Imua Family Services to host parenting expert Dr. Shefali

Acclaimed international speaker and clinical psychologist, Dr. Shefali Tsabary will lead a parenting talk at Imua Discovery Garden in Wailuku, Maui, on Jan. 21 and 22, 2022.

“The ongoing roller coaster that is the COVID-19 pandemic has burdened our children with an enormous amount of stress, anxiety, fear and uncertainty for two unrelenting years,” according to an Imua Family Services press release.

“While pediatricians, psychiatrists and children’s hospitals across the country have forewarned us about the brewing children’s mental health crisis, many parents are not prepared or equipped to deal with the resulting behavioral and developmental impacts, many of which are already beginning to surface,” said event organizers.

Imua Family Services is taking steps to address those needs during the upcoming event.

Professionals and parents on Maui have the opportunity to hear from internationally recognized speaker, clinical psychologist, and NY Times best-selling author Dr. Shefali Tsabary during a two-hour talk at the Imua Discovery Garden in Wailuku, Maui.

The two days are divided into a discussion with early childhood professionals on Friday, Jan. 21; and a talk with parents and guardians on Saturday, Jan. 22.

“We wanted to start the year offering a time to heal,” said Dean Wong, Imua Family Services’ Executive Director. “We need real help and real solutions, and we need to give ourselves as a community some much needed grace as we struggle through caring for our children. I could not think of a better way to begin the process of healing than providing Dr. Shefali as a valuable resource to help for our parents and children.”

Dr. Shefali’s work has been endorsed as being “revolutionary and life-changing” by media icon Oprah, who hosted her through two episodes of the award-winning series Oprah’s Lifeclass.

Dr. Shefali received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Columbia University. Specializing in the integration of Western psychology and Eastern philosophy, she brings together the best of both worlds for her clients. She is an expert in family dynamics and personal development, teaching courses around the globe. As a keynote speaker, she has presented at TEDx, Kellogg Business School, the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, and other conferences and workshops around the world where she shares her approach of integrating Eastern mindfulness with Western psychology — especially in the realm of parenting.

“We live in a time where there is the plague of doing, doing, doing that creates an internal disconnect within parents as they race against the clock,” she said. Dr. Shefali observes that “childhood has become this big competition for achievement. This gives the child the message that they always have to achieve or become something in order to be worthy… rather than to unfold into who they already are.”

Imua Family Services encourages teachers, physicians, therapists, parents, caregivers and other providers to register at https://imuagarden.org/workshop. The cost of attendance is $25 for the Professionals Day and $20 for the Parents Day.