The following comments are a sampling of evaluation responses from participants who have attended Mario’s Befriending Your Amygdala Workshop.

• Nicely organized I loved the brain enactment.
• I appreciated the drama in which participants played the various parts of the brain. It has given me a better understanding of the brain and its function. Mario was clear.
• Excellent use of spontaneous enactments to illustrate/explore functions & relationships among the parts of brain.
• Creating the scene with the brain made something so complicated very clear. The thoughtful warm up also contributed to ease of learning.
• I appreciated the establishment of safety and the consistent reinforcement of its importance. Also, the length of the workshop and amount of material was not overwhelming and easily could have been.

The following comments are a sampling of evaluation responses from graduate students and participants in workshops in educational settings.

• should hire Mario to teach the other teachers how to teach.
• I appreciated the way in which the facilitator was able to engage both students and staff in this interactive workshop. It really helped us begin to see the issues from each other’s points of view.
• Mario is an incredible presenter. He knows his material, there is no doubt about that. But he presents it in such a fun and energetic manner that I forget that I am engaged in learning.
• The experience of this day-long training really helped me to develop a more clear understanding of the issue of bullying both from a student and staff perspective. Having the opportunity to practice interventions without the pressure to get it right was very empowering.
• I was totally engrossed in the learning experience. I had fun and I was able to express my thoughts while taking in the ideas of my colleagues. Bravo!

The following comments are from evaluation forms from a board development workshop for a small, non-profit organization in New Hampshire:

• It was great to have an objective facilitator to help us discuss and look at the board as a group and realize that this is part of the process. It was helpful to have a big picture and different views of board functions and roles. It was very helpful material to expand in all of life. I appreciated the wonderful presentation skills and affection for our board.
• I appreciated Mario’s effectiveness in drawing out opinions and comments from the group, especially since we touched on some sticky subjects. Everyone’s honesty was expressed in a non-hostile, gentle manner due to the neutral, safe atmosphere created by Mario. The crux of the issues currently surrounding the board was addressed in an extremely satisfying manner.

The greatest strength of this workshop was its facilitator. Apart from that, I feel that the major strengths were as follows:

• Board members were empowered to candidly express their concerns regarding board challenges.
• Similarly, board members were able to let down and share their personal, and sometimes emotionally-laden feelings about their own participation on the board, their limitations, and the need to take care of themselves. (This resulted, I believe, in a profound expression of support, encouragement, and deep caring from the group as a whole.)
• I have a much better sense of fellow board members as people, whereas previously I’ve interacted more with their roles (!)

I appreciated:

• Open communication , feeling safe to reveal personal issues in a supportive environment.
• Visual effect of role description and placement for all to see.
• Encouragement for active participation of all members present.
• Excellent insight to our problems.

I felt that this workshop was particularly valuable because of the presenter’s ability to help participants see the big picture regarding the role of a Board member; presenter’s ability to help participants focus in a positive way on the ineffectiveness/problanems of some Board members; presenter’s ability to help participants become more cohesive as a group.