The Social Well-Being Workbook is designed to help your clients strengthen existing social well-being traits and develop new attitudes to further improve their social well-being. With your facilitation, your participants will complete the assessments, activities and exercises in this workbook, and will develop and enhance a full spectrum of social skills.

Social health has become increasingly more important within the overall concept of human health and wellness. Positive and effective social interaction, a basic component of society, is important for individuals to master, especially when managing stress and/or overcoming illness. An inability to form and maintain relationships can be detrimental to a person s health and well-being. Socially healthy people are able to relate well to others, genuinely care for all people regardless of their cultural characteristics, and willingly reach out to other people. They are contributing members of their community and are a part of the social networks of others.

The Social Well-Being Workbook is designed to help your clients understand how social well-being can build personal and professional success, reduce stress and enhance overall life satisfaction.

he seven sections of the workbook include:

Section 1 Relationships

This section will help participants explore and understand their current relationships with people in the community, partners, family members, co-workers and friends. Thought-provoking, user-friendly activity handouts will help them to improve relationships in all areas of their life and career.

Section 2 Diversity

This section will help participants examine how they accept, respect and value diversity in themselves and other people. Thought-provoking, user-friendly activity handouts will allow them to examine how they value diversity in professional and personal relationships.

Section 3 Intimacy

This section will help participants gauge how they are demonstrating physical, intellectual and emotional intimacy in their relationships. Thought-provoking, user-friendly activity handouts will help participants to further develop intimacy skills to deepen existing and future relationships.

Section 4 Interactions

This section will help participants explore their interactions with other people. Thought-provoking, user-friendly activity handouts will assist in accentuating styles of interacting to develop stronger relationships.

Section 5 Media

This section will help participants explore how they experience virtual (online, telephone) relationships and in-person relationships. Thought-provoking, user-friendly activity handouts will promote a healthy balance to meet all relationship needs.

Section 6 Caring

This section will help participants explore how they care about others and the ways they show this caring. Thought-provoking, user-friendly activity handouts promote altruism and caring about other people and societal needs.

Section 7 Support

This section helps participants explore their support systems. Thought-provoking, user-friendly activity handouts are provided to develop and use a healthy social support system with others.

All of the worksheets, assessments and activities are reproducible for your convenience.

About the Author

Ester R.A. Leutenberg has worked in the mental health field for many years as a publisher, author, and advocate for those suffering from loss. She personally experienced a devastating loss when her son Mitchell, after struggling with a mental illness for eight years, died by suicide in 1986. 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 their clients.

With Whole Person Associates, Ester has co-written several books and corresponding card decks including: GriefWork ~ Healing from Loss, Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Creating a Healthy Balanced Life, The Complete Caregiver Support Guide, Life Skills to Help Teens Balance Way Too Much, Motivation, and Veterans - Surviving and Thriving after Trauma, Transitional Life Skills for Teens series, and the Optimal Well-Being for Senior Adults series. Visit WholePerson.com for a complete list.

Ester, a breast cancer survivor since 2003, counsels other survivors in overcoming body and loss issues. Ester is a board member of SOS (Survivors of Suicide) in Tucson AZ.

John J. Liptak, EdD has many years of experience in providing counseling services to individuals and groups in a variety of settings including job training programs, correctional institutions, colleges, and universities. In addition, John has years of teaching experience as an adjunct professor at Radford University.

John frequently conducts workshops on assessment-related topics. He has written three books on career-related topics. His books have been featured in numerous newspapers including The Washington Post, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His work has also been featured on MSNBC, CNN Radio, and on the PAX/ION television series, Success without a College Degree.

With Ester and Kathy, he has written three other comprehensive books for teachers and counselors to use with their students and clients: The Self-Esteem Program, The Social Skills Program and The Stress Management Program: Inventories, Activities & Educational Handouts.

Ester and John continue to co-write workbooks and corresponding card decks in each of these series that help facilitators help their teen and adult participants: Coping, Erasing the Stigma of Mental Health Issues through Awareness, Working With Families, Mental Health & Life Skills, Mind-Body Wellness, and Teen Mental Health & Life Skills, all published by Whole Person Associates. Visit WholePerson.com for a complete list.