Wild Connection Development Program
Upstream Development for the Next Generation of Personal Development Guides
(NVC + Eco-Depth Psychology of Wild Mind)
We Provide Scholarships to NVC Trainers and Wild Mind Practitioners/Guides for Cross-Pollination
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. and Eco-Depth Psychology of Wild Mind by Bill Plotkin, Ph.D. have similar conceptual structures: 1. the four components of NVC are subsets of the four windows of knowing of Wild Mind, 2. they are complementary in usage. NVC is primarily focused on interpersonal connection, while Wild Mind’s focus is on self-connection, cultivating wholeness and self-healing rooted in the heart of the world.
The Wild Connection Development Program (WCDP) encourages development toward certifications in both NVC and Wild Mind from the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC.org) and Animas Valley Institute (Animas.org) respectively by offering scholarships to those who have already completed a certification program in one of those two.
The scholarships are funded by an anonymous donor -- managed by Sarah Brooks of Animas Valley Institute, and James Prieto, a CNVC Certified NVC Trainer and Animas Valley Certified Wild Mind Practitioner.
"If we surrendered to earth's intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees." — Rainer Maria Rilke
Ceiba Connection Tree of Life
The Ceiba, with a large crown that projects a comfortable shade below, with thick branches extending outward toward the trees around it, and giant roots that tower above ground before entering the topsoil to the depths, finds itself between two ecosystems that need each other…
“If, as the Mayan language implies, our lives are really trees, then like water, it is the devoted urgency of the real stories to move toward their origination; their willingness to remain trapped en route home as stories in the dryness of our wood that brings us that precious spiritual lifeblood, causing the nutrients of cultural memory to reach the diverse branches of all peoples.”— Martin Practel in “The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun.”
Click here to read the full essay on a relational model of the human psyche.
CNVC Certified NVC Trainers
Phase 1 Rollout in 2025
NVC Trainers are invited to apply for scholarships to attend Animas Valley Institute offerings associated with the Eco-Depth Psychology Wild Mind Development Program. Click here to apply for a scholarship.
Animas Valley Certified Wild Mind Practitioners/Guides
Phase 2 Rollout in 2026
Wild Mind Practitioners/Guides are invited to apply for scholarships to attend CNVC sponsored trainings, such as the NVC International Intensive Trainings. This part of the program has not been rolled out yet. Contact us if interested.
Wild Connection Development © 2025