The Heart of Elderhood – Free Training with Hedy Schelifer and Paul Browde

There comes a season of life when the old measures no longer quite fit. Achievement, productivity, and identity begin to loosen, and deeper questions about meaning, mortality, purpose, and love come closer to the surface.

For many people, this threshold can feel both intimate and disorienting. And whether you are living it yourself or walking beside someone who is, it helps to have language, perspective, and grounded companionship for what is unfolding.

In this soulful conversation, Hedy Schleifer and Paul Browde bring decades of lived and professional wisdom to one of the most important passages of human life. They explore what it means to grow older with presence, and how elderhood can become a conscious, relational, and deeply human path.

If you have sensed that later life asks for more than coping skills alone, this conversation offers a wiser frame. It opens space for honesty, tenderness, and a fuller understanding of how aging can deepen our capacity to love, accompany, and live well.

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Why Attend “The Heart of Elderhood”

Aging brings questions that are rarely solved by technique alone, so this conversation meets the deeper territory directly. You will hear a more spacious way of understanding later life, one that honors grief, purpose, identity, and relationship without reducing elderhood to decline.

Hedy Schleifer and Paul Browde have each spent decades accompanying people through the inner and relational passages of life, which means they bring both professional depth and personal humanity to this subject. Their perspectives help you move beyond symptom management and into a fuller way of being present with what aging truly asks of us.

This event also offers a meaningful mirror for your own life, and then extends outward into how you care for others. Whether you are supporting clients, parents, partners, or yourself, you will leave with language and insight that make this season feel more navigable, more dignified, and more alive.

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What You’ll Learn About Aging Consciously

In this session, you’ll begin with a more humane and honest understanding of what elderhood can be, so the later chapters of life are not seen only through the lens of loss. You’ll hear how growing older can become a conscious process, which means you can meet this stage with more presence and less fear.

We’ll explore how loss, mortality, and change affect the inner life, and then look at what helps people stay connected through those realities. You will hear stories, reflections, and frameworks from two seasoned guides, so that the emotional and spiritual terrain of aging becomes easier to recognize and hold.

You’ll also come away with insight for real relationships and real conversations, so this is not just abstract inspiration. Whether you work with others or are living these questions yourself, you’ll leave with a clearer sense of how to accompany elderhood with tenderness, depth, and wisdom.

Here’s just a little bit of what you’ll learn:

• The difference between growing older and becoming an elder
• Why elderhood can be a psychological and spiritual achievement
• How loss and mortality can open deeper meaning and presence
• Ways to hold conversations about grief, purpose, and identity
• What helps people navigate the inner terrain of later life
• How your own aging shapes the way you support others
• Relational frameworks for accompanying elders with more depth
• How to move beyond a fix-it approach to aging
• What soulful accompaniment can look like in practice
• How to meet elderhood with more honesty, love, and courage

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Who This Conscious Aging Training Is For

This event is for professionals and non-professionals alike who feel called into a more conscious relationship with aging. You may support elders in a formal role, or you may simply know that this season of life deserves a deeper conversation than our culture usually offers.

It is also for anyone who senses that their own aging belongs in the room. If you want a richer language for elderhood, grief, mortality, purpose, love, and the changing shape of identity, this conversation will meet you with warmth and depth.

• Therapists, counselors, psychiatrists, and coaches working with elder clients
• Caregivers, partners, and family members supporting loved ones in later life
• Clergy, chaplains, spiritual directors, and end-of-life doulas
• Adults exploring their own aging with more honesty and intention
• Anyone seeking a wiser framework for the second half of life

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About Hedy Schleifer and Paul Browde

Hedy Schleifer is an internationally renowned master relationship builder and motivational speaker whose life’s work centers on helping people experience more alive and joyful connection. With 50 years of professional experience, she is the founder of Encounter-centered Transformation and has taught in dozens of countries around the world.

Speaking seven languages and working across cultures, Hedy brings a rare combination of relational intelligence, maturity, and deep humanity. Her work rests on the belief that world peace begins with the human family and is nurtured through strong, committed, and growing relationships of all kinds.

