Psychology Articles

Luca Bosurgi, a defining voice in the emerging field of mind-spirit therapy, transforms psychoanalysis to spiritual evolution. He has developed an original mind coaching technique: The CognitiveOS Hypnosis. For the first time he has agreed to talk about the power of the CognitiveOS Hypnosis and why it’s the next step in psychoanalytical therapy. – Nadine Aurel

Luca, you and Nadine Aurel are the founders of the Cognitive OS Hypnosis Institute and the initiators of the Hunab-Ku People philosophy. Your friends call you “powerful master” and your clients rave about the miracles you perform. Luca, what is all this about?

The medicine to conquer our own miracles is in each and every one of us. We all have the tools to gain power, love, success and spiritual advancement using our own resources. I am not a master, I am a teacher who helps to prepare and trigger conditions where miracles can happen – and then miracles happen.

The CognitiveOS Institute is a recently formed institution established by Nadine and I to host my 20 years clinical experience and the Hunab-Ku philosophy. Nadine is a young Medicine Woman and has deeply contributed to the development of the Hunab-Ku concept.
What is a mind coach?

In order to understand mind coaching, we first need to agree on a few philosophical concepts:

• The purpose of our life on earth is to develop our spiritual awareness: this is primarily done by acquiring new knowledge through our life’s experiences.

• In order to gather experiences and transform them into spiritual evolution, we have a sophisticated, robotic system, our tool of life, which are our body and mind. They are powerful pieces of equipment that allow our spirit to live and operate on earth.

• Good control and management of this equipment provides us with balance and efficient lives.

• Bad control of this equipment results in depression, addictions, lack of self-esteem, eating disorders, pain and confusion among many other problems. The first step is to help my clients gain control over their mind and body by eliminating past psychological traumas and unhealthy conditional behaviors. I then train their minds to live a more effective life by developing their personal powers to enhance their professional, artistic, social and healing skills. This translates into balance, success, love and spiritual advancement: It changes lives. This is what I do and this is why I am successful.

You founded a new school in mind therapies, the CognitiveOS Hypnosis. How does CognitiveOS Hypnosis compare to the traditional psychotherapy?

CognitiveOS Hypnosis is a way to teach the meaning of life. It explains the value of and how to perform our life journey more efficiently by learning how to manage our body and mind. CognitiveOS Hypnosis is the next step in psychotherapy. It is a mind-spirit therapy that grants permanent and effective results much faster than any classical psychoanalysis. Within a few months I am able to coach my clients to take full control over their mind, clearing past psychological traumas, fear and pain. Most of the teaching is done with guided meditation in hypnosis.

Hypnosis is generally used to quit smoking and for pain management; to many it’s a scary word. What are hypnotism and CognitiveOS Hypnosis in fact?

The word hypnosis is often associated with a process where the hypnotist uses mysterious powers to take control of a person’s mind. This appears to render the patient helpless similar to a marionette. However, that is far from the truth; hypnosis is one of the most powerful and safe mind teaching techniques. During a hypnotherapy session the patient is mentally awake, in full control, and afterwards will remember each moment of the therapy.

Milton Erickson, the MD psychiatrist, father of the clinical hypnosis, was the first to give a medical connotation to hypnotism introducing the concept of a valid alternative to traditional psychotherapy. Unfortunately, he was ahead of his time and his voice remains limited. Traditional hypnosis is a symptom driven therapy and only used to clear specific conditions.

CognitiveOS Hypnosis, instead, is a method of teaching that uses tailor-made, guided meditations within a natural theta trance stage of the mind. CognitiveOS Hypnosis can be divided into two main elements:

Meditation: a natural sensorial language effortlessly absorbed by the mind. CognitiveOS Hypnosis uses this ancient language to teach clients how to take control over body and mind. This is accomplished by clearing past issues and psychological traumas while developing personal powers.

Theta-trance: a natural stage of the mind positioned between awake and asleep. A ‘magic mind’s place’ that happens naturally when we fall asleep or we wake up. We often experience it before getting up in the morning; our mind is awake but our body is still asleep. Our thoughts are similar to dreams but perfectly managed; crisp, brave and incredibly creative. While in this state, everything is still possible as in dreams, but it doesn’t last long because as soon as our body awakens the magic is gone. Hypnosis is the way to artificially open and maintain that ‘magic mind’s place’ for the period of a session.

