Renée Schultz

Co-author of THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER PROJECT and Marriage & Family Therapist

Photo of Renée Schultz

Biography

Bringing women together to talk about what matters most in their lives has been Renée’s lifelong passion.

Since she was a young woman, Renée has been instrumental in creating communities where women can speak honestly and learn from each others’ experiences. This interest led her to the counseli …

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Bringing women together to talk about what matters most in their lives has been Renée’s lifelong passion.

Since she was a young woman, Renée has been instrumental in creating communities where women can speak honestly and learn from each others’ experiences. This interest led her to the counseling profession where she has stayed enlivened and intrigued by women’s issues and the power of relationships. A marriage and family therapist for over thirty years, Renée continues to facilitate groups and workshops on a variety of topics significant in women’s and couples’ lives. She has given professional and lay presentations on women’s issues, most recently on the mother-daughter relationship, both nationally and internationally.

With SuEllen Hamkins, Renée Schultz has co-authored THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER PROJECT: How Mothers and Daughters Can Band Together, Beat the Odds, and Thrive Through Adolescence, a book detailing their pioneering model for strengthening bonds between mothers and their daughters.

Renée herself is the mother of two children, now both young adults. When her son was born with profound medical needs (including Down Syndrome), she quickly became aware that the challenges of motherhood were best met by having an equally dedicated husband and a community of supportive friends, particularly other mothers. The awareness of the importance of having an involved community crystallized when her daughter was seven and Renée began talking with other mothers about girls, adolescence, and their own personal journeys into womanhood. Those early talks lead to the formation of The Mother-Daughter Project.

Renée has spent the past twenty-plus years juggling work as a psychotherapist in private practice, mothering, writing, nurturing her marriage and friendships, and squeezing in much needed moments of play. Her love of hiking, cross-country skiing, and writing have provided steady sustenance. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband, artist Ron Baer. She’s currently working on several writing projects, including a memoir.

Visit SuEllen Hamkins’ web page at www.penguinspeakersbureau.com/speaker/170.

Photo by Janine Norton
 
Speaking Topics
  • The Mother-Daughter Project
    How mothers and daughters can band together, beat the odds, and thrive through adolescence, and the story of Renée’s and SuEllen’s groundbreaking model and why it is changing mother-daughter relationships around the world.
  • Gracefully Surviving “Dear Mom, I Hate You”
    Compassionate, powerful and practical ways to nurture yourself, your daughter and your relationship through the rough patches of adolescence.
  • Strengthening the Voice of Our Own Desire: Celebrating Women’s Sexuality
    Still missing from most curriculum, desire fuels our sexuality yet often goes unacknowledged as we prepare our daughters for adulthood.
  • Nurturing Our Marriages While Parenting A Child With Special Needs
    Happily married for over twenty-five years, mother of a son with multiple cognitive and physical challenges and her spirited younger daughter, Renée speaks from her personal experience and professional experience in working with hundreds of couples. Love your kids, love your spouse, and love yourself – the balancing act.
  • Women’s Studies: De-Constructing the Mother-Daughter Relationship
    Despite current research, the myth of the inherent need for mother-daughter separation still prevails. From the research, we identify a new model of individuation and mutuality in the mother-daughter relationship that supports mothers and their daughters.
  • Commonalities in Women’s Generational Histories
    Knowledge of the challenges previous generations of women had is a powerful tool for increasing our compassion for our mothers and ourselves.
  • Writing as a Tool for Healing

Featured Book

Featured book's cover THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER PROJECT "A thoroughly realistic roadmap for sustaining mother-daughter relationships in a culture that seems determined to undermine them."—Meredith Michaels, co-author of THE MOMMY MYTH: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined All Women Buy Books now!
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