Since it is the month honoring St. Valentine, I am reminded of what I believe I am here, as a human, to do. Come from LOVE for myself and everyone else I come in contact with. No exceptions.
Now, this is a tall order. I do not claim to do it perfectly. It is my ideal.
With that said, “The Clinician’s Corner” has been absent from your mailbox for the past two months due to the overwhelming symptoms of PESD (Post Election Trauma Disorder). These symptoms diminished my ability to come from LOVE. I was often operating out of FEAR.
The overwhelm is dissipating so I would like to share some thoughts and suggestions.
Being a Social Worker, my primary professional purpose follows the NASW mission statement which basically states my job to be the enhancement of human well-being. I am to pay particular attention to the needs and empowerment of the vulnerable, oppressed and poverty-stricken. I am to focus on the individual in the social context and the environmental forces that create and contribute to problems in living with health, integrity and inclusion.
I know that the variety of mental health professions share similar values. Those of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, competence and doing good, not just do no harm.
Because of my primary purpose and being a systems-oriented trauma specialist, I cannot ignore the systemic trauma that is currently occurring in our country and our planet. In discussions with mentors and colleagues, it is evident that the collective consciousness is operating out of the reptilian/survival brain. FEAR. Our amygdalas are running on high. Reactivity abounds on both sides of the aisle. This leaves us acting in what Hedy Schleifer terms the “survival dance.” No one really hears each other. There is rhetoric and talking points but no heart connection. No sharing of humanness. No solution just problem. Only with our pre-frontal and orbital-frontal cortex on line can we make healthy connections and decisions. Decisions based on love and not fear. We need our observing egos and empathic abilities present.
Can we do it on a mass scale, right now? I don’t know. What I do know is that we definitely need to do it for ourselves first and foremost. Yes, caring for the caregiver again. We can’t give away what we don’t have. Our nervous system impacts that of the other.
I experienced this directly at the Women’s March in Washington. I felt the nervous systems of my fellows in many countries across the globe as well as the ones scrunched up against me on Independence Avenue. My body was clear, calm and excited when love was around; agitated and irritable when fear showed up.
So, what I am calling for is the practice of what we teach with not just individuals, but with our attitudes and actions toward agencies, organizations, communities and societies. Especially those whose beliefs do not align with ours. It is a critical time to consider this paradigm and response.
Let me introduce to you, Van Jones, Leader. CNN contributor, Author. vanjones.net Van has started a movement called #LoveArmy. His video blog, “The Messy Truth” is dedicated to exploring the question, “Why are we coming apart more than we are coming together?” He reaches for the humanity in all of us. He invites the sharing of our fears, hopes and dreams vs. the standardized torts and retorts. I know I am inspired by him and the movement he is creating.
Announcements
3 spaces left! Monthly consultation group 4th Monday of the month 945am 60 dollars per person per session Contact Adena at 520-404-8466
“The Child as Substitute Spouse: Naming and Validating Covert Emotional Incest” Presented by Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, LISAC, BCETS, CP Sierra Tucson Grand Rounds Friday,April 14, 2017 11:30 a.m.-1:00 pm www.sierratucson.com
“The Child as Substitute Spouse: Naming and Validating Covert Emotional Incest” Presented by Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, LISAC, BCETS, CP Friday, May 5th, 2017
75th Annual ASGPP 2017 Conference: “Navigating Waves of Change: Discovering and Celebrating Our Hidden Treasures.” Clearwater, Florida www.asgpp.org
Podcast interviews about Covert Emotional Incest with Guy McPherson, PhD, and Laura Reagan, LCSW-C available in April.
More interviews with Boom Goddess Radio in March and a big book launch interview with Rachel Grant, MA mid-June!
Ponder This:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
The brain is the most outstanding organ. It works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from birth until you fall in love. – Anonymous
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