CASTING CIRCLES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION TO CIRCLE KEEPING

A Full-Day Experiential Training in the Ancient Art of Holding Space for Whole Human Beings.

6 CE Hours for NYS Licensed Social Workers

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?

YOU ARE ACHING FOR SOMETHING DEEPER.

Something in you has always known that the way we gather is not working. Not the content of our meetings or the agenda of our gatherings — but the quality of presence. The depth of contact. The feeling of actually landing in a room with other human beings and being met there.

You have spent years in spaces where people stay carefully surface-level. Where emotions are managed rather than welcomed. Where the most important things go unsaid because there is no container for them. And somewhere along the way you started to wonder — is it just me? Am I asking for too much?

You are not. And you are not alone.

Human beings are wired for authenticity and connection. We have always needed to be witnessed, to speak and be heard, to know and be known by the people they move through the world with. That need did not disappear — We've just been conditioned to prioritize other things.

For generations before colonization restructured how we relate to each other, communities across the world gathered in circles. They took the time. They honored every voice. They followed the conversation where it needed to go and trusted the group to find its own wisdom. The circle was not a meeting format. It was a way of being together that said: every person here matters. Every story belongs.

Circle practice is a return to that. a living, practical, adaptable technology for creating the kinds of spaces our nervous systems, our communities, and our relationships are starving for.

If that call feels familiar, you are exactly who this training is for.

IMAGINE HAVING...

TOOLS THAT WILL HELP YOU TRANSFORM EVERY ROOM YOU WALK INTO...

A structure you can trust.

Imagine entering any group — a staff meeting, a clinical team, a classroom, a community gathering — with a clear, time-tested container that does the relational work for you. Not improvising from anxiety or habit. Not hoping this time it goes differently. A structure so well-designed that it creates safety, invites depth, and regulates the nervous system of everyone in the room — including yours.

The ability to invite whole people in.

Imagine knowing exactly how to craft a question, open a round, or place an object at the center of a circle that signals to every person in the room: you are welcome here — all of you. Not just your professional self. Not just your role. Your stories, your feelings, your full humanity. Imagine being the facilitator who people remember because they felt genuinely seen in your space.

The confidence to hold difficulty without shutting it down.

Imagine sitting with conflict, grief, silence, or strong emotion in a group — and not flinching. Not rushing to resolve it. Not defaulting to the script. Knowing how to stay present, hold the container, and trust that if you give it enough space, the group will find its way through. That steadiness is not a personality trait. It is a learned skill. And it is teachable.

A practice that changes how you move through the world.

Circle is not just a facilitation tool you use at work. It is a philosophy of relationship — a way of being with people that honors the natural arc of things, that refuses to cut conversations short before they find their shape, that insists on wholeness over efficiency. Participants consistently report that Circle Keeping changes not just how they facilitate groups but how they show up in every relationship in their life.

THE TRAINING...

DESIGNED FOR SOCIAL WORKERS. ESSENTIAL FOR ANYONE WHO BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER.

6 CE hours for NYS Licensed Social Workers, LMSWs/LCSWs.

This is a highly participatory live webinar on Zoom, held in a small group, and designed so that the experience of everyone in the room becomes part of the learning. You will not watch someone demonstrate a circle. You will be in one — learning from the inside what it feels like to be held, witnessed, and invited into depth.

Rooted in the lineage of Indigenous peacemaking circles and woven together with over a decade of Maria's direct experience facilitating circles across criminal justice, school, and community settings, this training teaches you not just the structure of Circle but the posture, presence, and philosophy of the Circle Keeper.

Space is intentionally limited to support depth, trust, and relational care.

This training will serve you if you:

✦ Facilitate groups, meetings, circles, or team conversations in any setting

✦ Work in schools, social services, juvenile justice, community organizations or small businesses

✦ Feel pressure to go deep with groups without clear tools or consent practices

✦ Want a facilitation practice rooted in ethics, care, and responsibility

✦ Long for spaces that honor the full humanity of everyone in the room — including your own

✦ Are willing to slow down, be in the experience yourself, and take responsibility for how space is held

This training is probably NOT for you if:

✦ You are looking for a passive, sit-and-listen CEU experience

✦ You want a quick certification rather than a genuine shift in how you hold space

✦ You are looking for techniques to control group behavior or manage people's emotions

✦ You are not open to examining how you currently hold power in the spaces you facilitate

WHAT WE WILL EXPLORE...

SIX AREAS OF LEARNING

The Origins and Lineage of Circle

Where Circle comes from, why it matters, and how to honor Indigenous peacemaking traditions while adapting them responsibly for contemporary settings. Understanding lineage is foundational to practicing with integrity.

The Philosophy of the Circle Keeper

What it means to hold rather than lead. How to cultivate the presence, neutrality, and care that allow a group to find its own wisdom. The difference between facilitating people and trusting them.

The Elements of Circle

The talking piece, the center, the opening and closing, the agreements, the rounds. Each element, its purpose, and how to adapt it across Zoom, workplace, classroom, and community contexts.

Creating Safety, Consent, and Nervous System Regulation

How to build shared agreements that support genuine trust and participation. Understanding the difference between safe, brave, and sacred space — and how to name clearly what kind of space you are inviting. How Circle structure itself creates the conditions for people to exhale, open, and arrive.

