J.L. Moreno: The Therapist Who Believed in Mutual Healing

J.L. Moreno: The Therapist Who Believed in Mutual Healing

The Revolutionary Influence of Moreno on Modern Therapy Jacob Levy Moreno, a name often whispered in the corridors of psychotherapy, brought a revolutionary perspective to the therapeutic world. His groundbreaking concepts not only influenced numerous therapists, including the esteemed Irvin D. Yalom, but also reshaped the dynamics between therapists and their clients. In this article, we dive into Moreno's philosophy, focusing on his belief in the mutual healing process of therapy, and how he openly sought...

⛵Carolyn Robistow on Gray Area Drinking and Brainspotting for Harm Reduction and Addiction

In this episode, Joel Blackstock interviews Carolyn Robistow, a life coach and brain spotting practitioner who works with clients from her boat. Carolyn talks about keeping a captain's log, dealing with potential pirate threats, and her involvement in the America's Great Loop Cruisers group for boaters. She describes her approach of using a "trifecta of change" with three pillars: 1) A personalized daily support plan based on the client's values, 2) Brain spotting and other somatic techniques to make subcortical...

Jungian Shadow Somatic Meditation

  Meditation to Integrate the Shadow Welcome  today we'll embark on a meditation journey to integrate aspects of our shadow – those extreme emotional reactions, feelings of shame, and overwhelming sensations that we often repress and run away from in life. Our journey begins in childhood, where we first learned to feel emotions and respond to the world. These early experiences, along with traumas or overwhelming events in life, contribute to the formation of our shadow. This meditation is designed to guide...

The Symbolism of Color in Dreams

The Symbolism of Color in Dreams

What is the symbolism of different colors in dreams? What does the color red mean in dreams: In dreams, colors wield the power to mirror our deepest emotions and psychic states, and red, with its primal force and psychological weight, offers a particularly vivid palette of symbolism. The color red in dreams may reflect the journey of passion and emotion that color psychology outlines in phases of stimulation. Initially, a dream awash in pallid red tones could suggest a phase of emotional dormancy, where the...

What is the Pineal Gland: Neuroscience, New Age, Numinous and Nonsense

What is the Pineal Gland: Neuroscience, New Age, Numinous and Nonsense

Crystals are not shaped like the Buddha's face When I was in a bachelors psychology class at Sewanee  I had to listen to a student, who was a enthusiast of psilocybin mushrooms, go on a rant to the professor about how there were "magic crystals" in the brain. According to him the crystals were "shaped like the buddha's face" and had been used by "real scientists" to discover things about aliens and mythology. One of these things was that the city of Atlantis, a mythological city that sank, was actually the city...

Attention Pupils! Windows to the Soul; Extensions of the Brain

Attention Pupils! Windows to the Soul; Extensions of the Brain

    How Therapists can Use the Pupil to Heal Trauma One of the reasons that I left EMDR and started to pursue brainspotting as the primary brain based medicine that I use as a provider was because of pupil dilation. Years ago when I was  just starting out as a therapist I noticed that pupil dilation patterns were a good indicator of how well a patient was processing trauma.  I would use a patient's pupil dilation and movement to see how well EMDR was working. During EMDR patients don’t talk much until the end of...

How does Brainspotting and EMDR work in the Brain?

How does Brainspotting and EMDR work in the Brain?

What is it that Brainspotting is doing in the brain? One of the questions that we get asked the most is how brain based medicine like brainspotting, EMDR, and ETT work in the brain. Like many discoveries before it we know often discover THAT something works and then later have to discover WHY it works. Antipsychotics are a good example of this. For years there was a dopamine theory of schizophrenia hypothesizing that medication effecting dopamine levels were some how stopping psychosis. After a decade of research...

Book Review: Erich Neumann’s The Origins and History of Consciousness

Book Review: Erich Neumann’s The Origins and History of Consciousness

Jungian Thought with a Unique Perspective on Ego Development in Mythology Erich Neumann's "The Origins and History of Consciousness" is a dense and relatively early exploration of Jungian psychology. The book not only delves into the intricate web of myths and archetypes but also introduces a unique concept that sheds light on the evolution of ego consciousness within the human species across time using mythological and religious development. While Neumann's work is ambitious and commendable, it is not perfect. I...

I Speak, Therefore I Am; Don’t you think?

I Speak, Therefore I Am; Don’t you think?

So different from the Midwest, where the possibilities sprawled bright and endless in every direction. He wondered if people in the Himalayas and Andes were affected similarly. Did they live in the passive voice, as if their lives were not really happening but instead were memories fixed and immutable? -The World Made Straight, by Ron Rash The Psychology of Language: In the beginning of the book The World Made Straight a latin professor contemplates if the detachment of living in the mountains of Appalachian...

Book Review of of Aztec Philosophy by James Maffie

Book Review of of Aztec Philosophy by James Maffie

Unlocking the Mysteries of Aztec Philosophy When Hernán Cortés and his expedition arrived in the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, in 1519, they were initially received with curiosity and even reverence by the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II.The Aztecs, interpreting the arrival of the Spanish as a potentially significant event, offered gifts and welcomed them with hospitality. In one encounter, Cortés asked Montezuma about his beliefs, inquiring about the Spanish understanding of God. Montezuma's response was cryptic and...