Collector Care Interviews Organizing Expert Regina Lark - A Clear Path

In doing research on the upcoming 7th Annual NAPO Organizing Awards, I came across the name Regina Lark. Holy cow, what a remarkable human being. Just like the songbird, her name sang quietly in my head over the last month. How could I approach this amazing woman for my blog? What would I say? How would I do it?! 

The words came right to me when I was left with an extra ticket to the actual event. Knowing no one in the NAPO LA Chapter, that beautiful name sang once again "Reg-iiin-aaa". 

I decided I would reach out to Regina in hopes to find a good home for my ticket. One week away from the awards, on a Saturday afternoon, Regina responded immediately. What a relief! Besides being prompt upon her response, she was pleasant and kind, finding the perfect home for my ticket.

While I had her hooked, she kindly obliged to be featured on my blog ... but first a bit about Regina!

Regina Lark is founder and president of A Clear Path: Professional Organizing for Home, Work, Life. 

Regina Lark, Ph.D., CPO®

As a Certified Professional Organizer she specializes in working with people with chronic disorganization, ADHD, and hoarding disorders, as well as the folks with way too much stuff!

She chairs the Education Committee for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and serves as Professional Development Director for NAPO-LA.  

Dr. Lark is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on issues ranging from hoarding to time management. Her book, Psychic Debris and Crowded Closets: The Relationship between the Stuff in your Head and What's Under your Bed is due out February 2013.

Collector Care Interviews Organizing Expert Regina Lark - A Clear Path

Rachel: What is your favorite thing about working with people with chronic disorganization?
Regina: What I enjoy most about working with the chronically disorganized is helping clients believe that change is possible.
A lot of my CD clients are women with ADHD. They have fallen victim to the "super mom" or "super woman" myth of what it means to be female in the U.S. As a result, really smart, well-educated, successful women are shamed, embarrassed and bewildered by the fact that they have a really hard time getting it together at home. I get a lot of pleasure "meeting people where they live" so I can come up with systems to organize for their brain type (and not mine!).

Rachel: What is your ideal client?

Regina: My ideal is client is the person ready to commit to making big changes in their lives -both behaviorally and cognitively. I want to help them picture their ideal life so we can get there together. My ideal client is also working with a therapist who is knowledgeable about CD, or least understands the relationship between how one thinks about their "stuff" versus their relationship with their stuff.

Rachel: Can you tell me a little bit about testing for ADHD and ADD? Some of my clients are concerned that they may suffer from one of these, how can they find out?

Regina: The only way an adult or child can learn if they have ADHD (see note about ADHD below) is by testing with a mental health professional who can assess, through a series of in-depth questions about time-management and relationships (with people, stuff, environment). It's a relatively simple process. Knowledge is power, for sure, but what one does with the knowledge is where the power really comes into play. The acronym ADHD is the what is used for the diagnosis, not ADD (which became the 'short-hand' over time).  The official diagnosis is Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with Hyperactivity or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder without Hyperactivity.

Rachel: What do you do to relax after a long job?

Regina: Oh jeez... I'm such a type-A personality (without the high blood-pressure!) so after a long day in clutter I can usually be found at my desk creating the next workshop or tele-seminar. I love marketing and I'm usually networking at least 3-4x/week.

Rachel: What hobbies do you enjoy?

Regina: I happened to be born with a good singing voice and sang tenor with a chorus for a few years. Now I'm learning how to country-western dance. Working out at Curves, and riding my bike to the beach are also fun and good for my overall emotional and physical well-being. And, while not really a "hobby" - I journal every morning about, well, everything!

Rachel: Local knowledge - What are your 3 favorite restaurants in LA?

Regina: Gaby's Mediterranean Cafe; Kabuki Sushi, Maria's Italian Kitchen

More fun facts about Regina!

Regina ran for the office of Lt. Governor in California in 1998, and she earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern California. Her doctoral research will be published this winter. For fun, she teaches U.S. History at Los Angeles Pierce College.

For more information, visit her website: http://www.AClearPath.net

Regina Lark, Ph.D., CEO

A Clear Path: Professional Organizing for Home, Work, Life

PO Box 241941 Los Angeles, CA 90024

	Watch Dr. Regina Lark on A&E's Emmy nominated show "Hoarders" - Select episode 44 - Billy Bob/Jean

Rachel Seavey, Professional Organizer
I am located in Pleasanton Ca, and serve the San Francisco Bay Area.I specialize in Hoarding Disorder, Chronic Disorganization and helping the overwhelmed with clutter. I love what I do, and I provide realistic expectations and timelines. Don't suffer in chaos any  more. Every breath is a new beginning! Please visit my site at www.collectorcare.com
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