About this Event
Authentic relating community workshops: The Hero/ines' Journey
In these workshops you reimagine your life and explore how to make this a reality in a safe and supportive environment. Together we build an authentic community of fellow travellers grounded in meaningful connections and honest conversations using fun and engaging activities.
There are three two-hour workshops in the series. The workshops’ activities are based on games created by the Authentic Relating movement and are connected together by the thematic thread of Joseph Campbell's “Hero’s Journey” myth. The activities, over the course of the three workshops, build upon each other and take the participants, both individually and collectively, on a journey to develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others.
These games create a relaxed environment that encourages participants to be genuine in their self-expression and empathetic in their interactions with each other. They are primarily verbal, not physical, and involve you working with your fellow participants in different combinations during a workshop: pairs, groups of 3 or 4, and all together. The activities are fun and engaging, while still facilitating open and honest communication.
Here is some feedback from previous workshop attendees:
“Brilliant workshops. Thanks Yianni for organising and for everyone who showed up with your insight, vulnerability, absolute human beauty and openness. I learnt so much about myself through each of you and feel very grateful and inspired.” Saffron
“I thought the workshops were amazing, really powerful. Thanks Yianni and everyone who attended, it was a beautiful experience.” Nick
“Thanks everyone for the awesome play and connection on Saturday. l've definitely had some stuff churning up in surprising ways so very grateful to everyone's presence and contribution.” Delilah
Dates and times. This event listing is for all three workshops:
Workshop 1: “Departure”. Saturday 2nd May 2026. 3pm to 5pm
The theme of this workshop, “Departure”, is the start of the journey. It will help you begin reimagining your life, exploring with others your hesitations in making this a reality and understanding how these might be overcome.
Workshop 2: “Initiation”. Sunday 10th May. 3pm to 5pm
The theme of this workshop, “Initiation”, is the beginning of the hero/ine's transformation. The workshop will give you support in continuing your journey and help you explore what has power over you. It will also help you discover your “superpowers” and blind spots.
Workshop 3: “Return”. Saturday 16th May. 4pm to 6pm
This workshop is themed around the hero/ine’s return from their journey and helps you consolidate what you have learnt so far and how to bring this into your everyday life to create change.
(The three workshops are an integrated course, so they can’t be signed up for separately.)
Fees and venue. The fee for attending the whole series of three workshops is £24 or £20 for "early bird" tickets (the fees are low compared to similar offerings because these workshops are run as not-for-profit). There is a maximum of 12 places available.
The venue is The Loft (above "Little Dippers" swimming pool), 40 Upper Gardner Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 4AN. Take the stairs once you enter the "Little Dippers" building. (Some people have trouble finding this building because it isn't signed. It is painted light blue and has two iron-barred gates, and one has a poster of babies swimming attached to it. Directly across the road are two signed buildings: the red-painted Bazaar and the white-painted The Old Stables.)
About the organiser. My name is Yianni (also known as John), and I run volunteer projects in Sussex to build and support local communities. This project, Authentic Community Brighton, draws on my training in organisational development, psychodynamics and coaching, for which I hold an MSc (studied jointly at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and at HEC Paris). It also draws on my professional experience developing and delivering experiential workshops for organisations internationally in collaboration with London Business School, amongst others.
The main hub for Authentic Community Brighton is on WhatsApp, so please join us there if you’d like to be in contact with fellow travellers from this and previous workshops. This is also where you can find out about our monthly authentic relating sessions, which are only open to previous attendees of this workshop series: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GnAzU22SFY2IeZADOicKiI
Note that the workshops are NOT group therapy sessions. While the workshops aims to create a supportive and warm environment that encourages you to be open with others without judgement, each participant needs to decide for themselves the degree that they are comfortable doing this. What you share, and how and when you share it, is up to the participant to decide during each activity. Avoid sharing anything about a past trauma if you feel unable to manage the emotions that might arise from this.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Loft at Little Dippers, 40-42 Upper Gardner Street, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom
GBP 22.38 to GBP 26.71
