Facilitating Authentic Communication Groups
Integrating Process Work, DEI, NVC & IFS
Discover practical tools and transformative insights to inspire equity, connection, and change in groups.
About the Authors
We share a passion for deep connection and dismantling systemic barriers.
Anisha Pandya
Anisha Pandya is a psychotherapist, and transformational facilitator based in Mumbai, India. As the CEO of the Authentic Communication Group, she leads the organization, and is happiest when she’s facilitating. She drives powerful, cutting-edge interventions that blend therapeutic and coaching approaches like Transactional Analysis, Appreciative Inquiry, Nonviolent Communication, Emotional Intelligence, NeuroLinguistic Programming, and Process Work.
Martha Lasley
Martha Lasley founded the Authentic Communication Group and works with movers, shakers and changemakers to advocate for social justice. She facilitates small groups to explore power dynamics and transform the domination culture. She has authored three books: Coaching for Transformation; Facilitating with Heart; and Courageous Visions. She supports social justice activists to realize their visions and develop heart-centered authentic relationships.
Discovering the Content
Chapter 1: Here and Now Process Work
Step into the power of the present moment. This chapter invites you to explore how real-time awareness reveals hidden dynamics, deepens authenticity, and creates space for transformation. Discover how to anchor your group in what’s alive, right here, right now.
Chapter 2: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Relationships
Uncover the deeper story of belonging. Move beyond checkboxes and buzzwords as you navigate real-time DEI work with courage and care. Through bold dialogue and relational awareness, this chapter empowers you to co-create more inclusive group spaces.
Chapter 3: Nonviolent Communication
Transform conflict into connection. Learn how to speak from the heart and listen with empathy—even in the heat of disagreement. This chapter brings NVC alive in group settings, helping you hold space for truth, healing, and collective liberation.
Chapter 4: Internal Family Systems
Access Self energy and get to know the many voices within. This chapter brings the compassionate lens of IFS into your facilitation, guiding you to connect with your inner parts and support others in doing the same. Learn how internal healing fuels authentic group connection.
Chapter 5: Self-Connected Facilitation
Hold space by staying grounded in your truth. Discover how to embody presence, lead with humility, and navigate intensity. This chapter gives you the tools to stay aligned with your values—even in the messiest moments of group work.
Chapter 6: Group Process
See the group as a living organism. Explore patterns, power plays, and unspoken agreements that shape collective behavior. Learn to spot what’s emerging and guide your group toward deeper connection, creativity, and trust.
Chapter 7: Recognizing Patterns of Oppression
Bring the unseen into the light. This chapter gives you the language and tools to name how oppression shows up in the room—subtly or overtly—and invites the group to hold that truth with compassion and responsibility.
Chapter 8: Transforming Patterns of Oppression
Shift from harm to healing. Learn how to move through discomfort, name privilege, and repair harm in ways that deepen trust. This chapter offers practical practices for transforming domination culture into shared power.
Chapter 9: From Separation to Connection
Break down walls and build bridges. In this chapter, you’ll explore how feedback, conflict, and vulnerability can be used not to divide—but to connect. Learn to call people in, call the out, and call them up with care. and co-create brave, honest spaces.
Chapter 10: Mapping Invisible Systems
Reveal the systems beneath the surface. Through powerful metaphors and insights, this chapter helps you recognize hidden hierarchies, unconscious dynamics, and your own role in sustaining or shifting them. Step into leadership with integrity.
Chapter 11: Expand Your Range of Interventions
Add precision and depth to your facilitation. Discover when to speak, when to step back, and how to make interventions that are both compassionate and provocative. This chapter helps you expand your toolkit and trust your voice—even in high-stakes moments.
Chapter 12: Transference and Countertransference
See the past in the present. Learn how relational histories and emotional wounds can surface in group work—and how to meet them with clarity and care. This chapter invites you to transform reactivity into healing and connection.
Chapter 13: Facilitator Development and Care
Expand your courage. Nourish your capacity. This chapter offers a map for sustainable facilitator development—through reflection, community, and authentic leadership. Because your care matters just as much as your skill.
Begin Your Journey Toward Authentic Connection
What Readers Are Saying
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Facilitating Authentic Communication Groups takes you into the belly of transformation—where real conversations challenge the status quo, deepen connection, and support healing. Integrating Nonviolent Communication, Internal Family Systems, Here-and-Now Process Work, and DEI in Relationships helps facilitators to navigate group dynamics with courage, compassion, and authenticity. Whether you’re surfacing hard truths, untangling power dynamics, or nurturing collective liberation, this guide offers the tools to move beyond dialogue into vulnerable, embodied relationships. Get ready to disrupt, connect, and co-create a more just and liberated world.