Counseling Pagan clients, Pagan spiritual counseling techniques, and being a Pagan therapist.
I just launched a new version of my private practice website!
As part of the redesign, I added a number of photos of my various offices to the site.
Here’s one that DID NOT make it onto the site. I’ll give you one guess why. Have you ever seen so many orbs in a photo? I’m not quite sure what to think about it.
You can click on the picture to enlarge it.
Pagan Centered Podcast (PCP) episode #108 is now online. As I discussed in earlier posts here and here, we discuss several topics related to therapy and Paganism for a bit over an hour. It’s been online for 3 days and already has 424 downloads — I’m psyched! (Bad pun intended.)
Amber and Dave at PCP also posted a nice outline of the show online so that if you are interested in a specific topic you can jump right to the portion of the show that it’s discussed.
The outline of the show is here.
The actual .mp3 file is available for download here.
This show is also available through iTunes.
Brian is continuing work on a painting of Hypnos for me, as I reported on in an earlier segment. He seems very excited by the progress and so am I.
Here are pictures of a study version of the painting, and the initial drawing on wood for the final painting. Click on the picture to see the larger version:
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I got to visit the grand re-opening of a drop-in center on Friday. A drop-in center (sort of like the name implies) is a facility, usually run by other mental health clients, for the benefit of mental health consumers. They play games, watch movies, generally hang out, and frequently get involved in educational and job-related activities as well.
Anyway, I walked into this drop-in center and shortly noticed 4-5 clients all wearing pentacles, dragons, tattoos, and all the usual status stuff that marks Pagans as Pagans.
This was interesting as I don’t generally encounter lots of Pagans in the more serious mental health settings. (While not always true, people who choose to hang out with other mental health clients on their free time are often among the more seriously mentally ill.)
Well, apparently several of these Pagan folk attend the psychiatric rehab program (PRP) across town (ironically they don’t attend mine — where the management is Pagan). Pretty soon I was hearing stories of astral battles, shamanic banishment of astral nasties, and the ways in which their PRP was now cleansed, warded, and protected courtesy of the Pagan clients.
All in all a rather normal Pagan conversation. Except for the setting.
Which put me in both a state of cognitive dissonance and a thoughtful mood.
Cognitive dissonance because half of me approved and the other half of me was evaluating for possible delusions. Thoughtful because of all the ideas and questions that came to me. A sampling:
I’m intrigued how this all fits together. I suspect these Pagan folks just quietly do their thing, with the psychiatric staff none the wiser. Perhaps the staff overlook a certain amount of odd behavior. I think there would need to be a treatment team ethic in place something to the effect that its healthy to allow clients to work through their own delusions if no one is being hurt. (And of course, maybe its not delusion and the center is the safer for it…)
I’d be real curious to know how this balancing act plays out at their PRP — but of course if I ask I might upset the apple cart.
I’m frustrated. A friend (not patient) of mine has apparently been in and out of the hospital lately. From her writings, she does not sound too well — likely a bit psychotic right now, jumping from topic to topic too much, and half-lost in references and delusions all her own. But even more disturbing is that she may be right about something at least in part — that her fundamentalist parents and hospital views of her religion are combining to make this far worse for her than it actually has to be.
She complains about hospital questionnaires that she knows are designed to test for psychosis — but that Pagans answering truthfully would trigger. I have not seen her questionnaires, but I have seen similar. I can only hope the professionals handling her case have some compassion and insight on matters of religion and spirituality.
The possibility that parents or hospital staff might persecute her may be enough to make the delusions and psychosis all the worse since there could be a grain of truth to them. I’ve observed on many occasions that upset people tend to become more unbalanced.
I’d really love to consult with that hospital on Paganism and handling Pagan patients.
Blessings to her recovery.
– Michael
I’ve been steadily working on my hypnosis skillset over the past few years, although I mainly use it for age regression, guided meditations, and establishment of resource states at this point. I’ve also trained in NLP. It finally dawned on me that maybe I should, oh I don’t know, do something PAGAN and thank Hypnos for helping me master this skillset! Anyway, I’ve asked Brian MacGregor — the really great artist who did my logo — to work on a painting of Hypnos. His website of finished work can be found here.
I’ve attached below a very, very rough color sketch of what he is starting to work on. I’m excited. I’m also busy gathering notes about Hypnos and writing down any dreams so I can have them incorporated in the background and add some of my energy to the work.
I sent the following memo out to my staff at a psychiatric rehabilitation day program today. What are your thoughts on the proper role of religion and/or spirituality in a state-funded psychiatric environment? When does it help with recovery? When does it hurt? Does the presence of ANY religion pressure nonbelievers? Does its absence leave believers with a hole in their heart? What if they don’t have the means to get out to their religious or spiritual community?
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Religion and spirituality has always been a touchy subject in mental health. I’ve been sending strong signals lately that some religion and spirituality in the program is fine. Here’s why:
The New York Times has an article entitled “Psychologists Vote to End Interrogation Consultations”. That’s the good news.
The amazing news here to me is that the APA vote was 8,792 to 6,157.
Wouldn’t torture be a bit less popular?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/us/18psych.html
I’m curious for insights into why the vote went this way.
Thanks,
Michael
I should really leave politics alone. Believe it or not I do have several excellent Christian and Republican clients and this is a blog on therapy and Paganism, not politics. However, the following topic continues to bug me and I have writer’s itch over it.
Somehow, I’d become resigned to a non-choice between the two corporate parties. Lately in the Bush govt. it has seemed to be primarily a matter of corporate domination and less so one of religion.
In this context I was heavily contemplating a vote for Cynthia McKinney with the Green Party — a candidate closer to my own positions with little chance of winning — rather than holding my nose and voting for the Democratic candidate as the least objectionable realistic choice.
Back in 2004 when I voted for Kerry, and then watched as he didn’t even try to contest Ohio, I finally realized nothing good will come of either major party. I realized we have to build an alternative by voting for what we truly desire even if there is no near-term chance of winning.
Now however comes this article entitled A Palin Theocracy, and ones like it, uncovering Sarah Palin’s extreme views and likely Dominionist tendencies.
So now I’m weakening — I’m once again contemplating the sick choice of the Obama ticket. At least with Obama we are only owned by business. We may maintain a separation of church and state. We may not have to worry about our religous freedoms.
Yuck.
Yesterday was fun. I set up a booth at the Northern VA Pagan Pride Day event and got to speak with a handful of folks therapist shopping and otherwise wishing to relate their story. Several came up to me after my workshop on trauma disorders and how they can effect or groups. I had around 30 people sitting in on my workshop — always nice when there is interest! A perfect day after the remains of Hurricane Hanna blew through the day before. Thanks to the Becoming folks and event organizers for all the help setting up.