Update: Starting in the Summer of 2022, SpeakUP Connection Games are back!
Every first and third Thursday on Old Eaglemount in Port Townsend, a curious thing happens. A group of adults – some friends, some strangers – gather together in a circle. We turn our phones off, shut down the music and look at each other, on purpose. The connection between us is what we are there for. And for two hours, we will engage in exercises called “Authentic Relating Games” to help us practice being better humans, together.
Fall 2022 Schedule:
September 1st & 15th | October 6th & 20th | November 3rd & 17th
Welcome to SpeakUP, my brand of Authentic Relating, a movement spreading all around the world of peer-led groups designed to connect people. The games themselves can be played one on one, in small groups or with the whole group. Some are light, fun and playful, some are serious, deep and edgy. All of them have a focus on paying attention to our experience in connection to each other in the present moment.
Connection Games can also be considered a “relational meditation”. Most of you reading this have heard of seated meditation or yoga, practices typically done alone with a focus on the breath or the physical postures. A relational meditation is one in which the connection to another person is the focus of the growth process.
Every time we meet, I choose a different theme. Some recent ones include, “Curiosity”, “Letting the Body Speak”, and “Coming Back to Connection”. I will guide you the participants through practices designed to follow the theme and help us expand in our freedom and skill in connection to one another.
From my perspective, vulnerability is a practice and takes practice. I invite you to drop in for the Fall 2022 season of SpeakUP Connection Games to get a taste of what it is like to practice vulnerability with a group of like minded others who believe connection is worth the practice.
Email me for directions | $15 drop-in | Class passes also available
SpeakUP In the Media: August 31, 2022 “Doctor assists groups in getting to know each other“. By Derek Firenze in the PT Leader.
SpeakUP will go on winter break starting in December.
All Ears On Deck: A Simple Tool for Listening In Times of Sorrow
This week, in light of the recent school shooting and the abundance of pain, frustration, and horror that has cloaked our country like a gritty silt, I wanted to revisit one of my favorite topics: how to listen to one another. Think of this show like a “how to” for a basic building block of listening.
No, You Can’t Have My Tangerine: The Dance of Boundaries
While I was in Hawaii, I paid a lot of attention to my boundaries, including where they were respected and where they were not. Which I do normally anyway. Learning to set and honor my boundaries is a big part of how I've been healing my history of trauma. From my travels, one particular incident stands out.
Why Transitioning Gently Back to Connection Matters
“Just moving on '' after the worst of the pandemic poses major risks to our quality of life and capacity to connect. When you have the courage to slow down and honor what you just went through, you can retrieve and re-integrate the parts of you that got “stuck” in the stressors of the last two years.
Testimonials for Communication Games
Facilitating in a way that is authentic, intentional, and inspiring can be challenging work, but Dr. Tartaro does it with ease. She navigates the group in a way that feels fluid and natural by allowing participants to take and receive what they need. I’ve attended her events to learn more about myself and others, but always leave with more than I could have imagined. Humanity needs more of Dr. Tartaro’s work.
~Sabrina Caverly, Life Span Doula & Coach
I went to my first SpeakUP session last night and I am so glad I did. Jessica Tartaro, your presence exuded healing. The evening felt like a perfect blend of gravity and levity, nurture and challenge. I kept thinking how the experience of two whole hours of meaningful human interaction is something almost no one engages in anymore. I happened to arrive to the session feeling on the brink of a panic attack after a very challenging week. So, it took a while for me to settle in. But as soon as I got deep into the process of what it means to speak honestly, especially in front of people I didn’t know, my focus drew away from what was bothering me and into the present moment–which was a lot calmer. Thank you. The work you do is so important. Everyone who gets the opportunity to work with you is a better person for it, I know I am!
~Bonnie Obremski, Founder, Storyborne
Until i joined Speak Up, i didn’t know how deeply i yearned for deep human connectedness, how little i had, and how my practice of keeping safe isolated me from others and myself…Now, it’s been 3 months in SpeakUP and a new desire, stronger than the long arm of trauma and fear, has rooted in me…i desire to be known by others, to be REAL, to show my feelings, my needs, my insecurities, my best…for the two hours in SpeakUP, i live inside a world where safety in human connectedness comes from behaviors exactly the opposite of those i have been using to keep me safe! Now, being vulnerable, not hidden…speaking from my emotions and intuition, not covering them up…being truthful, following curiosity to ask questions,feeling unsure but, saying ‘it’ anyway, and, speaking passionately about me and my life, that’s what makes me feel alive and safe!
Jessica Tartaro, our facilitator is unique in my experience of groups, because, she is a vulnerable participant as well as facilitator…i get to witness her vulnerability and see how, being truthful and exposed is strong, how, vulnerable and unsure brings out kindness and caring in others…by her actions, she is a reminder to speak what is true in the moment, to stay present and take care of myself, to speak from “i”, to check out my assumptions, and to follow what feels most ALIVE in me…i feel like a kid learning a new way to walk and talk
~Elisabet Skyhawk, Port Townsend