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One of the most important things I gained from Gestalt class was the reminder of the significance of taking care of myself by remaining in the present moment. Since returning to college four years ago, I have been on the go, over-achieving, and never missing a class. When we were told to take care of ourselves in Gestalt, it seemed so foreign to me because I have never heard that from any previous teacher. Most teachers treated me like I was a postman—come to class rain, sleet or snow. When I felt sick half way through Gestalt class one Sunday, I said I needed to leave to care for myself. I left class with no hassle from the teacher. The resistance I felt was from my own mind. It did not seem right for me to leave class to take care of my needs. I felt jealous that other people in class had missed or left early with seemingly little concern. What was going on with me? Why this guilt and jealousy around taking care of my needs during school? § Read the rest of this entry…
I found the online chapter “Ethical Issues in Psychopharmacology” from Steven J. Marcus’s book Neuroethics Mapping the Field to be well balanced. I am open about my bias toward the psychopharmaceutical industry. I find psychopharmacology to be a necessary evil in the field of therapy. I know that there are many psychological disorders that call for medication because therapy alone will not work. Progress in science is making it clearer that most of these disorders are biological genetic defects and not from dysfunctional family dynamics as early psychoanalyst believed. My bias is not so much against the use of medication as it is against the overuse and misuse of psychopharmaceuticals. Knowing my own bias, I picked this online chapter because of its unbiased look at ADHD medications. I felt it looked at both the positives and negatives of ADHD medication treatments. According to Marcus, “Dr. Hyman pointed out the general efficacy and safety of psychotropic drugs, but he noted that the while their immediate benefits are well understood, we really know very little about their long-term effects on the brain” (p.1). § Read the rest of this entry…
In class, we learned the difference between spiritual emergency and schizophrenic break. But is the difference only noticeable because we are viewing the situation from a Western perspective? Did indigenous shamans view spiritual crisis and schizophrenic fracture in the same manner? R.D. Laing and Michel Foucault both agreed that schizophrenics could be healed if a client was given a nurturing healthy environment to experience their psychotic break, allowing them to pass through it. The healing methods described by Foucault and Laing are very similar to the one’s mentioned in class concerning the methods to heal someone through a spiritual emergency. § Read the rest of this entry…
Most adults live in some sort of denial about their own and love one’s impermanence. The denial of death can be both healthy and unhealthy. Denial can allow us to live our life with out constantly thinking about that any moment might be our last. Denial can also hinder our ability to live our life to the fullest. People with unhealthy denial of death may avoid spending time with a dying friend or family member. They may also struggle with their own dying to the point that they shun friends and family from sharing in their last moments. The following examples of adults dealing with death and dying come from my work with Ram Dass and Frank Ostaseski, and years of hospice work.
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The mind-body approaches class helped me understand the importance of alternative medicine. Two alternative medicine practices that are a part of my life are Vipassana (insight) meditation and yoga. Even though I practice both on some level, I have never taken the time to research either. This final will look at the history, affects and results of yoga and Vipassana meditation. It will also look at the similarity and differences between the two alternative healing practices.
Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana meditation is the oldest form of the Buddhist meditations. It is the meditation used by the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Theravada is the oldest surviving school of Buddhism and can be linked back to about 70 years after the Buddha’s death (~300 BCE). Vipassana meditation focuses on the breath and the true nature of reality. § Read the rest of this entry…
I have always been interested in the possibility of nature, particularly the ocean, having healing effects on autistic children. There has been extensive research on nature and ocean therapy on autistic children but it is difficult to quantify the specific instances were parents and doctors have reported increased cognitive and social skills as a result of spending time in nature or the ocean. One pivotal account is from a psychologist, Dr. Matt Mendel, on his blog (2009). His son suffers from autism and Dr. Mendel decided to take his son out to the ocean. § Read the rest of this entry…
THE OCEAN AND PSYCHOLOGY
My family has lived on the coast of Santa Cruz, CA for five generations. During the last one hundred years, my family has used the Monterey Bay for play, spiritual, and deep healing experiences. I am in my last year of completing a masters in psychology with an emphasis in ecopsychology. Most people have no idea that ocean phytoplankton provides the earth with 90% of its oxygen. The lack of knowledge about the vital importance of our oceans has led to more focus on saving land-based nature. I believe that both are important to treat with healing respect. The purpose of this blog is to bring needed attention to our ocean’s state of health. I feel that we need to look at how a poisoned ocean affects us mentally as a society and individually. If we poison the ocean we destroy most of the earth’s oxygen supply. § Read the rest of this entry…
One of the most important things I gained from Gestalt class was the reminder of the significance of taking care of myself by remaining in the present moment. Since returning to college four years ago, I have been on the go, over-achieving, and never missing a class. When we were told to take care of ourselves in Gestalt, it seemed so foreign to me because I have never heard that from any previous teacher. Most teachers treated me like I was a postman—come to class rain, sleet or snow. When I felt sick half way through Gestalt class one Sunday, I said I needed to leave to care for myself. I left class with no hassle from the teacher. The resistance I felt was from my own mind. It did not seem right for me to leave class to take care of my needs. I felt jealous that other people in class had missed or left early with seemingly little concern. What was going on with me? Why this guilt and jealousy around taking care of my needs during school? § Read the rest of this entry…
