Maria Kontarini
LEARNING PROGRAMME
PSYCHOTHERAPISTS
AS PEACEMAKERS
Using Healing Skills for Social Change
Registrations for Cohort 2 are now open
Following the completion of Cohort 1 in October 2026
You Care about the World
As psychotherapist you witness how inequality, exclusion and conflict affect people’s lives.
You Want to Respond
You wonder what contribution you could make, how to engage with problems that feel so much larger than you and how much you can realistically take on.
You may already be involved and find yourself tired, discouraged or searching for a more sustainable way of contributing.
A Supported Path from Concern to Contribution
This is a multi-year learning journey that moves from laying the foundations of being a peacemaker, towards finding your own direction and gradually putting it into practice.
Throughout the learning journey, you will:
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Identify how your therapeutic skills, knowledge and life experience can contribute to peace.
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Develop personal practices that sustain your wellbeing and engagement.
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Explore how the Person-Centred Approach can extend beyond the therapeutic relationship and engage with ideas from peace studies and social change.
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Develop broader frameworks for understanding your clients and your work, connecting personal and relational experience with the wider social context.
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Deepen your interpersonal and group facilitation skills through the relationships and experiences that unfold within the group.
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Clarify where and how you want to contribute, and what knowledge, resources and support you need.
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Explore how your skills might open possibilities beyond individual therapy, including new professional activities, roles or forms of contribution.
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Develop and put into practice your own way of contributing to peace, learning from experience and continuing to shape your work as it develops.
The Learning Journey
Year 1 — Being: Laying the Foundations
Year 2 — Being & Doing: Preparing for Praxis
Year 3 — Doing & Being: Praxis
How I Support and Facilitate Your Learning
I bring together nearly thirty years of experience working at the intersections of psychotherapy, diplomacy, peacebuilding and organisational life.
Through skilled group facilitation and my experience as a psychotherapist, I support
each person while helping the group build trust, explore differences and learn together. My background in diplomacy and politics helps connect personal experience with wider social and political realities, while my organisational experience offers practical support for turning your ideas into action.
Photo - Community Day 2026
A Community for Life
Being a peacemaker is a lifelong journey. My wider vision is to cultivate a community of practitioners who support one another throughout their lives—sharing learning, exploring possibilities for collaboration and sustaining each other through the challenges of working for peace.
Explore the Programme
Registrations are now open for Cohort 2 of Year One — Being: Laying the Foundations. Download the guide for Year 1 to find out more about the preliminary dates, fees, programme content and how to join.
Let’s Talk
If this speaks to you, I warmly invite you to email me to arrange a conversation. We can explore what you want to contribute, discuss your questions and consider whether the programme is right for you.
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