Anthroposophic Counseling Psychology Certificate Program

Transcription

1 Anthroposophic Counseling Psychology Certificate Program Introduction Faculty: William Bento, Ph.D., James Dyson, MD, Edmund Knighton, Ph.D., Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., and David Tresemer, Ph.D. Copyright ( ) APANA Services 1457 Klamath River Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA admin@apana-services.org

2 INTRODUCTION The program is unique in that it provides an approach to the counseling psychology based on the background of Rudolf Steiner s spiritual scientific research. The faculty has formulated the basis of an Anthroposophic Counseling Psychology with soul life and soul development in mind. Within this formulation the best practices of the major streams of psychology are addressed and expanded upon in contemporary terms. Some familiarity with the theories and practices of psychology, as well as an interest in a spiritual outlook to questions of mental health are required for participation. There will be two types of certificates offered: Those who have a license in Counseling, Social Work, Psychology or related mental health field will get a certificate recognized by APANA - Anthroposophic Psychology Associates in North America and IFAPA - International Federation of Anthroposophic Psychotherapists Association, organizations linked with the Medical Section of the School for Spiritual Science in Dornach, Switzerland. The certificate will meet the professional principles and competencies of ASERVIC (Addressing Spiritual and Religious Issues in Counseling), a special division of ACA - American Counseling Association. Qualification for this certificate requires completion of specific homework assignments and a competency essay on the subject of counseling. Those who do not have a license in the mental health field will qualify for a certificate that will be equivalent to a Coaching level of competency as defined by the National Occupational Standards in Coaching and Mentoring published in This certificate will be granted solely by APANA. Attendance and submission of reflection papers for all nine seminars are required to obtain the certificate. Page 1

3 Four basic principles inform course delivery: 1.) Soul Spiritual: A view of the soul will be introduced that is both embodied and transcendent. The interrelationship between cosmological factors and the evolution of humanity incorporating the origin, nature, and destination of the human soul will provide an orientation to the course; 2.) Transformational: A focus on self-transformation and professional development inclusive of mindfulness practices that cultivate higher faculties of perception and cognition permitting the soul life to be more thoroughly recognized in one s self and in another; 3.) Experiential: Every effort will be made to take each anthroposophic and psychological concept and process into artistic and somatic experiences so as to embody the learning deeply and personally. By taking up psychological concepts through artistic activities and somatic experiences we hope to provide opportunities for profound embodied learning; 4.) Reality is Relational: An emphasis on the experiential dimensions of the many varieties of human encounter will engage faculty and students in a relational path of learning together. Faculty and students will proceed on an interactive path of learning addressing the many-tiered dimensions within the human encounter. Page 2

4 BRIEF OUTLINE OF COURSES The program is intended to unfold in a three-year period with an orientation seminar followed by eight seminars covering eight essential interconnected themes. Seminar I: Fundamentals of Anthroposophic Psychology This seminar will serve as an orientation to a psychology of body, soul, and spirit as indicated by Rudolf Steiner and further developed by Rudolf Triechler, Zeylmans Van Emmichoven, Karl Konig, Georg Kuhlewind, Bernard Lievegoed, Ad & Henriette Dekkers, and William Bento. The themes to be addressed are: An Anthroposophic Therapeutic Paradigm; The Value of Artistic Exercises and the Development of a Phenomenological Eye; The Phenomenon of Humanity Crossing the Threshold; Aspects of Identifying the Sacred Wound, the Primal Wound, and the Healer s Wound; The Counselor s Mandate; Cosmology, Psychology, and Psychotherapy; The Value of the Image of the Human Being; Post-Modern Conditions Fostering Mental Illness; The Value of Presencing in Psychotherapy, The Creation of an Empathetic Resonance Field for Practicing Psychotherapy; and many other pertinent themes for the aspiring Anthroposophic Counselor. Seminar II: The Counselor s Mandate: Personal-transformation The call to be a counselor must be responded to from the depths of one s own understanding of Self. As in the Greek mystery temples, this certificate program will adopt the mandate necessary for development and higher knowledge, O Human Know Thyself. Although a basic requirement, personal-transformation or inner development is often dodged. Our understanding of the Self governs personal as well as professional Page 3

