About 'Womb Surround' Process Workshops
What is a 'Womb Surround' Process Workshop?
A 'Womb Surround' Process Workshop is a small group format developed and refined by Raymond Castellino beginning in 1992. It creates a safe, welcoming environment in which to explore early imprinting from preverbal life that is affecting your present life. Typically there are 4-6 participants in a workshop. The facilitator is often assisted by trainees or graduates from the Castellino Foundation Training. What follows is a writeup about the general format developed by Raymond Castellino for in-person 5-day womb surrounds. The format will necessarily vary when online and with different facilitators.
The format for this was created by Dr. Castellino because he found by experience that complete and lasting transformations most often happen in a small group setting. The span of five days or an evening plus four days allows the work to occur in a spacious way that supports the integration of material from your own and others' work.
The facilitator begins each workshop reviewing the 8 Principles: basic interactive, empathy and contact skills allowing participants to actively support each other during the workshop with the intention of creating a safe and nurturing "womb surround." Each participant receives a 1.5 - 3.5 hour session with the facilitator with group support during which he or she explores physical and emotional patterns of prenatal, birth or infancy origin. Each session is followed by individual and group debriefing, integrative processing and discussion. Tools used include group interactive processes, energy awareness, craniosacral work and other touch and empathy skills.
The purpose is to heal and re-pattern early trauma and to create more options for current behavior and ways of being in relationship. In addition to healing prenatal, birth and other early trauma, this process has the principle impact of encouraging loving bonding within primary relationships. Participants commonly state that the process is transformational on a deep level.
Approved Womb Surround Facilitators - Please contact the facilitators individually about their offerings
All those listed below have demonstrated competence to facilitate a womb surround. They have met specific requirements that indicate their skill and experience. Womb Surrounds whose faciliators have been approved by Ray or another supervisor (Tara, Mary) may be taken as a prerequisite for required Womb Surrounds for trainees and potential trainees who wish to apply to take a Foundation Training. They meet the requirements for graduation from a Foundation Training. They are also open to anyone for personal and/or professional growth. For information, please contact the relevant facilitator directly. Many travel to offer Womb Surrounds. Some offer zoom workshops. The practitioners listed below also offer other courses/workshops and work with families and individuals.
Below is a list of workshops offered in 2025 which is updated as facilitators update their information. Any of these can be taken as a prerequisite to applying to the a future Foundation training. They are open to anyone, whether interested in the Foundation Training on not.. To 'count' as a prerequiste or a training requirement, the Womb Surround must have a minimum of 4 participants. When an approved facilitator is co-facilitating with a facilitator who is not yet approved, the non-yet approved facilitator is in parentheses (with .......). The womb surround 'counts' if one or more of the facilitators is approved.
