Kairos Institute · Emergency Pedagogy

Module 7: Disaster, Healing Communities, and Animals

Addressing major natural and human-made disasters through healing communities and animal-assisted therapy interventions

Two days online with Bernd Ruf, who founded the emergency pedagogy crisis intervention centre in Karlsruhe and has spent decades sending teams to children in war zones and disaster areas. This module looks at what catastrophes do to people, and at what actually helps afterward. It is one of twelve modules building toward the EPWB Diploma in international crisis intervention.

Online module

January 15–16, 2027

Friday, January 15: 3:00–4:30 PM EST

Saturday, January 16: 9:00 AM–4:00 PM EST

Online · Tuition: $350 / EPWB Certificate $45 (optional)

Questions can go to Lisl Hofer, Manager of the Kairos Institute, at lisl@centerforanthroposophy.org.


What the module covers

Floods, earthquakes, fires, explosions: catastrophes of very different kinds produce strikingly similar traumatic effects on children, young people, and adults. This module examines that common ground, and then turns to the work of recovery.

Healing communities are the foundation of that work, and much of the two days is given to how they form and how they hold people through collective trauma. The final seminar takes up the healing potential of animal-assisted therapy in supporting trauma-informed pedagogy.


Reserve your place

Registration goes through the Kairos general registration form.

Register for Module 7

On that page, tick Emergency Pedagogy Module 7 with Bernd Ruf. Payment is made by credit card; a 3% processing fee applies.


Schedule

The module is taught online over two days. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

  • Major Incidents

    Friday, January 15 · 3:00–4:30 PM EST

  • Pandemic and collective trauma: grief, hypervigilance

    Saturday, January 16 · 9:00–10:30 AM EST

  • Healing community: foundational approaches to overcoming collective trauma

    Saturday, January 16 · 11:00 AM–12:30 PM EST

  • Animal-assisted therapy interventions: nonjudgmental companionship, emotional attunement, predictability, immediate feedback, physical grounding

    Saturday, January 16 · 1:30–3:00 PM EST

  • Closing plenary session

    Saturday, January 16 · 3:15–4:00 PM EST


Bernd Ruf

Portrait of Bernd Ruf

Bernd Ruf

Founder, Parzival School & Emergency Pedagogy

Bernd Ruf is the founder of the worldwide emergency pedagogy crisis intervention centre based in Karlsruhe, Germany, from which skilled teams are sent to help traumatised children in places of war and ecological disaster. He is the author of Educating Traumatized Children.


Certificates

There are two, and they are separate things.

No cost

Certificate of Completion

Issued by the Center for Anthroposophy

$45

Module 7 Certificate

Issued by Emergency Pedagogy Without Borders

The EPWB certificate is one of twelve modules that build toward the full EPWB Diploma in international crisis intervention.

You may add the optional $45 certificate when registering and pay for it with your tuition. Tuition discounts do not apply to the certificate. The Kairos team will request your date of birth separately and order the certificate from EPWB after the module has been taught.


Module 7 is part of the Kairos Institute’s Emergency Pedagogy series with Bernd Ruf. Questions about the module, or about a certificate, can go to Lisl Hofer at lisl@centerforanthroposophy.org.