People House Professional Development Series

Starting this year, new DORA regulations require all licensed Mental Health practitioners in Colorado to complete 40 hours of Continued Professional Development every two years. In response, People House is proud to announce the launching of the Professional Development Series (PDS). The offerings will enable mental health professionals to meet these DORA requirements with a series of monthly workshops, each conducted by an outstanding professional guest lecturer and each will provide 4 or 8 hours of Continuing Professional Development Credit.

Tuition for each class is $100. Times for each Friday class are 8:30am-5:30pm. Tickets for all PDS workshops may be purchased by clicking on the "Buy Now" button beneath each workshop description.

Michael Drake Brown, Sponsor

Sponsor of the Professional Development Series is Michael Drake Brown, an attorney with substantial experience representing health care professionals before DORA and the State of Colorado Office of Administrative Courts. Michael frequently lectures at Regis University about ethical dilemmas which confront health care professionals during their practice. His phone number is 303-422-6882.

Yolanda Esatai, Chairperson

Chairperson for the series is Yolanda M. Esatai, M.Ed., LPC. An experienced psychotherapist, Yolanda provides counseling services to children, adolescents, adults, families and couples. In addition, she has extensive experience managing clinical treatment programs, as a clinical supervisor for Masters level practitioners, and in developing and maintaining professional working relationships with other mental health, educational and legal system providers. Her email address is yolanda@yolandaesatai.com.


Christine Allison, MA, NCC, LPC
Brenda Bomgardner, MA, NCC


FEBRUARY – "Be Present, Show Up and Do What Matters: Introductory ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) Training"

Christine Allison, and Brenda Bomgardner, outstanding therapists at People House, offer an exceptional introduction to ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Participants will:

  1. Develop an understanding of the ACT model of human suffering and its alleviation.
  2. Learn what experiential avoidance is and how it contributes to human suffering.
  3. Understand how to utilize the six core processes of ACT:
    1. Acceptance of private experiences
    2. Cognitive defusion or emotional separation/distancing
    3. Being present
    4. A perspective-taking self
    5. Clarification of important values
    6. Commitment to action for achieving personal values
  4. Understand how mindfulness supports different ACT processes.
  5. Learn how ACT defines psychological flexibility and how the six core processes increase psychological flexibility.
  6. Acquire ACT skills to help clients live a more meaningful and vital life.

After doing experiential exercises and some time sharing and reflecting on their experience, participants will feel an increased sense of immediacy as well as greater meaningfulness. Christine Allison and Brenda Bomgardner each bring a vast range of clinical experience to teaching of this dynamic and transformative workshop.

Date/Time: Fri. Feb. 17; 8:30am-5pm

Presenter: Christine Allison, MA, NCC, LPC; 720-209-7240; Christine-Allison@Juno.com; and Brenda Bomgardner, MA, NCC; 720-260-7702; brendabomgardner@aol.com

Carole Adams, Professional Facilitator
Jeanne Robertson, MA


MARCH – "The Art of Listening"

Carole Adams, Spiritual Practitioner and Minister, and Jeanne Robertson, Facilitator and Therapist, share the powerful principle of listening. Attendees learn the art of listening to acquire wholeness and balance; paying attention without judgment enriches the professional skill of deep listening. This inspiring workshop also provides the tools for participants to put their new understanding into action.

Carole Adams, an ordained Community Minister perceives facilitation to be a sacred healing process. She has taught Facilitator Training at People House for many years where students learn to listen, observe and interact without judgment; the training teaches them how to create a safe "container" that is practical and useful in all aspects of their personal, social or business life.

Co-leader of the Facilitator Training Jeanne Robertson offers facilitation skills that are a perfect fit for those searching for support and encouragement to regain their physical and/or mental health, and to better their relationships. As a recent cancer survivor, her facilitation of and participation in a cancer support group gave her insights and first-hand understanding of how to cope with this disease, and how to regain energy and personal power.

These two remarkable women combine their broad experience to teach the sacred art of deep listening. Participants will achieve a greater understanding of what is happening in the present moment and what is needed; a feeling of harmony follows.

Date/Time: Fri. Mar. 16; 8:30am-5pm

Presenter: Carole Adams, Professional Facilitator; 303-726-0609, caroleadams2011@gmail.com and Jeanne Robertson, MA; 720-243-6374; jeannerobertson@peoplehouse.org

Kate Thompson, MA


APRIL – "Using the Journal's Eye: Gaining Insight into your Professional Practice through Journal Writing"

Internationally acclaimed therapist and author, Kate Thompson shares the healing power of journaling. In this experiential workshop participants explore journal-writing techniques: Captured Moments, Dialogues, Unsent Letters and Perspectives and self-reflection. Relationship with self is central to self-care; journal writing develops intimacy with and knowledge of self.

Kate is English. A self-described existential counselor, she helps others live their lives as fully as possible.

Workshop participants explore the blocks to existence to discover ways in which they can live authentically. Kate helps individuals describe, clarify and unravel their relationship to the world, themselves and others; she writes, "I have worked with many different issues including sexual & domestic abuse, depression, identity, relationships and transitions. These are things, which happen to many people at different times and you do not have to try and bear them alone. Sometimes speaking your story with a benign witness can be enough. Sometimes writing can be a way of helping you find your voice."

A trained therapist with 15 years experience, Kate provides structure, pacing and containment that will lead participants to find ways of healing and greater understanding. She shares her love of writing journal writing providing clients with a self-sustaining method of support; journal writing offers practitioners opportunities for self-care, self-supervision and reflective practice. This workshop affirms the worth of introspection as a means to honoring self.

Date/Time: Fri. April 20; 8:30am-5pm

Presenter: Kate Thompson, MA; 303-732-6823; Kate.Thompson@journaltherapy.co.uk

Rev. Lori Ohlson, MA, LPC


MAY – "The Enneagram in Therapy, Healing and Growth"

Introducing the Enneagram system of spiritual psychology as a powerful therapeutic tool to enhance all methods of therapy and change. Focus will include: habitual mental and emotional patterns, character structure, adaptive strategies, transference themes, relationship issues, psychological blocks and spiritual path plus interventions and discovering how your own Enneagram strategy influences your healing work with others.

The Enneagram is a profound an elegant system of spiritual psychology, which shines the light of awareness on personality, revealing habitual mental and emotional patterns that can limit the development of our human potential. But the Enneagram is so much more than a mere "typology"; it clarifies underlying motivations and contains a path of transformation that is both gentle and powerful.

Suitable for all healing arts professionals, this workshop will introduce the Enneagram as a therapeutic tool to enhance all methods of therapy and change, including:

Some basic knowledge of the Enneagram system will maximize learning. Call Lori for recommendations.

Visionary director of People House, Rev. Lori Ohlson has conducted hundreds of workshops nationwide. She brings a profound spirituality to every endeavor she undertakes.

Date/Time: Fri. May 18; 8:30am-5pm

Presenter: Rev. Lori Ohlson, MA, LPC; 303-525-3038; loriohlson@comcast.net


Please continue to monitor this website to learn more about the growing list of other presentations taking place during 2012 or call Yolanda at 303-480-5130 for more information.