For workshops that fill shortly after posting. Contact the facilitators directly.
FEBRUARY, 2025
Kristin Sipley and Alison Greene-Barton, February 5-9, 2025, Amherst, MA
Gitte Larsen, February 7-9, 2025, Sydney, Australia (in English)
Lin Vermeiren, February 14-16, 2025, Girona, Spain (in Spanish)
Tara Blasco, February 14-17, 2025, Ojai, CA
Frank Carbone with Maya Kokatay, February 27-March 2, 2025, Ojai, CA
MARCH, 2025
Kristin Sipley and Cynthia Cutting, March 19-23, 2025, Longmont/Boulder, CO
Gitte Larsen, March 20-23, 2025, Malling, Denmark (in English)
Lin Vermeiren, March 29-April 2, 2025, Devon, UK (in English)
APRIL, 2025
Kristin Sipley and Alison Greene-Barton, April 1-4, 2025, Amherst, MA
Gitte Larsen, April 10-13, 2025, Sydney, Australia
Tara Blasco, April 18-21, 2025, Ojai, CA
Marion (Bodhi) Kotowski, April 18-21, 2025, Freiburg, Germany (in German)
MAY, 2025
Charisse Basquin and Klaus Kaeppeli, May, 2025, Scotland
Lin Vermeiren, May 9-11, 2025, Girona, Spain (in Spanish or English, to be decided)
Kristin Sipley with Seiji Ohno, May 10-14, 2025, Yokohama, Japan
Mary Jackson (with Moriah Melin), May 14-18, 2025, Ventura, CA (priority for birth professionals)
Kristin Sipley with Seiji Ohno, May 19-23, 2025, Yokohama, Japan
Frank Carbone, May 23-26, 2025, Ojai, CA (for men only, FULL)
JUNE, 2025
Kristin Sipley and Cynthia Cutting, June 3-7, 2025, Lafayette/Boulder, CO
Tara Blasco, June 6-9 or 13-16, 2025, Ojai, CA (for T17 assistants only)
Mary Jackson (with Moriah Melin), June 25-29, 2025, Ventura, CA
Mary Jackson (with Kate White), June 16-20, 2025, Ventura, CA
JULY, 2025
Charisse Basquin, July 20-24, 2025, Anstruther, Scotland
Mary Jackson (with Marmot Snetsinger), June 25-29, 2025, Ventura, CA
Tara Blasco, July 18-21, 2025, Ojai, CA
AUGUST, 2025
Kristin Sipley and Kevin Davis, August 5-9, 2025, Fletcher/Asheville, NC
SEPTEMBER, 2025
Marion (Bodhi) Kotowski, September 6-8, 2025, Arillas Corfu, Greece (in German)
Marion (Bodhi) Kotowski, September 10-12, 2025, Arillas Corfu, Greece (in English)
OCTOBER, 2025
Marion (Bodhi) Kotowski, October 2-5, 2025, Freiburg, Germany (in German)
Kristin Sipley with Seiji Ohno, October 3-7, 2025, Yokohama, Japan
Kristin Sipley with Seiji Ohno, October 12-16, 2025, Yokohama, Japan
Frank Carbone with Maya Koyakay, Octber 24-27, 2025, Ojai, CA
NOVEMBER, 2025
Kristin Sipley and Alison Greene-Barton, November 5-9, 2025, Amherst, MA
Tara Blasco and Mary Jackson, November 19-22, 2025, Japan
DECEMBER, 2025
Tara Blasco, December 12-15, 2025, Ojai, CA
Not everyone who is approved currently offers Womb Surrounds. Those who are actively offering are starred (*). A 'P' following the * means 'in-person'. A 'Z' following the star means 'zoom'
The 2nd column, first line is where the facilitator lives, the 2nd column, 2nd line is where they offer Womb Surrounds. If there is no 2nd line, they work only where they live.
Workshops are in English unless otherwise stated. Workshops by Claudia Koehler, Klaus Kaeppeli, Regina Bucher and Sabera Dringenberg are in German only. Carme Renalias, Lin Vermeiren and Rebecca MacSween offer workshops in both English and Spanish (usually one or the other). Everyone else, please assume the workshops are in English.
