Leslie Gabriele

Leslie Gabriele earned her bachelor's and master’s degrees in psychology from CSU Chico and doctorate in psychology from Saybrook University. For her master’s thesis, she compared research for treating trauma, which led to training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and later Brainspotting, an offshoot of EMDR. Reducing the effects of trauma can offer welcome relief, yet she noticed a parallel need to strengthen a sense of stability and well-being. This led to her doctoral research: How to teach secure attachment skills to adults.

Hope for Relationships presents relational concepts intended to build skills associated with secure attachment. Using a conversational style, the questions and answers between the boy and a trusted friend speak to the innocence of the child within each one of us. The reader can visualize the boy's uncertainty about interacting with others and imagine how it would feel to hear the voice of a sensitive, empathic adult who understands and responds with support.

Hope for Relationships is the first in a three-part series followed by Peace in Relationships and Love in Relationships.