Avri Spilka

26/02/2026

⚡ Chaos and crisis. Often the associations of adolescence.
But what if this period is not pathology—yet still deeply provocative?

Join us for a half-day CPD training designed for clinicians, educators, social workers, and caregivers. Together, we’ll explore:

✨ How development unfolds across body, brain, s*xuality & social worlds
💥 Why adolescence can feel traumatic—for teens and adults
🌊 Winnicott’s “doldrums,” rites of passage & the power of rupture
🪞 How parents’ own adolescent histories shape their responses
🛠️ Practical approaches for supporting adolescents & families—considering neurodiversity, virtual identities, and contemporary s*xual cultures

📅 Date: 15 March 2026
⏰ Time: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
🎓 CPD Accredited (awaiting confirmation)
💰 Cost: R850

This training blends theory + practice, offering a compassionate, q***r, psychoanalytic, decolonial, and developmentally attuned lens on one of life’s most transformative stages.

👥 Small groups, limited space.

🔗 Register here: https://forms.gle/xCUjH5LJbqpnTQEr7

11/02/2026

Save the Date!

✨ Rethinking Love and Family – Workshop Series 2026 ✨

We’re really excited to share our 2026 workshop series, part of our broader personal, academic, and clinical project of rethinking love and family.

Adolescence and non-monogamies are provocative terrains—full of intensity, risk, fantasy, terror, anguish, confrontation, and transformation. These workshops offer a q***r, critical, and psychoanalytic grounding, with a deep dive into clinical work at the edges.

🖥 Online
⏰ 8am–1pm
💰 R850 per workshop
📄 4 CPDs per workshop

Small groups, limited space.
🔗 Register here: https://forms.gle/xCUjH5LJbqpnTQEr7

More detailed information about each workshop will be released soon.

—
Avri & Elliott

13/01/2026

COUNT DOWN TO THE INTRO TO NON-MONOGAMIES WORKSHOP!

Hi folks,

A very Happy New Year to you and yours.

A reminder that I'm running an introductory workshop on non-monogamies. I am really excited about this thought provoking content and I look forward to engaging with you on the erotics of loving more. Please share and circulate this flyer.

To register please email avri@avrispilka.co.za / whatsapp on (+27) 725442348

'Consensual non-monogamies', an introduction - We will cover the basics - but this is not just an intro to poly 101. This workshop steps into a gap when it comes to thinking about the experience of non-normative intimacy. I offer a lens that is q***r, critical and psychoanalytic; and a guided exploration shaped by extensive immersion in the research and literature on CNMs and over two decades of professional and personal experience with a life ‘q***rly lived.

Who is this for:

* If you are curious about learning more about CNMs for personal, academic, or professional reasons
* Foundation workshop for those wanting to attend the workshop on working clinically and therapeutically with ‘consensual’ non-monogamies.

02/12/2025

Hi everyone, I'm running workshops next year on CNMs, here is the info for the introductory workshop. Please feel free to share.

To register please email avri@avrispilka.co.za / whatsapp on 0725442348

'Consensual non-monogamies', an introduction - We will cover the basics - but this is not just an intro to poly 101. This workshop steps into a gap when it comes to thinking about the experience of non-normative intimacy. I offer a lens that is q***r, critical and psychoanalytic; and a guided exploration shaped by extensive immersion in the research and literature on CNMs and over two decades of professional and personal experience with a life ‘q***rly lived.

Who is this for:
* If you are curious about learning more about CNMs for personal, academic, or professional reasons
* Foundation workshop for those wanting to attend the workshop on working clinically and therapeutically with ‘consensual’ non-monogamies.

04/06/2025

01/06/2025

There's an interesting 'constellation' of body concerns that can (but not always) co-occur in people who are neurodivergent. Here is some info on Ehlers Danlos Syndrome which is a connective tissue disorder.

18/04/2025

30/03/2025

This is beautiful

In Japan where I live, abortion is viewed in a different way. Here many people believe the spirits of the unborn have countless opportunities to incarnate, and so if a mother chooses not to give birth it doesn't mean the spirit can't try again. The view that the unborn are spiritual beings that deserve our love and respect is shared, but women who have abortions are spiritual beings as well, and it is their right to choose.

Even knowing this, many women will feel guilt or regret for their decision. So, if you go to cemeteries near temples one often sees statues of Jizo Bodhisattvas with hats or scarves, some holding infants in their arms (like in this photo) symbolizing infants who died and/or unborn spirits aborted or miscarried.

Women and parents will come to grieve and pray, ask for forgiveness, wish for the future happiness and return of the unborn spirit that had wanted to incarnate.

I've heard some Westerners say that the Japanese use abortion as a form of birth control. I don't think that is true at all. Most that I know take pregancy very very seriously. To have an abortion is a tragedy. But it's also a part of the cosmic cycling of spirit from life to life. In Eastern spiritual traditions, death is viewed differently, not as final. And life is deeply cherished. To some Westerners this may seem paradoxical.

~Christopher Chase

Image: Jizo Bodhisattva statue (Protector Of Children And Travelers) https://tankenjapan.com/jizo-statues-in-japan-protectors-of-children-and-travelers/

The Way of Zen – Wisdom, Compassion & Mindfulness https://creativesystemsthinking.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/the-way-of-zen-wisdom-compassion-mindfulness/

15/03/2025