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Yearly Train The Trainer program

TOTEM - Certification Training

Do you want to become an even more impactful facilitator? This year-long training is for you if you want to deepen your skills in art-based and experiential methods!

Course price: 5450€


Begin your transformative journey with us!

Update your skills under the guidance of masters!

Welcome to the 9-month Train the Trainer journey, offering a deep and practical dive into art-based and experiential methods! This training is specifically designed for group leaders, facilitators, trainers, coaches, and managers who want to develop into even more impactful and skilled facilitators. The training will be led by industry veterans Päivi Rautiainen (LuovatWorkshopit) and Simo Routarinne (Proimpro Oy), who together bring over 60 years of experience in guiding groups, utilizing art-based methods, and inspiring participants. Their expertise and creative approach make this training a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Applications are received in April!

How to apply?

The Train the Trainer program will select 12–24 participants who have experience in facilitation and group leadership and a desire to further develop their skills. The application process ensures that the group consists of motivated and committed participants. The application period will begin in early April.

Fill out the application and tell us about your educational and professional background, as well as why you want to join! Those who meet the basic criteria—i.e., have experience in group facilitation—will be invited for an interview. Selections will be made based on applications and interviews by the end of May.

Who is this training for?

This training is aimed at those who already have a foundation in facilitation and group leadership and wish to deepen their skills. However, the most important qualities are a willingness to learn, curiosity, and the readiness to grow together with others.

Application Criteria:

  • Experience in facilitation, group leadership, teaching, or coaching
  • Ability to reflect on your own learning and actions
  • Willingness to learn and try new things
  • Commitment to the program (min. 80% attendance)
  • Good communication and collaboration skills

The application period opens in April 2025. Stay tuned for announcements and apply as soon as registration opens.

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Connection, community and surfing on the waves of chaos!

Outcomes

  • Creating Connection and Psychological Safety – Learn to create an atmosphere where every participant feels safe to engage.

  • Workshop Opening and Warm-up – Effective techniques to get the group involved right from the start.

  • Managing Group Dynamics and Systemic Facilitation – Deepen your understanding of group behavior and facilitate like a pro.

  • Experiential and Body-Based Methods – Increase interaction and community through bodily techniques.

  • Visual Arts, Improvisation, and Drama – Discover new ways to facilitate and create meaningful experiences for participants.

  • Facilitating Disagreement and Conflict – Learn to guide a group towards constructive discussion even in conflict situations.

    Don’t miss this unique opportunity! Join us to update your skills and gain new inspiration under the guidance of the industry’s top experts!

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Learning as an Experience!

Fasilitators, Trainers and all Teachers

Are you looking for new ways to inspire and engage your students? This year-long Train the Trainer program is designed for anyone working in education, including facilitators, trainers, teachers, and coaches.

The training offers practical and creative ways to enrich your skills with art-based and experiential methods that support interdisciplinary learning and activate learners in new ways.

Join us and update your pedagogical skills using interactive and cross-disciplinary methods! This training is a perfect opportunity to enhance your teaching in creative and impactful ways – and provide your learners with unforgettable learning experiences!

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Professional development is often supported!

Tell your boss about this!

We recommend suggesting the "Respectful Interaction in the Workplace" training to your supervisor – many employers are willing to support employees' well-being by funding such training. If you're feeling brave, ask your supervisor to join you! This training not only benefits the individual but has far-reaching effects on the entire work community: it strengthens teamwork, promotes trust, and increases job satisfaction. A positive organizational culture is built through creative facilitation and this training provides the practical tools needed for that.

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60 years of joint expertise here!

Your coaches

Päivi Rautiainen is a team coach, inspiring motivator, and creativity coach who has passionately trained teams and organizations with art-based and experiential methods for over 30 years.

Simo Routarinne is an interaction designer and applied improvisation coach. He is an internationally recognized expert in status expression and power communication, a wise and humorous lecturer, facilitator, moderator, and trainer.

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Virtually led learning in the flow of work!

About the implementation

The training is designed for you if you're looking for new, inspiring, creative, and practical ways to develop yourself and your work. The training consists of both in-person sessions, remote meetings, and asynchronous learning on the Howspace platform, where we will address weekly themes, share insights, lessons, and experiments, and reflect on experiences together.

Implementation

Join the year-long Train the Trainer program and take your skills to the next level under the guidance of masters! The trainers, Päivi Rautiainen and Simo Routarinne, each bring 30 years of experience in arts-based and experiential methods. This training offers you practical tools for effective group facilitation, creating and maintaining psychological safety, using creative and arts-based methods, building a creative community, and resolving conflicts—plus the opportunity to find your own tribe! Seize the opportunity and elevate your training skills under the guidance of experienced professionals!

