Healers Named Green(...)

I've been researching healers for Healers and Feelings.  My strategy is to print out a web page for people who are involved in the helping professions and/or who are doing research in this area.  It has helped me to sort out who is whom; there are a lot of us.  Here is a list of people whose last name is or starts with Green.  There are nearly fifty on the list, with links to information about them on the web.  There are some heavyweights.  Ross Greene and Joshua Greene are well known young researchers/practitioners.  Joanne Greenberg wrote a classic in the field.  Stanley Greenspan and Ralph Greenson were well known, during their time.  There is an intuitive counselor (Beth Green), a person who uses about ten descriptors for herself (Faith Green), a heavy duty schizophrenia researcher (Michael Green), and someone heavy into Positive Psychology (Suzy Green).  A few more corners of the fields represented are rapid resolution therapy (Tim Green), someone who directed the Minuchin Center (David Greenan), an object relations guy (Jan Greenberg), an Educational Psychologist (Jeffrey Greene), somebody at the University of Miami (Daryl Greenfield), and a school counselor (Felicsha Green).  It turns out to be a pretty good representation of the work being done.  Are you eligible for the list, or do you know of anyone who is?  If so, let me know.

Counselors/Therapists/Life Coaches

I've been tweeting the web page of a "randomly" selected counselor/therapist/life coach most days. A (the?) reader of my tweets responded with the idea that there are important differences between these types of people. So there are.  Here are some observations about that.  I'm rounding up information about people like these to decide who to include in my book which will be called Healers and Feelings.  Not all of the people who are counselors or therapists or life coaches would like being called healers.  There are plenty of healers who are not in any of those categories.  There is the category of helpers (as in Helping Professions), but I suppose most everyone wants to be thought of as a helper.  When I started out, everyone knew what a therapist was, but "counselor" and particularly "life coach" were less well known terms.  What we used to mean by, "you need therapy" is almost always said as. "you need counseling", now.  The issue of the difference between psychologist, psychiatrist, and social worker is also relevant, but somewhat dated.  I'd say that one important difference is the position of a helper on the dimension that has medical point of view on one end and a more varied end that includes humanistic, behavioral, pastoral, and cognitive points of view.  Another important difference is the amount of training and experience that the helper has, ranging from little training and a month of experience to an advanced degree and fifty years of experience.  Maybe you are best off in the middle of that bell shaped curve.  Beyond that, finding an interaction that will move you towards your goals is a function of your ability to judge the person you are interacting with, and probably some good luck.

I'm in Charge

Michael Gazzaniga recently wrote a book called "Who's in Charge".  This book covers a number of issues.  The author's work on split brain individuals is covered, including his reaction to the first data to be gathered which spoke directly to what was going on. There is a lot of information about the ideas of modules in the brain, and the way in which they work and solve problems.  Consciousness is seen as constructed from theses modules, with an interpreter which fills in what needs to be filled in to make sense of what has happened.  A lot of information is presented which shows that our intentions and plans are put together after the relevant behaviors happen.  Levels of functioning, and emergent properties and processes at the various levels are part of the mix, as are applications to legal proceedings.  Five modules are presented relevant to moral decisions: reducing suffering, participating in give and take, respecting elders and authorities, being loyal to a group, and pursuing purity and the positive.  Evolutionary theory is relied upon quite a lot.  I got a lot out of this book.

Sybil Considered

The book "Sybil" came out just about when I started my career in psychology.  It is interesting to reflect on how it would be different to be starting out now,with "Sybil Exposed" to process as well.  It was a lot easier back then to know what to believe.  There is so much more information about people, the brain, and what has happened in the past, now.  What a job it is to know how to help people, and yourself, I guess.  "Sybil Exposed" tells a lot about the three women who worked together to produce the book "Sybil".  Personality theory is changing a lot, and DSM-V will treat it much differently than DSM-IV has.  The Healer to focus on here is Dr. Cornelia Wilbur.  She worked hard to help people.  I'm always concerned when a healer focuses too heavily on one diagnosis.  Breadth of experience and focus seems important to me.  It's worth the time to read this book, particularly if "Sybil" was an important book for you at the time it came out.

Seven Steeples and a "Peculiarly Saddened Life"

I just finished reading "From Under the Cloud at Seven Steeples."  It was published in 2002.  There are several important characters in the book, Anna Agnew herself, the author of this book (Lucy Jane King), and the hospitals in which Anna Agnew spent time. Anna Agnew's book, published in 1887 (From Under the Cloud) is available free on Google Books. It is an early example of a person's description of their psychological problems and treatment. There are some good descriptions that show her state of mind and reactions to the changes in treatments and hospital personnel. In this (King's) book, there is a summary near the end of the changes in psychiatric treatments, which is straightforward and clear. The various support groups and legislative supports for people with psychological problems are described. The differences between how men and women fare in the system are described. All in all, these books are worth reading.  Lucy Jane King has written a lot about the history of psychology.

A Good First Hand Account of Schizophrenia

I've just read The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn Saks. I listened to this on Audible. It is very good. It is among the better first person accounts that I have read. It drives home the idea that serious psychological problems don't put you in a position of making a decision to do the wrong thing, but instead in a position of not having the power to make any kind of decision. This is when the thinking problems have you in their grip, of course. There is the idea of the shattered personality rather than the split personality. There is a good comparison of several healers and their styles (one of them Kleinian - I've just read a Melanie Klein biography by chance). There is the struggle to keep from taking medication despite many instances of going backwards when stopping taking it. There are good videos of the author on YouTube, so you can hear the author there. I wish she had recorded the book for Audible herself.

Healers' Basic Procedures

I've been thinking that there are about six basic procedures that I carry out in my work.  These are gathering and sharing information, measuring learning skills, making DSM diagnoses, performing psychotherapy, following ethical standards, and consultative problem solving.  Three additional basic procedures carried out by people in the mental health field might be teaching, managing organizations, and carrying out basic research.  This makes nine, and I love round numbers.  Can anyone add a tenth basic procedure, or it's also OK to completely revamp the list.  I'd love to hear what others think about the list of basic procedures that Healers carry out.