Workshops & Seminars

Is your human service organization looking for a personal safety seminar? If so, I have a variety of options for you to consider. Take a moment to review the information just below to get a better idea of how ESD can meet your needs.

A Day Away From the Office

A full-day seminar provides the best Everyday Self Defense experience. Each program can be tailored to your specific needs. I combine presentations, animated discussions and physical exercises to create a “day away from the office” that offers a real break from the typical workday. Believe it or not, we usually laugh quite a bit and the physical activity tends to make people relax and unwind.

Full-day seminars are 6 to 8 hours long and we can work with your scheduling needs. For example, a Friday seminar really fits into the schedule of some organizations. If it works for you, it probably works for me!

Participants typically wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing to allow for invigorating physical activity. The physical activity REALLY IS engaging. Participants are often shocked at how simple and effective basic protective moves can be! Everyday Self Defense programs involve physical activity with a partner, so some participants choose to enroll with a co-worker or friend. I always allow people to decline to participate in the physical activities if they have any sort of limitation. There are many reasons why this can be true and I go out of my way to accommodate special needs. (I’ve taught self-defense to people in wheelchairs.)

Adequate space is very important! We need a seated area for presentations or discussions and an adjacent area where we can break into pairs and work on physical techniques. The exact room size depends on the number of participants (up to 40), but I will be working with you to ensure that every participant has a quality experience.

Half-Day Seminars or Conference Breakout Presentations

When time does not allow, the half-day workshop provides a basic introduction to self-defense for human service workers that helps participants increase their awareness and overcome some of the hesitation they might feel about providing for their personal safety at work.

Half-day workshops are 1.5 to 3 hours long. Since there is very limited physical activity, participants need not wear any special clothing. There is no limitation on the size of the group.

Half-day workshops are well suited for breakout sessions at conferences. Not only is the subject timely and compelling for many human service workers, even the limited amount of physical activity is energizing when so many conference sessions are simple lectures.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if this sort of presentation fits into your program.

Other Specialized Presentations

Based on my experience, I know that a full day seminar is the best introduction to personal safety for social and human service workers.  I also recognize that you can’t always schedule a group to be out of the office all day.  If that’s your situation, consider the following options.

I offer a National Legislative Update that requires no physical activity and is presented as a lecture-style break-out session at a conference.  I can combine the Legislative Update with any of my other seminars or programs. 

If I’m already at your conference, I can do mini-health promotion and stress reduction sessions that relax and energize your participants, helping them to be more attentive and productive as they sit through a series of speakers and panels.
Finally, if you feel the need for self-defense training but can’t schedule a seminar in the short term, consider purchasing my manuals for your staff.  My manuals have a clear, simple introduction to self-defense and violence prevention.   They can serve as a good orientation to the topic and help increase personal safety awareness.