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New Existentialists

Golfing-Unto-Death

02/22/2013

The game of golf is an interesting competition between players in which every swing of the club is the player’s advancement toward losing the game. Unlike other sports, golf scores go in the opposite direction, meaning that the lower the score a player has at the end, the higher his or her ranking is in the results; the player with the least points wins. The reason for this is that each point corresponds to a swing of the club which is called a “stroke.” There are 18 holes on a full golf course, and each hole comes with a “par” or expected amount of strokes. When...

Posted at 11:00 AM

Rethinking Complexity

A Chicken in Every Pot and a Screen at Every Fingertip

02/21/2013

My wife Katherine, who teaches preschool, overheard the following question raised by a 4-year-old during lunch last week, “Does your mommy let you download apps?” During the rest of the conversation, the 4 and 5-year-olds compared technology access policies in their homes. On a separate occasion, Katherine told me about a student who was baffled by what was once a staple for early readers: the lift-the-flap book. The student could not fathom why simply touching the designated spot on the page didn’t reveal what was behind the flap. Note to collectors, you may want to start...

Posted at 10:55 AM

New Existentialists

The Future of Existential Psychology: Fear the Boogie Man, Not the Negro

02/21/2013

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1967, just months prior to his assassination, addressed the American Psychological Association (APA), encouraging social scientist to take a more humanistic approach to understanding the effects of racism and segregation on African Americans by leaving the laboratory for the hedges and by-ways of American society: In his address, King said: In the preface to their book, Applied Sociology (1965), S. M. Miller and Alvin Gouldner state: “It is the historic mission of the social sciences to enable mankind to take possession of society.” It...

Posted at 01:00 AM

New Existentialists

Beacons of Humanistic Psychology: Dr. Fred Wertz, Fordham University, Part 2

02/20/2013

Interviewing the Students of Dr. Wertz Richard Bargdill was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview three graduate students working with Dr. Wertz at Fordham University in New York. Sarah Kamens, Rachel Levine, and Miraj Desai were all interviewed at the very raucous Division 32 Hospitality Suite at the APA conference. Realizing that it is impossible to actually ever be Fred Wertz, the students were asked to describe what qualities Dr. Wertz has that seem to help him produce high quality students. The common themes centered on Dr. Wertz being passionate, humble, hard-working...

Posted at 11:00 AM

Rethinking Complexity

How Do We Develop a Systems Perspective?

02/20/2013

As awareness grows that we are living in a world, not just made up by parts, but by complex systems, the desire to develop a systems perspective is growing. I am co-presenting at a conference of social workers this week, helping them understand how poverty is a systemic issue and how approaches to solving it must also be systemic. Fortunately, the session revolves around a powerful approach to addressing poverty developed by Scott Miller called "Circles," which I have written about in previous posts. In teaching a systems perspective, it is important to ground the lessons in...

Posted at 07:30 AM

New Existentialists

Towards an Existential Dreamwork

02/19/2013

In The Discover of Being, May (1983) says: It is clear at the outset that what distinguishes the existential therapy is not what the therapist would specifically do, let us say, in meeting anxiety or confronting resistance or getting the life history and so forth, but rather the context of his therapy. How an existential therapist might interpret a given dream or an outburst of temper on the patient’s part might not differ from what a classical psychoanalyst might say, if each were taken in isolated fashion. But the context of existential therapy would be very distinct. It would always...

Posted at 11:00 AM

Mind-Body Medicine

New Student Describes her Pathway into Study of Mind-Body Medicine: Helen Paczkowski Andersen

02/18/2013

Students enrolled in the Saybrook University’s School of Mind Body Medicine often tell stories of how they found their way to Saybrook. Many describe their path as a calling, or as an answer to their quest for finding a new way of working with people, one that addresses the many dimensions of human experience. Helen’s story is about meeting a fellow Saybrook student, Beth Haggett, who is also the first student to receive a PhD from Saybrook University School of Mind Body Medicine. While attending a conference facilitated by the Berkana Institute, Helen met Beth, and was moved by Beth’s inspiration to make a difference in the world via her experiences and knowledge gained at Saybrook. During the three days they spent together, Beth generously guided some of the conference participants in Qi gong and a shaking exercise. Experiencing these new methods to bring greater mind-body connection as well as hearing about the degree-program at Saybrook planted a seed in Helen’s head, which held fast even as Helen returned home to work and her personal and community commitments.

Posted at 11:21 AM | Permalink | 0 Comments

New Existentialists

Legacy

02/18/2013

The recent passing of one of the finest professors and greatest minds psychology has had the privilege of learning from has struck a chord in me beyond the sadness of his death. I first met Dr. Eugene Taylor in January 2011, my first semester at Saybrook University. I had recently had a less than desirable experience at another university, and entering Saybrook, I was a bit wary. One of my first dinners there my friend and I decided to sit at Dr. Taylor's table. Dr. Taylor was wearing his leather motorcycle vest, enjoying his dinner and with genuine interest, asked about us. We spent the...

Posted at 11:00 AM

Rethinking Complexity

One Billion Rising: A Global Call to End Violence Against Girls and Women

02/18/2013

As a woman who is a survivor of violence and as a human rights advocate who focuses on women’s and children’s rights, I took part last week in the V-Day One Billion Rising campaign, which aims to create a space of celebration while questioning the culture of violence and other retrogressive cultural practices that violate women and girls, such as female genital mutilation. With very keen interest, I participated in the One Billion Rising campaign at the Central Park in Nairobi, Kenya. It was great to see children, women and men of all ages and races, creeds, colors, religions and...

Posted at 06:13 AM

New Existentialists

Noticing and Consciousness: Broadening Our Perceptual Spectrum

02/15/2013

Have you ever paid attention to what it is that you notice in the world? I emphasize the word “notice.” In Dialectic Behavior Therapy and Mindfulness, “notice” is a word that can substitute for “judging.” Judging is a cognitive process that often locks a person into a moral paradigm that can be limiting. Judging creates alienation from both self and others. On the other hand, noticing can actually help a person become more attuned to qualities of the present moment that may hold important information otherwise overlooked due to the preoccupying tendency of...

Posted at 11:00 AM