How do I sign up?

Fill out an application here! This will help me make sure that the group is a good fit for you, and that you’re a good fit for the group. Filling out the application doesn’t commit you to joining the group.

If you are accepted, I’ll let you know over email. You can secure your spot by either paying in full or entering your information for the payment plan.

There will be a maximum of eight participants.  

What’s the investment?

Early Bird — if you sign up before January 1, 2018**:
$700, or 5 payments of $150

Regular — if you sign up on or after January 1, 2018:
$800 or 4 payments of $150 and 1 payment of $250

If you choose the payment plan, you will be asked to make the first payment when you secure your spot. Each subsequent payment will occur on the first of the month, starting with the first month of the program.

Prices of the original Dessert Club have increased over time, and the price of this program will likely do the same. So if it feels like a good fit, this could be a good time to join.

**Please note, to be able to sign up (e.g., make a payment to secure your spot) by January 1, you will need to submit your application no later than December 27, 2017.

I want to know more. Who would be a good fit for the Dessert Club Intensive?

1. You have the time to take this on.
This is a 6-month commitment that will involve group meetings, coaching, reading, homework, and corresponding with pen pals. The goal of the group isn’t to be too arduous — we’re definitely trying to have fun while asking deep questions about life — but it does require some effort.

The success of the group as a whole requires that each person “shows up” for everyone else. If you don’t show up for group meetings, the whole group misses out. If you don’t respond to your pen pals over email, they won’t feel supported in their own growth.

If you don’t feel like you have the time to commit to showing up for group meetings and coaching sessions, and doing 10-30 minutes a day of reflection, reading, or practices, this might not be a good fit for you.

2. You’re willing to face some big feelings.
In addition to literally having the time to literally show up for your fellow group members, it’s also essential that you have the emotional energy to take on this personal exploration. Doing inner work can bring up some pretty big feelings — including some things that we might have consciously or unconsciously been avoiding. Of course, if you’ve worked with me before, you probably already know that, but it is an important reminder.

3. You’re willing to try some new things
Reflecting and exploring are very useful, but meaningful growth only happens if you actually put new actions into practice. The DCI will give you clear ideas on what actions to take, and help breaking them down into manageable, non-overwhelming steps, but it’s up to you to actually do it. Are you willing to try some new and different things?

4. You already have some awareness of your inner life.
One of the exciting things about running the DCI will be that we’re not starting from square one. Everyone in the group will be reasonably self-aware about their eating and themselves, and we can go deeper because we are starting farther along.

For this reason, working with me individually or having participated in a Dessert Club is a prerequisite of joining the DCI. 

And can you tell me more about what the group is *really* about?

Of course! Here are the four main goals of the group:

1. Personalized growth.

Each person will have different roadblocks standing in the way of their life and eating, and each person will need to develop a different set of skills to address these roadblocks. At this stage of development, and personalized approach is the only thing that makes sense.

Through personal reflection, group work, and conversations with me, each person will develop their own individualized roadmap to guide the next six months, and the time beyond. As part of this roadmap, you will define the developmental direction you want to move in, and what skills or capabilities are needed for you to move in that direction.

You will meet with me individually, 7 times over the course of the program, so we can do the kind of targeted, individualized work that isn’t possible in a group setting. And when we do meet as a full group, there will be a focus on supporting each person as they progress their individualized path.

As the group ends, a main component of the check-out process will be defining a direction for your continuing growth.

2. Group Support

One of the true joys of the original Dessert Club was meeting together as a group, and we’ll definitely be doing that in the DCI. Where else can you laugh and also talk about deep, vulnerable issues with such smart, warm, lovely people?!

We’ll meet weekly for the first month, and bi-weekly after that, over the course of the six months. While the 8 weeks of the original Dessert Club often feels so short, a 6-month engagement will allow us to really deepen into our relationships and get to know each other better.

Outside of the group, you’ll be asked to email with a pen pal group. You’ll also be asked to meet monthly over the phone or video conference with a different member of the group, to reflect and share in a one-on-one setting on a specific topic.

Connecting, sharing, laughing, being vulnerable, and going deep with a group of warm, caring people, is such a gift.

3. An Integral Approach

In the DCI, we’ll talk about eating. But our true focus will be a more thorough and explicit examination of how we live, including:

• Our relationships: Which relationships are nourishing us? In which relationships do we feel that we can be vulnerable, honest, or authentic? Can we set appropriate boundaries in relationships? Are we communicating effectively in these relationships?
• Our environments: In which spaces in our lives do we feel comfortable, content, safe? In which spaces do we not feel that way?
• Our loves and dreams, our fears and insecurities: We will get clearer on what we are truly wanting and not wanting out of life. We will also deeply examine what things stand in our way or trigger us.
• Our stories and expectations: Most of have a story about how we “should” be in the world, and many of us are not quite living in that way. Maybe we know that these “shoulds” or expectations are standing in the way from being as much ourselves as possible, but we don’t know how to untangle it. A perfect topic for the Dessert Club Intensive!

4. An emphasis on the necessary self-examination skills

There are a number of skills that can help us deepen and thrive more in our lives. Some of these skills can include:

• Somatic awareness — are you aware of your physical bodily sensations, and how they influence your thoughts and actions in the world?
• Cognitive or emotional awareness — are you aware of your thoughts and feelings as you move through your life? And how those thoughts and feelings influence your actions, relationships, and more?
• Parts awareness — are you aware of the many different parts of your personality that can be triggered at any given moment? Are you able to skillfully work with those parts?
• Self-compassion — Are you able to treat yourself with kindness, be mindful, and stay aware of the fact that you are not the only one who is struggling? Self-compassion can be a skill.

Skill development in the DCI will take several different forms. We will take on some skill development as a group — particularly being more skilled at noticing somatic sensations and noticing the different parts of us that can be triggered at any given moment. Other skill development will be part of our personal development plans.

I’m interested! What are the next steps, again?

The first step is to fill out an application. If you are accepted, I’ll send you a link to make a payment and secure your spot.

Or if you have any questions, you can always shoot me an email at katie@dessertclub.com. We can even hop on a quick call if you want to ask me any questions in person.

It’s so hard to know! How can I know for sure if I should join? 

It’s so important to trust yourself. If the program seems exciting and like it could be a good fit, I’d love to have you. But if something real is holding you back, it’s also important to listen to that.

Either way, I’m wishing you the best of luck on your journey. I hope our paths cross before too long!