Counseling services for adults and couples
Education is an important emphasis of my practice. I have conducted seminars and workshops in schools, churches, hospitals, industrial facilities, business offices, and to informal groups in social settings. The most frequently requested presentations are listed below; additional topics are available or can be developed upon request. Timeframes for existing topics may be adjustable according to need and request. The Upcoming Events page of this site includes information on public workshops and seminars that are scheduled in the near future.
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“Grief: What All Mourners Need to Know.” The process of grief, especially for someone experiencing their first or most significant loss, is bewildering, agonizing, and often fraught with self-doubt. Our society neither understands nor supports healthy mourning, which makes a painful time even worse. The process can be made a bit easier (but not easy) by understanding the nature of grief and what to expect. We discuss the realities of grief and mourning, as well as the most effective strategies for getting through it in one piece. This material can be covered in one hour, with more time allotted as desired to allow for discussion
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“Internet Dating Basics for Women” is a 90-minute overview of the unique world of on-line dating, including its benefits, its drawbacks, and strategies for using it most effectively. This is must-have information if you’re considering internet dating for the first time, but will also help veterans of this world to get more out of their future experience.
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"Living with Balance and Quality." The secret weapon against many of our most common ills is to simply live well, but many people have no idea what that really means. This seminar explores three general areas that are part of creating a quality life:
This material can be covered in one to two hours, depending on the level of detail desired for the audience.
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“Managing Holiday Food” is a two-hour workshop which is most useful when presented in October or November, before holiday food shopping and planning is seriously underway. It is structured to help participants challenge their thinking about how food, fun, bonding and celebration intertwine, and to set the stage for maximizing the enjoyment of all of these factors with choices that cause no regrets after the parties are over. This is a fast-paced experience involving lecture, discussion, and short written exercises (no personal disclosure required) that will leave participants better prepared to navigate holiday food challenges than ever before. This workshop is particularly useful in conjunction with workplace wellness programming, and is well-suited to large groups.
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“Relationships 101 for Women.” Most of us want that special someone with whom to share a loving relationship, yet many of us repeatedly end up in one painful experience after another instead. In this two-hour seminar, we will look at the common mistakes that women everywhere seem to be making as they search for a loving life partner, and the misguided beliefs that keep so many of us stuck in losing at love.
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“The Ten Biggest Mistakes Most Overeaters Make.” This presentation is a half-hour introduction to the topic of chronic overeating and the patterns that predictably lead overeaters into failure after failure as they struggle to find balance with food. Some of the material will be familiar, while some almost certainly will not – all of it will position you to begin making more effective choices that keep you satisfied and healthy.
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“Time Management” was supposed to be an obsolete need by now, what with all the technological advances that make our lives easier. Our progress however, has actually given us many more ways to use up our time, along with a helpless sense that it is passing by at a frightening pace. Getting time back under control requires some basic strategies and life choices which are explored in this one-hour seminar.
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"Understanding Emotional Eating" is a two-hour seminar exploring why most people struggle with unhealthy urges to eat, and why diets predictably fail (it's the diets, not you). Whether you come to participate or simply listen, this information will help you understand why you're stuck where you are, and what you can do right now to begin building the relationship you want to have with food. You are not alone, and there are solutions.
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"When Love Hurts..." addresses relationships in which one feels frequently hurt, misunderstood, blamed, and/or rejected by one's partner. We look at the relational dynamic which may be responsible for these painful experiences, and what needs to happen in order to get this kind of relationship back on track. This two-hour seminar is available to any community group (formal or informal) at no charge.
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"Why You Should Never Diet Again: The Basics of Painless, Reliable Weight Management." This 45-minute seminar reveals how commonly-accepted weight management “wisdom” has actually created the obesity epidemic we have today. We then explore what it takes to end the dieting forever and establish a peaceful, rewarding relationship with food once and for all. It is possible to enjoy food more than ever before, while maximizing your health and ending your yo-yo weight patterns; no one should settle for less.