2025 Mentoring & Consultation Group for Therapists

March - October 2025 - 6 meetings

Theme: Cultivating Collaborative Relationships In & Outside of Therapy

Joining this consultation and mentorship group offers you a space to refine your skills, receive guidance, and connect with a supportive community of therapists committed to growth within the shared values of Mindful Compassionate Dialogue. Let’s journey together in cultivating the art of mindful, heart centered, meaningful change.

  • You are a couples therapist who values deepening and refining your skills. You have some experience with Mindful Compassionate Dialogue (MCD) either through reading the Connection Gem over the years or through attending a class series or workshop. 

    You would like to  apply the system of Mindful Compassionate Dialogue to the work you do with clients. 

    You would enjoy working in a small group of 4-8 participants along with Elia (formerly LaShelle) and Ava as trainers and guides.

  • This group will be an opportunity to integrate the consciousness and competencies of Mindful Compassionate Dialogue within the context of your practice.

    Together we will create a safe and supportive space for you to grow personally and professionally.

    You will have the opportunity to practice with your colleagues, engage in role plays, and receive direct mentorship and coaching. Learning and integration will include how this work is living in you as well as how it is transmitted to your clients.

    What will we do in this series?

    Our mentorship and consultation sessions will follow a structured format designed to maximize learning and support. Before each meeting, we ask that you email us any specific cases you'd like to discuss. We'll focus on up to two cases per session.

    Each meeting will begin with a brief mindfulness exercise, followed by a 15-minute group check-in in which you will be invited to share an experience of applying MCDT with clients over the past month. After that, we’ll dive into case consultation, providing support and guidance tailored to your needs.

    Next, participants will engage in an experiential practice exercise aimed at strengthening the skills necessary for cultivating a collaborative counseling environment.

    If time permits, we will conclude with a coached role-play or demonstration by the trainers.

  • We will be using zoom video conferencing. Please plan to attend with your camera on,   ready to meet and connect with colleagues and create a safe and focused space for discovery, sharing, and learning. 

    You will be able to review a recording of each session at your leisure.  Participants won't be shown on the recording, but can be heard. You can participate in discussions via chat if you don’t want your voice recorded. Break out groups will not be recorded.

    • Trainers: Ava Frank, LPC, CHT, MCDT and Elia Paz (formerly LaShelle)

    • When:  9:o0am to 11:o0 am (PST), 6 Fridays in 2025 -  March 14th, April 11th, May 9th, June 13th, September 12th, October 10th

    • Where: Zoom

    • Cost:  Varies depending on size

    Small Group (4 - 6 participants): $450 per person for the series

    Large Group (7 - 8 participants): $360 per person for the series

Private Mentorship & Consultation with Ava

Group

You can organize your own group and request a customized series of sessions or reach out directly to join a list of therapists forming a new group. Let’s work together to support your growth and confidence in bringing MCD to life in your practice!

I advise that group sessions include no more than 6 per group to ensure that each member is able to contribute, ask their questions, and leave with answers.

1:1

Virtual or live sessions are available for practitioners integrating MCD in their practice. Meet with me to receive support in case conceptualization, treatment strategies, skill development, and support for your own personhood in the seat of the therapist.  

Meetings may be recorded to allow you to re-watch  so you don’t need to worry about remembering every minute of our time together. 

What is MCD Therapy?

The system of MCD is a scaffolding that allows individuals and couples to take the reins of their healing process. This approach is grounded in the life-serving intention which is expressed through love, care, & power-with dynamics in relationship. Clients are empowered with a detailed and practical map for creating thriving relationships.  MCD offers nine foundations for well-being and building an integrated sense of self. In addition, it articulates 12 relationship competencies for loving & collaborative connections. Once clients have the capacity to engage with these relationship competencies they will have greater capacity to thrive in life and love!

There are clients seeking this work and we look forward to growing the list of practitioners to refer them to! 

This is a revolution in therapy!

Cultivate your own skill and capacity to ground in love, care, and power-with dynamics. From this consciousness and with the support of the MCDT system, you will discover a path to thriving in relationships.

There is a map to thriving relationships, I want you to have it!

MCD Therapy

Founded by J. Ava Frank with support from LaShelle Lowe-Charde´

MCD Therapy offers a heart centered, comprehensive approach to therapy that supports you in developing foundational wellbeing and the skills necessary for cultivating thriving relationships with yourself and others.  

MCD Therapy offers mindful/somatic/experiential exploration and healing related to the 9 Foundations: attunement, warmth, security, awareness of self, health, nervous system regulation, equanimity, clarity, and concentration

This practice also offers experiential support in integrating the skills of the 12 Relationship Competencies: appreciation, empathy, honest expression, self empathy, recognizing reactivity, managing reactivity, needs-based negotiations, live-serving boundaries, thriving and resilience, relationship repair, emotional security, and healthy differentiation

Clients receive the outline of the MCD Model which provides details regarding the Foundations and Competencies along with specific and doable practices to support growth.   The map to thriving relationship is clear and you can have it!

This approach uniquely empowers you to have a deeper awareness of your own foundational wellbeing and areas you may choose to focus on in your therapy in order to cultivate your capacity to experience the quality of relationships you desire.

The Map

MCD is a comprehensive system and map that describes the process and skills necessary for cultivating thriving relationships with yourself and others. As I like to say “it’s a map to thriving relationships!”

This map includes 9 foundations of selfhood and 12 relationship competencies. Through the development of life-serving intention and these personal foundations and relationship skills you begin to relate consistently with mindful engagement, agency, compassion, and wise discernment.

MCD is founded on teachings and practices of mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and Hakomi.