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
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.
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.
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Major Incidents
Friday, January 15 · 3:00–4:30 PM EST
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Pandemic and collective trauma: grief, hypervigilance
Saturday, January 16 · 9:00–10:30 AM EST
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Healing community: foundational approaches to overcoming collective trauma
Saturday, January 16 · 11:00 AM–12:30 PM EST
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Animal-assisted therapy interventions: nonjudgmental companionship, emotional attunement, predictability, immediate feedback, physical grounding
Saturday, January 16 · 1:30–3:00 PM EST
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Closing plenary session
Saturday, January 16 · 3:15–4:00 PM EST
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.