Presented in partnership with the Process Work Institute. You can attend this workshop live online on November 17 or 18, or in person in Portland on November 19. Register at the Process Work Institute. Details below.
What if your greatest contribution is not having the answer?
Someone you care about is struggling.
A friend. A colleague. A partner. A family member.
You want to help.
So you offer advice. Suggestions. Solutions. A different perspective.
Sometimes it helps.
And sometimes it does not.
Many of us have been taught that being useful means solving problems. But some of the most meaningful conversations in our lives are not asking for answers. They are asking for attention.
This workshop explores the subtle but powerful difference between helping and fixing.
Because helping has a shadow.
Sometimes we rush to advise because we are anxious. We reassure because someone else’s pain makes us uncomfortable. We problem-solve because not knowing feels like weakness. We take over and call it support.
And then, without meaning to, we can make the other person feel managed instead of met, corrected instead of heard, rescued instead of respected.
Together, we will slow down the moment when care starts turning into control and practice a different way of listening — one rooted in curiosity, presence, and questions that help keep the relationship open.
This Workshop is For You if You've Ever…
Jumped into problem-solving before fully understanding what was needed.
Felt responsible for making things better for someone else.
Offered advice that did not land the way you hoped.
Struggled to know what to say when someone was hurting.
Found yourself carrying problems that were not yours to carry.
Wanted deeper, more honest conversations without taking over.
What You'll Leave With
A practical way to recognize your impulse to jump in, pause before acting on it, and ask questions from genuine curiosity that help keep the relationship open.
If These Thoughts Sound Familiar…
“Why doesn’t my advice seem to land?”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“How do I support someone without taking over?”
“Maybe they don’t need another answer.”
Come play in our learning laboratory together. We will slow down the moment when helping starts turning into fixing, and practice a different way of listening.
No prior experience with Process Work or inner work is needed.
Logistics
Time Options
The Making Meaning from Mess workshops run once a month, 3 times a day! With two live online options and one in-person, you have plenty to choose from!
Live Online option 1: November 18th, 8am-10am Pacific (11am-1pm Eastern · 5pm-7pm CET)
Live Online option 2: November 17th, 4pm-6pm Pacific (7pm-9pm Eastern · 9am-11am +1 Sydney)
In-Person, Portland: November 19th, 5:30pm-7:30pm Pacific
Class Rates
Pay it Forward Rate - $120 For those who have the financial capacity to contribute at a higher level. This rate helps sustain the workshop and supports reduced-cost access for others in the community. Choose the Pay it Forward Plan.
Standard Rate - $80 The standard workshop rate. Choose the Standard Plan.
Equity Rate - $60 For those for whom the Standard Rate would be a stretch right now. Choose this rate if it supports your participation, no explanation needed. Choose the Standard Plan and use code EQUITYMMM2026 on checkout.
ABOUT Cathy Bernatt
Cathy Bernatt helps people face the power dynamics everyone feels but few dare to name.
A Master Certified Coach, Professional Facilitator, and Organizational Development consultant, Cathy works at the messy intersection of power, conflict, culture, and change. She has a gift for surfacing the undiscussables: the tensions, silences, and hidden roles that quietly shape how people lead, relate, and make meaning together.
For more than four decades, she has worked globally with Fortune 100 companies, NGOs, hospitals, educational institutions, and executive teams across cultures, including two decades living and working in Japan. Her approach blends pragmatic skill-building with deep inner work, helping people understand how their relationship with power shapes their impact and the cultures they build.
Cathy believes power and conflict are not problems to solve. They are human territory to navigate, wherever people care, disagree, decide, avoid, lead, follow, stay silent, or speak.
Outside of work, Cathy is affectionately known as Bilbo Baggins, forever heading into unknown lands in search of awe, wonder, and the next wild horizon.
Cathy is a Processwork Diplomate and PWI alumni, having completed both a Master of Conflict Facilitation and Organizational Change, and a Master of Process Work.
Register here at the Process Work Institute.