The group process is a process work tool for exploring various topics, mainly social ones. These can be topics that are in public discussion, in the media, among friends, but also topics that interest you and do not...

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only relate to your personal affairs. Many people are afraid to discuss controversial topics because they are afraid of conflicts, quarrels and stormy emotions associated with it. In general, we tend to avoid conflicts, and yet the world is full of wars and conflicts. Group processes can help us deal with very controversial topics and world conflicts. The best way to prevent conflicts and wars is to get into conflict - but with awareness, says Arnold Mindell, the inventor of this tool. What exactly does this mean? While working with various groups around the world, Mindell noticed that people often do not express their positions fully and, above all, their emotions and values connected to them. This is why people go on to defend their point of view and cannot listen to other parties. He helped people express their opinions, fears and feelings in full, and brought awareness to what was happening in the group as a whole. Group processes are held in the spirit of deep democracy and with the help of facilitators. At the beginning, each person can suggest different topics that interest him / her. The topics are written down, and then one topic will be chosen by voting. The topic with the most votes wins. During a discussion we often encounter two sides that polarize the given topic. Using the awareness attitude of deep democracy, we try to embody and express all positions and feelings associated with them. Participants can change sides and try out the arguments and values of the other side. Especially expressing what is difficult and unacceptable, strange and contradictory leads to greater insight and a better understanding of the whole. When we go back and forth and try different places, we increase our awareness around the topic and discover that each place has its specific energy, its truth. If we get to know the values, which are hidden on both sides, we can integrate and use them with consciousness in our lives.

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Deep democracy is a concept of Process Oriented Psychology, according to which all parts (whether it concerns different parts of the individual, group or society) should be able to express themselves and...

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can co-decide on the direction in which the whole goes. This awareness attitude is adapted in psychotherapeutic sessions, in working with groups, with the world and in group processes. As a processworker, we try to take all parts of a given situation into account, paying attention to the main and marginalized voices and feelings of the individual or group and the atmosphere present in the background, and help to express them fully. This means that we appreciate every experience, every person, every minority and learn from them for the development of the whole and the common good.

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Process is the force that flows under all your experiences and which makes you and your whole world move. Process is like wind in your sails that blows your boat in a certain direction. You can feel it as a flow...

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that guides you. Have you ever had the experience to feel that you are in the right place, at the right time? Right at this moment, you swim in the middle of the process river. Things work out easily, your relationships go well, you act without much effort and flow in the right direction. As you follow your process, your deep nature, you can feel joy, peace and a sense of meaning. Sometimes, however, life prepares various turns, surprises and challenges for us, and our process blows in a direction where we do not necessarily want to go. We tend to ignore and reject various experiences and parts of ourselves, we don’t like or want. This often happens unconsciously, and we do not notice that we are losing contact with ourselves and our process. If you find yourself in a situation where you struggle with problems or things don't sort out as you would like, then your process is knocking on your door. Relationship conflicts, problems at work, dreams and illnesses are signposts that bring you again in contact with your path of heart. They also remind you of the deeper process that is going on in the background and that shows itself through you. Process work psychotherapy helps you to connect with your process and follow it. Gaining awareness of your process often carries surprising insights and helps you find your way even in very difficult situations.

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The world is a place of many conflicts; poverty, hunger, migration and war are a daily reality for many people. Rapid changes happening in technology and in nature are disturbing and cause that we...

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constantly have to adapt to new situations. What value has working on yourself in this context?
Process work offers theoretical and practical concepts that connect individual work with worldwork and help to understand and support global change. POP understands the world as an information channel for us, and we are a channel for the world, through which it expresses itself. What does that mean? All world conflicts are, on a certain level, also our internal conflicts. For example, bodily symptoms and illness are often not only related to our own lifestyle, but also connected to the field, in which we live, to our relationships and our environment. The world, similar to a human, is full of inconsistencies which strive towards integration and development. When the world expresses itself through us, e.g. in form of diseases, problems and conflicts such as racism, xenophobia or homophobia, we can follow this experience in us , raise our consciousness and get new insights and ideas about it. Working on ourselves and global problems, we do not only change ourselves, but also the field, where we live in, the world. We can also discover, what role do we have in this world and what might be our contribution to it. Some of us may write, study, paint or sing. Others might get involved politically, socially or chose to meditate. There is no one way for everyone. Each person has their own individual place in this universe.

