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Following a 3 hour in-service training for Student Assistant Counselors and Guidance Counselors K-12th at Clifton School District, January 2010: “Lisa is an amazing, intelligent, passionate, and professional person. Words cannot
explain how important she is and the work that she does. Lisa has touched lives in so many ways and is a true blessing.
As a therapist, working with grief and loss can be very challenging but Lisa is a remarkable resource. I first met Lisa
while she was presenting to an organization that I am a member. Her message was so powerful and passionate that I had to
have Lisa present to my school where I run a counseling program. She worked with the community, students, parents, teachers,
and staff members regarding the difficulties of grief and loss. I have also invited Lisa into a graduate course that I teach
titled Schools, Community, and Substance Abuse where she provided a lesson for future counselors. These graduate students
are still complementing her visit. Lisa’s presentation is extremely powerful and has benefited many individuals. Thank
you Lisa for all that you do and for being the wonderful person you are!!!”
February 3, 2010 Top
qualities: Great Results
, Expert
,
High Integrity
“I am honored to write a recommendation for Lisa Athan. Lisa's presence in
our school community has made a huge difference for our students. Lisa’s message is powerful and masterfully delivered
in a caring and compassionate manner. Lisa has earned the respect of our teachers, administration, and especially our students.
I give Lisa my highest recommendation and welcome the opportunity to discuss this excellent counselor in greater detail.
Sincerely, Peter Renwick Principal, Westfield High School” December
21, 2009 Top qualities:
Great Results
, Expert
,
High Integrity
***** “Lisa gave a presentation
to our school guidance counselors that was outstanding: informative, lively, articulate, meaningful, everything we could
have asked for. The audience was totally engrossed from start to finish. The material benefited not only every student in
the school whom we can now counsel more effectively but every counselor personally as well. Her talk was so dynamic and energetic
that we all felt we could have sat for another two hours. I personally wished I had taped the presentation so I could play
it back and digest all the little gems of wise advice that were interspersed with her accounts of actual cases. She also
brought much wonderful resource material--one of the counselors was so excited, she said she wanted to read each and every
book on the table. I would heartily recommend Lisa as a speaker for teachers, counselors and/or students, especially in a
situation where many are dealing with crisis situations. She is loaded with good advice and good strategies.” November 13, 2009, Shelly
Levine, Head of Guidance at Delbarton School, Mendham, NJ Top qualities: Great Results , Personable, Expert February 15, 2010 Dear Mrs. Lisa Athan, The
students of Woodbridge Township Middle Schools and myself would like to thank you for your intriguing and motivating “Grief
Speaks” presentations. It was a treat having you speak to our sixth graders about such important
topics as, divorce, moving, coping with loss, death, healthy ways to grieve, bullying, diversity, safe adults, and friendships.
In today’s society so many of our students are experiencing more and more of these challenges at
a young age, it is important for them to learn how to handle these pressures in a healthy manner.
After reading over the sixth grade writing responses, I was impressed to see how many students have now found a “safe”
adult that they can talk to, both in and out of school. I was also happy to hear how many students used
the coping tools you provided them with. One student knocked on my door to share with me that he decided
to write a letter to his grandfather that had recently passed, and we read it together out loud, what a huge stress relief
for him. Other students commented that no one had ever spoken to them about moving, and how being the “new
kid” can be really hard and intimidating. As a Student Assistance Counselor, I was happy that you
were able to reach out to them and share with them that certain feelings are “normal” and are expected throughout
their personal lives. Much of the student population that I work with has witnessed their parents separate
or divorce, which creates a lot of mixed feelings, anger being a common one. Students didn’t realize
that it is Ok to feel angry; it’s what you do with that anger that can be therapeutic or damaging. Your
assemblies reassured them that there are healthy ways to vent and cope, as well as be a good friend to others.
