Professional Training & mentoring

 

I train facilitators to run trauma-informed, inclusive, and consensual intimacy-based workshops like mine. With 12+ years of experience in training clients and professionals, in a stable 6-figure company, I can help you run a successful business.

I work one-on-one as a mentor and supervisor, and I host occasional professional trainings for platonic touch-based cuddle workshops.

 

One-on-one mentoring and supervision

You buy a separate session or a package of ten 1-hour sessions. You propose a time, I send you an invite for a video call (that you can record to listen back to later), and you get to pick my brain for the time we have together.

When you get the package, as an extra service you can send me urgent questions in between our sessions per email that I answer within 5 work days. Would you like extra support in the form of WhatsApp access with a 24-hour reply? Get the PRO package!

Prices:

Separate 1hr session: €250

Package of 10 sessions (Basic version with email support): €2.000

Package of 10 sessions (Pro version with Whatsapp support): €3.500

All prices excl. VAT.

 

Foundations for Touch Based Workshops Facilitator Training

How to build the confidence to deliver what’s inside you without f*cking up your participants.

Former Cuddle Workshop Teacher Training

 

Next one: April 9-13 2025, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Send a message through the contact form to be updated about details!

Touch is awesome! You have experienced how it can change your life yourself. How we all have the desire to be held, but not always the opportunity to do so.

And now you are dreaming of offering people that opportunity. And to generate an income out of it.

Because that’s the best thing: living your passion. People paying you money for the value you provide is perfectly appropriate. Without touching we die. The biggest threat to our health is stress. And it so happens that cuddling reduces stress levels!

Giving Cuddle Workshops and Cuddling sessions is something you can make a full living out of. You might also already be a therapist, coach, yoga teacher or something else, and want to add Cuddle Workshops and sessions to your current range.

Where to start?

Right here.

With this training, I offer you the tools so you can create your own workshops – either cuddle workshops or similar events. You will learn how to create a trauma-aware, well-built-up space that is inclusive for a wide range of folks. You will learn about group dynamics, different ways to include consent practices (including The Wheel of Consent), and how & why to use what kind of exercises – and how to create your own exercises. You will learn about red flags, how to avoid them, and how you might set up your own system of peer supervision. And much more!

A little bit about Cuddle Workshops

Cuddle Workshops are a specific type of touch-based workshop that I created over a decade ago. All around me, I saw events that were touch-based but quickly escalated towards sensuality and sexuality. There was, and is, a big need for spaces with clear boundaries. Platonic workshops did not exist in this form. The term ‘Cuddle Workshop’ did not exist. When my friend, well-known business mentor Steve Pavlina, told me I should do something with cuddling as there was something magic about the way I touched, I created the concept of Cuddle Workshops.

From a few people on an inflatable mattress in the living room with three sleeping kids upstairs, the concept escalated quickly and became an international success. From sold-out workshops throughout Europe and the world to several sold-out teacher trainings and many people copying the concept all over Europe, it is a clear sign that this body of work is needed badly.

Cuddle Workshops have changed lives. From people with trauma feeling safer in their bodies and lives, to people understanding the conditionings that weighed heavy on them and deciding to make changes, to lonely people who find safe ways to incorporate touch into their lives, to people finding belonging and a place that feels like home. I can’t count the number of workshops that I watched with tears in my eyes.

About this Training

This training aims to give you the tools, skills, and confidence to hist your own Cuddle Workshops (or similar platonic touch-based workshops).

This training is also an amazing addition to anyone working with people and touch. Whether you are a yoga instructor, tantra teacher, somatic therapist, or bodyworker – this training will add depth to your current offering and help you become safer, steadier, better informed, and more secure in your practice.

What this training looks like

We all learn in different ways, and learning in different ways will stimulate you to really integrate the teachings. There are different methodologies in this training:

  • lectures on different topics where I will teach you what I know, you get to take notes and ask questions
  • group discussions in bigger and smaller groups
  • experiential learning where I take you through workshop experiences and we talk about them afterwards
  • embodied learning: you get to practice offering exercises to fellow students, so your body and nervous system (not just your brain) get imprints of what it’s like to offer these workshops. This is a powerful way of learning that will make creating your own offerings much easier.
  • witnessing your fellow students try out exercises
  • open program where you get to practice what you wish, ask me specific things
  • there will be moments to dance, move our bodies, and have informal chats
  • free time to rest, digest, get to know each other, explore the city (we are at an amazing location)

The different components with alternate throughout the days, so that your body and brain won’t be too overwhelmed.

Preliminary elaborate overview of the contents of the training

This is a brief overview of some of the topics that are part of this training:

  • Building a workshop
    • comfort zone, terror zone, and the window of tolerance (and how to keep people where you want them)
    • how to not overwhelm people
    • why you need a team, and how to build it and instruct them
    • how to create exercises, how to explain them
    • the power of demonstrations (and when to not use them)
    • workshop space design: where’s the tea & why chocolate is important
    • Emotional support: when, how why, and when to stop
  • Consent
    • using different methodologies of consent
    • a deep dive into Betty Martin’s Wheel of Consent
    • how to (visibly and invisibly) integrate consent in everything you do
  • Inclusivity
    • how to include the people you wish to include (and not accidentally exclude them)
    • inclusivity is more than saying you welcome everyone: you need to do things – which things?
    • what message are you giving with your (online and offline) presentation?
    • how to include neurospicy and highly sensitive folks?
    • how to include folks from marginalized communities?
    • how to not accidentally discriminate – and what to do when you make mistakes?
  • Group dynamics
    • relationship teacher/students
    • how group pressure works and how to avoid it
    • using the mechanics of social structures
    • how to not accidentally manipulate your students
    • how to use your own experiences – and when to shut up
  • Becoming trauma-aware
    • emotional maturity
    • how to prevent traumatizing people (hint: people get traumatized in workshops more often than you may realize)
    • green & red flags, and the different roles in harmful situations
    • understanding trauma can always hit someone
    • what to do when someone gets into a trauma state
  • Feedback
    • understanding why inviting feedback is one of the most important things you can do
    • how to receive feedback
    • how to create a sustainable system of support before you need it (hint: when you need it, it’s too late)
  • How to organize your own Cuddle Workshops
    • Exercises (you will get tons of examples and a an exercise glossary to keep)
    • How I create my Cuddle Workshops (the original version! 😉 )
    • How you can create yours
    • How to promote your workshops and the secrets to attracting participants

What you can do after this training

After completing this full training you will receive a Certificate of Attendance. You can use the tools you have received to create your own offerings. You can add this training to your professional CV. Although you are well equipped to start hosting your own workshops after this training, I always advise you to learn from different teachers and then find your own way. Additions to this training are for example Betty Martin’s Like a Pro, and Shelby Leigh’s (online) Creating Safer Spaces.

This training is specifically aimed at touch-based, platonic workshops. Workshops including sensuality and sexuality are a different ballgame. Are you interested in offering those? I offer one-on-one mentoring and supervision for this, either as a follow-up after this training or separately.

Practicalities

This edition of the Facilitator training will take place April 9-13 2025 at Kanaalweg 84A in Utrecht.

Please note that this building is less accessible for disabled people. We do our best to accommodate limitations. Feel free to send us a message to investigate together whether, and how, we can support you.

The language of the training is English (unless all participants understand Dutch). For the parts of the training where you get to speak, you are welcome to do so in Dutch.

The price for this training is €1899,- (ex. VAT). The usual price for professional training like this varies between €3.500 and €5.000. I choose to make this training as affordable as possible. This is how I do that:

  • You arrange your own place to sleep and food. Instead of booking a venue offering this for a high-end price, I booked a simple venue that is sweet and comfortable but without a professional kitchen or beds. There are places to have food around several corners, and places to sleep too. This means you have the choice of whether to book something for a high-end price or something simpler. Or book an AirBnB with some fellow students (I set up a WhatsApp group you get access to after signing up).
  • By asking you to pay the full price in one go. You can also ask for installments. That costs me more admin time, so that is a bit more expensive. You can pay in two installments of €995 (ex VAT, €1.990 in total) or three installments of €695 (ex VAT, €2.085 in total).
  • And partly it’s a choice to earn less – but wanting to make this accessible.

Are you part of a marginalized group (queer, trans, POC, disabled) and you need a partial scholarship? Please reach out with your request and motivation!

Cancellation policy

You are officially enrolled after I have received your (first) payment. There is a non-refundable deposit of €300. If you cancel up to three months before the training, you get 100% (minus deposit) back. If you cancel up to two months before the training, you get 50% (minus deposit) back, If you cancel up to a month before the training starts, you get 25% (minus deposit) back. The month before the training refunds are not possible. You are welcome to find a person (who meets the criteria) to take your place without further costs.

How to sign up:

To sign up for this training, send an email to wilrieke@exploringdeeper.com. I’d love to welcome you with us!

Please email me:

  • Your name and address
  • If you live abroad, please send me your VAT/tax number for the invoice.
  • Your (brief) motivation
  • Your background: what training have you done, and if you already have a practice, what is it?