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Standard #1. Commit to ethical behaviors and professionalism.

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1.I.1 Newborn care specialists effectively work as part of a team that may include parents, doulas, lactation consultants and extended family members.

1.I.2 Newborn care specialists may provide recommendations to new parents and will adapt to and support the decisions of the parents.

1.I.3 Newborn care specialists will discuss safety concerns with parents and will report suspected abuse to local authorities.

1.I.4 Newborn care specialists working night shifts with sleeping parents will view their entire shift as work and will not have a full-time night job and a full-time day job at the same time.

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Standard #2. Establish and maintain a safe environment.

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2.I.1 Newborn care specialists know their limitations and when overwhelmed will let a baby cry safely in a crib rather than risk harm to the child such as shaken baby syndrome.

2.I.2 Newborn care specialists are aware of the dangers of animals to a newborn and infant and can provide recommendations to modify the home and/or baby room to ensure an infant’s safety.

2.I.3 Newborn care specialists know the challenges of and can safely care for multiples.

2.I.4 Newborn care specialists can explain Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and how to minimize the risk of SIDS with safe sleeping practices.

2.I.5 Newborn care specialists are aware of the consequences of being distracted including the risk of forgetting a child in a hot car.

2.I.6 Newborn care specialists know the signs of postpartum depression (baby blues) and ways to support new moms, encourage them to get help when needed.

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Standard #3. Promote child development and growth.

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3.I.1 Newborn care specialists understand attachment theory (Bowlby, Ainsworth, Erikson), can define the four types of attachment (secure, resistant, avoidant and disorganized) and can apply techniques to encourage positive attachment with newborns and infants.

3.I.2 Newborn care specialists understand the term “fourth trimester” (the first 3 months of infancy) and the continued growth and development from the pregnancy as the infant’s body systems continue to develop and regulate function.

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Standard #4. Promote physical, emotional, and social development.

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4.I.1 Newborn care specialists know the physical limitations of newborns and how it impacts infant care including limited eyesight, body temperature regulation, neck muscle limitations and fluid swallowing volumes.

4.I.2 Newborn care specialists know the reflexes of infants (root, suck, moro, tonic neck, grasp, stepping) and differentiate reflexes from infant developmental milestones to monitor the infant’s growth.

4.I.3 Newborn care specialists know infant physical milestones (roll over, sit upright, crawl, walk), sensory milestones (recognizes faces, turns head when called, copies expressions), and social-emotional milestones (smiling, eye contact, self-soothing, fear of strangers) and provide supportive activities for each milestone.

4.I.4 Newborn care specialists know and can track the emotional development milestones (primary emotions anger, joy, surprise, sadness and fear emerge between 2.5 and 7 months).

4.I.5 Newborn care specialists are aware of the 5 stage of consciousness (deep sleep, light sleep, drowsy, quiet alert, active alert and crying), can assess an infant’s current stage and adapt the environment as needed to care for the infant’s needs (ie creating a calm environment for a drowsy child to nap).

4.I.6 Newborn care specialists know the amount of sleep infants require and how to create a safe sleep space per the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines.

4.I.7 Newborn care specialists can manage common newborn and infant ailments including umbilical cord, circumcision, cradle cap, hair loss, teething, baby acne, colic, diarrhea, constipation, croup, and fevers.

4.I.8 Newborn care specialists know that infants react to the emotional state of their caregiver, and thus manage their emotional state when caring for a child. Newborn care specialists also know that infants have their own temperament and can adjust their care to the infant’s temperament.

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Standard #5. Support cognitive development and academic advancement.

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5. I.1 Newborn care specialists can identify and track cognitive milestones including intentionally dropping an object, object permanence, and stranger anxiety.

