Choose from a variety of workshop titles as well as various workshop formats. The workshop may be contracted for one-half day (3—4 hrs) or for the entire day (6 hrs). For full day workshops, the time can be spent on a single topic or have two topics — a morning session and an afternoon session.

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  Work Shop 1 - "Bullying: A Desperate Cry for Help"

  Passing The Emotional & Physical Pain On

  Bullies rule many parts of our society – school, work, the road, etc. America has indeed created a “culture of violence” - giving the majority of our attention to negative behaviors in our schools, work, or in society. However, one rarely looks behind that tough, bullying behavior to see the wounded individual behind the tough defenses. When one looks closely behind the "killers" in school shootings, there is a clear theme of students who were the targets of bullying. Come and explore the effects of that negative focus with a closer look at the root issues of bullying - both inside as well as outside of the classroom. A proactive solution to this complex issue will then be proposed.

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  Workshop 2 - "Can't You Hear My Hands?"

  Using Art in Therapy

  Often individuals, especially young children, can draw what they cannot put into words – especially when the emotional pain involved has wounded a vulnerable part of the individual. This workshop will not train someone to be an "art therapist", but will assist the counselor in learning to use art as one more tool to assist both children and adults work through issues that are too difficult to consciously remember or visualize. Topics included will be: how and when to use art in therapy; family or origin work; symbols; colors; themes; interpreting art; using photographs, as well as using song. Experiential activities will be included in this hands-on workshop.

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  Work Shop 3 - Do It Right & Do It Quickly

  Organizing A Comprehensive Guidance Program

  Focuses upon establishing, organizing or reorganizing/revitalizing a school guidance program. The focus will be upon creating a program based upon a strong foundation of meeting six basic needs. Once the foundation of the program has been explored, the main emphasis will be upon effective organization, streamlining, and motivation. Specific topics are: components of a comprehensive program; scheduling; determining proper groups or participants; running effective groups; individual appointments; classroom guidance; crisis management; motivational programs; "peer" programs; serving as both a parent and a teacher resource; public relations; and testing. This workshop will provide an example of all the information and show ready-made forms, etc. to immediately implement this program. The goal of this workshop will be to help the counselor not to have to "recreate the wheel," free up time, as well as to revitalize beginning or older programs.

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  Workshop 4 - "Giving Pain Words"

  The Healing Journey from Sexual Abuse

  Focuses upon the issue of resolving sexual abuse. This workshop will explore both the short-term and long-term effects of sexual abuse upon an individual's emotional health and development. First, a portrait of a survivor will be given to assist those who work with survivors to be able to identify sexual abuse survivors. Next, the language of abuse as well as the effects of abuse will be explored. Emphasis will be given to the phases of recovery; facing the truth; releasing old anger or rage; confronting the abuser, if desired; handling changing relationships; finding ones "true self" once again; protecting one's "self"; nurturing one's self; as well as loosening the grip the trauma has upon the survivor’s life. The goal of this workshop will be to assist those working with a survivor help give the pain words in order to begin the necessary healing process.

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  Workshop 5 - "How to Help The Dying – and The Living"

  Dying Well

  Nothing is as challenging as facing death – either our own or someone we care deeply about. There is no "teacher" who has been there and then comes back teaching us how to make the journey or assist others making the journey. However, there is a wealth of knowledge about the dying process. Learn what the following individuals can teach us about the dying process: researchers, hospice nurses, palliative care teams, survivors of NDE (near death experiences), grief counselors, and the dying.

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  Workshop 6 - "I Want Out!"

  Suicide

  No one is ever "ready" for a violent suicide. This workshop is designed to assist survivors in understanding and working through the issues involved in surviving a violent death of a loved one or friend. Included will be: understanding why; watching for the signs; assisting and understanding the necessary grieving process; looking at how this grief is a unique grief; putting the pieces back together again; as well as learning to build a life without the missing person. Covered will be prevention; intervention; as well as postvention.

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  Work Shop 7 - "I'm Grieving As Fast As I Can"

  About Life & Loss

  Loss permeates our society; yet society denies that it exists. We have not learned to grieve our own losses, nor to teach others to grieve. Each new loss "triggers" all of the old ungrieved losses of our lives – making the new loss almost unbearable. The focus will be upon exploring the issue of loss and society's denial - exploring not just the stages of loss and how to work through those stages, but why society tells one to retreat in silence and absence concerning loss. If society "talks" at all about loss, it seems to only shout or whisper – it is never simply allowed to be discussed and processed. This ungrieved loss robs a person of the richness available in the present.

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  Work Shop 8 - "Inside The Heart of A Teenage Killer"

  Looking at The Roots of Violence in Kids Killing Kids

  Today we are experiencing a new epidemic: Kids Killing Kids. This workshop will explore what drives a kid to kill. An in-depth look will be taken at why a child eventually resorts to violence in an attempt to deal with life. A comprehensive look will be taken at five specific roots of violence that "branch off" from the main artery of unmet needs: abandonment; toxic shame; male depression; and ungrieved losses that lead to anger and/or rage. The first vital step to helping kids who kill is to begin to understand what it is that drives their violence. The real question is: "What do these kids need in order to not be driven to kill?"

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  Workshop 9 - "Laughing Matters!"