| Name and Email or Website | Location: Lives/Offers Womb Surrounds | Phone |
|---|---|---|
|
(*P) Alison Greene-Barton, RCST®
www.greenebartons.com |
Amherst, MA (United States) | 805 276-8207 |
|
(*P) Bodhi Marion Kotowski;
bodhiart(at)mac.com www.Bodhi-Art.de |
Freiburg (Germany) & other European cities | +49-761-8889-3565, +49 175 992 5560 |
|
(*P) Carme Renalias, RCST®
carmerenalias(at)gmail.com |
Fontcoberta (Spain) various cities in Spain |
+34 629 291-654 |
|
Chantek McNeilage, RCST
chantekmary(at)live.co.uk www.becomingmindful.co.uk |
Essex, England (United Kingdom) | +44 07970 181 775 (cell) |
|
(*P) Charisse Basquin, DC, MSc
earlyimprintsuk(at)gmail.com www.earlyimprints.co.uk |
Anstruther, Fife, Scotland (UK) UK, Europe, Turkey, Taiwan |
+44 7531 863160 |
|
(*Z) Cherionna Menzam-Sills, PhD, RSMT/E, RCST
birthingyourlife@icloud.com www.birthingyourlife.org/ |
Devon (United Kingdom), zoom, UK time | +44 7801-515-865 |
|
(*PZ) Cindy Barnum, LMT, RCST, CD(Dona)
cbarnum2@msn.com |
Florence, OR Florence OR and Fresno, CA (US) |
541 991-6217 |
|
(*P) Claudia Koehler, PT
info(at)lebens-wandel.net www.lebens-wandel.net/ |
Dresden (Germany) | +49 351-2679271 |
|
(*P) Cynthia Cutting, CNP, SEP, BCST, CNMret
cynthiacutting(at)gmail.com |
Williamsville, VT (US) Williamsville, VT (US) and Squamish, BC (Canada) |
917 902-6114 |
|
(*PZ) Eileen Sendrey, CMT
eileensendrey(at)mac.com www.eileensendrey.com |
Santa Cruz, CA (United States) | 408 892-2820 |
|
(*PZ) Frank Carbone
frankjcarbone(at)aol.com www.wombcontinuum.com |
Queens, NY (US) Queens, NY & Maryland (US))+zoom |
+805 320-7985 |
|
(*P) Gitte Virkmann Larsen, RPE
Gitte@satori.dk www.healingcenteret.dk |
Malling, Denmark and Perth/Sydney, Australia | 45 8693 0377 |
|
Judyth Weaver, PhD, RCST®, SEP, SAL, RMP
www.judythweaver.com |
Cortes Island, BC (Canada)
Cortes Island, BC Canada and Seattle, WA (US) |
415 548-0365 |
|
(*P) Kevin Davis®, LCSW, LMFT, LCAS, SEP
kevindavis701(at)gmail.com |
Charlotte, NC (United States) | 704 807-8939 |
|
(*P) Klaus Kaeppeli, dipl.psych.FSP
klaus.kaeppeli(at)bluewin.ch |
Eggersriet, CH-9034 (Switzerland) | +41 7122 34891 |
|
(*P) Kristin Sipley, RCST®
kristin(at)consciousbeginnings.net |
Santa Cruz, CA (United States)
CA, CO, OH, NC, MA, FL (US), Japan, willing to travel, zoom |
831 295-8384 |
|
(*P) Lin Vermeiren
biodinamicaperinatal(at)gmail.com |
Girona (Spain) | +34-690-179-969 |
|
(*P) Mary Jackson, RN, LM, RCST®
mjmidwife(at)gmail.com www.birthinconnection.com |
Ventura, CA (United States)
Ventura, CA (US), Italy |
805 649-3063 |
|
Myrna Martin, MN, RCC, RCST®
www.myrnamartin.net |
Comox, Vancouver Island, BC (Canada) | 250 509-1033 |
|
Rebecca MacSween, RCST;
rebeccamacsween(at)gmail.com |
Madrid (Spain) Madrid, Spain and Montreal, Quebec (Canada) |
+34-91-327-2785 |
|
(*P) Regina Buecher, RPP, RCST, dipl.Heilpaed
rbuecher@einstueckwegbegleitung.de www.einstueckwegbegleitung.de |
Merdingen (Germany) | +49 7668 950764 |
|
(*P) Sabera Dringenberg, Heilpraktikerin, BCST
sabera(at)web.de |
Stuttgart(Germany) | +49 176 4200 5788 |
|
(*P) Sarah Theismann, MA, CMP, SEP, CSB
www.somatictraumahealing.com |
Berkeley, CA (United States), Berkeley, CA, Hungary, Croatia |
510-610-0320 |
(*P) Scott Engler, MA, RCST, BCST
www.heartofstillness.com |
Cotati, CA (United States) | 707 953-1441 |
|
Susan Lange, OMD, LAc
www.meridianholistic.com, thebirthdance.com, playformula.com |
Patagonia, Arizona (United States) | 310 395-9525 x2# |
|
(*P) Tara Blasco, PhD, RCST®
tarablasco(at)gmail.com www.tarablasco.com |
Ojai, CA (United States) | 805 570-4314 (cell) |