Biographical note

Ester R. A. Leutenberg has worked in the mental health feld for many years as a publisher, author and advocate for those suffering from loss. She personally experienced a devastating loss when her thirty-year-old son Mitchell, after struggling with a mental illness for eight years, died by suicide. Soon after, as a way of both healing and helping others, Ester co-founded Wellness Reproductions & Publishing with her daughter Kathy Khalsa and began developing therapeutic products that help facilitators help theirclients. Ester and Kathy are the co-authors of the Life Management Skills series for adults, SEALS series for teenagers, and Optimal Well Being for Senior Adults I and II, as well as a variety of other therapeutic card games, board games and posters.

John J. Liptak, EdD , has many years of experience in providing counselling services to individuals and groups in a variety of settings including job training programmes, correctional institutions, and colleges and universities. In addition, John has years of teaching experience as an assistant professor. With Ester Leutenberg and Kathy Khalsa, he has written several other comprehensive books for teachers and counsellors to use with their students and clients.