Communication for a Better Life
Join us for one or more events; scroll down or click this button, for list of current offers
Experience a better life.
As the speaker and facilitator, David B. Alexander brings his experience as a psychotherapist, consultant, partner, and parent, as well as integrating a lifelong practice and teaching of meditation and Tai Chi Chuan.
David's therapy work is focused on individuals and couples, as well as organizational therapy for leaders and their teams, leading to connection, well-being, and achieving more of one's goals in life. He teaches communication skills especially to couples coming to improve their relationships.
The various presentations about and discussions of communication, especially Nonviolent Communication (NVC), are dedicated to making life better for group participants, through better understanding of self and other and through better communication choices
These events are enriching, safe opportunities for learning how to deepen relationships of all kinds through better communication, including through authenticity towards oneself, achieving more often the results we desire. As a psychotherapist, David has seen the value of these principles, and has guided numerous couples and individuals to improve the quality of their communication and their relationships.
Topics on core principles of Nonviolent Communication include:
Compassion vs. Labeling and Judgment
Observation vs. Diagnosis and Evaluation
Listening With Empathy
Feelings, Needs, and Requests
Expressing Anger's Core
Protection vs. Punishment
Liberation From Internal Programming
In addition to the introduction to NVC, webinars on specific communication topics from past years have included, for example, Expressing Yourself and Overcoming Inner Conflict; Enjoying the Difficult Conversation; and No Matter What, Appreciation and Celebration. These and others are being offered this year as well.
After presentations, there is always time for questions and answers as well as discussion.
Note: if any attendee does not wish to join in a discussion, but prefers to observe and absorb, that preference will be respected.
Events take place online via Zoom, and may in the future also take place in Long Island or Manhattan at announced addresses.
Webinars can be joined via ordinary phone, but for a full experience use of a computer will allow observing other attendees and those who are speaking. Attendees who do not wish to be seen can disable their video. Except when they are about to speak, attendees should mute their microphones so as to hear the webinar discussion and avoid adding background sounds.
"I thought the the webinar was outstanding. Although I have some familiarity with the concepts of nonviolent communication, I felt that the webinar greatly expanded my knowledge in this area and gave me useful information and techniques that I can apply to improve my relationships with my family and friends."
Ken Z.
The amount of information was terrific, dialogue was great. I wouldn't change anything. I thought meeting everyone was wonderful and having the dialogue. I am interested in attending more webinars.
Karen C.
Perfect. Very Comfortable interaction. A professional presentation. I liked listening to your personal experiences and those of others.
Michele F.
I thought it was very effective and constructive. I enjoyed the candor of presenters and openness to discuss concerns and clarify.
Karen S.
"I thought the the webinar was outstanding. Although I have some familiarity with the concepts of nonviolent communication, I felt that the webinar greatly expanded my knowledge in this area and gave me useful information and techniques that I can apply to improve my relationships with my family and friends."
Ken Z.
The amount of information was terrific, dialogue was great. I wouldn't change anything. I thought meeting everyone was wonderful and having the dialogue. I am interested in attending more webinars.
Karen C.
Perfect. Very Comfortable interaction. A professional presentation. I liked listening to your personal experiences and those of others.
Michele F.
I thought it was very effective and constructive. I enjoyed the candor of presenters and openness to discuss concerns and clarify.
Karen S.
Upcoming Commuication Events
To register for an event click "Buy now", or click the "Add" button for shopping cart to join more than one event
Saturday, June 13 · 11am – 1pm ET
Do you ever wonder why there are so many extreme opinions and theories circulating? The apparent confusion CAN be understood for greater peace, and we will talk about how to do that.
Is it hard (or very hard) to speak with a person whose views are different from yours? And that is not only about politics: it could be differences you find in religious attitudes, parenting beliefs, attitudes towards law enforcement, and many other topics.
You may or may not directly experience the polarization that is going on, but at the least you have seen the divisions expressed in our American society, and really throughout the Western world.
I want to offer insight into the roots of these divisions, as well as what seem to be totally illogical or unexplainable views. This relates to childhood experience, the influence of adult society, and other important factors.
This webinar will expose and explore the roots that are rarely seen but that are very, very important for gaining understanding and finding solutions.
Here is some more detail, but more important, this will be presented and discussed on Saturday:
Our temperament and the influence of the family and social environments we grew up in, tend to stay with us.
The family we grew up in never fully leaves us, but we can change and improve through our efforts. And we influence the world through the messages we carry and through the understanding we learn during our lives. We bring our full selves into the world every day, and we help shape society.
