Date & time
Thursday, May 28, 2026
12 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
12 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Workshops & seminars
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Flourishing Metaphors and Presence
Speaker(s)
Lyssa deHart
Cost
Free to attend - Donations welcome
Website
Contact
Where
Online
How often do you stop and listen to the words you use to describe your own life?
We all live inside stories: some we chose, others we inherited, and many we wrote in survival mode without realizing it. These stories show up not in grand declarations but in the quiet metaphors of everyday speech: the walls we hit, the weight we carry, the paths we can't find.
Far from being mere figures of speech, neuroscience shows that these metaphors are neurological signposts, they reflect how the brain makes meaning of experience and quietly shape our identity, emotions, and sense of what's possible. If that's true, then learning to hear your own metaphors is one of the most powerful things you can do for your life.
Author of StoryJacking and Light Up: The Science of Coaching with Metaphors, Lyssa deHart is a Master Certified Coach and clinical social worker with over 25,000 hours of deep listening. In this session, she draws on neuroscience, narrative psychology, and decades of practice to show how the language you use every day scripts your choices and relationships in ways you don't see.
You'll learn to slow down and notice the metaphors running beneath your everyday speech, and discover how shifting even one image can change how you feel, what you believe is possible, and how you relate to the people around you. You'll leave with practical tools to catch the stories you're telling yourself, rewrite the ones that no longer serve you, and embrace the lifelong journey of crafting a story worth living.
Meet the speaker - Lyssa deHart
Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCC, EMCC, is the author of StoryJacking: Change Your Dialogue, Transform Your Life, the Reflective Coach, Light Up: the Science of Coaching with Metaphors, and Stick Outcomes: at the Intersection of Coaching, Neuroscience, & Lasting Impact. She is the host of the Coaching Studio Podcast, a Confidence Coach, a Certified Mentor Coach, a Coaching SUPERVision Partner, an ICF Assessor, and last but not least, a coach educator. Lyssa leverages her knowledge in ICF Core Competencies and neuroscience to help professional coaches enhance their client outcomes by deeply listening, being client-led, and, ultimately, empowering their clients through partnership. In 2018 Lyssa began developing the Power of Metaphor Certification Program. This program trains coaches to tune their ears and leverage their clients' metaphors. In 2022, Lyssa developed the Updated Credentialing Exam PREP, a resource that has helped over 7,500 coaches prepare for the updated ICF Exam. In all her work, Lyssa is committed to improving the coaching community by enhancing the quality and impact of the coach-client relationship.
To find out more about Lyssa's work, visit her website: https://LyssadeHart.com
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In a time marked by growing mental health pressures, uncertainty about the future of work, and increasing polarization, the Center for Human Flourishing lecture series equips students, faculty, staff, and community members with research-informed tools to move beyond coping toward flourishing.
Your support helps translate wellbeing and health science into practical learning, strengthen trust and belonging, and position Concordia as a leader in nurturing resilient, engaged communities.