FES Professional Course
Thursday evening, July 13 through Monday, July 17, 2023
Come forth into the Light of things, Let Nature be your Teacher.
— William Wordsworth
We warmly invite you to join us.
Sunflower
The FES Professional Course is designed for practitioners with some previous training or experience with flower essence therapy. This is a special opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in flower essence therapy by combining practical and theoretical teachings, informational and experiential learning, flower essence plant studies and therapeutic profiles, counseling methods and inner work.
We offer a program of professional quality, in which intellect, feeling and imagination are honored and cultivated. Our highly acclaimed training and certification program has been offered since 1982, and has been attended by practitioners from around the world.
Your training program offers a wealth of knowledge and experience. But most importantly it teaches the secret of the flower itself... the ability to become open... to the Light in Nature, in others, in ourselves.
Highlights of the Professional Course
• Philosophical/historical basis for flower essence therapy
• The four basic stages of flower essence healing and why they are important
• In-depth profiles of leading flower essences and formulas
• Nature walks and plant study in the Terra Flora gardens
• Understanding the conversational dialogue between the language of Nature and the language of the human soul
• Principles of flower essence selection and formulation
• The importance of differing methods and rhythms of flower essence application
• Practical experience of discerning, assessing and selecting flower essences
• Special considerations for intake and assessment during flower essence healing, including the role of art and journaling
• The MetaFlora Map of the Soul™ as a blueprint for comprehensive flower essence therapy
• The Client-Practitioner Relationship in flower essence therapy: possibilities and practicalities
• Treating special populations: children, elderly, animals
• Clinical case studies to illustrate flower essence qualities and healing process, including leading research from FES
Red Clover
Instructors
Richard Katz and Patricia Kaminski are married and professional partners, and directors of the Flower Essence Society since 1980. Through the Society, they organize and inspire many educational, research, and publishing efforts throughout the world.
Richard and Patricia are authors of numerous articles and books about flower essences, including the best-selling Flower Essence Repertory, now in its fifth edition and translated into six different languages. Richard and Patricia have traveled extensively, giving seminars throughout the world on flower essence therapy. They also manage Flower Essence Services, which produces flower essences and herbal products at Terra Flora, their 27-acre Certified Biodynamic® / organic garden and wildlife sanctuary in the northern Sierra Nevada foothills near Nevada City, California.
Thank you so very much for your generous sharing of your deep knowledge and experience with flower remedies. I loved the way that you had structured the entire workshop, packed with so much information and yet never allowing it to become overwhelming. The experiential focus was brilliant because I realized that I had absorbed so much more than I would have ever thought possible in five days. I experienced the flowers deep within my heart space and it changed my whole relationship with them.
Patricia teaching about Chamomile Richard teaching about Black-Eyed Susan
— Resham Gupta, Bangalor, India
The FES Professional
Course is designed to create a vibrant conduit between the Soul of Nature and the Human Soul.
It is an alchemical conversation between two primary sources of knowing:
1) What lies within the deepest recesses of the soul’s innate wisdom
2) What the soul learns through its bodily senses of perception and encounter in Nature, especially in plant life
By developing a fluency between these inner and outer languages we learn how to access and assess the soul reality of others, and how to correlate the signatures and archetypes of plants with these phenomena. This mobility is at the heart of true flower essence therapy and is how the practitioner develops true skill and proficiency as a flower essence therapist.
Counseling practicum & plant study during the Professional Course
Shasta Daisy
Your Professional Course has helped me grow immeasurably as a healer. Not only the MetaLevel Soul process, but studying each client in different views — essences, goals and objective therapeutic process.
— Laura Strubb, RN, Camden, Maine
The FES class was great – Richard and Patricia have so much knowledge and wisdom, and Terra Flora is such a magical place to spend time! And, the other students in the class were also each really incredible. Thank you for all of your coordinating efforts for the class.
— Rebecca Valentine, Santa Rosa, California
Thank you for the most life-changing professional course… . I am so excited and look forward to working with both of you in the future! I have the utmost respect and adoration for your dedication to research. The benefits of your work are life changing.
— Carin Motika Los Angeles, California
Tansy
I am so grateful and happy that I took the training and met both of you. It was so fulfilling. I learned so much and met so many wonderful people. I feel very ready now to do my part to help bring this medicine out into the world! — Deborah Goldsman, Portland, Oregon
I want to express my gratitude for this amazing course! I loved every minute. It was inspiring and touching. My experience with you encouraged me to go deeper into my calling as therapist.
— Carolina Sanchez, Yonkers, New York
Dill
I want to thank you for such a wonderful Professional Course and for welcoming us all into the truly amazing space you have created. I am really inspired by the world-wide impact of your work and the many contributions to healing that both of you have made.
— Maggie McProud, Nevada City, California
I so appreciated all the beauty and love put into the land. You have created heaven on earth! You are all appreciated and have done such a wonderful deed for the world!
— Jan Nelson, Fargo,
North
Dakota
Registration
Enrollment for the course is limited and early registration is advised. Once you are accepted into the course, please make your own travel and accommodation arrangements (see below). Please contact the Flower Essence Society (classes@flowersociety.org) with any questions about course content, schedule, the certification program, or any other policies. The questionnaire included with the registration form is absolutely essential; without the completed questionnaire, your application will not be processed. Full details and links here: www.flowersociety.org/pro-course-23-reg.html
Fees
• Cost is $1075 for the five-day workshop, including four catered lunches.
• Breakfasts, dinners, accommodations and travel costs are not included.
