Stimulating, interactive webinar and workshop events, and reading
Scroll down for individual events; also see other resources and testimonials at page bottom
Communication, Including Nonviolent Communication
In these interactive presentations and workshops led by David B. Alexander, licensed psychotherapist, we will study and experience importance aspects of communication and relationships.
We will also apply insightful and compassionate communication to issues or questions that the attendees bring in. If there are no issues or questions brought by attendees, the facilitator will provide sample situations for discussion.
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.
Zen and Buddhism for Today
Zen and Buddhism are, in essence, the same topic. Zen is known for its more concise expression, while the original Buddhist teachings discuss, with great care and detail, human nature and how to transform suffering. These are different angles on the same jewel.
Most important is helping reduce suffering in today's world, through wisdom and compassion attuned to the realities of daily life choices.
As a long-time practitioner of Zen, David B. Alexander presents and discusses the meaning of this ancient teaching for each of us today. Zen and Buddhism are the study of and the connection with our true selves, for our peace and joy, and to make a better world.
Upcoming events
To register for an event click "Buy now", or click the "Add" button for shopping cart to join more than one event
Saturday, May 2 · 11am – 1pm ET
Most of us were never taught how to actually communicate.
We were taught to be polite. Or, to make our case. To defend our position. Or to manage how we come across. But somewhere in all of that, something gets lost — the real, enjoyable, energized conversation that is waiting to be had. The one where both people actually feel heard and can fully express themselves. And it is not only about difficulties: when there are positive experiences to share, do we say and convey the feeling fully, so others can join us in appreciation and joy?
Nonviolent Communication is a framework that helps with genuinely connecting with others. Developed by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg and now used in everything from couples therapy to Fortune 500 boardrooms to international conflict mediation, NVC gives you a way to say what you actually mean — and to hear what the other person is really saying — without defensiveness, judgments, or shutdown getting in the way.
In this two-hour live, interactive webinar, licensed psychotherapist David B. Alexander will guide you through the core principles of NVC and how to put them to work in your real relationships and real conversations. You can participate as much or as little as you wish.
In this interactive webinar you'll explore:
- How we default to judgment and diagnosis — and how to shift to genuine observation
- Identifying and expressing what you're actually feeling (not just what you think)
- The difference between a request and a demand — and why that is so important
- How to make appreciation and joy a shared experience
- Inner conditioning that keeps us stuck in old patterns — and how to start moving differently
This isn't just a presentation. There will be short guided exercises, live discussion, and space to practice. You'll leave with tools you can use immediately — in your closest relationships, at work, and in the conversations with yourself that no one else hears.
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 therapy. All inquiries are confidential.
Saturday, May 2 · 11am – 1pm ET
Most of us were never taught how to actually communicate.
We were taught to be polite. Or, to make our case. To defend our position. Or to manage how we come across. …
Saturday, May 30 · 11am – 1pm ET
Something is pulling at you. A calling to find peace, or meaning... or both.
Maybe it's an unspoken restlessness within a life that is fine in many aspects.
Or maybe it's the sense that you're moving through your days too quickly — busy and productive, but feeling that there should be something more. You may have heard the word "Zen" a hundred times and wondered what it actually means, beyond the coffee mug messages and the corporate wellness posters.
This workshop is for people who want to find out.
Zen Buddhism is one of the oldest and most practical wisdom traditions in human history — not a religion based on faith in the unknown, not a set of rules to follow, but a way of seeing clearly our wonderful life, even in the middle of the noise and changes of daily life.
The lotus flower, one of Buddhism's enduring symbols, grows from mud and through muddy water. And yet, it appears suddenly above the water and opens fresh and pure. We can do so, as well, in the midst of all our activities.
In this two-hour live workshop, David B. Alexander — a licensed psychotherapist who has practiced Zen for over 50 years — will walk you through the core teachings of Buddhism and what they actually mean for the way we live, think, and relate to ourselves and others. There will be a brief, accessible history of Buddhism — where it came from and how Zen emerged from it.
In this interactive webinar you'll start to explore:
- The Middle Way — the art of finding peace and fulfillment without rigid extremes or rigid ideas
- The Four Noble Truths — Buddhism's foundational insight into why we suffer, and the genuine possibility of moving past that
- Meditation — in two short practice intervals
- The Eightfold Path — a practical framework for living in a way that benefits yourself and everyone around you
- The Three Treasures — the supports that keep a practitioner grounded and moving forward in a healthy way
This isn't a philosophy lecture. It's a living conversation about how ancient wisdom applies to modern life — your relationships, your work, your inner world, your search for meaning. There will be space for questions and genuine dialogue throughout.
About David
David B. Alexander is a licensed psychotherapist who has practiced Zen since 1970 — studying with teachers at the New York Zen Center in the '70s and '80s, and more recently as an active practitioner at Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, NY. He has been personally encouraged to offer public teachings by Enkyo Roshi (Pat O'Hara) of Village Zendo and Zen Master Wu Kwang (Richard Shrobe) of Chogye Zen Center.
