In 2012 René Märtin founded the German Empowerment Institute. Primary focuses of its work are the areas executive coaching, training, supervision, and (psychological) counselling, Existential Analysis (existential-analytical counselling) and Logotherapy. The two Coaching Centres are located in Osnabrück (historic city centre) and in Berlin-Charlottenburg (2012–2018).
Beginning in the early 1990s René Märtin began to address the question – at first as a volunteer, later professionally and ultimately as a self-employed professional – of what can contribute to a successful “Empowerment” of individuals and groups. Following his founding in 2000 of an agency for strategic consultation and counselling, a series of assignments took him to countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe, where initial experiences in the area of Community Building and Community Organizing gave him the opportunity to put into practice a pragmatic and effective Empowerment approach. In particular his encounters with projects for the prevention of Aids / HIV, and aimed at constructively fighting the results of the pandemic, left a lasting impression.
But in general as well, the coming to terms with issues of social cohesion and individual responsibility through projects in Western‑, Northern- and Eastern Europe and in (North) African countries led repeatedly to new elaborations on the Empowerment concept and to absolutely existential issues – the answers to which, according to context, were to be sought in the very personal or the more societal spheres. After a decade of counselling and consultation work the time was right for the foundation of the Institute. The Institute now works both domestically and internationally (most recently in Libya and Kosovo).
Goals
The Institute offers a framework for the exchange of expertise, for publications, and for the development of effective practice models. Simultaneously it provides a conceptual framework for daily work, and embeds a concrete (psychological) counselling practice in the existential-analytical-logotherapeutic area. A solid network of experienced colleagues, and interaction with experts in the areas of Coaching, Training, Supervision and Counselling ensure a well-grounded professional approach.
