Course Registration is Closed
STAGES Essentials is a new online course on applying the STAGES model of human development to psychotherapy and coaching. The course is based on Terri O’Fallon’s many years of research and theoretical work, and her collaboration with Kim Barta in teaching the model to therapists and coaches in several in-person workshops over the last three years. Based on the enthusiastic response to these workshops, Terri and Kim decided to offer an online course in order to bring the STAGES model to a wider audience of psychotherapy and coaching professionals.
What Is the STAGES Model?
STAGES is a unique human development model created by Terri O’Fallon PhD that has emerged from the research lineage of Jane Loevinger, Suzanne Cook-Greuter and others over the last generation. Influenced by Ken Wilber’s four-quadrant Integral approach, STAGES describes 12 stages of human development in three “tiers,” and their early and late sub-stages, that are grounded in research. STAGES identifies repeating patterns through three tiers that has some statistical substantiation, and it points to the predictability of these patterns repeating yet a fourth time in a new tier. The resulting spectrum of development in STAGES covers the earliest stages of childhood development to the heights of known human development.
Get a free PDF, Overview of the STAGES Model, when you sign up for our list.
Who Is This Course for?
STAGES Essentials is for professional psychotherapists and coaches (life and business), and other professionals who give guidance to others in a professional context, including mentors, team leaders, facilitators, counselors, spiritual advisors, somatic and alternative healers, and others.
How STAGES Can Enhance Your Therapy or Coaching Practice
A key feature of STAGES for therapists and coaches is its exquisite precision in determining the developmental stage of the client in the therapeutic moment. Development is never a straight line so practitioners must carefully track a client’s forward progress, regressions, and other movements so that they can apply approaches that are in tune with the client’s actual situation. It’s a challenging task for any practitioner and there can be consequences for the client’s well being if the assessment is inaccurate.
STAGES provides a framework and a straightforward method for doing this assessment with remarkable accuracy. The essence of this is what we call the Three Questions. These are three questions the practitioner seeks to understand during the client interaction, the answers to which yield a remarkably precise location of the client’s developmental level at that time.
Course Structure
STAGES Essentials is an 8-week online course that covers theory and application. Each two-hour session will consist of 60-75 minutes of teaching and presentations plus interactive exercises and Q&A with Terri and Kim. Course sessions will be held on Wednesdays at 5:30pm Pacific / 8:30pm Eastern / 1:30am UK (next day) / 02.30 CST (next day). These are the dates:
- September 28
- October 5
- October 12
- October 19
- October 26
- November 2
- November 9
- November 16
Here is an overview of the course modules:
Module 1: Introduction & Overview
- Welcome and introductions
- Course objectives
- Overview of the modules
- Getting started: The three repeating patterns
Module 2: The Concrete Tier
Individual STAGES Represented by the Concrete Quadrants
The first person perspective stages with states
- Contours of the early concrete self and
- Late first person self and states: birth of the subtle states
- Practical applications in psychotherapy, coaching and spiritual mentoring
Module 3: The Concrete Tier
Collective STAGES Represented by the Concrete Quadrants
The second person perspective stages with states
- Early second person: birth of the collective; maturing subtle states and social autopsies (talking “with”)
- Late second person: concrete projection and introjections in collectives
- Practical applications in psychotherapy, coaching and spiritual mentoring
Module 4: The Subtle Tier
Individual STAGES Represented in the Subtle Quadrants
The third person perspective, stage and states
- The contours of the early third person subtle self: marinating in the subtle
- Late third person self and states: birth of awareness of the subtle states
- Practical applications in psychotherapy, coaching and spiritual mentoring
Module 5: The Subtle Tier
Collective STAGES Represented in the Subtle Quadrants
The fourth person perspective, stages with states
- Early fourth person: birth of the subtle collective: context aware
- Late fourth person: subtle projection and introjections in collectives
- Practical applications in psychotherapy, coaching and spiritual mentoring
Module 6: The MetAware Tier
STAGES Represented in the Empty and Very Subtle Quadrants
The fifth person perspective, states and stages
- The contours of the early fifth person causal self: construct aware
- Late fifth person self and states: birth of emptiness and fullness
- Practical applications in psychotherapy, coaching and spiritual mentoring
The sixth person perspective, stages with states
- Early sixth person: birth of the causal collective: wholes
- Late sixth person: causal projection and introjections in collectives
- Practical applications in psychotherapy, coaching and spiritual mentoring
Module 7: Case Studies
Although all sessions will address applications of the model, the final two sessions will focus on actual case studies presented by participants, both in the course as a whole and in small groups by profession (therapy and coaching). This will help anchor the model more firmly in your work with clients.
Module 8: Case Studies and Final Questions
We will continue with case studies then leave time for final questions about STAGES and its application in your practice.
Watch a Free Recording of the Intro Session
On August 24 we hosted a free Intro Session to the course that over 750 people signed up for. Terri and Kim provided a great overview of the STAGES model as it applies to therapy and coaching, and presented two case studies to demonstrate how STAGES helps therapists and coaches to improve their work with clients. You can watch the recordings for free…
Praise for STAGES
“I have been working with the STAGES model as taught by Terri, and practicing the application of its insights to life through my work with Kim for many years now. The results of these efforts have been profound both with regards to my own internal evolution, and also to my capacity to serve others with wisdom, compassion, and skillful means.”
“STAGES carries all the markers of a profound breakthrough in our understanding of the human condition that will be studied for all time. Once you see it, it becomes the indispensable lens that brings into focus a nuanced understanding of the human condition…”
“My weekend of Integral STAGES with Terri O’Fallon and Kim Barta was like brain fireworks!”
