LIFE Seminars offers in-depth, thought provoking courses that are life changing. Our goal is to empower parents and professionals, through our educational courses, workshops, books, and articles.
These courses cover all age groups and take a meaningful, conscious approach to family dynamics as a whole. LIFE Seminars was written by child psychologist, Dr. Alison Miller. The LIFE courses were researched in a longitudinal study in 1991 for effectiveness in improving family dynamics and children's development. Dr. Allison Rees has taught the LIFE courses since 1993, adding to the material with practical examples and personal experience while raising her own children.
Dr. Allison Rees has been teaching LIFE Seminars courses, counselling families, and training other professionals since 1993. She co-hosted a weekly radio show for twelve years, covering the LIFE material and interviewing many other educators in her field.
She is the co-author of two parenting books and countless audio books on parenting, intimate relationships, running and managing educational groups and personal development.
"I took the original LIFE Seminars when my son was three years old and my daughter was six months. They were so different from one another, both spicy in their own way. I took the courses because I wanted answers and some reassurance to know I wasn't messing my kids up.
Taking LIFE Seminars was an eye opening, life changing experience, and I had no idea it would become such a huge part of my life. I learned with relief that while some behaviours were challenging they were normal for my child. There was nothing wrong with me or my parenting. I learned about boundaries, communication, temperament and so much more that stopped me from pursuing ineffective strategies.
The LIFE material applied to every stage of my children's development, and mine, and still applies now that they are adults!
Now as a grandmother, I see with fresh eyes and I feel renewed. I love and appreciate how my daughter navigates these early years with her children. I am also reminded of how challenging all of it can be.
I enjoy a warm friendship with both my son and daughter and their amazing partners. I was raised in Victoria and have been committed to serving this community. Now, my work can expand beyond and I am happy to share with more communities around the world."
We provide quality, researched, course content which profoundly impacts people's family dynamics. We are experienced clinicians with a history of working with families and professionals.
The larger parenting courses: Sidestepping the Power Struggle and The Parent Child Connection teach parents the A to Z’s about parenting and working with children of all ages.
It is recommended that parents take both the courses regardless of which one you take first.
Mad Love is a couple’s course that invites adults in committed relationships to go deeper.
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to use communication skills when you get triggered? Where do those triggers come from? What are the typical patterns we get into that harm the relationship? How do you protect your “Couple Bubble” when you have a busy life?
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Holli and I have been attending Life Seminars courses for many years now. Every time through the material, new learning occurs as the depth of the course information opens up to us through the foundation of our understanding. Allison's mastery of this material, humble delivery, and innate sense of humor are what make the Life Seminars what they are,....... life-changing.
Holli and I are part of a blended family, where we co-parent our daughter with another couple and also have a daughter of our own. All 4 of us have taken Life Seminars together and this has allowed us to find our way to the same page while raising our daughters, removing roadblocks and barricades that once stood between us from living in alignment with our parenting goals, strategies, and values. While daily struggles will always be a part of life, we now have the relational foundation that we know we will always be able to get back to a place of resolution and repair, allowing us to continually build strength in our relationship and parenting.
Finding alignment and common ground on which we parent, has allowed our personal relationship to grow and flourish as well. The Mad Love course moves beyond this to help develop an understanding of each other and the way we navigate the world, creating awareness of each other's inherent characteristics, ways of communicating, and the barriers that we create that can inhibit this connection. The course teaches us how to speak up for our needs and establish our boundaries allowing us to become our best selves and our best us. It is with such gratitude that we thank Allison for her unwavering and relentless pursuits and teaching in the field of family relationships and the impact that she has had on our lives.
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Dr. Allison Rees is an outstanding speaker and workshop facilitator! Whether presenting to my teaching staff, parent community, or couples workshops, Allison has an exceptional way of weaving theoretical frameworks with real-life (and entertaining!) stories so that participants are thoroughly engaged, laughing, and learning, leaving her presentations and workshops with new insights, a sense of hope, and tangible interpersonal strategies to apply in their family and/or workplace!
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In 2017 I was fortunate enough to enroll in a LIFE Seminars course, having seen Allison for some private sessions. I was struggling as a parent, not showing up for my kids the way I wanted to, often feeling scared of what came out of my mouth when I was dysregulated.
LIFE Seminars changed my parenting, and my life, so profoundly that I am forever grateful to Allison for the heart and wisdom that she brings to her teaching. I was able to see how I had been stuck in the old pattern of the family system I grew up in and, more importantly, I was able to see what the healthy alternative was. Now, I feel more connected to my kids, and to myself.
Since taking Allison's courses I have gone on to assist her with the courses, I have become a Relationship Coach, and I have started my own parenting course "The Fatherhood Compass" which is aimed at supporting fathers on their parenting journey.
The material in LIFE seminars is extensive and transformative, and Allison's passion for the work means that she is always shaping and deepening her course based on her own lived experience as a parent, and now, as a grandparent. I would recommend LIFE seminars to everyone interacting with kids, and for those looking to understand and nurture their own inner child.
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While parenting is one of the most amazing gifts, it can also feel really hard at times. With no “manual” that speaks to the uniqueness of our children or our lives, we are left to sort through an overwhelming amount of parenting resources. The LIFE Seminars material streamlines evolving research and expertise and serves it in manageable bites and in multiple formats, making it easier to access, understand, and integrate. Allison’s extensive experience presenting, counselling, coaching, and doing research in the field allows her to weave in countless real-life examples throughout her warm and down-to-earth approach to teaching.
While I initially pursued Allison’s courses to gather some tools and guidelines for parenting, I have taken away so much more. In addition to learning more about the children I’m parenting, I have learned a lot about myself and where my tendencies (e.g., holding the bar too high) can get in the way of connection and growth. I am also more curious about what triggers me and can surface and communicate what matters most in much healthier ways. While parenting still feels really hard at times, and I definitely have my moments, I believe that my approach, perspective, and recovery when I slip up are moving in a positive direction.
Having attended Allison’s courses for a couple of years now, I have increasingly found that carving out time to show up for class is really a positive investment in how I show up for my family. Feeling aligned with this rich material, which spans wide and deep, I asked to volunteer with Allison so that I could continue my learning and further complement my ongoing studies in counselling. Ultimately, I believe we all seek to build and maintain healthy connections with our children and loved ones especially, and for me, my involvement with LIFE Seminars has really been about achieving that. Thank you Allison
