Meet Dr. Denise Berard of Succeed With Integrity in Haverhill

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Denise Berard.

Dr. Berard, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I honestly can’t remember a time in my life when children were not my main focus and passion. My sister and I married brothers and lived side by side for many years. She had 6 natural children and adopted 6 more. I had 4 children and cared for an additional 11 neighbors’ kids 5 days a week. Together we had 27 children in our adjoining backyards. Five of the children she adopted had been through more than any child should have to endure; another of my sister’s adopted children was challenged and was bullied for many years. From very early on, I felt first hand, the pain that so many children have to endure and the challenges they face just trying to exist in a world that can often be very unfair.

The kids grew up; I joined The Success Clinic of America, and within a year, become CEO. Together with the founder, Noah St. John, we co-wrote a series of four Afformations books. (An Afformation is a simple technique using empowering questions – not statements – that create life-changing results!) The original book, The Great Little Book of Afformations, quickly became an Amazon bestseller. We went on to create a teaching and coaching company, just north of Boston, which soon became highly successful. Our clients included Mary Kay, PGA, Parker College of Chiropractic, and Melaleuca, just to name a few.

Though I totally enjoyed writing, producing exciting products and teaching worldwide, (my favorite seminar was on a cruise ship speaking to approx. 3,000 Japanese and Australian executives – So fun!), I decided it was time I left The Success Clinic to complete my doctorate in Pastoral Psychology and return to my heart’s calling – helping kids!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I guess I have always known that, somehow, I had to make a difference in kid’s lives everywhere. When it became apparent that focusing on student’s issues was not an avenue the founder of The Success Clinic felt comfortable with, I knew I had to break away, at least in part, from the business I loved and had worked so hard to build, to follow my true passion. Though I knew that, financially, it would mean starting back at square one, it was a no-brainer.

As the founder of Succeed With Integrity, I am now able to focus on my true life’s passion – working with kids to help them enjoy a happy and safe childhood and a satisfying, productive young adult life. I am very proud of my first book for students, The Great Little Student’s Book of Power Questions , which is a continuation in my Afformations Series and deals with issues faced by today’s youth – with the main focus on ending Bullying!

So, I am now faced with the opportunity and challenge to take this powerful little book and it’s urgent teaching from where it is now, and get it into the hands of every student around the world. Now that’s an opportunity that I find both extremely exciting and, frankly, quite overwhelming.

I have been working diligently on a plan to make this happen, and am well on my way. I’m convinced that the best teachers to teach students are the students themselves. Kids just simply learn best from kids. And, today, they can make anything go viral in literally seconds – whether it’s sending a message of hate and bullying or spreading a solution to the problem. I choose the latter!

The biggest challenge I’m facing is one that hadn’t been an issue in my years of teaching corporate America. Most corporations spend thousands and even millions on professional training for their employees. Many generous, forward-thinking corporations donate large sums of money to existing, large anti-bullying organizations to raise awareness of the bullying problem, but it is difficult to convince corporations to invest in a company that actually has a solution to the bullying problem – one that is taught to students by students. Giving kids the tools they need to teach other kids is an unconventional concept, but one I have no doubt will be the answer to the bullying epidemic and will ultimately save countless lives.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Succeed With Integrity – what should we know?
Succeed With Integrity is a woman-owned teaching and consulting firm located just north of Boston. The past 15+ years have been filled with great success, exciting travel, wonderful people and amazing results. My greatest satisfaction has always come from reading the heartfelt testimonials of my clients after completing one of my courses or workshops; and, now I’m enjoying bringing that same feeling of joy and excitement to students.

I’ve been working for the past few years assessing the bullying situation, and I have felt for a long time that there was a missing piece in every program I reviewed, and that piece is the bully himself.

Much time and effort have gone into bully awareness; anti-bullying rallies, races, wristbands, posters, T-shirts, self-defense instruction, stricter enforcement, harsher punishment, etc. While I’m sure some good has come of these, most of these movements separate the bully from the victim, the “good kids” from the “bad kids”. Many of these methods only serve to give the bully the attention he craves but do little to reduce incidences of bullying.

I believe most (though not all) bullies are really just kids who are hurting so badly that they have to release their hurt and pain, so they hurt other kids. I think we have to reach out to them as well – and at the same time protect the victim. It’s high time we stop simply focusing on just “what” the bully is doing and concentrate on “why” he’s doing it. So much of what is currently being done, (i.e. rallies, posters, etc.) only gives more negative attention to the bullies. We are basically providing them with free advertising which is increasing the attention they receive. To a child who is lost, suffering, feeling alone in the world, ANY attention is better than none. We are actually feeding them and increasing their power. Incidences of bullying and cyberbullying have not dropped – they have risen! We keep spending time, energy and money putting out fires when we need to figure out the reason they are being set in the first place.

First and foremost, the victims have to be protected; and the beauty of my system is that it creates instant protection. What makes this system so unique and powerful is that it works equally well for cyber-bullying, and can be taught to children, by children, in minutes – literally!

Because I know how much kids love music, I have written an original song that contains the technique for how to end bullying forever. Together with Tim Kehoe, a recognized song artist, his talented young daughter Alyssa, and their music producer, Brendan Brady, we re-worked the lyrics, set it to music, and have come up with something I believe is really special. You can check it out on my website or on YouTube as, “Anti-bullying Challenge Song”.

