Solution Focused Therapy Services     Discover the Power Within

Telka's Life Solutions Workbook, Change your thoughts, heal your life

Change Your Thoughts. Heal Your Life
An Eleven
Week
Self-Help Workbook
Transform wounds into wisdom,
pain into purpose
and inspire others to do the same

Change Your Thoughts, Heal Your Life:  written by Telka Arend-Ritter L.M.S.W. consists of an 11-week guided program for creating &  maintaining a healthy, healed  life through the use of  improved coping skills, cognitive reframing and solution-focused, problem solving.  This workbook may be used personally and professionally:


*
As a self help tool for personal, spiritual and psychological growth

*As a therapeutic tool for the elimination of self defeating behaviors
 
*As a cognitive behavioral, solution-focused treatment guide for depression, anxiety, anger, addictions

* As an instructional guide to enhance insight,
cooperation and communication

Week #1 Beginning Life Changes  
Pages 1-30

  • Overview, Workbook Basics
  • Creating the Best Results
  • Stress Management: Stress Prevention Test
  • Body Mass Index
  • DSM IV Substance Abuse Inventory
  •  Circle of Life Meditation
  • Homework

Week #2 Stressful Relationships 
Pages 31-45

  •  Stressful Relationships Overview
  •  Relationship Stress Thought Inventory
  •  Range of Human Response
  • Unhealthy vs. Healthy Responsibility
  • Thoughts Leading to Right Action Thinking
  • Rules for Being Human (Cherie Carter-Scott)
  •  Homework

Week #3 Understanding Moods  
Pages 46-63

  • Coping with Depression and Anxiety:
  • Understanding Moods Overview
  • Definitions: Depression & Anxiety
  • Stages of Anxiety Mood Disorder
  • PTSD Checklist
  • Mood Chart
  • What Is Causing All Of The Anxiety?
  •  Coping Strategies for Mood Related Problems
  • Use of Medication
  • Homework

Week #4 Healing Anger 
Pages 64-79

  • Nail in the fence
  • Anger Overview
  • Why do you get so angry?
  • Anger Onion
  • Transforming Anger into Insight
  • Stages for Healing Anger
  •  Anger Response Mood Chart
  • Checklist for Hidden Anger
  • Anger Prevention Solutions
  • 10 Solutions for Healing Anger
  •  Homework

Week #5 Coping WITHOUT Bad Habits.
Pages 80-100

  • Coping without Bad Habits Overview
  • Healing Stressful Thinking
  • Range of Self-talk
  • Self-Defeating Thought and Behavior Inventory
  •  Cognitive Reframing: A Self-talk Tool
  • Choosing the Power of Thoughts
  • Practice: Self-Healing
  •  Healthy Coping Skills Worksheet: Coping Without self defeating behaviors 
  • Emotionally Healing Self-Talk Review Worksheet
  • Self-Talk Meditation
  • Homework

Week #6 Healing Relationships 
Recognizing and Maintaining Healthy Relationships.
Pages 101-123

  • Healing Relationships Overview
  • Healthy Relationship Inventory
  • FAQ’s
  • Healthy Dating Inventory
  • Relationship Pyramid
  • Balancing Relationships
  • Establishing Healthy Trust
  •  Building Healthy Relationships
  • Strategies for Identifying the Ideal Partner
  • Relationships: When to Stay,
  • When to Walk Away,
  • When to RUN.
  • Borderline Personality Disorder
  •  Homework

Week #7 Healing Worry and Fear.  Pages 124-142

  • Healing Worry and Fear Overview
  • What Are You Worried About?
  • Working Through Worry and Fear
  • Feeling Stuck in Worry and Fear
  • 7 Solutions for Healing Worry, Stagnation, Procrastination and Fear
  • Worry Focused Thinking vs. Wisdom Focused Thinking
  • Transforming Worry into Action
  • Transforming “Should” into “Could”
  • Choices
  • Change is a Choice Worksheet
  • Shirley’s Story
  • Homework

Week #8 Living With Stress Pages 143-160

  • The Parable of the Starfish
  • Living with Stress Overview
  • Crisis: Problem Plus Opportunity
  • Stress Prevention Re-test
  • Stress Response Choices
  • Healthy vs. Unhealthy Stress
  • Healthy vs. Unhealthy Stress Worksheet
  • Cognitive Dissonance Theory
  • Six Common Emotional Healing Lessons
  • Rebecca’s Bath
  • Homework


Week #9 Why do I think that I am not enough?
Pages 161-180

  • The Golden Eagle (Anthony de Mello)
  • Why Do I Think I Am Not Enough Overview
  • Real Self vs. Ideal Self
  •  Self-Esteem Vocabulary
  • Self-Esteem Myth
  • Maternal vs. Paternal Love
  • 7 Tools to Heal Self-Esteem Through Thought and Action:
  • Tool #1 Human Doing vs. Human Being
  • Tool #2 Identifying Thoughts and Actions that Sabotage Self-Esteem
  • Tool #3 Body Image Test
  • Tool #4 As if..
  • Tool #5 Character building
  • Tool #6 Self–Talk Ladder
  • Tool #7 Redefining the Problem
  • Letting Go: Our Greatest Fear
  • Homework

Week #10 Dealing with Difficult People
(More anger management) Pages 181-210

  • The House of 1000 Mirrors (Japanese Folktale)
  • Dealing with Difficult People Overview
  • Who Are Your Difficult People?
  •  Are You A Difficult Person?
  • Difficult People As Teachers
  •  Difficult People Lesson Inventory
  • Difficult People Projection Tool
  • 16 Assertive Communication Guidelines
  • 12 Fair Fighting Rules
  •  Are You A Bully?
  • Tools to Assert Yourself
  • Reframing Communication
  •  Assertive Response to Substance Abuse
  • Letting Go
  • Homework

Week #11 Letting go Putting the past behind.
Pages 211-231

  • Zen Story
  • Letting Go Overview
  • Kubler-Ross Stages Applied to Emotional Healing
  • 10 Tools for Putting the Past Behind You
  • Letting Go Meditation Tool
  • To Let Go Takes Love (author unknown)
  • Taking Care of Yourself Tools
  • Relapse Prevention Plans
  • Aftercare Plans
  • Closure Exercise

Community Resource Guide  Pages 232-242
12 steps of AA
Recommended Readings & Bibliography


Telka's Life Solutions 11-week Solution Focused, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy program has been helping, changing, and healing lives for many years.

Now, for the first time, the program is written into a  250 page spiral bound self-help workbook available for purchase without attending a group or seminar.

Buy Telka's workbook in East Lansing at
SBS (Student Bookstore)

email workbook request to Telka directly at 
telkaar@comcast.net

Web Hosting Companies