Intensive Journal Program for Self-Development
Progoff Series of Workshops

A letter from the director, Jon Progoff

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your interest in the Advanced Studies Program, our professional training program on Dr. Progoff’s methodology for psychological growth, including the Intensive Journal method.

One of the main questions that I am asked is what are the attributes that we look for in a potential leader?  I have listed below ten factors that immediately come to mind:    

- faithfulness to the method;
- attendance at many workshops and usage of the method over at least a few years; 
- compatibility with the process in terms of its underlying principles; 
- skill set to be a suitable leader; 
- interest in becoming immersed in studying Dr. Progoff’s body of work;  

- ability to represent someone else’s work;
- focus on our method as a core modality and not teaching competing methodologies; 
- ability to take feedback;
- willingness to follow our organization’s rules and procedures; 
- interest in making a long term commitment to serve as a leader (assuming things work out).   

A core piece of the training program consists of a self-paced study guide where you answer questions in response to assigned readings about each topic area and submit reports to our director of training. The integrated study guide covers both Dr. Progoff’s theories of psychological growth and how he implemented them through the Intensive Journal method. For example, we study Dr. Progoff’s theory of dialogue and then how he implemented that theory through the dialogue exercises. 

Through this process, you have a methodical way to deepen your knowledge and understanding of both Dr Progoff’s theories and methods, and the connection between the two areas.  In writing the study guide, I found the material to be fascinating, learning more each time as I read the material.  I hope you will as well.   

The second study guide, which is much shorter, prepares you to conduct Intensive Journal workshops and to be an effective member of our organization. Topics include learning how to handle certain situations that occur in a workshop, responding to readings, assessing your communication skills and reporting about the workshop.

To complement your studies, we expect you to continue to attend Intensive Journal workshops, preferably with a diversity of leaders. This experience is critical for becoming comfortable with the unique attributes of our method.

I urge you to review carefully the section that is entitled "Background Information" which explains the detailed requirements for admission into our training program. It addresses many of the questions and concerns for those who have inquired and gives you a sense of the flavor and dynamic quality of our training process.

The method is unique and requires a special set of skills and personal qualities for a person to be an effective leader. Ultimately, you must be honest with yourself and determine whether conducting Intensive Journal workshops will be appropriate for you.

We regard our leaders as some of our most precious assets and key components of our quality workshops. Although their backgrounds and interests vary greatly, they share a commitment and dedication to the program and a deep appreciation of Dr. Progoff’s contribution to the field of human development.

The training program is designed to help you become proficient in a variety of areas regarding   leading Intensive Journal workshops such as explaining concepts, answering questions, and dealing with the sensitive issues that inevitably occur at our programs.  You will also be able to conduct introductory presentations about some of the basic concepts behind the method.  

The amount of work that is required to complete the training program is approximately equivalent to one college level course. It requires serious study but is manageable and covers areas of great interest. However, given your other commitments, you will need to set deadlines to proceed through the study guides. I cannot emphasize enough that this discipline is critical. There is a maximum period of three years to complete the training program.

Your involvement in our program can be very rewarding in terms of the contribution that you can make to helping people better their lives. Given our outreach to diverse audiences and your interests and experience, I hope to work with you to develop these opportunities.  

I consider the training of our current and future leaders and our quality control measures to be a critical aspect of the program. The policies, procedures and study guides are uniquely tailored for the requirements of this program. They are designed to produce solid leaders with whom we can work for many years to come.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the program. Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Progoff
Director