Energy, Empathy & Everyday Balance: Highlights from Our First Two Family Seminars

We kicked off our family seminar series with two impactful sessions led by expert coaches and therapists who understand the complexity of family life. Designed to equip families with real-world tools and relatable strategies, these first two sessions focused on energy management and balancing the needs of all your children. If you couldn’t join us or want a refresher, here’s a recap of what we learned. If you have a suggestion for a future family seminar topic or presenter, we would love to hear from you! Contact us at info@sallaresearch.org.

Session 1: The Energy of Success: Mastering Your Energy to Meet the Moment

Facilitator: Chris “Coach Chris” Jackson, CPC, ELI-MP
Date: February 2025

Key Themes:

• Defining energy and how we can generate more of it to help us succeed, even through challenges.
• A simple and powerful visual framework for identifying the seven levels of energy.
• How caregivers get stuck and how to break free from the cycle of overgiving, frustration, and exhaustion.
• Mastering your next level energy to meet the moment.

Notable Takeaway: Coach Chris introduced his Energy Optimization Framework, which provides tools for recognizing how internal energy affects external performance and how parents can utilize this awareness to lead with intention rather than react.

Contact Information: chris@gracecommunity.info

Recording: https://youtu.be/Xp2m2-9ammM?feature=shared

Digital workbook: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/a9c727e2ed.html

Presentation Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19A3hR7_8Cw764RsCTDP0pUBsf2cZ-q-H/view?usp=sharing

Session 2: Two Paths, One Heart: Balancing the Needs of All Your Children

Facilitator: Elena Jackson, MA, LMHC, LPC
Date: April 2025

Key Themes:

• Understand the psychosocial stages of development, from early childhood to early adulthood, and the purpose and core challenge associated with each stage.
• Learn practical tips for application at each stage, celebrating and validating each child’s experience without comparison.
• Equip yourself with strategies for fostering connection, validating, and guiding your children through challenging emotions.

Notable Takeaway: Elena emphasized that as parents, the aim is not to fix every problem or keep your children happy 100% of the time. The objective is to do the best you can at raising emotionally well-adjusted children, to give yourself grace, approach situations with love and empathy, and know you are doing an amazing job.

Elena’s contact information: elena@gracecommunity.info

Recording: https://youtu.be/effMwaYwrOA?feature=shared

Presentation Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11a72lt4umg3uc3UENSd6y7H82iDHzzmj/view?usp=sharing

Thank you to everyone who joined us. If you have feedback, questions, or reflections you'd like to share, we’d love to hear from you. Stay tuned for our next seminar, which will be announced soon.

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