“She has become, in my opinion, the world’s most impactful advancement of this approach,” said George De Leon, a New York psychologist and researcher wanted by Arbiter as she developed her ideas for helping people recovering not just from addiction, but from many other lives. -limit experiences such as poverty, child abuse, racism, homelessness and violence.

The focus is not just on moving beyond drug or alcohol addiction, De Leon said, but on helping people change their lifestyle and discover who they are, at the over time – and without these limitations.

Arbiter frequently contacted De Leon, among many others, and read voraciously on these topics. She wrote 14 volumes of curriculum, and she did it all without college. Instead, she often says, she learned by listening to other people’s stories.

His compassion extended beyond people. She was outspoken about the environment and climate change, and was a lifelong vegetarian who carried cat food in her purse in case she encountered a stray animal.

“She was extraordinarily wise, kind, honest,” said her lifelong friend and colleague, Pamela Jay. “She had an incredible intuitive ability to make a difference to others, whether it was a plant, animal, pet, or human.”

Arbiter and Mullen began working with inmates at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego in 1990, and that program continued until funding issues shut it down in 2019.