  Learning to Use Humor Therapeutically

  The greatest stress buster is the ability to look at any situation and be able to find the humor in the situation, to learn to not take life so seriously, as well as to learn to be able to laugh at ourselves in that particular situation. This workshop will teach basic humor techniques that will be applied in this workshop specifically to the issue of learning to accept ourselves as we age and change – hopefully, gracefully. The participants will then be challenged to take these humor techniques and apply them in stressful situations in their personal as well as professional lives with the goal of being able to maintain a positive attitude in the midst of changes and challenges that life constantly brings each of us.

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  Workshop 10 - "My House Doesn't Work Right"

  Working with Kids from Dysfunctional Family Systems

  Identifies and explores the specific characteristics and dynamics of a dysfunctional family environment. Also explored will be the intense and long-term impact this environment has both upon children still in the environment as well as children who have already left home. The following specifics will be addressed: the issue of loss; toxic or core shame; healthy vs. unhealthy interaction; as well as population specific strategies for the healing process. The goal of this workshop will be to provide an experiential view of the dysfunctional family system in order to better serve this rapidly growing, self-perpetuating population.

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  Work Shop 11 - "S.O.S.: Save Our Self"

  Taking Care of Self

  Are you stressed out? A healthy lifestlye (as well as a healthy self-esteem) comes from learning to monitor the amount of stress in our lives as well as having six life-long psychological needs met in an appropriate way. These needs begin with the first breath on infancy and continue until we die. We never outgrow having the needs met. This workshop will explore in depth what these needs are: affirmation, idealize, twinship, adversarial, impact, and merger. Also explored will be the impact of not having these needs met appropriately both in our early life and in our present life. The workshop will also identify ways to identify both "bad" stress and "good" stress as well as ways to appropriately get our six needs met from the significant others in our life. By taking care of our self first, we have more left to offer others.

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  Workshop 12 - "The Impact of Trauma"

  Guiding Kids or Adults Through A Traumatic Event

  Trauma is no longer a distant nor isolated event. It has become uncomfortably closer and more personal to each of us as it tears into the lives of those we love. One only has to reflect upon the Oklahoma City bombing or the school shootings to remember the terror that trauma brings. It only takes trauma seconds to change the life of a child, an adult, or a family forever. This workshop will focus upon assisting survivors to give their pain words. Included will be: environments that produce trauma; types of trauma; trauma reactions; children & trauma; issues of recovery; as well as loss and grief issues to be resolved during trauma work. The only answer for trauma is safety – a person and a place safe enough to once again become vulnerable while sharing the depth of the traumatic pain.

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  Workshop 13 - "The Six Life-long Psychological Basic Needs"

  What Kids (& Adults) Really Need

  A healthy "sense of self" comes from having the six life-long psychological needs met in an appropriate way. These needs begin with the first breath on infancy and continue until we die. We never outgrow having the needs met. This workshop will explore in depth what these needs are: affirmation, idealize, twinship, adversarial, impact, and merger. Also explored will be the impact of not having these needs met appropriately both in our early life and in our present life. The workshop will conclude with presenting ways to appropriately get these needs met from the significant others in our life as well as how to let go and grieve the loss of the needs not being met in early life.

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  Workshop 14 - "This Feels Terrible"

  Guiding Kids Through Divorce

  Divorce ranks second only to death in its severity and lasting impact upon the lives of children as well as adults. For a child, the anxiety is intensified since the child is powerless to change the situation. At a time when a child needs a parent the most, the custodial parent is often the least able to offer the child what is needed – due to the parent's own deep pain. The counselor can provide a vital role for this child. This workshop will focus upon the major impact of the trauma of divorce upon a child. Addressed will be: divorce as trauma; loss issues; isolation; confusing issues & feelings; "labels"; self-esteem issues; the divorce process; post-divorce issues; legal questions and terminology; handling change and transition; communication, as well as survival skills. The goal is to address the trauma of divorce and offer tools for working through the needed recovery process.

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  Workshop 15 - "Toxic Shame"

  Looking At The Flawed Emotional Core

  Shame, a universal experience, will be explored in the way it affects the development of self-esteem in both children and later as adults. A child (or adult) who grows up in an environment of shame will have life-long scars upon his/her emotional development. The most powerful tool this child (or adult) can be given is to learn how to take the shame out of shame by giving it back to the original owner. Shame that is not "passed back" to the original owner will then be unconsciously "passed on" to someone more vulnerable – usually children (the individual's own child or someone else’s child).

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  Workshop 16 - "We Aren't Blending"

  Helping Kids Step into Stepfamilies

  As the stepfamily quickly begins to outnumber the nuclear family, there is a major need to assist those children struggling with the major changes and loss issues of transitioning into a "new" family. This workshop will address the specific issues involved in stepfamilies: stepfamily myths; loss & grief issues; stepparent stages; stepfamily feelings; "new" stepfamily issues; family competition; healthy step parenting; transition between homes; self-esteem issues; survival skills; as well as the brighter side. The goal of this workshop is to provide a framework to assist those involved in the loss of former families and the challenges of creating a new family.

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  Workshop 17 - "You're Not My Type!"

  Looking at Basic Personality Types

  Most conflicts can be traced back, in part, to differences in basic personality types. Acknowledging, understanding, and allowing different types of personality differences can greatly reduce tension within a work group. Each personality type has both its strengths and weaknesses. This workshop will help individuals identify his/her personality type as well as give an overview of how other types might interact with his/her type. Different combinations of personalities will also be explored. Also addressed will be the effect the personality types have upon administrators, teachers, students, and family members.