He is also a 40+ year practitioner and teacher of Tai Chi Chuan, and a licensed psychotherapist whose clinical work draws on principles of gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and Nonviolent Communication.
When David teaches Zen, he isn't translating something he read. He is sharing something he has 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 therapy. All inquiries are confidential.
Saturday, May 30 · 11am – 1pm ET
Something is pulling at you. A calling to find peace, or meaning... or both.
Maybe it's an unspoken restlessness within a life that is fine in many aspects.
Or mayb…
Saturday, June 13 · 11am – 1pm ET
Our temperament and the influence of the family and social environments we grew up in, tend to stay with us. And in turn, who we are helps shape the world around us.
Our inborn temperament and our early family life affect dramatically how we perceive and act in the world. This includes the way we handle differences or conflict; how we express affection and love; what is able to stimulate anger in us; and how we handle needing something from another person, whether it is love, respect, or getting a business report. We learn early on what is safe to say and what "has to" stay quiet.
We carry all of it — into our relationships and marriages, our friendships, our workplaces, and ultimately, into the families we may build ourselves. We are all doing the best we can with what we were given. And most of us, at some point, find ourselves wanting to give something different that is better.
This workshop is for anyone who has ever thought seriously about what it means to be a conscious, healthy influence on the people in their lives, including children, and on society as a whole. We will explore how early experience shapes the way we see ourselves and respond to the world — and what becomes possible when we begin to understand that shaping.
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 way to respond? Not the most reactive. The most skillful.
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 is not a parenting technique workshop. It's something closer to the root — 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 therapy. All inquiries are confidential.
Saturday, June 13 · 11am – 1pm ET
Our temperament and the influence of the family and social environments we grew up in, tend to stay with us. And in turn, who we are helps shape the world around us.…
What if changing the way you perceive and communicate could change everything?
Not just the words you choose — but the awareness that guides those words.
The ability to say what you actually mean and to hear what someone else is really saying. To move through conflict without shutting down or blowing up. To fully express love and appreciation. To show up in your relationships, your work, and your inner life with more clarity, more presence. In short, more of your true, best self.
That's what this series is about.
Over three Saturday mornings this spring, licensed psychotherapist David B. Alexander brings together two of the most powerful frameworks for human transformation available today: Nonviolent Communication and Zen Buddhist wisdom. Separately, each is profound. Together, they form something rare — a thorough understanding and principles for how to live and relate with authenticity, compassion, and true inner freedom.
The Series:
Session 1 — Introduction to Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Saturday, May 2: The practical foundation. Learn how to move from judgment and defensiveness to genuine expression and empathetic listening — in your closest relationships, at work, and in the conversation you have with yourself.
Session 2 — Zen and Buddhism 101: Finding the Source Saturday, May 30: The deeper ground. Explore the core teachings of Zen and Buddhism — the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Middle Way — and what they actually mean for your everyday life, your liberation from suffering, and your search for something more.
Session 3 — Childhood Influences, Our Inner World, and the World We Are Shaping Saturday, June 13: Our inborn temperament and our early family and social experiences affect dramatically how we perceive and act in the world. This includes the way we handle differences or conflict, how we express affection and love, and more. And through the messages we carry within us, we contribute to the nature of the society and world in which we live.
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Each session stands on its own. Together, they start to build something larger: a living understanding of how to communicate from your heart, from your wisdom, and not just from your surface.
Each session includes:
- Engaging presentation of core concepts
- Guided interactive exercises
- Live discussion and Q&A throughout
- Practical tools you can apply in your daily life
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 therapy. All inquiries are confidential.
What if changing the way you perceive and communicate could change everything?
Not just the words you choose — but the awareness that guides those words.
The ability to say what you actually mean an…
Other Resources
Escaping From Freedom
In times of division and loss of understanding ("How can 'those people' believe in that?"), we need to look more closely, with an open mind and heart.
This 19-page ebook builds on the insights of Erich Fromm's iconic 1941 book Escape From Freedom, with updated observations by psychoanalyst and gestalt therapist David B. Alexander.
Human awareness is dynamically created based on our inborn temperament plus our life experiences. When too many factors combine to overcome a person's hope for well-being and meaning, a voluntary giving up of freedom can occur.
Make sense of and find peace in today's world through better understanding. See the table of contents, and download your copy:
Learn Tai Chi Chuan Short Form
Classes in Long Island and
Monthly Workshops in NYC
Improve your well-being and vitality. You can do this through Tai Chi Chuan practiced with its full historical meaning and benefits.
It is a martial art and a practice benefiting well-being and physical health. Those active in music and dance performance have also reported important benefits.
The classes in Long Island are for all levels; the monthly workshops in Manhattan are for those who already know a Yang-style Short Form.
You are welcome to make contact if you have further questions.