5 development. Our response to the call to counsel or help another is controlled by our view of the Self. Through experiential learning activities, the anonymities that each modern soul faces today will be dealt with. Topics in this second seminar embrace the dimensions of personal and spiritual development; the landscape of the human soul; the nature of soul faculties innate and acquired; and mindfulness practices including journaling techniques. This seminar in the certificate program tackles the directive: O Human Know Thyself. It asks: What must I transform so that I may know myself? Who is the self that counsels? Seminar III: Creating Sacred Spaces for Genuine Encounters in the Counseling Journey We will examine the dynamics of external space and internal space. How does my inner development support or thwart the creation of sacred space? How can we foster genuine human encounters? Participants will practice and experience the subtle energetic fields that can be created by grasping and consciously working with internal and external space. Nurturing meaningful encounters requires sacred space where a person can reveal the secrets of their soul life. This seminar will enlarge one s comprehension and ability to deeply listen and respond to Self and to others. With these skills, participants will access the human encounter at a higher level where the sacred in every word and emotion is expressed and felt. Much depends upon on how we accompany one another on his or her journey of self-discovery and healing. Seminar IV: Sacred Wounding/Primal Wounding Contemporary psychology utilizes the word trauma when addressing neglect and abuse. This seminar focuses upon trauma as a pervasive phenomenon of our time. By extending our knowledge of soul-wounding and by incorporating anthroposophc counseling psychology principles, we will gain insights for intervention and care of the wounded. What are the Page 4

6 differences between primal wounding and sacred wounding? What is the wounding that our clients bring forward in a counseling session? How does our own wounded-ness influence the encounter? Wounded-ness fosters selfabsorption, which inadvertently excludes the discovery of a greater meaning hidden within pain and crisis. The fourth seminar in the certificate program will provide a comprehensive understanding of trauma or soul wounding. We will learn how to set up an empathic resonant field and how to live in it consciously aiding personal-transformation. Seminar V: Ensouling the Art of Conversation In counseling, conversation becomes much more than two people talking and listening to one another. Nuances of speaking word, vocabulary, phrase, tone ask for an awareness of others presence in the room some allies and some disruptors or saboteurs of the intended healing process. The quality of listening with one s whole being body, heart & soul will be experienced and practiced. Our exploration of the art of the healing word through enacting different modes of interaction is aimed at accessing the empathetic and transcendent soulfulness conversation and encounter, the I/Thou reality. Seminar VI: The Major Streams of Psychology Viewed through an Anthroposophic Lens With the background given by the previous weeks, we will place Anthroposophic Psychology into the context of existing psychological theories and approaches to treatment. Emphasis is, as always, on practice, to supplement the richness of concepts in comparisons of different counseling modalities. The participant will be introduced to several theories and practices, as well as having developed an appreciation for the integrative and comprehensive perspective found in Anthroposophic Psychology. Page 5

7 Seminar VII: Spiritual Realities within our Consciousness Soul Age Without truly understanding the themes and tasks of living in this age it is difficult to make sense of so much of what is transpiring in human souls across the world. As meaning-makers, we strive to reconcile unanticipated events into our soul life. To do this we need a greater context than our own personal wishes and desires, to truly grasp the coherency we seek for understanding. Consciousness Soul Age demands that we learn to live with riddles and ambiguities. Living with more questions than given answers, the counselor is faced with finding an inner peace. How are spirit or spirits present in this work? How do we deal with the existential issues of our lives with health and illness, with truth and deceit, with good and evil, with the quintessential mystery of death? Seminar VIII: Reformulations of Psychopathology through the Lens of Anthroposophic Psychology We will examine the embedded assumptions in our contemporary psychological practices, including the drive to diagnose pathology without giving equal time to assessing healthy states and conditions of the human psyche. The paradigm of salutogenesis support for the growth of wholesome life will be introduced as an indispensable framework for safeguarding the dignity of the human soul in each and every human being that we counsel. Modern methods of diagnosis of psychopathology will be explored in detail, and then reformulated through Anthroposophic Psychology. Page 6

8 Seminar IX: The Impulse of Therapeutic Encounter Becomes Psychosocial and Cultural Transformation Each encounter with another human being is attended by many others, some seen and known and others unseen and unknown. Each healing through relationship has ripples and waves that extend into the family, community, and the whole world. In Anthroposophic Psychology the ripples extend beyond the threshold and become creative forces for the future. Those ripples then come back to influence the conditions of the world we inherit. In this concluding week, we examine the state of the world, and then bring it back to the encounter, and finally, to the individual counselor. Then we come full circle to the beginning the mandate for personal transformation. Page 7

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