Module 1
Opening The Field
Opening The Field
This first session opens the shared and intentional field of our journey together. We arrive not only as individuals, but as carriers of lineages, memories, and questions that reach far beyond our personal stories.
We will begin by anchoring the group field, setting shared intentions, introducing foundational trauma principles, and resourcing ourselves for the journey ahead. Through gentle attunement and group synchronisation practices, we begin to cultivate relational coherence, learning how to be with ourselves, with each other, and with the weight of what we carry.
Field theory reminds us that no person, feeling, or behaviour can be understood in isolation; everything happens within a wider field of interdependent forces.
From this perspective, we will explore the fundamentals of trauma - individual, ancestral, and collective - and begin mapping the Irish psyche as it has been shaped by rupture, resilience, silence, and survival.
We ask:
Why am I here? What called me? Who am I representing as I enter this space?
This session lays the groundwork for deeper exploration by inviting us to meet the wider landscape we will walk together.
It is a threshold space, where we begin to sense that this journey is not only for us, but also for those who came before, and those who will follow.
Elaine will open our journey by anchoring the shared group field and setting intentions. Through gentle attunement and foundational trauma principles, we begin resourcing ourselves and cultivating relational coherence. Together, we’ll explore how the Irish psyche has been shaped by rupture and resilience, and reflect on why we are here, what called us, and who we represent as we step into this collective space.
Opening the Field with Elaine Martin
Elaine Martin
Elaine is a counselling psychologist who has spent most of her career working within the Irish health service. She is passionate about making psychology accessible and sharing ideas that empower and connect people.
For over twenty years, Elaine has been exploring the Irish psyche, both personally and professionally, paying particular attention to how our relational experiences are shaped by family histories, cultural narratives, and wider social events. She recognises that there are uniquely Irish ways of thinking and being, patterns that can either harm or sustain us, and her work seeks to illuminate these dynamics in order to support both individual and cultural healing.
Elaine also serves as Chairperson of the International Cognitive Analytic Therapy Association, where she contributes to the global development of relationally informed psychological practice.
“Society is… a partnership… between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.”
~ Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)