Foundations of NVC
Overview of the four-component model. Why our habitual language creates disconnection — and how NVC is different.
7-Week Group Workshop · San Francisco & Online
Learn to speak so people listen —
Nonviolent Communication
A structured 7-week group workshop that teaches you the four components of NVC: observations, feelings, needs, and requests. Practice live with a small cohort — in person in San Francisco or online throughout California.
7 WeeksIn-Person SFAlso OnlineSmall Group (8–12)
7Week Workshop
As Featured In
7Weekly Sessions90 minutes each
8–12Group SizeSmall, intimate cohort
2FormatsIn-person SF · Online CA
What Is NVC
A language for real connection
Nonviolent Communication (NVC), developed by Marshall Rosenberg, is a communication framework that helps you express yourself honestly while listening to others with empathy. It replaces blame, criticism, and defensiveness with clarity, curiosity, and care.
In this workshop you will learn to identify the feelings and unmet needs beneath conflict, and make clear requests that actually get heard — at work, at home, and in every relationship that matters to you. Most people find NVC only clicks when they practice it live with others, not when they read it alone.
Join the WaitlistWorkshop Curriculum
What we cover over 7 weeks
Each session builds on the last. By the final week you will have a complete NVC toolkit — observation, feeling, need, request — plus boundaries and self-empathy you can use immediately.
Observations vs. Evaluations
Learn to describe what you see without mixing in judgment. Practice separating facts from stories.
Identifying Feelings
Expand your emotional vocabulary using the NVC feelings inventory. Connect feelings to what is happening inside you.
Connecting to Needs
Discover the universal human needs beneath every feeling. Stop arguing about positions and start addressing what actually matters.
Making Requests
Craft requests that are specific, positive, and doable — not demands. Learn the difference and why it changes everything.
Empathic Listening
Hold space for another person's feelings and needs without fixing, advising, or defending. Practice full-presence listening.
Integration & Real-Life Application
Apply NVC to your most challenging relationships. Leave with a personal practice plan and ongoing community support.
Self-Care, Boundaries & Consequences
Protect your own needs without guilt. Learn the difference between a boundary and a threat, and how to express consequences with care — not punishment.
What You Will Learn
Skills you will carry for life
This is not a lecture series. Every session includes live practice, role-play, and group feedback so the skills become embodied, not just understood. You leave knowing how to speak — and listen — when it matters most.
- Express difficult feelings without blame or criticism
- Identify the unmet needs beneath conflict
- Make requests that are heard as invitations, not demands
- Listen with empathy even when you disagree
- De-escalate arguments before they spiral
- Build deeper trust in personal and professional relationships
Is This Right for You
Who this workshop is for
NVC is for anyone who wants to communicate more honestly and listen more deeply. You do not need any prior experience — beginners and people who have only read the book both belong here.
Couples & Partners
Break the same-fight cycle and learn to hear each other's needs beneath the conflict.
Families
Parents, adult children, and siblings who want to reduce tension and reconnect.
Professionals
Managers, therapists, teachers, and coaches who communicate for a living.
Anyone in Conflict
If a relationship in your life feels stuck, NVC gives you a new way in.
People-Pleasers
Learn to say no with care, and yes with full honesty — without guilt.
Therapists & Coaches
Add NVC to your clinical toolkit. CEUs available upon request.
Where We Meet
In-person in San Francisco. Online throughout California.
Choose the format that works for your life. Both formats cover the same curriculum and offer the same small-group experience with live practice and feedback.
In-Person · San Francisco
Join us at our San Francisco office in the Civic Center / Hayes Valley neighborhood. Sessions are held on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings. In-person groups offer the richest practice environment.
Online · All of California
Participate from anywhere in California via secure video. Online groups are capped at the same size as in-person groups so the experience is equally intimate.
Your Facilitator
Led by a licensed therapist trained in NVC
Our NVC workshops are facilitated by licensed clinicians at Bay Area CBT Center who have completed formal NVC training and integrate the model into their clinical practice daily.
You will be in a small, confidential group guided by someone who has used these tools in hundreds of therapy sessions — not just a trainer who read the book. The focus is practice, feedback, and real relationships — not theory alone.
Meet the TeamCommon Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do I need any prior experience with NVC?
No. The workshop is designed for complete beginners. If you have read Marshall Rosenberg's book or attended an NVC intro, you will still find the structured practice and group feedback valuable.
How is this different from reading the NVC book?
Reading gives you the concepts. The workshop gives you embodied practice with real-time feedback. Most people find that NVC only clicks when they practice it live with others.
Can I attend online if I live outside San Francisco?
Yes. The online format is available to anyone in California. You will be in the same small cohort structure as in-person participants, joining via secure video.
What is the group size?
Groups are capped at 8–12 participants to ensure everyone gets personal attention and practice time in every session.
Is there a waitlist?
Yes — groups fill quickly. Join the waitlist and we will contact you as soon as a spot opens in the next cohort. We run new cohorts every 8–10 weeks.
Ready to Start
Join the next NVC cohort
Groups are small and fill fast. Join the waitlist today and we will reach out as soon as a spot opens. In-person in San Francisco and online throughout California.
Join the Waitlist