My teacher
Profesor Walter Zahnd
Profesor, LCSW, BCD, QCSW and member of AAMFT
B.C.S.W., University in California, Sacramento, 1962
M.S.W., University in California, Canada, 1964
Prof. W. Zahnd´s profile on web pages of California State University
Nowadays, professor emeritus. From the time of his nomination in 1970 he has taught several classes in the University of California in Chico. He was a founder of the school Toyon Mesa, a healing center for problem youth, nowadays called Youth for Change. Zahnd is one of the first students and followers of Virginia Satir / 1916 – 1988, Wisconsin, USA /. In 1982, he introduced Virginia Satir, at the UC Chico and published her first professional videotape of her work, called „The Chico Tapes“. He is a member of Avanta, the Virginia Satir Network.
Virginie Satir - Teacher of my teacher
Virginia Satir is internationally established family therapist. She gained her position by non conventional methods, rich practice, and the research in the field of family therapy. She devoted her life to these questions until her death in 1988.
Virginia Satir established "Satir Model" that is a unique strategy leading to personal growth and improvement of the communication abilities. She believed that therapy through experience is and intensive spiritual event and a journey to inner self /self as a person/.
A therapist helps and leads people to be able to accept their feelings and pain and to accept their experience. After accepting negative emotions, we are able to experience joy and peace. We are able to develop our personal potencial. Satir‘ s basic belief was the fact, that people should personally grow and improve their communication abilities, especially inside of the family.
Satir was born in 1916, on a farm in the state of Wisconsin, USA. She studied „Social Service Administration“ at the University of Chicago. Her first work included work with children and families in Dallas Child Guidance Center, after four years, she transferred to Illinois State Psychiatric Institute. In 1959, she established and started together with Don Jackson, Jules Ruskin and Gregory Bates prestigious Mental Reserch Institute in Palo Alto, California. This institute nowadays cocreates the methodology of family therapies in the USA. During her life, Satir organized hundreds of work groups and various workshops all around the world. She lectured about 5 communiction patterns that she as first in the world described and made public. She taught the model of „validation“ of the human being. She worked with self-esteem. Her work was directed towards personal growth to humanity and improving health. Virginia Satir is considered a founder of the humanist psychology in the USA. She wrote several books / Meditations and inspirations, Peoplemaking, Selfesteem and other/ Into Czech, her two books have been so far translated: The Book of the Family, and Beyond the bounderies of family therapy. Satir died in 1988.
"Satir believed that human souls can connect with each other, through various ways , through the universal and life force."