One Unforgettable Week in Guatemala: Reflections from Our First-Ever, Fully Spanish Congress
Written by Ruthie Cohen
February 3rd 2026
There’s something electric about the first morning of a congress. The Universidad Francisco Marroquín campus was already buzzing with energy as participants arrived on Monday morning, coffee in hand, name tags being adjusted, tentative smiles exchanged between strangers who would become colleagues by week’s end. This wasn’t just another professional development event—this was the first time the Feuerstein Congress had come to Guatemala, and you could feel the anticipation in the air.
For those unfamiliar, The Feuerstein Congress (also known as Shoresh) has been bringing together educators, therapists, and parents since 1979, but this marked a significant moment: the method’s formal arrival in Spanish-speaking Latin America in a major way. Over the next five days, over 150 participants would dive deep into the Feuerstein Method, learning not just to teach differently, but to see human potential through an entirely new lens.
A Method That Transforms Everyone It Touches
Jimena Corzo, who coordinated much of the congress—from registration to marketing to keeping everything running smoothly—put it beautifully when she reflected on the experience: “This method transforms lives not only for the patients, but also for those of us who have the privilege of working with them. Witnessing curiosity turn into knowledge, eagerness, and a genuine willingness to serve is something deeply beautiful.”
And that transformation was palpable throughout the week. The Feuerstein Method is built on a radical premise: intelligence isn’t fixed. Every person, regardless of their starting point, can develop stronger thinking skills through what’s called Mediated Learning Experience. Instead of simply transferring information, mediators guide learners to understand how they think, helping them become more flexible, analytical, and independent problem-solvers.
Participants at the congress chose from seven different certification courses, each focused on specific populations and challenges. Some enrolled in the foundational Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (“FIE”) courses, learning to use the structured materials and techniques that have helped countless students develop cognitive skills. Others dove into the LPAD—a dynamic assessment approach that reveals not just what someone knows, but how they learn and what helps them improve.
Diverse Voices, Shared Purpose
In one of the training rooms, María Alida de Brugal was leading the FIE Basic 1 course with a remarkably diverse group. “Psychology students, school owners, therapists, neuroscientists, and even a pediatrician”—a mix that created what she described “a rich environment for learning” and from the very beginning, there was a strong sense of synergy in the room. María Alida reflected that she found herself learning as much from her students as they were learning from her.
What struck her most, she noted, was their eagerness to embrace change. During class discussions, she listened to their individual responses—what Feuerstein calls reciprocity—and observed their collaborative efforts as they prepared lesson plans together. “The group welcomed a new mindset—characterized by flexibility and an awareness of their ongoing transformation.” They weren’t just learning theory; they were experiencing their own cognitive modifiability in real time, expressing “a genuine willingness to adopt mediation beginning with themselves and extending into all aspects of their lives.”
Practical Tools for Every Stage of Life
Down the hall, the Thinking Memory course was taking a different but equally practical approach. María Eva de Miranda was guiding participants through strategies for working with adults who want to maintain and strengthen their cognitive abilities. The focus extended beyond simple recall—participants were learning to help adults strengthen their thinking. As she explained, the course equipped participants with tools “not only for daily life but also for planning future actions” a reminder that cognitive enrichment isn’t reserved for children or those with diagnosed challenges. It’s for anyone who wants to think more effectively, at any age.
Meanwhile, Rina Frei Schreiber, a speech therapist at the Institute’s Children’s Clinic in Jerusalem, co-taught the course on Cognitive Enrichment for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Alongside Julie Jamet (Clinical Director of the Children’s Clinic), the pair guided participants through applying Feuerstein principles to individuals with ASD—building cognitive flexibility, social thinking, and communication through carefully mediated experiences. Reflecting on the experience, Rina shared: “It was a privilege to guide such a dedicated group of students, who were not only eager to master the Feuerstein methodology but are already enthusiastic about integrating these strategies into their professional practice.”
The Conversations Between Sessions
But perhaps the most powerful learning happened in the spaces between formal sessions. Coffee breaks stretched longer as participants debated mediation techniques, shared case studies from their own practice, and discovered unexpected connections. Lunch tables at Francisco Marroquín became informal think tanks where a special education teacher from El Salvador might compare notes with a clinical psychologist from Guatemala and a speech therapist from Mexico.
This wasn’t a room full of people who thought they had all the answers. Jimena observed something distinctive about the community that formed over those five days: “There is a humility, respect, and strong sense of responsibility shared by those who are constantly striving to better themselves and the service they provide.” It was a gathering of lifelong learners, each committed to the principle that there’s always more to discover about human potential.
In the ADHD course, educators explored practical strategies for helping students develop self-regulation and focus. The reading course tackled dyslexia and comprehension challenges through cognitive enrichment rather than rote drill. And across all the courses, a common thread emerged: participants weren’t just acquiring techniques—they were fundamentally rethinking their approach to teaching, therapy, and human development.
Building Something Bigger
What struck many participants wasn’t just the content of the courses, but the realization that they were part of something larger—a growing network of practitioners across Latin America who share a common vision. The Feuerstein Congress in Guatemala created space for what Jimena called “meaningful conversations, transformative connections, and reignited a distinctive passion for the Feuerstein Method within Spanish-speaking Latin America.”
María Alida’s FIE Basic students exemplified this perfectly. By the end of the course, they were eager to introduce mediation to their own students, looking forward to observing “how cognitive functions will emerge, flourish and watch ‘change that will endure’ as a result of Mediated Learning Experience.” That phrase—“change that will endure”—captures the essence of what drew everyone to Guatemala in the first place.
The collaboration extended beyond participants to the host institution itself. The team from Universidad Francisco Marroquín worked alongside trainers from the Feuerstein Institute, creating an environment where international expertise met local knowledge and enthusiasm. This partnership was crucial to the congress’s success, demonstrating what’s possible when institutions commit to transformative education.
These five days in Guatemala weren’t just about acquiring techniques—they were about joining a movement grounded in a profound belief: that as mediators, we hold a position of privilege, as Jimena put it, “one that carries the responsibility to approach every interaction with deep sensitivity toward one another’s humanity.”
What Comes Next
As participants packed up their materials and said their goodbyes, there was already talk of next year. The inaugural Feuerstein Congress in Guatemala had accomplished something important: it had planted seeds throughout Latin America that would continue growing long after everyone went home.
For those of us who experienced it, the week was a reminder of why we do this work—not because cognitive enrichment is trendy or because mediated learning makes a good talking point, but because we’ve seen what happens when someone discovers they’re capable of more than they imagined. We’ve watched the student who “couldn’t do math” solve complex problems. We’ve seen the child with autism make cognitive leaps no one thought possible. We’ve witnessed older adults regain mental sharpness they thought was gone forever.
The Feuerstein Method works because it starts from a place of possibility rather than limitation. And after five days in Guatemala, 150+ newly trained and inspired professionals are carrying that possibility back to their classrooms, clinics, and communities, ready to watch cognitive functions emerge and flourish in the people they serve.
Join Us
If this glimpse into the Shoresh experience resonates with you, we’d love to have you join us at the next Feuerstein Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, July 19-24, 2026. Whether you’re new to the method or a long-time practitioner, there’s always more to learn, more connections to make, and more possibilities to discover.