Dr. Dolores Rodríguez-Reimann:  As a co-founder of LifeWalk, I am very excited to share our comprehensive healthy lifestyle system with you.  But before I do, let me talk to you a little about how I came to help develop this important program.  I have worked with people in a great variety of counseling settings, both in California and Texas, for over 20 years. During this time I have held positions such as Director of the Women’s Resource Center for the YWCA in El Paso, Texas and Executive Director for the Latino Health Partnership in San Diego, California. For the last several years I have also been President of Professional & Personal Excellence International (PPEI) a clinical and consulting company I run with my husband Joachim. After my husband and I moved from Texas to San Diego in 1990 I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with special emphasis in Behavioral Medicine and Health Psychology in 1996. In addition to the doctorate, I hold two Master’s degrees (in Psychology and Counseling Services) and am a licensed psychologist in California.

Beyond my clinical and counseling work, I have also developed and lead health promotion and disease prevention research at San Diego State University’s Center for Behavioral and Community Health Studies in the Graduate School of Public Health.  My work in this process has been supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (USDHHS-OMH), the California Endowment, and other organizations. 

LifeWalk’s development has thus drawn on both my practical counseling and academic research experience. But, perhaps most importantly, it also incorporates lessons from my personal life. Over the years I, as many of us, have experienced the very personal costs of chronic illness. This has included loosing members of my immediate family to heart disease, stroke, and the slow advance of diabetes. Finally, I have struggled with weight for most of my life.  From the age of 11 to about three years ago I have undergone weight gain, starvation diets, gadgets and pills, and tried what feels like every diet program ever been invented.  While I have professionally known the benefits of proper nutrition and physical activity, it was not until I was faced with the real risk of chronic illness that I decided it was time to make needed changes in my life.  After making those changes I now live a happier and fuller life.  Friends, relatives and yes my patients ask me “What was the secret”?  I am happy to tell them “No secret, just change, commitment, and one step at a time.” But I also know that such change requires help from others. LifeWalk is no easy quick fix. But it is designed to give professional and caring support and guidance as people make changes that lead to a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Dr. Ann Carson:  I began my career as a registered nurse, pediatric nurse practitioner and school nurse working primarily with families and children.  I taught for many years in the School of Nursing at San Diego State University (SDSU) and worked with families through the Department of Public Health for San Diego County.  During those years, I counseled many women and children regarding nutrition and weight control.  In my practice as a psychologist over the past 15 years, I have worked with many men and women with severe health problems, some as a result of obesity.  I have facilitated groups that focus on weight management and making wise food choices.  As a result of these many and varied experiences, I came to the conclusion that good mental and physical health rests on how we use our bodies and what we put into them.  LifeWalk, to me, combines all the elements that I have learned help people change and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The treatment of addictions is an area in which I have gained much experience and have additional certification through the American Psychological Association’s College of Professional Psychology.  I have seen addictions to alcohol, every sort of drug—legal and illegal, gambling, shopping, and eating.  I know that many people become addicted to whatever the substance or practice as a way of self-medicating or treating their emotional distress.  A successful lifestyle change requires recognition of this behavioral pattern and finding other ways to manage stress and painful emotions. 

Another part of this is seeing our patterns of codependency, an area of research for me.  I looked at associations between codependent behaviors and a history of child abuse and current depression.  I have published in the journals Depression, International Journal of the Addictions, and Children’s Health Care.  For 3 years, I worked for Project IINTACT at SDSU as their Health Services Coordinator.  In that project we worked with high risk families with children who had developmental concerns.  This involved training others in a paraprofessional role and identifying strategies to enhance the functioning of these families.  

Personally, I have always struggled with my weight.  I have implemented a regular exercise program over the past 10 years and tried different approaches to food choice.  I still struggle with making the right choices and being aware of why I choose to eat certain foods at different times.  Much of one’s success rests on having the right support and knowledge.

Dr. Joachim (Joe) Reimann: The diet and exercise industry is a huge business. Yet as a licensed psychologist and public health scientist I believe that many programs make unrealistic promises, are not grounded in the best research, or use methods leading to temporary rather than long-lasting results. As a LifeWalk co-founder, my efforts have been to help create a system that overcomes these shortfalls. A little of my background may describe why and how I contribute to LifeWalk’s team. 

Over the last ten years I have been a researcher at San Diego State University’s Graduate School of Public Health. In this process I work on original studies in health promotion and chronic disease prevention and have authored or co-authored articles in such journals as Diabetes Care, Social Science & Medicine, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and The Diabetes Educator. These studies have been supported by the US Office of Minority Health, California’s Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, the California Endowment, the National Center for Minority Health Disparities, and other sources. Thus I do not just read about, but actively work on the cutting edge of health promotion.

At the same time, I have conducted some type of counseling or clinical work for almost thirty years. My career in this area started with a counseling position at the City of El Paso’s Department of Human Development, Youth Assistance Program in 1978. It continues today in my position as Vice President and psychologist at Professional & Personal Excellence International, a practice I conduct with my wife, Dolores. I am a licensed psychologist (California) and a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and hold a Ph.D. in clinical psychology as well as two Masters Degrees (in general and educational psychology).

My research career has taught me that health promotion efforts must be grounded in the best scientific knowledge. My counseling work has taught me that such knowledge only has value if it is accessible to the people who need it. In my view LifeWalk accomplishes both. It is a path to real and achievable personal change rather than a promise of quick-fix gimmicks.