Therapeutic independent living transitions program for young adults - Living Well Transitions, Boulder Colorado

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)

Bill Sell wanted to change the world. He also wanted to win a Grammy, and to see his beloved Philadelphia Eagles win a Super Bowl Championship. But what Bill really wanted was for all beings to live a life that was fulfilling, happy, and free from suffering. His ability to live by this aspiration was, in large part, why so many people came to know and love Bill Sell as the remarkable human being that he was.

Shortly after graduating from West Chester University in Pennsylvania with a degree in philosophy, Bill moved out west, following his younger brother, Michael, to Boulder, Colorado. At the time, Boulder was a thriving center for a burgeoning community of American Buddhists, and those who were drawn here sought to engage with the world through spiritual development, creativity and compassionate action. The mixture of cultural eclecticism, spiritual exploration and study, and iconoclastic individuals proved to be a perfect home for a man with Bill’s talents and interests. He graduated from Naropa University – a University founded on principles of enlightened activity and contemplative education - in 1988 with a Masters of Arts in Contemplative Psychotherapy, and through his study and practice was able to bring together his passion for helping others with his interest in and devotion to Buddhist teachings on awakening the heart and mind.

Bill began practice as a psychotherapist working with families and children in the foster care system. Drawn to challenging situations, and seeing difficulty as opportunity for growth and development, Bill made his early professional marks working skillfully with “highly resistant” clients. His career in the nineties was a mixture of doing private practice, leading therapeutic groups in a progressive private high school, and running groups and professional trainings at a center for domestic violence in one of Colorado’s most impoverished neighborhoods. Bill’s sincere commitment to share his heart and mind with those who needed it most led him to some of the most difficult work environments in the field. What set Bill apart was his ability to sit in the fire of conflict and intensity with a demeanor of incredible calm, an eye for detail, and a persistent ability to underline and reinforce the sanity inherent in even the most confused situations. To Bill, it was all just practice for living a good life.

When Bill wasn’t working, his life was full with family, friends, Buddhist study and practice, and, during the fall months, talking about the Philadelphia Eagles and their chances making it to the Super Bowl. An avid Eagles fan, Bill and his brother Michael combined their love for football with their passion for music, founding their own band, The Eagle Brothers. They even made it on the radio in Philadelphia performing Bill’s original songs “Crush Dallas” and “The NFL”. Bill also performed his original “explicit folk” songs regularly at Boulder’s Penny Lane Coffeehouse, where he earned a following of fans who loved not only hearing Bill play, but also experiencing his authentic presence and light-hearted yet poignant commentary. Songs like “I’m the Dad” and “Crow the Knight” demonstrated Bill’s ability to see the universal in the particular and convey this to his audience with gentleness and insight. Whether sitting listening to Bill play guitar and sing, or hearing him work in a staff meeting or with a client family, Bill’s greatest gift and highest joy was to help others feel that he understood what they were going through, and to communicate that with a sense of ease, joy and levity. This ability was one reason why so many people called Bill a dear friend

As Bill’s professional life developed, he constantly sought out new challenges. In 2001 Bill took the job of Program Director for a well-known residential treatment facility working with young adults. It was during this time that Bill began to crystallize his vision for Living Well Transitions. Bill continued to develop his skills as a therapist and supervisor, and he recognized that he could bring together these skills with his vision for helping struggling young adults achieve genuine independence on an emotional, as well as a practical, level.

In the spring of 2004, Bill started Living Well Transitions to meet the needs of young adults making the transition to independent living. Long a student of group dynamics, Bill saw clearly how certain clients floundered in residential treatment due to the overwhelming pressures of group norms to maintain an often unhealthy homeostasis. When taken out of a dominant group culture and placed in their own apartments, Bill saw that many clients began to develop a personal awareness and self-respect that was unadulterated by concerns of “fitting in”. Helping clients reach this level of growth – the development of an individuated self who can begin to recognize and employ tools to think reflectively, tolerate frustration, and delay impulsive gratification – was an incredible fruition of Bill’s professional practice. With the creation of Living Well Transitions, Bill was able to incorporate so many aspects of his professional and personal training to help young adults and their families negotiate the difficult space of major life transitions.