Facilitating Depth and Meaning

How to craft prompts and questions that invite whole people into the room. How to hold space for story — allowing people to be known and seen without extraction. How to follow the natural arc of a conversation rather than cutting it short. How to let things come full circle.

Holding Difficulty with Steadiness

What to do when things get hard. How to hold conflict, grief, silence, and strong emotion inside a Circle container without flinching, rushing, or shutting it down. How to stay present when the room needs you most.

WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT...

TWO WORLDS. ONE TRAINING

Most facilitation trainings teach you a format. This one teaches you a practice — one with roots in Indigenous peacemaking traditions spanning cultures and continents, and one that requires the facilitator to do their own inner work alongside the technical learning.

Most social work CEU courses do not offer circle-based content. Most circle keeping trainings are not designed with social workers in mind and do not offer continuing education credit. This training sits at the exact intersection of both — grounded in the ethics and values of social work, and rich with the ancient, practical wisdom of Circle.

Most CEU trainings lecture at you. This one includes you. It is intentionally small, live, and participatory because Circle Keeping is best learned from the inside. You will not be watching a recording or clicking through slides alone. You will be in circle — learning what it feels like to be held before you learn how to hold.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW...

TRAINING DETAILS

FORMAT

Live Webinar via Zoom

DAY

Every 3rd Wednesday

TIME

9:30am - 4:30PM ET

DURATION

5 hrs of instruction + 1 hr lunch

CEUS

6 credits — NY Social Work

INVESTMENT

$347.77

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

Reflect on their current practice and discuss the importance of relationships in their work.
Participants will learn the history of circle processes and relationship to social work values and principles
Participants will identify the purpose of the circle process.
Participants will learn the necessary skills to prepare and facilitate restorative circles.
Participants will identify how circles can be used in their settings.
Participants will identify situations to use circles in a particular setting.
Participants will design a circle plan that applies to their unique setting.
Participants will explore the importance of community in their work.

FAQ'S

Is this a Restorative Justice training?

Do I need to have taken the Intro to Restorative Practices training first?

Will I receive a certification?

Is this training appropriate for people who are not social workers?

Can my organization pay for this?

MARIA SCARANGELLA, LMSW

For the past decade, I have been dedicated to promoting Restorative Justice in the Hudson Valley. In 2014, I joined Family of Woodstock's Restorative and Juvenile Justice Services Department, serving as a Case Manager for Ulster County's One80 program for six years. I later expanded the department to include community cases and school-based Restorative Justice programs, eventually becoming Assistant Program Director. From 2021 through 2024, I worked as the Restorative Practices Coordinator for the Kingston, Saugerties, and New Paltz School Districts, supporting each district in its unique approach to implementing Restorative Practices.

My work is backed by extensive training. I am a Fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, where I earned a certificate in School-Justice Partnerships and Diversion Pathways. I have studied under Dr. Tom Cavanagh of RJEd and became a Licensed Restorative Practices Trainer through the International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP) in 2022. I have also served as Assistant to the Executive Director and a volunteer Circle Keeper in the Newburgh Model at The Restorative Center in Newburgh, NY.

My approach to Restorative Justice is deeply rooted in indigenous wisdom. In 2020, I completed EarthTime Project's Ancient Art of Awareness, a one-year apprenticeship in Native philosophy, and have also trained at Tom Brown Jr.'s Tracker School. I have studied narrative medicine, storytelling, and hypnosis through the Coyote Institute.

In May 2023, I earned my Master's in Social Work from SUNY Albany. In 2024, when Ulster County no longer deemed Restorative Practices a funding priority, I left Family of Woodstock and started Casting Circles — to continue and expand the use of circles, because I truly believe that sitting in circle together and talking about what matters to us is the medicine our homes, schools, organizations, and communities need most right now.

This work reflects my own journey of using relationships, community, and conflict as teachers.
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What people are saying...

"I have very much enjoyed collaborating and learning along side Maria. She has consistently shown up with humility and warmth and has demonstrated her deep understanding of Restorative Practices throughout our interactions. Her commitment and ability to prioritize genuine human connection while balancing this skillfully with professional, supportive boundaries fuels my confidence and interest in collaborating with her in the future."

Katherine B., Restorative Practitioner

"Maria is a gifted facilitator in all areas connected to the fostering of Restorative Justice practices. I have worked with her for years in JCABs and have been inspired by her empathy, compassion and wisdom. She is an intuitive, insightful facilitator who calls forth the best from both her colleagues and circle participants. I learn from her each time we work together and what I learn is always life giving and good."

Pat C., Retired Educator & JCAB volunteer

“Maria is extremely passionate, knowledgeable and experienced in the field of Restorative Justice and Restorative Practices. She provided a wonderful training that was both interactive and full of relevant information and tools"

Dana K., Training Participant

"Her passion for this work connects with educators across grade levels and classrooms. Maria brings supportive strategies that are appropriate and grounded in real classroom experiences. She provides clear guidance, models best practices, and supports staff in building confidence and consistency."

Llajaira D., Middle School Assistant Principal

YOUR WORK IS ABOUT PEOPLE.

Circle practice is the oldest technology we have for remembering that.

This training will give you the philosophy, the structure, and the lived experience to bring Circle into every space you hold.

One circle at a time. One honest conversation at a time. One whole human being at a time.

That is how the world changes.

Not from the top down. From the inside out.

As within, so without. As above, so below.