LifePath
Coaching and Facilitation
ABOUT
LifePath Coaching and Facilitation was started in 1986 while I was studying at York University, in the Faculty of Environmental Studies for a Masters in Social Policy and Environmental Studies.
As an Adult Educator and Consultant, I have had the privilege of offering a variety of courses to people in a range of contexts and consulted with organizations from all over Ontario and Canada.
For almost 30 years I have worked with families of all kinds. I have especially cherished the opportunity as an Independent Facilitator to support individuals with developmental disabilities within the context of their families to take the next step whatever that might be and live the life they have imagined.
My interests in narrative approaches and coaching has over the past five years brought a rich and meaningful aspect to my life as I observe how people's lives and close relationships transform through meaningful dialogue.
Judith McGill
The Meaning of the Dragonfly
Dragonfly is the essence of the winds of change, the messages of wisdom and enlightenment, and the communications from the elemental world. This elemental world is made up of the tiny spirits of plants, and of the elements air, earth, fire, and water. In essence, this world is full of nature spirits…If you feel the need for change, call on Dragonfly to guide you through the mists of illusion to the pathway of transformation…Follow Dragonfly to the place inside your body where magic is still alive, and drink deeply of its power. This strength belongs to you. It is the power of becoming the illusion. This ability is ever changing, and contains within it the knowledge that you are creating it all. (Sams, Jamie and David Carson. Medicine Cards. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. (145-146)
Chris Luttichau, in his book, Animal Spirit Guides, echoes these authors when he says, “Dragonfly encourages us to see the illusions that define us. Let him guide you to the forgotten part of your soul, so that an understanding of your true self can begin to emerge” (106). He continues by saying, “Realizing our true potential, in a way that also benefits other people, is the ultimate expression of the power of the dragonfly” (106).
The peacemaker, the symbol of transformation, the being of light who helps us see through our illusions: the dragonfly as a symbol helps us defy obstacles in order to become our most powerful selves – the dragonfly as an example (in its lifespan) literally demonstrates the journey we all must take to become our truest selves.
Excerpted from http: //dragonflyhealing.wordpress
Approach to Adult Education
Over the past two years, I have been offering retreats and mentoring Facilitators in the field of disability to cultivate a more mindful practice on a day-to-day basis. That work has led me into an in-depth study of neuroscience and mindfulness and the connection it has to adult education. I am completing a two-year certificate program on Mindfulness through the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.
All of my courses are dedicated to educating the whole being, the head, the heart and the will. The arts are incorporated into every facet of my work. I believe that using visual and performing arts is a powerful learning tool because it causes us to go beyond our typical habits of thought and moves us to a new awareness and understanding.
To be moved to act is a precious thing, especially at a time in our history where many of us are paralysed and immobilized by fear and the enormity of it all. I believe that it is through a combination of pedagogical approaches that people are moved to act. Through listening, observing, reflecting, digesting and applying, learners will synthesize and make sense of the phenomenon before them. I am committed to that end.
Finally, three mentors have shaped my outlook significantly. Wolf Wolfensberger, a leader in the field of social services, mentored me for over two decades as a teacher in social role valorization. Coenrad Van Houten, author of Awakening the Will, helped me to frame my approach to adult education. Robert Sardello, a prolific writer and teacher alongside James Hillman at the Dallas Institute, mentored me in depth psychology and the ways of the soul. The work of these three mentors can be seen to resound in my work.
I believe in the incredible capacity and gifts in every person - and my passion is to assist people to become more awake to who they are and who they can become.
LifePath
Training and
Consulting
Judith McGill
Currently, Judith works as Executive Director of a provincial Independent Facilitation and Planning organization in Ontario that is Families for a Secure Future. As a Facilitator she spends time with individuals who have developmental disabilities and their families supporting them to build networks of support and helping them to “reimagine” their futures.
Judith is an adult educator and has been writing and speaking about leisure and community building in the field of disability for well over twenty-five years. She has a marvellous capacity for helping people discover what really matters in their life and muster the courage to go after it.