As a child, we learn many things. How to handle conflict. How to express love, how to handle anger, and how to express wanting connection with another person. We have unspoken rules about what is safe to say and when we have to stay quiet.
We carry all of it — into our marriages, our friendships, our workplaces, and perhaps most consequentially, into the families we build ourselves. Most of us are doing the best we can with what we were given. And most of us, at some point, find ourselves wanting to give something different, to expand our options to be better than what was given to us.
This workshop is for anyone who has ever thought seriously about what it means to be a more conscious, healthy influence on other people in their lives — whether you're raising them, living with them, or encountering them just once.
* This webinar is held on Zoom. Registration is easy; a Zoom link is emailed after registering *
We will look at what it actually means to model the values we want to pass on, especially in a time when the world outside our homes is sending so many competing messages. This includes answering one of the more pressing questions of this particular moment: when we encounter people — including people we love — who seem to have moved toward ideas we find harmful or confusing, what is the most skillful and useful way to respond?
In this interactive webinar you'll explore:
- How our earliest experiences shape our habitual responses — and how unfolding awareness can change them
- What conscious influence actually on others looks like in practice
- The difference between the values we hold and the values we model — and how to close that gap
- How to stay in genuine relationship with people whose worldviews feel foreign or even alarming
- Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a practical tool for the hardest family and social conversations
This workshop is an exploration of how we became who we are, and how that understanding opens up more freedom in who we get to be for the people around us as adults!
About David
David B. Alexander is a licensed psychotherapist based in Roslyn Heights, NY, with a practice that draws on principles of gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and Nonviolent Communication, as well as drawing on decades of Zen Buddhist and Tai Chi Chuan practice and teaching.
He has guided individuals, couples, and leaders through the challenges that we all face in experiencing a better life despite what are felt as external setbacks or our own mental blocks. He brings to this work not just clinical expertise, but the kind of depth that only comes from a lifetime of practice and a life fully lived.
Psychotherapy sessions are available online across New York State, and in person in Roslyn Heights, NY. A free 15-minute consultation is available for those curious about individual or couples therapy. All inquiries are confidential.
Saturday, June 13 · 11am – 1pm ET
Do you ever wonder why there are so many extreme opinions and theories circulating? The apparent confusion CAN be understood for greater peace, and we will talk abou…
Saturday, September 19 · 11am – 1pm ET · For other events, go to this page
All of us are meant, eventually, to be leaders, and in some aspects of our lives we are leaders from the moment of birth. When an infant cries, she or he is trying at a visceral level to lead others to respond in a way that helps the infant and makes "the world" (as the infant experiences it) better.
How do we respond as adults to different strategies that others use to lead? And how do WE lead when we are in a position of leadership? How do we lead even when others do not call us a "leader" officially?
Issues we will explore include "power with" vs. "power over", ideas of protection vs. punishment, and the strength of vulnerability along with empowerment.
About David
David B. Alexander is a licensed psychotherapist based in Roslyn Heights, NY, with a practice that draws on principles of gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and Nonviolent Communication, as well as drawing on decades of Zen Buddhist and Tai Chi Chuan practice and teaching.
He has guided individuals, couples, and leaders through the challenges that we all face in experiencing a better life despite what are felt as external setbacks or our own mental blocks. He brings to this work not just clinical expertise, but the kind of depth that only comes from a lifetime of practice and a life fully lived.
Psychotherapy sessions are available online across New York State, and in person in Roslyn Heights, NY. A free 15-minute consultation is available for those curious about individual or couples therapy. All inquiries are confidential.
Saturday, September 19 · 11am – 1pm ET · For other events, go to this page
All of us are meant, eventually, to be leaders, and in some aspects of our lives we are leaders from the moment of birth. Wh…
Saturday, December 12 · 11am – 1pm ET · For other events, go to this page
Daily life often consists of small and fairly simple interactions that keep things running smoothly or at least meet the needs of the moment.
In addition to those simple interactions, there are the conversations that involve important and perhaps challenging content: hurt, anger, and even feelings of love and emotional intimacy, which can all be difficult to bring up, or to fully take in when offered by another person.
And yet, these same, somewhat raw conversations provide the opportunity for deeper mutual connection, as well as supporting one's own well-being and vitality.
