You may be wondering about me. Who am I? What qualifies me to do this work? What experience do I have? Why would (or should) you want to work with me?
First off: My given name is Mary Elaine Kiener. I like using my full name. There are, after all, LOTS of Mary’s in this world, and not so many Mary Elaine’s. So, it sets me apart. Plus, my mom’s name is Elaine, and since we’ve gotten to be rather good friends as we’ve grown together in age and wisdom, I like the opportunity to honor her influence in my life. However, I also appreciate that having to repeatedly say “Mary Elaine” doesn’t always trip lightly over the tongue (what with glottal stops and all!). So, I’m happy to answer to Mary Elaine, Mary, and even the occasional (and whimsical) “ME.”
For those of you who prefer to start with relevant credentials, here they are:
- I am a Registered Nurse (actually a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Marquette University in 1973)
- I earned my PhD degree in Urban Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1983. My scholarly focus has been in adult and continuing education, especially related to facilitating change.
- In 2006, I gained certification as a Holistic Stress Management Instructor from Brian Luke Seaward and became an authorized facilitator of Laura Berman Fortgang’s Now What Life Blueprint™ Coaching Program.
- Also, in 2006, I became a certified Wellness Inventory facilitator, followed in 2008 by certification as a Wellness Inventory Coach.
On a more personal side, I remained single until age 41, when I married Alex. Then, widowed at age 55. No “birth” children, but lovely sets of step-children, step-grandchildren and god-children.
Born in 1950, I have lived what one friend described as an “enormity” of a life. Not necessarily “major” losses (in and of themselves), but enough number and variety to take their toll when added all together–especially when I wasn’t “paying attention” and before I had learned to deal with them.
My mom would probably tell you that I “like to live life on the edge.” (At least, that’s what she told me once!). She also says I am “supposed to be a teacher, ’cause I read so much.” On the other hand, my oldest brother once marveled at how I somehow “always manage to cultivate roses when when I’m buried in a manure pile.” (By the way, I was the youngest child–and only girl with three older brothers–so that probably explains a lot right there.)
My husband, Alex and I shared a love for singing and acting. [See photo from our work together in The Crucible.] For him, it was a great social outlet. I am (by nature) someone who tends to “dig a little deeper” into things. So, I’ve had a lot of musical training (both piano and vocal) and even immersed myself within a method acting workshop for nearly a decade. I haven’t done live theatre lately, but I usually still find a way to integrate some aspect of expressive arts into my work.
During college (1968-73), I intuitively gravitated toward early expressions of wellness and holistic philosophies of care. However, during the first 20 years of my professional career, I found myself increasingly bewildered and frustrated as I tried to find my voice within the jungle of disease-focused allopathic health care traditions. 
By my early 40’s, stressors in my personal and professional lives collided, culminating in a fairly major health “meltdown” in 1993-94. [In this photo, I'm in costume for a role as an 80-something woman. Although my chronological age was actually 40 at the time, I believe my overall health status (inner age) more closely resembled the character I played.]
During the ensuing healing journey back to (and through) through my roots, by the late 90’s, I began to discover and plant the seeds of what eventually became stresswell™. Beginning in the summer of 2001, I began to focus increasing amounts of time, energy and attention on helping Alex through his experience of terminal illness.
Througout the first two years following Alex’s death in April 2005, I devoted much of my energy and focus in utilizing the emerging stressWELL™ process as part of my own healing journey. Over time, stresswell™ has become a welcoming template for how I live my life.
Are you ready to introduce stressWELL™ into your own life? Here are some options:
- If you’re ready to start, I’d recommend the Stresswell™ Appraisal.
- Have a specific question you’d like to ask me? Contact me here.
- Not sure yet? If you haven’t tried this yet, the Sympathetic Stress Assessment: A Saliva pH Challenge Test is a simple 5-minute test of your body’s response to stress.
- You can also check out my blog. I call it “Stresswell™ Snippets.” It’s a great way to get acquainted with me and stresswell™.
- Not sure whether stresswell™ is right for you? Click on Is this you? to find out more.