Lisa, thank you for your wonderful Grief Speaks presentations
to both our students and faculty. Our faculty and I learned new therapeutic tools to help better assist
our students in time of crisis. Sincerely, Ms.
Christine Internicola Christine
Internicola Woodbridge Township Middle Schools Student Assistance
Counselor christine.internicola@woodbridge.k12.nj.us
Comments after the New Jersey School Counselor Association Spring Conference April, 17, 2009 @ Kean University: "Lisa is well-informed and gave useful information", "Lisa is a wonderful speaker and very knowledgeable about loss and grief. This was a valuable seminar. Truly worthwhile!", "Lisa Athan was an excellent speaker. She had a great sense of humor and had many creative ideas, such as the scream box, grief ball and Play-Doh.", "Lisa was AMAZING! Her information was so valuable -so important and I sincerely appreciate that NJSCA sponsored her presentation.", "I will be able to use everything that I learned", "Working in an urban setting, my students suffer and witness death, separation, illness as everyday occurrences. This seminar will help me better understand and reach out to them", "Lisa was superb! Thank you!", "Lisa was a fantastic speaker. She is extremely knowledgeable and dynamic. The strategies I learned will be useful." "Your work and presentation regarding grief is second to none. I appreciate all of the tips that will help me to meet the needs of students and staff who are dealing with grief. Thank you for the informative and interesting workshop. The books are wonderful resources.", "Outstanding presenter. Very well presented. Many resources", "Lisa was phenomenal. I would definitely attend future conferences if she is the presenter." School Counselors from all over NJ (K-12) Other comments following presentations by Lisa:
Hired Lisa as a education/child psychology consultant in 2009 "I had the privilege to meet Lisa when she gave a workshop on Grief and Loss at Passaic County Technical Institute. Co-Workers and I concur that this was one of the best continuing education training we have ever attended. Lisa is extremely knowledgeable in her field and captures each audience she meets as she is a dynamic speaker with a myriad of resources and tools to work with a grieving population. I have always been impressed by how much she puts herself into her work with the populations she serves -- her enthusiasm is contagious. Ever evolving in her scope of practice, Lisa’s expansion from consultant into the world of her own company is a credit to her drive to help others and I am pleased to have her as a colleague.” November 13, 2009, Stephanie Nauta, Guidance Department at Passaic County Technical Institute where Lisa spoke to the staff for a 2 hour professional development workshop on Supporting Grieving Students. Stephanie is also a professor at Kean University and had Lisa speak in 2008 and 2009 to her graduate students on The Importance of Supporting Students Coping with Grief). "Lisa
provided an outstanding opportunity to the parents and staff at our school. Lisa is an amazing speaker and her caring, warmth
and expertise are most obvious. Didn't want this day to go by before thanking you so much for
your wonderful presentation last night!!! It was informative, heart-wrenching and even humorous (if that is possible!)
...making it a totally enjoyable evening for all! It doesn't matter how many times I hear you speak, you continue
to enlighten and inspire me to think outside the box in my daily practice! I apologize for the crowded conditions
but you certainly were responsible for the large audience attendance. Thanks so much again......I passed your info along to
my principal...thought you would make a great speaker for our PTO. Monica Cattano, School Nurse, Jefferson
School, Summit "Your presentation on grief was enlightening and powerful. I know my colleagues echoed my feelings and you gave us plenty of food for thought as we go forward in our jobs. " Tom Demuro, Elementary school guidance counselor Summit, NJ "The presenter was excellent, motivating and relevant to this population." high school teacher Union,NJ "I am more aware of the grief factor in my students now." high school teacher Union, NJ "Outstanding presentation. My staff had such positive and favorable comments about her presentation and it was very informative. This helped all of our teachers." Virginia Ladd, Director of Far Hills Country Day School, Intermediate School "I was at the ASAP conference and wanted to share with you how moving your presentation was!
Your energy, passion and information provided a much needed jolt to my system when dealing with my students, staff and parents!