Topics for discussion will include:
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The benefits of expression vs. silence: bring more life to your life
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Handling anger well
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Handling affection and empathy well
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Reframing the conversation: realizing that the negative is fundamentally based on a positive
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"Good" words / "bad" words: which words and phrases create more conflict, and which heal
We invite all participants to bring in their own real-life questions and challenges around the above topics, or other topics related to "difficult conversations."
About David
David B. Alexander teaches effective and enjoyable communication to individuals and couples, as well as to executives and business owners, so that they can thrive in the social and working world in which we all live. A primary focus for his communication work is an approach called Nonviolent Communication, or "NVC".
NVC emphasizes authenticity in communication, but authenticity based on an empathetic understanding of self and others. NVC expression can be loud or quiet, diplomatic or direct, but is always intended to benefit all parties who are involved.
As a licensed psychotherapist, David also finds value in gestalt therapy principles, existential therapy, and modern psychoanalytic understanding. These are all approaches towards awakening for a fulfilling life.
In addition to psychotherapy work, he has been studying Zen since the age of 20 and Tai Chi Chuan since the age of 25, and has been teaching Tai Chi Chuan since the early 1990s.
Psychotherapy sessions are available online across New York State, and in person in Roslyn Heights, NY. A free 15-minute consultation is available for those curious about individual or couples therapy. All inquiries are confidential.
Saturday, December 12 · 11am – 1pm ET · For other events, go to this page
Daily life often consists of small and fairly simple interactions that keep things running smoothly or at least meet the need…
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“David is a superbly gifted Organizational Therapist who is able to help guide entrepreneurs in growing their businesses while navigating the highly unpredictable environment that we find ourselves in.
Unlike many psychotherapists he has a long-established track record of working and advising in the real world, which allows him to help his clients deal with real world problem solving. If you have an established business which is coping with a changing times, or an entrepreneur looking to unlock growth and opportunities I would highly recommend David as a consultant.”
Michael Pinto
Entrepreneurial Product Designer and CEO of Very Memorable
“I had both the privilege and good fortune to first connect with David in 2019. In retaining his services, I found him to be highly professional, insightful, authentic, patient, and kind. I greatly appreciated his direct approach, thoughtful consideration, and engaging manner.
As it turns out, the feedback and insight he provided me turned out to be absolutely spot on, over the course of time. It is a pleasure to recommend David as a pragmatic, discerning, and intuitive counselor, therapist, and leader.”
Eben Wilson
Founder and CEO, Exaio Systems
“David recently did a presentation on non-violent communication on behalf of one of my clients, an HR firm. To say that he hit it out of the ballpark would be an understatement. He was engaging, used real-world scenarios and examples and provided the attendees with actionable take-aways to help them navigate the sometimes-tricky world of intergenerational workplace communication.
David is genuine and empathetic. Even during a brief training, his message resonated with this audience of business owners, HR managers and C-suite executives. We received extremely positive feedback from the attendees and highly recommend David for consulting and training in this area.”
Theresa Jacobellis
President, PrescRXptive Communications, LLC
“David is a superbly gifted Organizational Therapist who is able to help guide entrepreneurs in growing their businesses while navigating the highly unpredictable environment that we find ourselves in.
Unlike many psychotherapists he has a long-established track record of working and advising in the real world, which allows him to help his clients deal with real world problem solving. If you have an established business which is coping with a changing times, or an entrepreneur looking to unlock growth and opportunities I would highly recommend David as a consultant.”
Michael Pinto
Entrepreneurial Product Designer and CEO of Very Memorable
“I had both the privilege and good fortune to first connect with David in 2019. In retaining his services, I found him to be highly professional, insightful, authentic, patient, and kind. I greatly appreciated his direct approach, thoughtful consideration, and engaging manner.
As it turns out, the feedback and insight he provided me turned out to be absolutely spot on, over the course of time. It is a pleasure to recommend David as a pragmatic, discerning, and intuitive counselor, therapist, and leader.”
Eben Wilson
Founder and CEO, Exaio Systems
“David recently did a presentation on non-violent communication on behalf of one of my clients, an HR firm. To say that he hit it out of the ballpark would be an understatement. He was engaging, used real-world scenarios and examples and provided the attendees with actionable take-aways to help them navigate the sometimes-tricky world of intergenerational workplace communication.
David is genuine and empathetic. Even during a brief training, his message resonated with this audience of business owners, HR managers and C-suite executives. We received extremely positive feedback from the attendees and highly recommend David for consulting and training in this area.”
Theresa Jacobellis
President, PrescRXptive Communications, LLC