#psych-journeys

[lifeweavings]

Working towards Wellness

We are a composite of strengths, not an isolated weakness.

Whether professionally as a therapist/counselor or personally as one among many taking life one day at a time, the issue of health, particularly mental health, is often front and center, or at least a persistent, just below the surface, consideration. Unfortunately we often look at health, even mental health, through only one lens, with the physical or social or emotional taking center-stage.…

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[lifeweavings]

The Expectation of Memory

Our memories are concerned with our futures as much or more than portraying our pasts.

Memory exists as a source of immeasurable joy and pleasure with loved ones and children and laughter and achievements parading across our conscious lives, even as it holds the repository of one of our greatest fears, that of its loss in dementia, alzheimer’s and brain trauma. The very substance of who we define ourselves to be is constructed out of our memories, as they provide a seemingly…

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[lifeweavings]

A Work of Worry and Hope

We are not bound to only one way of expressing our lives

All activity demands two forms of projection from us: intention and endowment. Picture someone pushing a large empty barrel up a hill. At each step a mechanism fills the barrel with an increasing amount of water. If the person were to stop, the water would cease flowing but the barrel wouldn’t reach the goal. Consider intention as the desire to reach that goal, with endowment (the water) being…

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[lifeweavings]

The Substance and Process of Change

Therapy occurs within and between the worldviews of therapist and client

Often in the training received for therapists, there is little differentiation made between the theory of psychotherapy and intervention strategies. We are taught skill-sets for listening, empathic responding and being attentive, but, for instance, no attention is made to just what the “mind” is that we’re supposed to be working with. More difficult is an almost complete lack of appraisal…

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[lifeweavings]

Relationally-Directed Therapy

Change is a journey taken with another

Change is difficult, at least so says common wisdom and the refrain of most anyone faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. From learning a new skill and changing careers, to losing weight, change is that curious process that feels difficult at the beginning and seems to collapse under its own impetus when completed. Consider for a moment, change is only considered hard when facing it, but…

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[lifeweavings]

Emotions Support Our Thoughts

The struggle of our lives is increasing our awareness of reality, not a war between emotion and reason

Emotions often get the short end of the stick when it comes to working through the struggles in life. They’re either portrayed as the sole problem (“I wish I wasn’t so emotional about x”) or negatively contributing to the situation (“Emotions are always getting in my way”). Even when discussing so-called “positive” emotions like love and happiness, the tendency is to portray them as being…

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[lifeweavings]

How Mood Changes Perception

Experiencing the world is molded through our emotions

Human perception intuitively seems a case of simple connection, we see reality unfiltered. “I know what I saw” is a typical reaction when confronted with information showing an image we held as being less than accurate. This is particularly prevalent when emotions are running high, the full weight of our need to be right bearing down on a single vision. Despite this, in moments of calm reflection…

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[lifeweavings]

Systems of Care: Viewing People Through an Integrated Lens

People live within the systems of the natural world

Anyone who has stepped into a meeting with a doctor can attest to a degree of heightened anxiety and wariness. What tests need to be run? What are the results? How will my family and friends react? What does this mean for my life? It’s that last question which eventually seeps into the conscious eye and becomes dominant. Whether the diagnosis is allergies, a broken bone or cancer, the “I” of our…

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