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Communication Skills/Expert Profile

Peter Gerlach, MSW

U.S.

Available

Expertise

I can answer questions about how to significantly improve your thinking and communication effectiveness, and your relations with adults and kids. I cannot answer legal, medical, grammar, punctuation, spelling, or spiritual questions.

Experience in the area

I have studied and taught communication and relationship skills for 40 years, and have been a professional family-systems therapist (MSW) since 1981.

Organizations

I am a past Board member of (a) a large suburban community mental-health center and (b) the Stepfamily Association of America, and I am a current member of the National Stepfamily Resource Center (NSRC) Experts Council

Publications

I have published 6 books, including one on communication skills: Satisfactions (Xlibris.com 2nd ed., 2010); and over 150 articles in the nonprofit educational Website Break the Cycle! - www.sfhelp.org

I have also published articles for Selfgrowth.com and over 150 educational YouTube videos.

Education/Credentials

BSME, Stanford University, 1959 MSW, George Williams College 1981 Clinical internship U. of Illinois Institute for Juvenile Reasearch (IJR) 1981 Over 100 post-grad courses on a wide range of human-relationship topics

Past/Present Clients

over 1,000 self-referred Midwestern-U.S. adults, kids, couples, and families

What do you like about this subject?

Educating and motivating people to communicate more effectively - and fill more daily and special needs - is very satisfying to me.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

Organize and teach teleclasses on improving communication skills.

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

There are seven powerful communication skills anyone can learn that are currently not taught in most (any?) schools. (Test - can you name them? See this quiz.)

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

Many typical adults are hindered by significant psychological wounds from early-childhood abandonment, neglect, and abuse. This inevitably impairs their abilities to think and communicate effectively.

Average Ratings

Recent Reviews from Users

User	Date	K	C	P	Comments
sara	04/28/12	10	10	10
JessicaB	04/04/12	10	10	10	thanks
David	03/28/12	10	10	10	Thank you very much for your quick .....
Jess	03/21/12	10	10	10	thank you peter for the help
talisha	03/08/12	10	10	10

Recent Answers from Peter Gerlach, MSW

2012-05-11 not spontaneous.:

Hello Beenish - the behaviors you describe are common symptoms of inheriting psychological "wounds" from your ancestors, and being ruled by a well-meaning "false self." Learn about these here: http://sfhelp

2012-04-10 Starting conversations:

Hi Alex - It's normal for one of any two friends to initiate contact more often. If that pattern is true of many of your friends, then it's possible you have some behaviors that inhibit others initiating

2012-04-09 parents are too strict:

Hi Kirah - your situation sounds frustrating. Your deepest problem seems to be "low self esteem," which probably DID come from your parents. The good news is that over time, you can learn to improve

2012-04-07 Public Speaking:

Hi Aaron - I admire you're asking for help with this common fear. From what you write, I suspect your home schooling did not foster self confidence, and may have accidentally caused you excessive fear

2012-03-05 blending families:

Hi Talisha - I applaud you for seeking stepfamily info now. I encourage you both to commit to studying and discussing this free online course, based on 32 years' research into stepfamily success: http://sfhelp

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