An In-Person Presentation: Solving the Roots of Conflict
This 1/2 hour talk and discussion took place in 2024 at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island (www.ehsli.org). The topic is Solving the Roots of Conflict: A Nonviolent Approach. Introduction is by the Leader of EHSLI, Dr. Richard Koral.
David B. Alexander has been studying Zen since the age of 20, and Tai Chi Chuan since the age of 25, and has been teaching for over 30 years.
These are subtle and profound approaches to higher knowledge about the nature of life and one's true potential. Decades of practice and teaching have ripened this knowledge so that he values the opportunity to share and discuss his experience and information with others.
As a licensed psychotherapist, he finds value in gestalt therapy principles, nonviolent communication (an approach also known as "NVC") for couples, existential therapy, and modern psychoanalytic understanding. These are varied approaches to promoting well-being and a fulfilling life. Meditation and Tai Chi Chuan practice provide a foundation of insight and empathy, and a deeper understanding of what our life is about.
I&E Webinar and Workshop Testimonials
Other testimonials below
David's workshop on Non-violent Communication was insightful, practical and interactive. I especially appreciated the time he took to listen to and respond to people's real-life communication challenges. Practical and thoughtful workshop especially relevant in today's turbulent times.
— Terre Passero
President, Mindful Stress Management
I have attended some of David Alexander's webinars. I found them to be very informative and inspiring. He taught techniques which help people communicate respectfully, authentically and effectively. His presentations are outstanding.
— Susan Zang
I recently attended one of the online webinars hosted by this amazing psychotherapist and speaker. I was blown away by the depth of knowledge and wisdom that was shared during the session. I highly recommend attending one of his sessions in the future, you will not be disappointed!
— Andrey Volodin
I enjoyed every minute of the webinar. Your discussion of the important issues was very informative, useful and helpful. Your encouragement of us, the attendees, to participate and express our opinion was very valuable. I highly appreciate your professionalism, knowledge, experience, courtesy and patience.
The atmosphere at the meeting was very friendly and kind. I believe, no one (including myself) was uncomfortable in sharing the personal story(ies) and concerns. I further believe, that under your amazing guidance and leadership in the discussion, we all benefited from this meeting. Great job, David!
Thank you very much, and I look forward to your meetings in the future.
— Olga Ruh
Attorney
Psychotherapy Testimonials
I have been visiting regularly with David for four years now. David is an incredibly thoughtful therapist. He is both a great listener and he provides useful insights into why I am how I am, and how I can approach life more fully. His calm demeanor provide a peaceful sounding board for a wide range of topics.
— MS
These were on-going sessions and David was very helpful in assisting me in working out some important issues with my partner. He's a very good listener, but he also exercised control where it was needed. He's very good at cutting right to the point and he tries to give real solutions and then he follows up to see what worked and what didn't. He also works with compassion and humor so the whole experience was convivial, pleasant, and productive. I highly recommend him as a therapist and sympathetic human being.
— HM
David provided exactly the type of service I was looking for. I just needed to talk to someone who was willing to listen. His soft tone and gentle approach allowed our sessions to move smoothly and often times, too quickly. In person sessions felt like an afternoon in your living room, and the ability to web session meant you could actually be, in your living room. Appointments were easy and very rarely did conflicts arise. Sessions always started on time and there was never an overlap with another patient. When I felt I was in the right place to end our sessions, the reaction was nothing but positive and encouraging. The door was left open for any future needs.
— CC
I first met David through friends on social media. When I needed some one-on-one advice concerning family issues and communication, I contacted David for private sessions. Due to budgetary restrictions, I met with him for a limited time, once a week for 2 months. Even in that short time, it was a tremendous help to me, being supplied with commonsense tools for communicating effectively. We touched on Zen which I find fascinating and hope to pursue further. David has an easygoing nature that is contagious.
— JK
Tai Chi Chuan Testimonials
I have been attending Sunday afternoon workshops with Master David B. Alexander since last winter, meeting once a month.
Even though I have been studying T'ai-Chi Chuan for over 40 years I always feel that I learn something new in each of the classes. David provides a calm and supportive environment that is quite conducive to learning. He is a keen observer and gives clear, positive feedback.
— Master Bruce McCarter
Teacher of Tai Chi Chuan and Buddhism
David Alexander’s workshops are an excellent opportunity to practice and improve Tai Chi skills and understanding.
A senior student of Grandmaster William C. C. Chen, David’s workshops offer a welcoming, accepting environment for beginning, intermediate, and advanced Tai Chi practitioners to learn together.
— Master Steven Asherman
Founder, Content Galaxy Tai Chi Channel
David B. Alexander is an excellent and patient teacher who clearly interprets Grandmaster William CC Chen’s method of Tai Chi Chuan. The curriculum he teaches in his workshops is thorough and sincere. I highly recommend him. Your Taichi will improve whether you are a beginner or advanced student.
— Bernard Rozenberg
Long-time Tai Chi Chuan practitioner and Push-Hands enthusiast