Synergy: Integrating Touch & Talk
Foundations of the Rubenfeld Synergy Method®
There is a language beneath words.
A knowing held in muscle, breath, and bone.
What if listening includes the hands…
and presence becomes a pathway home for yourself?
An Invitation
We are inviting a small cohort of clinicians – already walking paths of healing – to experience and carry forward the Synergy of touch and talk.
This is a paradigm of care. One where:
touch is for listening, is ethical & intentional
the body is central, not an adjunct
sensation & cognition resonate & integrate
healing unfolds through relationship, attunement & presence
In our fierce and tender world, this work asks: Can we remember how to listen with our whole being?
Place & Time
September 8th, 2026 6pm to 9pm, through to September 12th, 2026 12pm
Boughton Place, 150 Kisor Road, Highland, New York
Nestled in the beauty of the Hudson Valley
What You Will Experience
You will learn about Synergy, by feeling it, practicing it and embodying it.
We will explore:
the art of Listening Touch - distinct, respectful & deeply attuned
the subtle dialogue between body & language
how metaphors arise organically from the body’s wisdom
dual awareness: holding your client with compassion & empathy while staying rooted in your own center
the ethics of touch, boundaries & consent in a trauma-informed frame
your own somatic & emotional awareness as the foundation of your work
Who This Is For?
This offering is for experienced practitioners – therapists, bodyworkers & healers – who are curious about the synergy of concurrent touch and talk. Because of the intimate nature of this work, participation is by application. We are curating a group that values presence, curiosity, humility & depth.
Guides on This Journey
You will be led by a seasoned faculty of Certified Rubenfeld Synergists:
Jayne Gumpel, CRS, LCSW
Bonnie Muller, CRS, LCSW
Theresa Pettersen-Chu, CRS – Founder, The Embodied Path
Judy Swallow, CRS, MA, ICA, TEP
Each faculty member brings decades of clinical experience and a shared devotion to this work.
The Path Forward
This training offers:
certificate of Completion (Basic)
optional Advanced 5-day module (with additional assignments)
potential credit toward the 3-year certification as a Rubenfeld Synergist
CE credits may be available
Investment
Training: $1250.00 (includes breakfast) - Some scholarships are available.
For those new to Rubenfeld Synergy, one individual session is required onsite, more may be available. $100–$175 (self-determined sliding scale).
Accessibility matters deeply to us.
Limited on-site accommodations available ($50–$80), shared & private options, booked directly with Boughton Place.
Local motel accommodations nearby.
To Learn More & Apply
Visit Ilana’s legacy videos at: rubenfeldfoundation.org
(We encourage you to watch Ilana’s teaching—her hand raised, listening through touch—a simple gesture that changed a field.)
To apply contact Bonnie Muller at intouch@rubenfeldfoundation.com or call 203-676-8470.
For a .pdf download of this event, please click:
A Final Word
This work is seriously playful
relevant
powerful.
It asks something of you:
your presence, your openness, your responsiveness.
In return, it offers a way of being with others
that can be refreshingly human, connected, whole.
Listening Hands (For the Individual and for Relational Experiences)
Jayne Gumpel
Before words arise, before the story organizes itself into something coherent or explainable, there is the body. And within this practice, there are the hands.
These hands are not used to fix, lead, or take. Their purpose is to listen.
In Listening Hands™, the urgency to understand quickly is set aside. The impulse to respond or interpret softens. Space is created for the body to speak first,
in its own language and timing.
Touch is offered lightly and honestly, as though contacting a question rather than an answer. The inquiry is simple: What is here?
A shoulder may hold history.
A breath may hesitate.
There may be a subtle pulse beneath the surface—something waiting to be noticed without being altered.
Listening Hands do not move ahead of the moment. They follow. They receive. They allow.
And within this allowing, something begins to open—not because effort has been applied, but because presence has been sustained.
Often, curiosity emerges first. It is gentle and unassuming, a quiet inclination toward what is being experienced. This curiosity is not driven by analysis, but by a natural attentiveness.
From there, playfulness may arise—unexpected and light, like sunlight filtering through leaves. It is a reminder that the body retains an inherent capacity to explore without fear.
Then, more subtly, compassion begins to emerge. Not as something given or performed, but as something felt. A softening occurs from within, accompanied by a recognition:
I am here. You are here. That is enough.
In relational contexts, such as with couples, this practice often shifts the space between people. The interaction becomes less about words and more about presence. There is a shared sense of knowing that does not require explanation.
For individuals, the experience can be one of return, a sense of being met without needing to change or become anything different. The body responds to being received.
Through Listening Hands, communication occurs in ways that language alone cannot hold. The body answers when it is listened to.
This work is not about doing or striving. It is about touching with awareness, receiving without agenda, and remembering ~ through simple, attuned contact ~ what it feels like to be human in connection with another.