About
Dawn Menken is a teacher, psychotherapist and conflict facilitator. She is a certified Process Worker and holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Dawn is on the faculty at the Process Work Institute in Portland, Oregon and is one of the founding members of the Process Work Institutes in both Portland and Zurich, Switzerland. She is a co-creator of the Master of Arts degree in Conflict Facilitation and Organizational Change and has been involved in the research, application, and practice of process work for over thirty years.
I am a visionary dreaming of a world where the emphasis on learning, change, and relationship replace the often moralistic tone of right and wrong, or good and bad. I am for a world where diversity is cherished, both as an external politic as well as an inner experience. The inner practice which cultivates the diversity within each of us is what supports outer change. I dream of schools that inspire curiosity and emphasize the love of learning: schools that teach children how to facilitate conflict and appreciate difference, that create a living social studies in which classrooms are opportunities to discover more about ourselves and the world community.- Dawn Menken
She enjoys facilitating multi-cultural groups and has worked in schools, with youth groups, agencies and organizations, as well as small businesses and hospitals. She works in private practice with individuals, couples, families and children and appreciates the vast diversity of human experience.
Dawn is the author of Speak Out! Talking About Love, Sex and Eternity, a book of essays that explores themes of marginalization, relationship, and the essence of community. Written from a personal perspective, Speak Out! is at once intimate and conveys a sense of the living and dynamic nature of process work.
Dawn has been profoundly shaped by the advent of motherhood, not only as a personal journey, but in the sense of responding to the larger call to nurture, uplift, and facilitate all human experience. Motherhood continues to inspire her and has informed her creativity in her approach to working with children and families, as well as, groups and communities.
In September of 2006 she performed her one-woman show MamaSpeak, at a local theater in Portland, based on her personal journey and the universal mystery behind birth and the sacred calling to parenthood. Clips of the show with accompanying interviews can be found on this site.
Dawn is dedicated to the spirit of deep democracy in which all voices are valued and included. Worldwork, developed by Dr. Arnold Mindell, puts that value into action. Dawn brings her expertise into her group facilitation practice and has been a central figure in the creation, facilitation, and organization of the worldwork seminars over the last twenty years.