The International Association of Who’s Who Has Named Marilyn J. Sorensen, PhD as Professional of the Year

Eugene, OR, February 26, 2018 --(PR.com)-- Internationally acclaimed author, mentor and counselor, Marilyn J. Sorensen utilizes her thirty-eight years of experience in the study of low-self-esteem skills to be the voice for an unexplored and underserved community.

Determination and drive have been the forces that have made Dr. Sorensen the incredible professional she is today. Growing up in poverty and with her family unable to financially support her desire to attend university, never once considered those factors as a barrier. When her father tried to save her disappointment by telling her that they didn’t have the means to send her to college, Dr. Sorensen, replied by saying, “That’s Okay, Dad. I understand and I am going to go to college,” and so she did. Dr. Sorensen completed an essay for the national “Our Time” Magazine writing contest for senior students. To her surprise, she placed third and received a scholarship. She also worked hard to become an excellent trombone player in high school and received a music scholarship to the college she chose to attend as well as an academic scholarship. Dr. Sorensen taught school in Nebraska for seven years, gaining praise by the largest newspaper in the state, the Omaha World Herald when she convinced the superintendent of the school where she was music teacher to allow her to take on producing the musical Sound of Music, followed the next year by South Pacific, in which they packed the auditorium 4 nights and were featured in the Omaha paper on 3 full pages with the heading Small School successfully puts on South Pacific, then later attended the U of Nebraska getting two more degrees and eventually earned a PhD in Clinical & Counseling Psychology from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary and then became a licensed Clinical Psychologist. At her commencement, she received a standing ovation from the faculty, student body, and many in attendance, something that had never before occurred the nearly all-male school.

Upon graduation from the Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, Dr. Sorensen opened a counseling center in Portland, Oregon, which eventually grew into the largest private counseling center at the time known as the Montavilla Family Counseling Center. After years of listening to clients and analyzing their emotional behavior, Dr. Sorensen took her passion for the field and began writing a series of books on low self-esteem. Her first book, “Breaking the Chain of Low Self- Esteem” is considered the most valuable book on the topic of low self-esteem in the Psychological community and is popular with readers in at least 40 countries.

Due to her commitment to her work and helping people, Dr. Sorensen was recognized as one of the Outstanding Young Women in the U.S. in the Year 1997. In addition, after receiving many area awards, she was named the 2016-2017 “Top Author of the Year” by the International Association of Top Professionals IAOTP, and topping it off as Author of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals for 2016-17.

Dr. Sorensen served as the Founding Director of the Self Esteem Institute (www.TheSelfEsteemInstitute.com) from 1990-1995. She then closed down the center after deciding that she wanted to focus all of her effort into developing a program for overcoming low self-esteem: an issue she saw in the majority of her clients. This was followed by her writing 5 books on the subject. "Breaking the Chain of Low Self-Esteem," her first book, has come to be known at the best book ever written on low self-esteem and which has become popular in countries around the world. In addition to writing books, Dr. Sorensen has utilized various platforms to continue shedding light on the issue of low self-esteem, which affects many people around the world. She has served as a contributing editor and columnist for the national magazine, Single Parents and has been featured on radio and television programs and has been quoted in over 40 magazines and newspapers in the U.S. Dr. Sorensen was asked to speak at the International Self-Esteem Conference in California in the past. And received her first international award by Bristol Who’s Who.

While her first book has spread around the world, her most important gift to the world is the Sorensen Self Self-Esteem recovery program, which she has developed and has utilized with clients through Skype from countries around the world. Her work which is offered as a guideline to combating low self-esteem that will soon become available worldwide, will be in the form of her new book: "The Sorensen Low Self-Esteem Recovery Program," due out in January of 2017. She has worked with individuals in over 40 countries by Skype for years, but is planning to do less direct therapy in 2017 when she will turn 74.

In her free time, Dr. Sorensen enjoys camping, gardening, travelling both in and out of the country, spending time with her German Shepherd, Jake, and with friends and relatives, including her brother, Jim who lives nearby and friends who come to visit.