PAUSE FOR SELF-LEADERSHIP ™
A New Way of Being Together Is Possible
Unlock your power to connect and collaborate - at school, at home, at work and in community.
FROM OVERWHELMED TO CALM
PAUSE for Self-Leadership™ Helps You:
Access Your Personal Power: Move from feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and discouraged, to showing up with calm, clarity and confidence.
Cultivate Strong, Joyful Relationships: Transform interpersonal challenges into authentic and constructive interactions with youth and adults.
Catalyze Purposeful Action: Step out of the endless cycle of “Do more, fix quickly, be better.” Clarify intention, energize learning and act productively for beneficial impact.
Collaborate for Collective Well-Being: Shift dynamics of judgement, exclusion and blame to a shared culture of welcome, acknowledgement and mutual thriving.
PAUSE is the Bridge to Shift from Self-Protection to Self-Leadership.
Remembering we ALL have the Power to Listen, Learn, Love and Lead
Instead of reacting from a part of you that is stressed or self-protective, discover your power to respond from Self-Leadership - a place inside you that is calm, clear, and confident.
As you access your personal power, you will inspire others to do the same and create a community that takes courageous and compassionate action together.
What is PAUSE for Self-Leadership ™
PAUSE is a five-step process, uniquely inspired by Internal Family Systems (IFS), that guides you to engage with self-awareness and interact in relationships with more clarity and connection.
IFS is a groundbreaking, empowering, and compassionate psychotherapeutic model. In PAUSE, we have adapted and embedded essential principles and practices of IFS for everyone, anywhere, of any age.
PAUSE starts with personal insight, builds stronger one-on-one relationships, and grows into powerful group dynamics — creating a foundation for lasting collective well-being.
5 Steps of PAUSE
Results of the PAUSE Model
PAUSE IS A PATH TO
Connect with Self-Leadership
in Everyday Life
Recognize your innate goodness and show up more fully as your best Self to share your gifts with others.
Break free from the limited stories of who you are and habits of past conditioning, so you can be present and engaged in your life.
Nurture meaningful connections through deep listening and mutual understanding.
Navigate interpersonal conflict with courage, calm and clarity.
Inspire innovative problem-solving and facilitate ethical decision-making.
Build common vision and ignite momentum to take purposeful action.
Inspire youth to step into their power and possibility as they are by your side and learn to navigate life effectively and wisely, one interaction at a time.
PAUSE Equips You Not Only With Practical Skills But a Fresh Paradigm
In the Self-Leadership Collaborative, you have found a global community of practitioners with a shared commitment, first to experience Self-leadership for our own well-being, and second to nurture this experience in our everyday relationships with others, ultimately benefiting our young people and future generations.
We have designed an impactful learning journey for you, starting with your personal development and culminating in the realization of your skill to inspire and guide others in their practice of PAUSE.
Through intentionally designed workshops, online resources, and sustained community practice and consultation, the Self-Leadership Collaborative provides a community that supports you every step of the way.
Who is PAUSE For?
PAUSE is a practical model with universal resonance - accessible for all ages, flexible to the needs of each unique community, and adaptable to be relevant across cultures and contexts. PAUSE was initially developed to support adults in their relationships with young people, especially in the school setting, and is now being applied and practiced with positive impact in a variety of industries.
Individuals: Experience a shift in how you relate to yourself — becoming calmer, more connected and more confident as you navigate the ups and downs of daily life, whether at home, school, work, or in your community. As you embody Self-Leadership, you naturally create space for others to grow in emotional resilience and relational strength.
Schools and Organizations: As you and your colleagues strengthen your emotional well-being and interpersonal skills, you become better equipped to serve and support youth and your wider community. PAUSE offers a path to uplift and transform learning and work environments.
Joanna Curry-Sartori, LMFT
“Nurturing well-being in our young people is realized ultimately through our way of being together in the very fabric of our interactions, each and every day. As we are self-aware, regulating our own state of being, engaging with compassion, confidence and courage, we guide others to do the same. Through our continuous relationships with youth, new ways of being are learned and practiced, past hurts are healed and young people are freed to realize their greatest potential. Together, we create a community and culture that reflects our innate virtues and empowers us to focus together on the greater good.”
A New Way of Being Starts Here
Unlock your power to connect and collaborate more deeply with yourself and others through the PAUSE for Self-Leadership™ Model.