Payment and cancellation policy
Fees are due at the time of registration. Our classes are located at Terra Flora, which serves as a home, garden site and cottage work facility. We limit the size of our classes in order to facilitate an atmosphere of social warmth and nature experience. You are urged to enroll early, as there can be a waiting list later. Please note our cancellation fee policy:
• Through June 13, 2023: We will issue a refund less a $150 cancellation fee.
• Starting June 14, 2023: If we can fill your reserved space, we will issue a refund, less a $150 administrative fee. No refund will be issued if it is not possible to fill your reservation, or if notice of cancellation is not furnished prior to the class.
If the class is cancelled due to public health, weather, natural disaster or other emergency, we will issue a full refund.
Lavender
Meals
Tuition includes buffet style lunches, morning snacks and herbal teas. We offer minimally processed and seasonally appropriate organic food. While we strive for enough variety to meet most dietary preferences, if you have highly specialized or severely restricted dietary needs, we recommend that you bring additional food with you each day. For daily breakfasts and dinners, we will provide you with a list of local restaurants and natural food stores at which you can dine or purchase deli items or groceries.
Transportation
The nearest airport is Sacramento International Airport (SMF), which is about a 1.5 hour drive from Nevada City. If you do not rent a car, shuttle service from and to the airport can be arranged with SuperShuttle, 800-258-3826 www.supershuttle.com. You can also reserve a door-to-door ride with Nevada County Airporter, 530-575-7011, www.ncairporter.com or Folsom Lake Express, (916) 984-3046, www.folsomlakeexpress.com. As there are no reliable on-demand ride services in our area, it may be more convenient and less expensive to rent a car for both airport and local transportation, or share a rental with another class attendee. (There are no electrical car charging facilities at Terra Flora.)
Important note: for arrival Thursday, July 13, take into account possible delays, please be sure your flight schedule allows adequate travel time from the airport to your place of accommodation, and from there to Terra Flora, in order to arrive on time for class registration, which begins at 6:30 PM.
All students enrolling in this course will be asked to participate in carpooling from common points of departure in the downtown area of Nevada City. You will be given carpooling information after your registration has been completed and the logistics for the class are fully evaluated. If you do not have a personal or rental car, please reserve lodging at a location convenient for a carpool from Nevada City to Terra Flora.
We will collect your travel information once you have been enrolled in the class.
Schedule, arrival and departure
The majority of the Professional Course is conducted during the daytime hours. Evenings are left open for dinner, informal networking, relaxation and assimilation of the class presentations. The course does begin with an evening session on Thursday, July 13
Course begins Thursday evening, July 13.
Plan to arrive around 6:30 PM, as you need to park, check in at the classroom to register and receive your class materials. The Thursday evening session is an important orientation to the whole of the course. This session will begin promptly at 7:30 PM and last until approximately 9:30 PM.
Course concludes Monday evening, July 17
The class ends around 6:30 PM on Monday evening, July 17th. The conclusion is a vital part of the program – please do not plan to leave before this time. Unless you live in the local region, it is recommended that you spend the evening resting and assimilating the course information, and plan to depart at a convenient time on Tuesday, July 18th. You may also wish to extend your stay and enjoy the many scenic attractions of the Sierra foothills and mountains.
In all my travels around the world, I have been to very few places with such an overwhelming sensation of peace and serenity. I felt warmth – an energy that I had not experienced before. I am very grateful to have been in your Nature Sanctuary and participate in your course.
— Renan Bornancin, Curitiba, Parana, Brazil
Practitioner Certification Program
Graduates of the FES Professional Course are eligible for the optional Practitioner Certification Program
The FES Certification Program is offered as a post-course option for all participants who complete the FES Professional Course. This program is intended to add depth, documentation skills and objective professionalism to your flower essence practice. It also contributes to the important research and clinical documentation that is essential to the recognition of flower essence therapy as a valid holistic practice.
Detailed information regarding the Certification Program can be found online here: http://www.flowersociety.org/certification-overview.html
Step 1
Attendance and participation in the major segments of the FES Professional Course
Step 2
Participation in the optional Certification Program involving the following components:
• Three in-depth case studies, with client documentation and practitioner commentary, according to the criteria outlined in the certification materials. OR
• Independent Study Option for Social Service Work – Independently designed program with populations in need or with a particular therapeutic issue in a social context. Prior approval by FES is required for this option.
• Completion of the Plant Study, which is introduced during the Professional Course and completed after the program.
• Archetypal Character Study – A paper devoted to a public personality, artistic or literary character, discussing key qualities and phenomena that reflect the archetypal attributes of a particular flower essence.
• A reading fee of US $300, payable when the case materials are submitted for review.
• The deadline for submitting the certification materials is one year following the course. However, time extensions can be granted if the participant makes a request proposing a new specific deadline.
Step 3
Following completion of the Certification Program: After your certification work is complete, Patricia Kaminski or Richard Katz will personally review and discuss your case work through a telephone consultation or optional in-person interview. Upon successful completion of the certification program, participants receive a handsome certificate from the Flower Essence Society, and are invited to register as certified practitioners in the FES Practitioner Referral Network
... all my life—so far— I have loved best how the flowers rise and open, how the pink lungs of their bodies enter the fore of the world and stand there shining and willing...
Lotus
Mary Oliver (excerpt)
The Professional Course was a wonderful mixture of insightful theory (wisdom!), real cases/people’s stories and ready to use tools. Patricia and Richard are certainly inspired by the Spirit. I am very grateful that they share this knowledge that flows through them. It’s amazing!
— Elena Alferova, Protvino, Russia
Black-Eyed Susan
Patricia Kaminski teaching in the classroom