Paul Browde, MD, is a psychiatrist, storyteller, couples guide, and educator who integrates narrative and relational practices in mental health and personal growth. Trained in both medicine and acting, he has practiced psychiatry in Manhattan for more than 30 years and brings together Internal Family Systems, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness, and Coaching in his work.

As co-founder of Narativ Inc. and a former Columbia Narrative Medicine faculty member, Paul has taught storytelling methods to clinicians, organizations, and advocacy groups worldwide. Together, Hedy and Paul offer a grounded, compassionate, and deeply experienced conversation about what it means to age consciously and help others do the same.

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Reviews

“Hedy is 81, a master relationship builder with 50 years of professional experience and a global following.”

“Paul is a psychiatrist and storyteller who has practiced in Manhattan for over 30 years and co-teaches with Esther Perel.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does the event take place?

This free online event takes place on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026, at 9am Pacific Time, 12pm Eastern Time, and 5pm BST. After you register, you’ll receive the access details to join live.

Who are Hedy Schleifer and Paul Browde?

Hedy Schleifer is an internationally renowned master relationship builder with 50 years of professional experience. Paul Browde, MD, is a psychiatrist, storyteller, couples guide, and educator who has practiced psychiatry in Manhattan for over 30 years.

What will I learn during this event?

You’ll explore the difference between growing older and becoming an elder, how loss and mortality can open deeper meaning, and how to support yourself or others through the inner and relational terrain of later life.

What if I can’t attend live?

Registering is still worthwhile so you can secure your place and receive any follow-up details that are provided for attendees.

How long is the event?

Approximately 90 minutes.

Do I need any special equipment to participate?

No special equipment is required. You’ll just want a reliable internet connection and a device that lets you join comfortably.

Who is hosting the event?

This event is presented by the Academy of Therapy Wisdom.

Is this event suitable for professionals only?

No. While therapists, coaches, chaplains, and other helping professionals may find it especially relevant, the conversation is also for anyone drawn to a deeper understanding of aging and elderhood.

Is this event religious?

No. The event is spiritually aware and deeply human, but it is not tied to a particular religion or belief system.

Will there be an opportunity to go deeper after the event?

Yes. Events like this often open the door to further learning, and attendees may hear about additional ways to continue the journey with the teachers.

What can I expect to feel during the event?

Many people find this kind of conversation clarifying, moving, and reassuring. You may come away with a deeper sense of dignity, tenderness, and possibility around the later chapters of life.

Can I share this event with friends or colleagues?

Absolutely. This is a meaningful conversation for professionals, caregivers, loved ones, and anyone interested in conscious aging.

Is this event really free?

Yes. Registration for this live online conversation is free.

What is elderhood?

Elderhood is more than simply reaching a certain age. It points to a mature stage of life in which wisdom, perspective, presence, and deeper relational capacity can emerge through lived experience.

How is elderhood different from simply growing older?

Growing older is chronological, while elderhood speaks to how we inhabit that process. This event explores how aging can become a conscious, meaningful, and spiritually rich passage rather than only a biological fact.

Is this event for therapists and coaches who work with older adults?

Yes. If you work with elders and want a richer framework for conversations about grief, loss, purpose, mortality, and identity, this event is designed to support that deeper level of accompaniment.

Is this event for people navigating their own aging?

Yes. This conversation is also for those reflecting on their own later years and wanting a more conscious, life-giving perspective on what this stage can hold.

Will Hedy and Paul talk about grief, mortality, and loss?

Yes. These are central themes in the event, and they are explored as real parts of elderhood that can open deeper reflection, compassion, and meaning.

Will there be time for real conversation and reflection?

Yes. The event is framed as a live interactive conversation, and Hedy and Paul will open the floor for real dialogue about what is alive in your life and work.

Do I need clinical training to benefit from this event?

No. Clinical experience may deepen certain parts of the conversation, but the themes are human and widely relevant to anyone touched by aging, caregiving, relationship, or inner growth.

Why does conscious aging matter now?

Because many people reach the later chapters of life without a meaningful map. Conscious aging matters now because it helps us meet change, loss, purpose, and love with more honesty, wisdom, and connection.

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