Proactive 12 Steps

Lee and Serge talk about how a conversation need not be stimulating. They discuss how paying attention to the slowing down of the voice and the body helps to find a soothing and relaxing rhythm of connection. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and […]

Serge and Lee discuss what makes conversation safe and spontaneous.  Then they realized that they were modeling the concepts.  This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years […]

Lee and Serge share their enjoyment of conversation and what it means to them. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and enjoys coaching people. Published October […]

Serge and Lee talk at length about how to handle the intense emotions that are triggered when we confront somebody about their dangerous behavior.   We talk about how focusing on the moment-by-moment experience makes us more present and effective. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist […]

Serge and Lee discuss what to do when we feel frazzled or overwhelmed.  We describe a simple way to take a mindful pause and feel present.  This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has […]

Lee and Serge talk about Lee's imagery of a Pendulum in codependency to describe shifting from being people-pleasing to intolerant and then eventually finding balance. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has […]

Serge and Lee talk about coming from self-absorption and moving into a place of noticing others.  Not as an exercise in being altruistic but as a way of life that actually feels better.  This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve […]

Serge and Lee talk about the moment-by-moment experience of sharing with someone who can relate to our situation.  This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and […]

Lee & Serge talk about the darkness of isolation and how important it is to share with another person.  This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years […]

Lee and Serge talk about how we can deal with things that we cannot control that result in unbearable loss and lasting consequences.  This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery […]

Lee and Serge talk about things that make them happy and reflect upon how connecting it feels to share with another person what brings you joy. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has […]

Serge and Lee discuss the nature of healing.  We talk about becoming aware of the patterns we have learned in order to adapt to our circumstances. We learn to pause. We are no longer compelled to identify with these patterns. Little by little a broader sense of who we are begins to emerge. This podcast features conversations […]

Lee & Serge explore spirituality as an experience, as opposed to an idea. We don't see spirituality as necessarily related to religion or any sort of dogma. In fact, we let go of the need to label it as spirituality at all. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: […]

We want to do things and we commit to them but then we discover the toll they can take on us. Serge and Lee explore this dilemma and how to deal with the trade-off between integrity, responsibility, self-care, and being true to yourself. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 […]

In this 13-minute conversation, we talk about prayer, and how it need not be religious. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and enjoys coaching people. […]

In this 7-minute conversation, we veer away from talking about problems and talk about when things go well. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and […]

In this 6-minute conversation, we talk about when things feel so bad that we'd rather not be present. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and […]

In this 4-minute conversation, we talk about feeling overwhelmed: “It's a lot.” This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and enjoys coaching people. Published February 2022

In this 15-minute conversation, we talk about why we need to pause, and how to do it. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and enjoys […]

In this 13-minute conversation, we talk about what it means to let go, and how we can do it. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years […]

In this 11-minute conversation, we talk about what we mean by recovery. This podcast features conversations about mindful recovery and personal growth, from 2 perspectives: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. Lee Renee McGinnis has been in recovery for 10 years and enjoys coaching people. Published January 2022

In this first episode (8 minutes) we talk about our vision for this podcast. Who we are: Serge Prengel is a therapist and the author of The Proactive Twelve Steps. He is the editor of this site (unless otherwise noted, he is the author of any article published here). Serge is a co-founder of the […]

Serenity, Courage & Wisdom (aka Serenity prayer).

Serenity, Courage & Wisdom (aka Serenity prayer).

Step 12: My life reflects a growing sense of respect and compassion for myself and others.

Step 12: My life reflects a growing sense of respect and compassion for myself and others.

Step 11: I keep facing reality mindfully, moment by moment, with a mindful pause.

Step 11: I keep facing reality mindfully, moment by moment, with a mindful pause.

Step 10: I keep paying attention to the causes and effects of my actions, and act accordingly.

Step 10: I keep paying attention to the causes and effects of my actions, and act accordingly.

Step 9: I apply these new mindful behaviors in my everyday life.

Step 9: I apply these new mindful behaviors in my everyday life.

Step 8: I explore alternative behaviors and rehearse them in safe settings.

Step 8: I explore alternative behaviors and rehearse them in safe settings.

Step 7: I learn to accept the sense of vulnerability that comes from facing what feels overwhelming.

Step 7: I learn to accept the sense of vulnerability that comes from facing what feels overwhelming.

Step 6: I I see how my behavior patterns have been ways of coping with what feels overwhelming.

Step 6: I I see how my behavior patterns have been ways of coping with what feels overwhelming.

What is the process of change in the Proactive 12 Steps? Transcript (edited for clarity): The core of the 12 steps program is the process of behavior change described in steps 4 through 10. There is a significant difference between the Proactive 12 Steps and the traditional 12 Steps. The original Steps approach this in […]

The process of change: Focus on behavior patterns vs defects of character

The process of change: Focus on behavior patterns vs defects of character

Step 5: I look at my behavior patterns with compassion, to understand the emotional logic behind them.

Step 5: I look at my behavior patterns with compassion, to understand the emotional logic behind them.

Step 4: I look at my life systematically, to see patterns in how I have been relating to people and situations.

Step 4: I look at my life systematically, to see patterns in how I have been relating to people and situations.

Step 3: To find myself, moment by moment, I take a mindful pause.

Step 3: To find myself, moment by moment, I take a mindful pause.

Step 2: To get unstuck, I need to find, in myself, a calm and open space.

Step 2: To get unstuck, I need to find, in myself, a calm and open space.

Step 1: There is a big difference between who I want to be and what I do. I am stuck in what I do.