social Therapeutics

Sat, Nov 7 | 11:30am - 3:30pm & Sun, Nov 8 | 1 - 3pm

Fee: $175 | $125 | $60

For scholarship requests contact clobman@eastsideinstitute.org

Space is limited! Register now.

Therapists, coaches, educators, group leaders and environment builders are invited to explore Social Therapy, a radically relational, group approach to human development. Join social therapist Rachel Mickenberg, LCSW, for this two-day hands-on practicum in group-building and emotional development, and expand your capacity to create environments where people can develop together.

The Therapeutic Relationship Up Close and Personal

Sun, Nov 8 | 1 - 3pm

Fee: $75 | $50 | $25 | Sliding Scale

Come inside the therapeutic relationship and be part of the conversation as therapists and coaches and their clients talk openly about the work they create together. Join social therapists Jennifer Bullock and Murray Dabby (co-author of Social Therapeutic Coaching: A Practical Guide to Group and Couples Work) fellow practitioners and their clients for a rare, personal conversation about their work together and the collective activity of building environments where people can grow.

All Power to the Developing Podcast

Still Developing:

Reimagining What It Means to Grow Older

What does it mean to keep developing as we grow older? Join Des Wandan in conversation with Helen Abel and Nicola Pauling about aging, community, play, performance—and the possibilities for development throughout our lives. Together they explore how improvisation, supportive communities and new forms of interdependence can help us creatively engage with the challenges of growing older—and imagine a “third age” filled with learning, connection, creativity and play.

East Side Institute Initiatives & Alliances

Viritual: emotional support group, 2nd Saturday of each month, at 2pm

Led by Harlem-based physician Jessie Fields, and social therapists Hugh Polk and Rachel Mickenberg. Free Registration.

In-Person: Creating Conversations Together, 3rd Wednesday of each month, at 11am

With Harlem physician Jessie Fields, community health advocate Allen Cox and educator Denise Kaalund. Free at St. Philip's Church, 204 West 134 St., NYC

Let’s Learn! The World as Classroom, an ESI alliance with Lloyd International Honors College, UNC-Greensboro. For a view of the entire fall schedule and FREE registration, click here.

Creative Director: Ann Green | Graphic Designer & Video Producer: Mieke Lippstreu | Tech & Video Producer: Desire Wandan

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