"From absorbing lifelong partnering skills—establishing a trusting, fulfilling relationship with my husband—to greater confidence in promoting my life's passion, my art, as a business, Dr. Jan's support and guidance has been instrumental."

My husband and I took Dr. Jan's couples Big Picture Partnering program in a workshop years ago.  It was affirming, informative and also fun.  We enjoyed listening to other couples and sharing our own story.  We especially liked being in a group with a variety of age groups.

Dr. Jan is very skilled in handling a diverse group of folks who have a variety of needs in their relationships. She educated us about how thriving positive marriages are supposed to work—through the skills of partnering.  Her workshop felt safe and we learned a lot about each other and gained many tools, which we continue to use to this day.

We especially learned how our Wounded Inner Children impact our present relationship— if we let them! We also learned the skills of staying Adult, and as Dr. Jan say "Behaving with Grace and Dignity."  This was and remains revolutionary for us in understanding how to collaborate with each other in our daily lives. 

Personally, over the years, I have learned a lot about balancing my life from Dr. Jan. I periodically invest in her Strategy Sessions. They are invaluable for overcoming specific obstacles and helping me achieve specific goals.  She has helped me to slow down and think about what my priorities are. Once I do so, she has helped me see that I can find a clear path to getting things done that I wish to accomplish. 

I especially appreciate that she really teaches me to lead an examined life.  Examining things really helps me stay balanced. 

Last fall I participated in the PAUSE.REFRESH.REBOOT YOUR LIFE  workshop. After this experience, I felt really clear about what next steps I needed to take in promoting my business of making art.  I now have a website up and running and I do know what to do next to make my art and promote my art business!  I am very pleased with the goals I clearly set and the progress I've made—all within 90 days!!

Check out my new website and artwork!

Mary Simon-Casati
Visual Artist  
http://www.mscasati.com

"Following my heart to return to the work world, after seven years as a stay-at-home mom, was a major transition for me and my family of five. I achieved it successfully—with support!"

As a stay at home mom for seven years—a conscious choice for our family and a focus I've really enjoyed—this past year I realized that what was once fulfilling was no longer satisfying for me.

I adore my growing family and home life, but there was more to me that clamored to come out! I needed a new challenge. I missed working adult interaction, plus the creativity and stimulation of using my skills.

With the two girls happily in school and the young one adjusting well to preschool, I partnered with my husband and we agreed it was time for a change. I knew this was going to not only impact me but also the entire family. I was more anxious than I thought about following my heart, my instincts. Not only did I need to present my work skills at an updated level, I was also reordering home life for four other people!

I'd been looking for the right job using my skills in communications and landed a position I'm thoroughly enjoying. My family adjusted to the new routines within a matter of days—and my husband says he wouldn't go back to the old way! We discovered that sharing work and family roles is currently more fulfilling for both of us. He gets to fully parent and I get to fully re-experience work life. While an organizational challenge we both feel stretched and happy that we're growing in new ways.

An unanticipated benefit is the spark it's added to our already solid relationship!

Looking back, three things really helped in this transition. The first was career coaching I sought out along with taking a temporary position—these gave me confidence in my resume, interviewing skills and working capabilities.

The second was the PAUSE.REFRESH.REBOOT YOUR LIFE workshop. This retreat helped me identify and outline the things I needed to put in place to make a smooth transition, balancing my career and lifestyle at home as I returned to work full time. With the guidance of Dr. Jan, and working with the other workshop participants, I was able to put into place some steps to overcome the scheduling and emotional barriers of making a major career move for me—and everyone in my family.

The on-going foundation to all this continues to be the solid Big Picture Partnering skills my husband and I learned years ago that continue to benefit us to this day! We still talk about your work all the time as we continue to iron out the wrinkles in our plans -- ideas like living your dreams, setting goals, talking and listening frequently, tabling an issue to revisit when we can talk reasonably and so on.   I highly recommend it for all couples going through transition.

Kara Pederson
Sr. Specialist, Internal Communications
Thomson Reuters