The association
Dr Fabienne Regard
Former aerophobe. Course leader.
My experience as an aerophobe
I took the seminar in 1992. At the end of my doctorate in Geneva, I understood I could not pursue a diplomatic career: I was unable to fly.
On my first flight: panic attack — dizziness, suffocation, feeling of imminent death — for almost four hours. Then anticipatory fear of the return. Doctors found nothing physiological.
A second attempt: same result. The end of a professional dream. Acknowledging your fear is the first step; signing up for a course that can change a life is the second.
My involvement in the course
I became Lucienne Skopek’s assistant and accompanied her in her seminars and end-of-course flights. Little by little, my fear disappeared and turned into pleasure, then a passion for aviation.
From 1995, after my doctorate, Swissair hired me to take over from Lucienne, who had retired.
We went from 29 participants in 1997 to around 200 people a year at the most flourishing periods of our course. Courses are often fully booked months in advance.
This course changed my life and remains the centre of my work. I look after alumni follow-up, the activities offered to them, and enriching the course by regularly adding new tools.
My goal and motivation since 1995 remain the same: work on freedom, keep progressing, and help others benefit from this dynamic to move forward on the path to freedom. Each at their own pace.