She is also Director of Youth Speak Theatre a liberation theatre initiative in Ontario.
As a sibling of a brother with cerebral palsy she is deeply committed to bringing about a transformative change in how people come to see themselves.
Judith is author of Developing Leisure Identities: A Pilot Project, co-author of Leisure, Integration and Community with Peggy Hutchison and co-editor of The Pursuit of Leisure: Enriching the Lives of People who Have a Disability.
She is currently writing several books entitled Taking Charge of Hiring Support Workers; The Power of Support Circles and Meditations on Everyday Mercies.
She has written numerous articles related to leisure integration, she was a Board member and Editor of the Journal of Leisurability for ten years and a Member of the Southern Ontario Training Group for several years. Judith has done extensive training in Social Role Valorization (SRV) and the use of the SRV evaluative tool, Program Analysis of Service Systems’ Implementation of Normalization Goals (PASSING).
She worked as Leisure Consultant for the G. Allan Roeher Institute for five years and was Senior Advisor to People First of Ontario, a self-advocacy group for people labelled mentally handicapped for over seven years. She has a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University, that focused on social policy and an undergraduate degree in Leisure studies and Business at Waterloo and Laurier jointly.
LifePath
Coaching
and
Facilitation
Judith McGill
Currently, Judith works as Executive Director of a multi-regional Independent Facilitation and Planning organization in Ontario that is Families for a Secure Future. As a Facilitator she spends time with individuals who have developmental disabilities and their families supporting them to build networks of support and helping them to “reimagine” their futures.
Judith is an adult educator and has been writing and speaking about leisure and community building in the field of disability for well over thirty years. She has a marvellous capacity for helping people discover what really matters in their life and muster the courage to go after it.
She is also Director of Youth Speak Theatre a liberation theatre initiative in Ontario.
As a sibling of a brother with cerebral palsy she is deeply committed to bringing about a transformative change in how people come to see themselves.
Judith is author of Developing Leisure Identities: A Pilot Project, co-author of Leisure, Integration and Community with Peggy Hutchison and co-editor of The Pursuit of Leisure: Enriching the Lives of People who Have a Disability.
She is currently writing several books entitled Taking Charge: Meaningfully Engaging Community Support Workers; The Power of Support Circles and Meditations on Everyday Mercies.
She has written numerous articles related to leisure integration, she was a Board member and Editor of the Journal of Leisurability for ten years and a Member of the Southern Ontario Training Group for several years. Judith has done extensive training in Social Role Valorization (SRV) and the use of the SRV evaluative tool, Program Analysis of Service Systems’ Implementation of Normalization Goals (PASSING).
She worked as Leisure Consultant for the G. Allan Roeher Institute for five years and was Senior Advisor to People First of Ontario, a self-advocacy group for people labelled mentally handicapped for over seven years. She has a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University, that focused on social policy and an undergraduate degree in Leisure studies and Business at Waterloo and Laurier jointly.
"We live storied lives"
Story and narrative is the most consistent thread that weaves itself through the many aspects of my work. I believe that by taking an authentic interest in one another we can transform ourselves.
As an Adult Educator, I focus my courses on bringing people together to help them make better sense of their work and their lives.
As an Independent Facilitator, I work with people who have disabilities and their families to re-imagine what is possible and take the next step in their lives whatever that might be.
I mentor other Independent Facilitators so that they can deepen their practice and reflect on their purpose.
As a Coach, I support individuals to take charge of their lives and make meaningul changes that enrich their lives and their relatinships.
As a Participatory Theatre Director, I bring people together to experience the joy of finding dialogue by using theatre as a way of expressing themselves.
As a Consultant, I use dialogue as a way to bring people together to better understand their shared experience and clarify their vision.
As a Mediator, I help others who are in conflict work towards gaining a greater appreciation for the other's point of view and finding the middle way.
“There is so much hope in bringing people together to create dialogue and to discover what shared intentions can live between them".
Judith McGill,
LifePath Coaching and Facilitation