Val is a writer, educator, blogger for Psychology Today, and the author of The Art of Comforting (Penguin Random House) which won the Nautilus Gold Book Award, and 400 Friends and No One to Call. With an extensive background in rehabilitation counseling, she facilitates groups and teaches classes for seniors and people with disabilities in expressive arts activities, storytelling, and wordplay. She speaks for organizations such as AARP, the Councils on Aging throughout Massachusetts, libraries, community education centers, and Osher Lifelong Learning Centers. Her speaking and writing topics include breaking out of isolation, building community and friendship, aging and community fellowship, and comforting people in distress. Her articles and interviews have appeared in AARP online, Time, Boomer Magazine, BabyBoomer.com, Caregiver Space, Coping with Cancer Magazine, Healthy Aging, Good Housekeeping, Belief Net, Caregiver Solutions, and other outlets. Her podcast and radio interviews include NPR affiliates Jefferson Public Radio, Ohio Public Radio, Mountain Life, and Alaska Public Radio. She has appeared on Global Canada TV's Morning Show and CBC radio, Zerlina Maxwell's Signal Boost, and the Mental Health Network with Larry Rifkin on America Trends.