One of Bill’s mottos was that no client or situation is unworkable. In founding Living Well Transitions, Bill was certain that this model could be helpful for many clients who had struggled to make strides in other, more traditional therapeutic environments. Bill never gave up in his efforts to connect therapeutically with his clients. Client resistance was more often than not seen as a challenge on Bill’s part to find another way in. This tireless approach in working with young people earned Bill and Living Well Transitions a well-respected reputation for helping young adult clients who had previously been quite averse to treatment find fulfillment in themselves and success in the world.

In November of 2006, Bill was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Shortly afterward, he began intensive treatment at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Over the course of the next year as Bill journeyed with cancer, he taught all those near him about living with grace, dignity, and fierce honesty. Through the turbulent series of prognostications and expectations, Bill remained steady in his love of life, family and friends, and kept those near him abreast of his inner wanderings through his articulate, eloquent and deeply moving Cancer Update email series. Through these writings, Bill’s insight and compassion came forth as wisdom illuminating a path of dignified human struggle with the perennial questions of mortal life. At times funny, at others, tearfully sad, Bill’s Cancer Updates always struck a chord of truth and authenticity that served as a bell inviting his readers to wake up to the preciousness of this life and the brevity of our time together.

Bill passed away peacefully at his home on March 10, 2008, surrounded by family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Tamara; his three daughters, Julia, Caroline and Avery; his mother, Marilyn; siblings, Leslie, Susan and Michael; and countless others whose lives he has touched.

At Living Well Transitions, our team is committed to continuing Bill’s visionary work of helping to transform the lives of struggling young adults by offering them opportunities to awaken to themselves in new ways and to discover within themselves the strengths, capacities and resources to manifest their brilliant intelligence and compassion.

It is in the moments of wakefulness in our clients, their laughter, tears, and windows of respite in their lives that we continue to see Bill reflected in this world, living through the legacy he helped create.

To listen to some of Bill’s songs, please visit his profile on Myspace.

This site designed and maintained by www.compassdesignworks.com.