Thanks you very much." Patricia Colvin-Costanza, MA,Ed, SAC of Morris Knolls High School "Lisa,
you are such an awesome speaker and facilitator. I was inspired watching you lead this group. And you kept everything so real.
I am so glad I found you. I look forward to working with you in numerous capacities in the future. Thank you for coming to
our community at a time in need." RoseMarie (following a community tragedy involving the violent
death of a teenager, I spoke to a group in the community about two months after the loss at their request. The father
of the teen who died got a chance to speak out about feeling left by the community at his time of need, due to people
being afraid of saying the wrong thing. It was a sacred space to listen to this father tell his community what he
needed from them, to get through this unspeakable loss. The community listened and responded in wonderful ways. I was honored
to be there to facilitate). "Thank you for your presentation to the staff at Watchung
Hills on February 12, 2009, on Helping Kids Deal with Grief. The feedback received from your workshop was excellent.
Many commented on your energetic and positive personality as well as being "in-tune" with students' needs and what
can be done for them. Again, thank you so much for contributing to a day spent engaged in professional conversations, and we look forward
to future sessions. Beverly DiGeronimo, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Watchung Hills Regional
High School, Warren, NJ
Grand Rounds for Pediatricians: (Overlook Hospital and Morristown Memorial Hospital, August 2009) "What
Pediatricians Need to Know about Grief and Loss". Here is a short comment about your presentation given Friday, 8/28/09 at Overlook Hospital;" Grief hits all age groups. Lisa Athan's presentation defines grief in all its forms and helps us restore that satisfaction in practicing the art of medicine. She is a wonderful resource." Frank P. Frenda, M.D. Training testimonials: "During CONTACT We Care's 12 week training course to prepare listeners to answer hotline calls, we hold
one class focusing on grief and how to speak with and listen to callers in grief. We have looked to Lisa Athan as a
grief counselor and speaker to head the ever important and intense discussion of grief. She not only focuses
on the many different types of loss and grief, but what to say and what not to say to those who are grieving dues to losses.
It is an open discussion on different types of losses, from the loss of a pet, to the loss of a loved one, to the loss of
a not so loved one, to the loss of a job or relationship, to the loss of a dream. She uses different exercises and demonstrations
to illustrate how to care-give for others who are grieving due to one or many losses. The final exercise allows
the students to become introspective and think of times in their lives they have dealt with a loss or losses, to think about
the feelings that went along with that loss and to remember the people around them during that time of loss. This
is key to our class where we use empathy to support and listen to our callers. This class is an emotional class for
our students, which leads to a better understanding of their role as caregivers. Our students always remark favorably
about this class, and Lisa as the discussion leader." Sue Fasano, Contact We
Care, Coordinator of Training and Volunteers Presentation to high school health classes: "Thank you for your wonderful presentation about coping with grief and loss. As you mentioned in your
talk, this is a taboo topic that many people just aren't comfortable discussing. Perhaps this leads to the greater problem
we see in society, an inability to cope with loss effectively and instead through many unhealthy strategies, most notably,
the use of alcohol and drugs, and violence towards ourselves and others. Your knowledge and passion for helping people in
this area is evident, rare, commendable and inspirational. The
presentation you gave was both educational and moving. You covered so many aspects about grief and loss and illustrated your
point with real life stories. A very effective portion of your presentation was the anonymous question and answer session
at the end. Based upon the questions and comments that the students wrote, it is clear that you touched many of them and that
they could related to the topic. I am sure you personally helped the students whose questions you answered. Many told
me in my class today that they were affected by your presentation. I know that as a teacher, the knowledge I gained will most
definitely help me help students in time of need. I hope you come back.
I highly recommend that you continue going to other schools as well. I know they will benefit just as much. Feel free to use
me as a reference. Susan L. Kolesar, Health Educator at Westfield High School
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WWW.griefspeaks.com (973) 912-0177
Lisa@griefspeaks.com