“I’ve studied integral theory for about 15 years and have read most of Ken Wilber’s work, and confess at times to struggling to ground the theory in everyday life. Terri’s STAGES model now makes that easier and even obvious. In my life, it’s been the model that brings together theory and experience in all contexts of my busy western life. The way Terri and Kim present the work is both engaging, entertaining and so very rich in practical value.”
Praise for Terri & Kim
“A true Dynamic Duo, Kim and Terri bring wonderfully complementary styles of presentation and proficiency. From Terri’s gentle and certain introductions to the research and resulting model, to Kim’s animated and deeply passionate explication of the application, a generous field of learning is cultivated.”
“Kim is a rare being in the combination of theory and practice. With every point of theory, he recounts an example from his experience as a therapist that brings the meaning home. His descriptions of the patterns of development and their expressions in human behaviour, trauma and therapy are lucid, practical and readily adapted to the mundane and extreme issues of everyday life. He is a pleasure and an inspiration to learn from.”
“I have seen Terri present and evolve her model over several years, often in awe of her blend of academic depth, humility and wit, enthusiasm and world-changing vision, and a little amazed at the sheer longevity of her commitment to the work of understanding how humans evolve and the terrain of our potentials.”
Support
If you have questions or need support, please contact us at support@developmentallifedesign.com. We strive to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours during regular business hours Monday to Friday Pacific Time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Psychotherapy and coaching have some distinct differences. How will you work with this during the course?
Is any special hardware or software required to participate in the course?
I have a scheduling conflict with a couple of the course session dates. Will the sessions be recorded?
Are there any registration discounts available?
- Participants in previous in-person multi-day STAGES workshops: We emailed you on August 25 with details. If you can’t find this email, please contact us and let us know what workshop you attended and we will give you a discount code you can use to get your discount when you register.
- Graduates of the Integral Coaching Canada (ICC) program are eligible for a $125 discount. (Eligibility subject to verification.) To claim the discount, apply the discount code ess-icc when you register.
Will CEUs be available?
Will I be able to get individual support for applying the course in my professional practice?
What is your refund policy?
I’m very interested in the STAGES model but I’m not a professional therapist or coach. Can I still take the course?
About Terri & Kim
Terri O’Fallon PhD is an Integral scholar who derives theory and research interests from a passionate practice of auspicious wondering, learning, and marinating in life; she is the daughter of a 95 year old dancing mother, eldest of seven siblings, parent of two adult children, grandparent of two granddaughters, and has over fifty years of teaching from pre-kindergarten through post PhD. She has a PhD. in Integral Studies and Masters degrees in Spiritual Direction and Special Education. These embodied experiences have supported her primary theory and research and teaching theme: Growing up is waking up throughout the lifespan.
Teaching has been a theme throughout her life beginning as a preschool and first grade teacher, she has taught every grade, including special education and the gifted. She has had the role of principal of schools and superintendent of schools, and taught in seven colleges and universities. Her interest in life span development naturally arose from this field.
Terri’s research experience spans 40 years including eleven research studies, conducted in various colleges, public schools and private research venues, but her most passionate theory, research and teaching work of the past eight years revolves around the Stages model which integrates the Integral model by Ken Wilber with the Ego development scale of Susanne Cook-Greuter. The STAGES model was a natural culmination of her life’s experience.
Ordinariness has been the trajectory of Terri’s life. Steeped in philosophy, research, teaching, and a myriad of spiritual practices, her path continues to bring her solidly home to the practical living, breathing appreciation of the simple things in life. We wake up every morning. We grow up, quite naturally. We live through joys and sorrows, and face our family, friends, and neighbors every day. We grow old and watch our life approach its end as we apprehend the birth of our grandchildren. With the gifts of so many experiences, the highs and lows of being, what seems to always remain is what we were advised to do from birth: listening, gratitude, compassion, love, forgiveness, and generosity—lifelong lessons that never seem to end.
Terri’s website is terriofallon.com. Terri is also a partner in Pacific Integral. Click here to view her résumé.
Kim Barta MA is an internationally recognized licensed professional psychotherapist, coach, spiritual guide, and speaker. His work and insights spring from grounded experiential practice with self and others in his cross cultural and life long experiences.
Kim worked for gender rights in the small rural school in central Montana. In college, Kim co-founded Students in Union with Nature, which partnered College students with alternative energy advocates in the community creating a solar powered organic garden lifestyle for college students.
Kim graduated with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Montana in 1984. He pursued a Masters in an interdisciplinary program that combined Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, and Sociology in a broad perspective for healing. He lived with a Native American Shaman and did his Masters Thesis in Shamanism and Modern Psychotherapy. He graduated with high marks in 1986.
After developing and implementing a successful construction training program for people suffering from severe mental illness: Bi-polar, Schizophrenia, and Axis ll Disorders, Kim pursued outdoor leadership, becoming an instructor with the International Outward Bound schools. Kim went on to develop a mental health treatment program for children and youth that was adopted by 3 hospitals in Montana. In 1992, Kim founded and continues to co-operate a mind/body healing arts clinic in Polson, Montana, nestled beneath the high mission mountains on the shore of Flathead Lake, in the Flathead indian nation.
Ever seeking better ways of healing in the life of self and others, families and children, Kim, has developed several successful new forms of therapy that deeply and rapidly lead to healing. These have proven themselves effective with a wide range of issues including: Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Anger, Addiction, Chronic Pain, physical illnesses and weight loss and personal growth. People utilize his psychology/coaching/spiritual guidance practice, globally.
Currently, Kim has teamed up with Dr Terri O’Fallon to present workshops and trainings internationally in a new model of human development designed and researched by Dr. O’Fallon. Kim’s developmental learning theory fits lock and key with Dr O’Fallon’s Stages model and his extensive history in clinical human dynamics provides a grounded passion to the workshop experience.
Kim’s website is kimbartatherapy.com.