	Bill Sell 1960-2008 Bill Sell wanted to change the world. He also wanted to win a Grammy, and to see his beloved Philadelphia Eagles win a Super Bowl Championship. But what Bill really wanted was for all beings to live a life that was fulfilling, happy, and free from suffering. His ability to live by this aspiration was, in large part, why so many people came to know and love Bill Sell as the remarkable human being that he was. Shortly after graduating from West Chester University in Pennsylvania with a degree in philosophy, Bill moved out west, following his younger brother, Michael, to Boulder, Colorado. At the time, Boulder was a thriving center for a burgeoning community of American Buddhists, and those who were drawn here sought to engage with the world through spiritual development, creativity and compassionate action. The mixture of cultural eclecticism, spiritual exploration and study, and iconoclastic individuals proved to be a perfect home for a man with Bill’s talents and interests. He graduated from Naropa University – a University founded on principles of enlightened activity and contemplative education - in 1988 with a Masters of Arts in Contemplative Psychotherapy, and through his study and practice was able to bring together his passion for helping others with his interest in and devotion to Buddhist teachings on awakening the heart and mind. Bill began practice as a psychotherapist working with families and children in the foster care system. Drawn to challenging situations, and seeing difficulty as opportunity for growth and development, Bill made his early professional marks working skillfully with “highly resistant” clients. His career in the nineties was a mixture of doing private practice, leading therapeutic groups in a progressive private high school, and running groups and professional trainings at a center for domestic violence in one of Colorado’s most impoverished neighborhoods. Bill’s sincere commitment to share his heart and mind with those who needed it most led him to some of the most difficult work environments in the field. What set Bill apart was his ability to sit in the fire of conflict and intensity with a demeanor of incredible calm, an eye for detail, and a persistent ability to underline and reinforce the sanity inherent in even the most confused situations. To Bill, it was all just practice for living a good life. When Bill wasn’t working, his life was full with family, friends, Buddhist study and practice, and, during the fall months, talking about the Philadelphia Eagles and their chances making it to the Super Bowl. An avid Eagles fan, Bill and his brother Michael combined their love for football with their passion for music, founding their own band, The Eagle Brothers. They even made it on the radio in Philadelphia performing Bill’s original songs “Crush Dallas” and “The NFL”. Bill also performed his original “explicit folk” songs regularly at Boulder’s Penny Lane Coffeehouse, where he earned a following of fans who loved not only hearing Bill play, but also experiencing his authentic presence and light-hearted yet poignant commentary. Songs like “I’m the Dad” and “Crow the Knight” demonstrated Bill’s ability to see the universal in the particular and convey this to his audience with gentleness and insight. Whether sitting listening to Bill play guitar and sing, or hearing him work in a staff meeting or with a client family, Bill’s greatest gift and highest joy was to help others feel that he understood what they were going through, and to communicate that with a sense of ease, joy and levity. This ability was one reason why so many people called Bill a dear friend As Bill’s professional life developed, he constantly sought out new challenges. In 2001 Bill took the job of Program Director for a well-known residential treatment facility working with young adults. It was during this time that Bill began to crystallize his vision for Living Well Transitions. Bill continued to develop his skills as a therapist and supervisor, and he recognized that he could bring together these skills with his vision for helping struggling young adults achieve genuine independence on an emotional, as well as a practical, level. In the spring of 2004, Bill started Living Well Transitions to meet the needs of young adults making the transition to independent living. Long a student of group dynamics, Bill saw clearly how certain clients floundered in residential treatment due to the overwhelming pressures of group norms to maintain an often unhealthy homeostasis. When taken out of a dominant group culture and placed in their own apartments, Bill saw that many clients began to develop a personal awareness and self-respect that was unadulterated by concerns of “fitting in”. Helping clients reach this level of growth – the development of an individuated self who can begin to recognize and employ tools to think reflectively, tolerate frustration, and delay impulsive gratification – was an incredible fruition of Bill’s professional practice. With the creation of Living Well Transitions, Bill was able to incorporate so many aspects of his professional and personal training to help young adults and their families negotiate the difficult space of major life transitions. One of Bill’s mottos was that no client or situation is unworkable. In founding Living Well Transitions, Bill was certain that this model could be helpful for many clients who had struggled to make strides in other, more traditional therapeutic environments. Bill never gave up in his efforts to connect therapeutically with his clients. Client resistance was more often than not seen as a challenge on Bill’s part to find another way in. This tireless approach in working with young people earned Bill and Living Well Transitions a well-respected reputation for helping young adult clients who had previously been quite averse to treatment find fulfillment in themselves and success in the world. In November of 2006, Bill was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Shortly afterward, he began intensive treatment at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Over the course of the next year as Bill journeyed with cancer, he taught all those near him about living with grace, dignity, and fierce honesty. Through the turbulent series of prognostications and expectations, Bill remained steady in his love of life, family and friends, and kept those near him abreast of his inner wanderings through his articulate, eloquent and deeply moving Cancer Update email series. Through these writings, Bill’s insight and compassion came forth as wisdom illuminating a path of dignified human struggle with the perennial questions of mortal life. At times funny, at others, tearfully sad, Bill’s Cancer Updates always struck a chord of truth and authenticity that served as a bell inviting his readers to wake up to the preciousness of this life and the brevity of our time together. Bill passed away peacefully at his home on March 10, 2008, surrounded by family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Tamara; his three daughters, Julia, Caroline and Avery; his mother, Marilyn; siblings, Leslie, Susan and Michael; and countless others whose lives he has touched. At Living Well Transitions, our team is committed to continuing Bill’s visionary work of helping to transform the lives of struggling young adults by offering them opportunities to awaken to themselves in new ways and to discover within themselves the strengths, capacities and resources to manifest their brilliant intelligence and compassion. It is in the moments of wakefulness in our clients, their laughter, tears, and windows of respite in their lives that we continue to see Bill reflected in this world, living through the legacy he helped create. To listen to some of Bill’s songs, please visit his profile on Myspace. This site designed and maintained by www.compassdesignworks.com.

Bill Sell 1960-2008