What makes this method so unique?

• It immediately protects the victim.
• It instantly creates a network of intervention for the victim.
• It diffuses the bully’s power without destroying the student himself.
• It creates support for the victim.
• It gives the bully a path to turn his/her life around. (most bullies are troubled kids who need help, too!)
• It doesn’t separate the “good kids” from the “bad kids.”
• It works equally well for Cyber-Bullying – also creating an intervention.
• It doesn’t give the bully the negative attention he craves, or a negative identity he can’t shake.
• It literally takes minutes to learn and can be taught to students by students.
• All it requires is a little common sense and a willingness to do something different.
• It works – and It’s Fun!

I am currently issuing an anti-bullying challenge to schools, clubs, organizations and concerned parents everywhere. The song contains the technique that students need to know to stop the bully problem – and kids learn best from kids. I am challenging students to post their own version of this song to YouTube and asking that the schools or other groups support the students’ efforts by offering a prize to their student or students who receive the most “likes” within a given period.

I am completely convinced this method will go viral and have an instant, enormous impact on the bully situation. Students will be teaching each other through song! The method incorporates everything students enjoy – music, social media, competition, prizes and the greatest reward of all – an end to bullying! Putting an end to bullying will become the cool, fun thing to do! Information on how to participate in the challenge can be found on my website at SucceedWithIntegrity.com.

In addition to bullying and social media issues, The Great Little Students Book of Power Questions contains so much life information that I truly believe kids need to read. There are life lessons that many kids simply aren’t being taught. Lessons like responsibility, respect for parents and siblings, honesty, faith, confidence, self-respect, the negative effects of an entitlement attitude and so much more, should be part of every student’s curriculum. Very simply put, without them, reading, writing and arithmetic can only get you so far. As anyone knows, a truly successful life can only be achieved with good ethics as the foundation. It is imperative that every student be afforded these vital teachings.

I am currently looking for caring, forward-thinking individuals and corporations who share my vision of a safe, inclusive environment in which students can truly thrive, to join me and invest in this important mission. Together we can empower students to not only protect themselves, but also to help the bully find a way out of his/her own pain and frustration. Because, when you really think about it, aren’t both victims and bullies really just some parent’s kid screaming for a way out of the hurt and pain they feel?

Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
I am excited and energized that we can now take action to stop this trend that has, until now, been growing with no decline in sight. We can finally open our eyes to the REAL problem at hand and try something different. The bully problem is enormous and touches nearly every student (perhaps even your child or grandchild) at one time or another, as the following statistics prove.

Bullying Statistics

•  1 out of 4 teens are Bullied.
• 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment at school and online.
• 8% of students stay home on any given day because they’re afraid of being bullied.
• 1 out of 5 kids admits to being a bully, or doing some “Bullying.”
• 43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school.
• A poll of teens ages 12-17 proved that they think violence increased at their schools.
• 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
• More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to school.
•  80% of the time, an argument with a bully will end up in a physical fight.
• 1/3 of students surveyed said they heard another student threaten to kill someone.
•  2 out of 3 say they know how to make a bomb, or know where to get the information to do it.
• Playground statistics: Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. How often does intervention occur? Adult intervention- 4%. Peer intervention – 11%. No intervention – 85%.

Cyber Bullying Statistics

• Depending on the age group, up to 43% of students have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once.
• 35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more than once.
• 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages.
• 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once.
• 53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more than once.
• 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online.

I’m sure you’ll agree these numbers are staggering! In addition to the emotional, psychological and physical cost to the students involved, there is an actual dollar value attached when bullying leads to truancy, as it does each and every day. AllGov, CA states: “The state Attorney General’s office says a year’s truancy costs school districts $1.4 billion in lost compensation for low attendance rates, but that is only a fraction of the $46.4 billion bill from incarceration expenses and lost economic productivity related to student dropouts.”

Funding is urgently needed to purchase more books to be distributed to schools and community groups to provide students with the tools they need to begin the fight to end bullying. In addition, more visibility and awareness of the anti-bullying challenge through printed material, social media or any form of advertising would spread the word exponentially and begin the healing process today. If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in becoming part of the actual solution to the problem and helping get the anti-bullying challenge out there to every student everywhere, please contact us at SucceedWithIntegrity.com.

I have an ultimate vision to see schools completely bully-free, to have all kids feel safe and happy to go to school and for every child to feel loved and accepted. I feel, from the bottom of my heart, that this is every child’s birthright – to be loved and accepted just as they are and to feel good and safe in their own skin. Not just the victims, but the “bully” also. I envision a world where, if someone mentions the word “bully”, that every child looks up and says, “Bully? What’s a bully?” and we can tell them that it was a misunderstood person from the past that doesn’t exist anymore.

“Achieving our dreams by helping others achieve theirs.”

Contact Info:

• Address: 56 Mt. Dustin Ave
  Haverhill, MA 01832
• Website: SucceedWithIntegrity.com
• Phone: 978-995-0094 or 978-479-1790
• Email: deniseberard120@gmail.com

Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.