Helping people to help themselves

Bride Doyle has a passion for helping others.

She spent more than 30 years as a school teacher and counsellor in both this province and Ontario.

Since retiring a decade ago, she has continued to write seminars and conduct private individual and group counselling sessions. As well, she's volunteered with various community organizations.

She is now reaching out to a larger audience with her first book, Quest for Happiness: Handling Difficult Relationships Using the FTA Approach.

FTA stands for feel, touch and think - a three-step method Ms. Doyle says she developed as she helped her clientele through unhappy relationships or situations.

"You have to look at your feelings first," says Ms. Doyle. "Once you see where you're going, you step back so you're able to get some grasp on your feelings and you're able to think logically and then you're able to look at making wise decisions."

The book is a combination of case studies, self-help exercises and relaxation techniques. Ms. Doyle also produced a CD, Quest for Happiness: Relaxation Techniques, to accompany the book.

"There are 12 chapters [in the book] and there are 12 selections on the CD," she says. "At the end of each chapter, there's a relaxation technique. I figured, 'How can you relax when you're reading something?' So it's better to sit and listen. That's why I did the CD."

Ms. Doyle says the idea for Quest for Happiness was in the back of her mind for the past five or six years,

"I was doing group work and other things, but then I said I better get this done," she says. "So, I took this year to do it. ... It had its struggles. You have your muses where you can sit down and write for hours, but there are times when you struggle with it. I have a lot of people acknowledged in the book that have helped me and I have a very good bibliography."

Now that Quest for Happiness is in print, Ms. Doyle has her sights on another book.

"I'm going to do a book of Newfoundland short stories," she says. "I have one written and it's actually based on ... Redlands, just off Job's Cove [Conception Bay], that's where my mother grew up."

The launch of Quest for Happiness takes place at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 9 at the Kindale Library. The book is also available at Arlim's in Stephenville; at Costco, Downhome and Coles in St. John's; and on Chapter's website. For more information about Ms. Doyle, visit www.harborofhappiness.com.