Information on Paganism and Wicca for Counselors
I’ve posted many of these resources here before, but never in one entry. I suppose this should evolve into a resource guide — but for now it will do as a post entry.
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WEBSITES:
My website at http://www.pagantherapy.com has basic information on what Paganism is.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/pagan_professional_counseling/
http://www.pagantherapy.com/pagan-professional-counseling-yahoo-group/
Information on a Yahoo Group of professional therapists interested in counseling Pagans or religiously Pagan themselves. 100+ members strong worldwide.
Covenant of the Goddess (CoG): http://www.cog.org — Has a good basic faqs section on witchcraft, Paganism, and Wicca.
The Witches’ Voice: http://www.witchvox.com/basics/wfaq.html — Another good FAQ on Wicca and Paganism.
The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids: http://www.druidry.org/ — Good basic site about modern Druids.
Raven Kindred (Asatru): http://www.ravenkindred.com — Good site about Asatru (Norse Gods worship)
The Shadow of Olympus (Hellenismos): http://www.iskios.com — Blog and information on the worship of the Greek/Roman Gods in modern times.
I have put together several other sources for finding out more about Neo-Paganism and Wicca. Most of these are resources I developed — but you can see bibliographies and links at the end of several of them to other materials by other presenters.
PAPER:
“Understanding and Counseling Neo-Pagan and Wiccan Clients”. A comprehensive paper intended for publication. Please note the bibliography at the end of the paper. Even if you are not really looking to read the paper — there is a long list of websites and other information sources in the Suggested Resources and References sections at its end.
http://www.pagantherapy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Pagan_and_Wicca_-…
PRESENTATIONS:
1) Pagans and Counseling — My lecture notes for a workshop I give to therapists and social workers about Paganism. These are a bit rough — but can largely be deciphered on their own.
http://www.pagantherapy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Pagans-and-Counse…
2) Pagans and Hospitals: Meeting the Growing Need — An old slideshow I did primarily devoted to educating hospital chaplains about how to deal with Pagan patients. See:
http://www.washington-baltimore-paganclergy.org/archives/hospital-chapla…
http://www.washington-baltimore-paganclergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/20…
PODCAST INTERVIEW:
This podcast might be a good place to start if you have Pagan clients and are trying to figure out how to better service them. It’s primarily aimed at potential Pagan clients who are trying to decide what to expect from therapy.
You can download the entire .mp3 file directly at this link:
http://download.imbleedingprofusely.com/pcp/PcpEpisode108.mp3
A full minute-by-minute outline of the topics discussed is available here:
http://imbleedingprofusely.com/archives/tag/pcp108/
If you have trouble with the above links, the show can be downloaded from iTunes. Search for episode #108 of the show “Pagan Centered Podcast”.
Their main website is at http://www.pagancenteredpodcast.com
Sarenth said,
September 4, 2010 @ 9:08 pm
Thank you so much for making this. This is so deeply needed. I was lucky in that the counselor I received when I went, wanted to understand me and my faith, and recognized it has healthy, helpful and beneficial to my wellbeing. Not all people are so lucky.
As I am also going into Psychology, specifically Counseling, works like these are needed now more than ever. Thank you for taking the first brave steps; I hope that we can create a wave of understanding, or at least a push for solid research, in the mental health professions.