Katherine Gordy Levine

ABOUT ME: Directing family and children's mental health crisis teams in New York City before, during, and after 9/11 made in me an expert on trauma treatment. My professional expertize combined with providing short term foster care for over twelve years (366 troubled youth lived with my family; some for days, most for weeks and a few for months) lead to the publication of 14 parenting books, 4 Emotional Fitness Training Books, teaching jobs at Columbia University and Smith College's Schools of Social Work, five minutes of fame on Oprah, plus hours training other professionals.

The primary lesson provided by my years as a foster parent was that unless I controlled my feelings, my foster children could not control theirs. No easy task, even for a professinal therapist. Active listening, using "I messages" and unconditional caring, the stuff of my professinal training, while theorectically useful, did not carry over easily to real family life.

Goleman's book Emotional Intelligence (EI) offered good advice. However, the book offered few practical applications. So my life as a foster parent became a research lab into how to stay emotionally strong in real time.

When we stopped being foster parents, I took what I had learned into my professional life and founded Emotional Fitness Training, Inc. (EFTI). Where I remains CEO, clinical director, Jill of All, and chief author.

EFTI's mission is to provide easy exercises, specifically designed to strengten EI. Current project, completing the Emotional Fitness Five Book Series. Three are published, the fourth is due to be published this September.

Check out my author's page on Amazon. Browse the EFTIStore for free Poster Coaches. Be inspired, learn EFTI exercises, strengthen your Emotional Intelligence (EI), Vist my Emotional Fitness Training Blog. Staying strong is not easy, but very possible for all of us.