Originally published in Energy Magazine: The official Publication of the Healing Touch Program August Issue. August 2010

Highlights of the 2010 Instructor Gathering held August  4-5th, 2010

by Cynthia Hutchison, HTP Program Director,

photo by Cathy AndersonEighty-six of our 175 instructors and instructors­in-training blessed our annual instructor gather­ing with their wisdom, leadership and sense of community. Several countries were represented ,with some HTCIs extending greetings from their homelands. (For exam­ple, Rumi Hashimoto, RN, NP, HTCP/I was busy preparing to teach HTP classes and presentations to the Japanese Holistic Nurses’ Association and two Japanese universities!). We dedi­cated Wednesday evening to socializing and hors d’oeuvres, to group meditation and intention setting, to introducing staff and HTP committees and then to having each instructor introduce her/himself. A few of our instructors couldn’t arrive until the next morning, so the group photo you see here is actually short four instructors!

Thursday’s nine-hour agenda was packed, but we were ready for it after a luscious one-hour breakfast buffet where we en­joyed more socializing and catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. We pinned our new instructors and hon­ored other instructors with pins to acknowledge five, ten, and fifteen years. We promised the new TWENTY year teaching pins as soon as they are produced!

Lisa and I shared a list of recent accomplishments including the recent publication of Level 1 Technique Review Cards in Spanish, progress on national accreditation, and the new offer­ings of tele-courses to assist students, practitioners and instruc­tors who either cannot travel or would like the ease of learning from the comfort of their homes. One of the most valued tele-courses is the nine-week Mentor Training Course which will help mentors to be up to date on mentorship requirements and also deepen the quality of mentorship they provide to mentees. Other accomplishments discussed included the three levels of Children’s Courses (young, middle school and teen), the Quali­fied Mentor (QM) Policy, new and strengthened professional as­sociations, and the announcement of our first Level 4/5 courses to be taught on a cruise ship October 17-22, 2010 off the coast of California and Mexico. (Sorry,if you have not registered, these courses are already filled!)  We took time at the Instructor meeting to talk about HT Cer­tification, mentorship and related new policies, about how to promote HTPA membership in the classroom, and how to build classes and community. After a refreshing break where we savored our healthy buffet lunch and enjoyed our togetherness, we went back to work. A few items on curriculum review were presented as was the announcement that further automa­tion at the HTP office will allow instructors to list, monitor and change information about their class listings on the HTP web­site. (There was much excitement and gratitude about this!) 

Lisa Gordon and I ended the meeting with an open forum to talk about anything that instructors had on their minds, which we did with open hearts and loving spirits. Lisa told us that this was the favorite part of the meeting for her! Instructors accepted her of­fer – coming forth with rich comments and important questions. Mary Ann Geoffrey, who inspired us with our opening medita­tion, also led us in our closing as we held hands and shared our love and energy for the continued spreading of healing light through our HT practices, classes and community outreach. We were bonded, full of gratitude, and ready to begin three days of “The Joy of Healing: A Journey with Heart”!