Structure and Execution

  • 10 in-person modules: Friday evenings 17:00-20:00 + Saturday days 10:00-17:00 (exception: first Friday evening 15:00-20:00)
  • 9 remote modules in between. The dates for remote meetings will be agreed separately.
  • Small group work
  • 1-to-1 coaching 1-2 times (either both of us or just one)
  • Asynchronous work on Howspace platform 24/7
  • Supplementary materials, including an e-book Improvisoi!

Course fee: €5450

Participants: Min 12, max 24

Training Schedule

(Trainings are held in the Helsinki area)

  • Creating Connections: September 5–6 (Fri 15:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Systemic Facilitation of Groups: October 3–4 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Exercises and Reflection Discussions: November 7–8 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Arts-Based Methods: November 28–29 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Embodied Methods: December 19–20 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Applied Improvisation: January 9–10 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Facilitating Conflict: February 13–14 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Designing Trainings: March 6–7 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Demo Workshops: April 10–11 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)
  • Graduation: May 9–10 (Fri 17:00–20:00, Sat 10:00–17:00)

In addition to 10 in-person sessions:

9 Remote Sessions via Zoom

The dates for the remote modules will be agreed upon individually during each in-person session. Additionally, we will maintain asynchronous communication 24/7 on the Howspace platform through text, audio, images, and videos!

One-to-One Personal Coaching Sessions

Participants will have the opportunity for personalized coaching with Päivi and/or Simo, 1-2 times.

Additional Materials

The course fee includes the Improvisoi! e-book.

All begins with play!

Content

We will create a safe and accepting atmosphere together, strengthening psychosocial safety. We will get used to being in states of chaos, growth, development, uncertainty, and not knowing. We will help each other grow, learn, and develop.
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1.Creating Connection - How to Start a Session

Tuning in, group cohesion (tuning oneself, the space, and the group). Setting goals and taking responsibility for guiding the group toward them. Who sets what goals – the facilitator, the group, or together? There are certain permanent goals for the facilitator, such as psychosocial safety, diversifying expression, and fostering a tolerant, encouraging, hopeful, and appreciative environment. We make agreements with both ourselves and the group. Task: Set your own values as a facilitator.

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2. Systemic coaching approach

Staying attuned to the group’s dynamics, understanding both their emotional and cognitive states, and responding accordingly to maintain a productive and safe environment. Observations about the group's mood, energy, and engagement inform how you lead them through the process and when to adjust your approach to optimize learning and interaction. Closing the day in an engaging way using creative methods helps solidify the experiences and insights gained.

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3. Excercises and Debrief

How things and content are made visible through concrete exercises and embodied methods. We perform exercises and debrief them layer by layer through discussion—exploring different levels of debriefing questions that connect the experiences and emotions to the needs and contexts of the target groups. We also explore how to frame content within any exercise (frame games).
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4. Art-Based Methods

We deepen our understanding of the possibilities of visual art methods and ways of working by creating images with various materials. We explore the connection between words, storytelling, and narrative with visual expression. We understand how even mundane and dry content can be worked with fruitfully and joyfully through images. We also investigate how collaboration, group dynamics, and collective intelligence can be explored by creating images.
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5. Embodied & Movement Methods

We explore embodiment through multiple methods. We familiarize ourselves with techniques such as statue techniques, intelligent clay techniques, authentic movement, different movement qualities, and dance expression, using them as sources of knowledge, for processing information, and for making knowledge visible. We recognize the stimulating and thought- and emotion-expanding effects of embodiment and work on increasing courage in using these methods as facilitators and coaches.

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6. Applied Improvisation

We explore the basics of improvisation and pedagogy. We review the framework of constructive vs. competitive interaction and connect the exercises we’ve already done to this theoretical framework. We also delve into status behavior through the "Spheres of Influence" framework. Additionally, we deepen our understanding of the pedagogy of functional methods and their connection to the coach's values.

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7. Facilitating Disagreement and Conflict

Every group leader has experiences with "difficult groups" or at least "challenging participants." We go through methods and exercises that allow us to address challenges constructively and turn them into strengths. We explore how we can guide the group systemically in ways that increase "fire safety" (psychological safety). We also work on case studies.

 
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8. Session Design

Invisible architecture, personal attire, coach's "branding," selection of exercises, tools, slides, etc. The arcs of the day, week, and the entire process. Plans and goals are drawn in the sand, not carved in stone. Productization and marketing. Schiuma and its application areas. SessionLab and other design tools.

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9. Demo Sessions

Participants present the workshop they have designed and led to the group. The workshop can be conducted either with a client or with the Totem group.

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10. Graduation

The graduation, reflection on the journey, and conclusion, along with collegial feedback. Certification certificates will be distributed on the Howspace platform during the last week of May.

 
Let us hear from you!

Curious to learn more?

We are glad to have a chat with you!