Peter K. Gerlach Quick Facts
Main Areas: childhood-wound healing, self-awareness, communication skills, good grief, healthy relationships and families, stepfamiliesBest Sellers: "Who's *Really* Running Your Life? - Free Your Self from Custody and Guard Your Kids, Satisfactions - 7 skills you need to know, Stepfamily Courtship - make three wise decisions
Career Focus: Educator, author, inner-family-systems therapist, independent researcher
Affiliation: Founder, "Break the Cycle! Program (formerly "Stepfamily inFormation") - sfhelp.org
I have circled the Sun 70 times, have a mechanical engineering degree from Stanford U (1958), and 17 years' experience working for GT&E and IBM in various capacities. I also have a Masters degree in Social Work (MSW), over 17,000 hours of direct service to over 1,000 self-referered clients, and hundreds of hours of post-grad training in a wide variety of psychotherapeutic, communication, anger and addiction management (including codependence), clinical hypnosis, multiple personalities (dissociative states), and a range of behavioral and clinical subjects, including internal family systems (IFS) therapy. I've worked with five wise clinical guides for 35 years on improving and harmonizing my own life.
I had a private therapy practice in the western suburbs of Chicago 1981 - 2007, working with persons, couples, and families. I have specialized in supporting stepfamilies since 1979, and in personal recovery from childhood neglect and abuse since 1986. I began personal ACoA recovery from growing up in an addicted family in that year. My recovery has led me from early atheism (unawareness) to solid nondenominational spiritual faith, searching, and growth.
I have designed and led over 300 seminars and classes for a wide range of lay and clinical groups on stepfamily dynamics, relationship problem-solving, effective-communication skills, healthy grieving and freeing blocked grief, and personal wound-reduction via IFS therapy.
My clients have included Northern Illinois, Governor's State, Northeastern and Northwestern Universities, the Catholic Diocese of Rockford (IL), the Chicago States Attorney's Office, the College of Du Page, many Chicago-area high schools, hospitals, and churches, Parents Without Partners, Young Single Parents, Mothers Without Custody, and many others.
I taught communication skills professionally for Ridge Associates in New York, and have published a unique guidebook on that subject ("Satisfactions - Seven Skills You Need to Know" - Xlibris.com, 2002). I co-founded the nonprofit Stepfamily Association of Illinois (SAI), and have been a Board member of the recent Stepfamily Association of America (SAA) for several years. I was on the Board of a large suburban mental health agency for many years, including a term as Board President. I'm a member of the National Stepfamily Resource Center (NSRC) Expert's Council.
I maintain a free educational Web site called "Break the Cycle!" - originally "Stepfamily inFormation." (sfhelp.org), and have published five more books from it's content about healing psychological wounds and co-creating healthy marriages and stepfamilies. I'm now expanding the site to apply to all families and relationships.
My life purpose is to educate and motivate other people to protect future generations and break the toxic [wounds + unawareness] cycle that is crippling many persons, families, and our society.
I have an incurable muscle-wasting disease, and am now confined to a wheelchair in a convalescent home in Portland, Oregon. I'm glad to consult with fellow seekers via phone and email.
A free 8-module class on "How to Build a High-nurturance Stepfamily" -
http://sfhelp.org/07/course.htm
Free PowerPoint slide presentations on:
- Your Inner family of personality subselves
- The silent [wounds + unawareness] cycle passing down our generations
- An introduction to effective recovery from false-self wounds
- Effective communication basics and seven powerful skills
- Healthy three-level grieving, and building a "pro-grief" family
- Stepfamilies 101 - basic facts and problems you should know
- Effective stepparenting
- About divorce and divorce recovery
Three grand essentials for happiness are Something to do, Something to love, and Something to hope for. - Joseph Addison
If it's empty, fill it up; If it's full - empty it out. - Eleanor Roosevelt
The Key to Mental Health
"Settle for disorder in lesser things for the sake of order in greater things;
Therefore, be content to be discontent in many things." - Anonymous
"If you always do what you've always done,
you'll always get what you've always got."
- Steve & Carol Lankton
He that gives good advice, builds with one hand;
he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both;
but he that gives good admonition and bad example,
builds with one hand and pulls down with the other. -- Francis Bacon
Human beings have always employed an enormous amount of
clever devices for running away from themselves...
We can keep ourselves busy, fill our lives with so many diversions,
stuff our heads with so much knowledge,
involve ourselves with so many people and cover so much ground
that we never have time to probe the fearful and wonderful world within...
By middle life, most of us are accomplished fugitives from ourselves.
-- John Gardner
Other favorites - http://sfhelp.org/11/inspirations1.htm
Visit the overview and introduction to my nonprofit educational Web site "Break the Cycle!"
The most important of over 400 free site articles and worksheets is 3 steps to protect your family and descendents from the toxic [wounds + unawareness] cycle that burdens most U.S. families (like yours?) and our society.
Peter (Pete) Gerlach, MSW
Crestview Center
6530 SW 30th Ave, #72
Portland, OR 97239
1-503-293-8385
