LPO: Arlene Harder, Founder and Editor-in-Chief

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More factors have contributed to the reasons why I have created LearningPlaceOnline (LPO) than you are likely interested in knowing, but here are a few to give you a flavor of who I am.

First, I will point out that as a licensed psychotherapist for more than fifteen years, I developed a strong interest in several areas.

My first specialty is in using healing imagery and reflective meditation techniques, which began years ago with a study of Psychosynthesis. Applying this holistic school of psychology to my own life and learning from my clients, I have concluded that these techniques reinforce the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual qualities that arise from deep within each one of us. When I later became certified by the Academy for Guided Imagery, I created a series of imagery tapes on such topics as resolving stressful relationships, forgiveness, letting go of the past and dealing with life-challenging and chronic illness.

It was from my work in this last area that I co-founded The Wellness Community–Foothills in Pasadena, California, in 1989. This is part of a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to help people with cancer and their loved ones enhance their health and well being by providing a professional program of emotional support, education and hope. There I gave many workshops and developed a series of imagery classes that I later offered on CancerOnline, a nonprofit website I co-founded in 1997 with a cancer survivor, Craig Miles, and for which I worked pro-bono as full-time executive director for five years until it closed so I could concentrate on LPO.

My third interest is in working with parents of grown children and have written a book, Letting Go of Our Adult Children: When What We Do Is Never Enough, based on work with my clients and on my own experience. The entire contents of the book are located in the Relationship section if you, or someone you know, is having difficulty adjusting if their children have "turned out" different than they expected.

In all my work, which includes a stint as adjunct professor at Pepperdine University teaching family systems therapy, I have believed that even when people have had an unfortunate childhood and live in less than optimal conditions, in every person there is love. In every person there is healing power. In every person there are sources for both serenity and vitality. In every person there is potential for beauty, wisdom and success.

The trouble is that we often don't know how to find those qualities within (and we often don't see them in others because they can be well hidden). Most of all, we become so busy that we don't even look for them. Instead, we get distracted by, and complain about, problems in our work, in our relationships, and in the wider community. That is, we are too busy to realize these qualities can help us solve the very problems that keep us from living fully until we are jolted awake by the diagnosis of a serious illness, such as cancer, or have the rug pulled out from under us by a tragedy, such as the one we all experienced on September 11.

That is why one of the most gratifying parts of this new venture is the opportunity to bring together therapists, dietitians, career coaches, and other specialists who can help our readers learn how to access the many inner resources they possess. In fact, I see this as a win-win proposition. The readers can get some help in resolving many of their problems and becoming the best they can be and the writers and contributors can reach a larger audience than they probably would if they created a small site of their own. (See Guidelines for Contributions to LearningPlaceOnline.)

Oh, and in case you're interested in some personal facts, I will tell you that I've been happily married for forty-two years, have two sons and two daughters, two sons-in-law and two daughters-in-law, seven grandsons and one granddaughter. And I enjoy all of them and all of my life very much!

If you have questions or comments you would like to send me, you can reach me at arlene@learningplaceonline.com. You can also contact me at: