Listening Beyond Words
Aaron Levy and Teya Sepinuck (Penn Medicine Listening Lab)
As human beings, we will all undergo a wide variety of experiences related to illness, caregiving, and our own vulnerability. Feeling deeply heard can allay some of the profound alienation, fear, loss, and loneliness that often accompanies illness, and itself contribute to the healing process. A compassionate listener can often hear both what has and has not been explicitly said, and help us understand our own life experiences in a new way. This two-hour experiential workshop, led by Aaron Levy, and Teya Sepinuck, will engage some of the powerful audio stories contributed by patients, caregivers, staff and clinicians to the Penn Medicine Listening Lab. We will also work in dyads to share our own stories and listen deeply to one another. In so doing, we will lay the groundwork for a practice of hearing what might be beyond words.
Open to Penn faculty, students and staff. Green Penn Open Pass and face mask required. Space is limited and we ask registered participants to let us know 48 hours in advance if they are no longer able to attend.
This experiential workshop will be preceded by the talk “Learning to Listen in Troubled Times: Ernesto Pujol and Aaron Levy” hosted both online and in person for Penn faculty, students, and staff.