5.I.2 Newborn care specialists understand and effectively communicate the benefits of reading and speaking to newborns and infants for language and cognitive development and incorporate reading into their daily routine.

5.I.3 Newborn care specialists know and effectively communicate the benefits of playing different types of music when caring for newborns and infants and incorporate music into the daily routine.

5.I.4 Newborn care specialists know basic baby sign language, can communicate the benefits of baby sign language to parents, and if desired by the parents, are able to introduce signs to infants.

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Standard #6. Promote nutrition, health and wellness.

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6.I.1 Newborn care specialists know the signs of colic (unexpected, resists soothing, pain-like face, long lasting, common between 2 and 5 months and more likely in the late afternoon or evening) and the steps to take when managing colic.

6.I.2 Newborn care specialists know food safety (never microwave, storage temperatures, expiration dates, time out of refrigeration), safe feeding techniques (breastmilk, formula and introducing solids), how to transition from breastmilk to formula, and feeding guidelines (stomach capacity by age, bottle flow rate).

6.1.3 Newborn care specialists know the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for infant nutrition and the nutritional composition breast milk (colostrum, foremilk, hindmilk, transitional and mature) and common formulas (cow milk protein-based, soy-based and protein hydrolysate) and plan newborn feedings accordingly.

6.I.4 Newborn care specialists know the benefits of and how to implement baby led weaning.

6.I.5 Newborn care specialists effectively manage infant waste including disposable and cloth diapers, wiping front to back, cleaning up a blow out and identifying and treating diaper rash.

6.I.6 Newborn care specialists know the drowning risks and how to safely bath an infant and apply these techniques to ensure the child’s safety.

6.I.7 Newborn care specialists support preemies with at-home managed medical issues and implement immunocompromised precautions to avoid public places, limit visitors, and wear masks.

6.I.8 Newborn care specialists know the difference between chronological and corrected age and its importance to track preemie developmental milestones.

6.I.9 Newborn care specialists can identify and care for common medical and health issues such as cleft palate, tongue tied, reflux and pyloric stenosis, plagiocephay and brachycephaly and care for newborn skin ((lanugo, vernix, milia, pustular melanosis, erythema toxicum).

6.I.10 Newborn care specialists can provide recommendations on how to create a safe sleep environment and soothing baby room with safely secured changing stations, infant safe equipment, and American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) approved soothing devices.

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Standard #7. Establish positive relationships with children, family members, and employers.

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7.I.1 Newborn care specialists discuss infant developmental milestone notification with the family and learn whether the family wants to be notified or not when an infant achieves a milestone. Newborn care specialists realize most parents want to experience their baby’s ‘first’ even if a childcare provider saw the milestone before the parents.

7.I.2 Newborn care specialists discuss positive discipline techniques with parents as the infant turns 4 months old and aligns with the parents on when and how the word “no” will be used.

7.I.3 Newborn care specialists provide daily activity tracking for parents including feedings (time, amount), sleep, medications and excretions.

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Process is the force that flows under all your experiences and which makes you and your whole world move. Process is like wind in your sails that blows your boat in a certain direction. You can feel it as a flow...

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that guides you. Have you ever had the experience to feel that you are in the right place, at the right time? Right at this moment, you swim in the middle of the process river. Things work out easily, your relationships go well, you act without much effort and flow in the right direction. As you follow your process, your deep nature, you can feel joy, peace and a sense of meaning. Sometimes, however, life prepares various turns, surprises and challenges for us, and our process blows in a direction where we do not necessarily want to go. We tend to ignore and reject various experiences and parts of ourselves, we don’t like or want. This often happens unconsciously, and we do not notice that we are losing contact with ourselves and our process. If you find yourself in a situation where you struggle with problems or things don't sort out as you would like, then your process is knocking on your door. Relationship conflicts, problems at work, dreams and illnesses are signposts that bring you again in contact with your path of heart. They also remind you of the deeper process that is going on in the background and that shows itself through you. Process work psychotherapy helps you to connect with your process and follow it. Gaining awareness of your process often carries surprising insights and helps you find your way even in very difficult situations.

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