Is CognitiveOS Hypnosis the only way to do that?

It is the fastest way. The alternative is training, but it takes many years; consider the difficult and demanding process of the eastern meditation schools.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, during one of his teachings, talked about an experiment organized by his team together with a team of hypnotherapists. He personally witnessed untrained minds able to produce similar EEG theta waves under hypnosis like highly trained monks during deep meditation. He found it fascinating that hypnosis could produce the same level of meditation in untrained minds in just a few seconds which his monks achieved after livelong training.

What does CognitiveOS mean?

The Cognitive Operating System is the interface connecting our spirit to our life’s tool, a super structure that we use 24/7 to manage our mind, body, and energies. Imagine a space shuttle, the CognitiveOS would be the interface that the astronaut uses to drive the ship.

In the western world we are rediscovering that each one of our cells has its own intelligence and energetic interaction with the rest of the body. Each cell makes mini decisions that affect the balance of the entire system. Therefore, it becomes obvious that the mind is only a part of the decision making process. CognitiveOS is the frame, the co-coordinator and the conductor of the global intelligence that regulates, motivates and develops our life.

Eastern ancient disciplines such as Kundalini Yoga have been designed to awaken, master and regulate the CognitiveOS. The CognitiveOS Hypnosis is the first psychotherapy school that operates at the CognitiveOS level.

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung warned that Kundalini Yoga could lead to dissociation in which the mind purposely attempts to separate from its bodily restrictions, which in certain unstable individuals might easily lead to a real psychosis… what you think about that?

Jung was the first psychiatrist that understood the importance of integrating spirituality in our life, therefore he deserves respect. However his theories were developed before the mind revolution that took the western world by storm during the second half of the last century. Prior to the mind revolution, the ability to have free thought and the power to make independent decisions was very limited. Roles imposed by culture, religions, and states were strictly regulating life. Modern life with its many choices, freedom of movement and new technology required people to think and make choices. The focus shifted from physical strength to using our intellect. This shift created, among many others, the women’s movement, one of the most important developments of the last millennium.

To summarize, in my opinion, Jung’s worries are unjustified. I value Kundalini Yoga as a powerful CognitiveOS training and I recommend it to all my clients.

Is this why you opened one of your practices in a Kundalini Yoga center?

Absolutely. Working with the correct energetic environment is important plus it enhances the effects of the CognitiveOS therapy. The Golden Bridge Yoga center in Los Angeles, where I recently opened my new practice, is a sanctuary of vital energy. The owner and lead teacher Gurmukh, her husband, their team and all the Goldenbridge Community constantly create an environment full of light. It is a joy to operate there.

What is the Hunab-Ku and who are the Hunab-ku people?

Hunab-Ku is a powerful Mayan symbol which signifies the God of the Gods, the purest representation of the Big Creator above every religion. We adopted the Hunab-Ku symbol after a dream, as sign of our total commitment to the army of God. An army with no flags or structure, just people working in the name of love.

We are using the Hunab-Ku to define the coming generations who will bring the Earth to the next level. People trained to master their CognitiveOS, “life’s professionals”, working to restore and upgrade our wonderful, however seriously wounded world.

You are also a Medicine Man known as Red Cougar, do you perform shamanic sessions?

No, I integrated my Medicine Man powers within the CognitiveOS therapies. It’s one of the powerful tools that I use in my sessions. I have spent most of my life gathering teachings and techniques around the world and assembling the tools that make CognitiveOS Hypnosis. I remember how excited I was twenty years ago when I first discovered the tremendous healing power of hypnosis; it’s from that point that everything started to make sense.

Does CognitiveOS Hypnosis work for everybody?

Every person can benefit from it, but at this stage I only work with a limited number of clients who demonstrate powerful minds as well as a desire to change.

If I understand correctly, hypnosis only positions the client’s mind in a specific place, but the real therapy is the meditation that you create for them. Consequently, the success of your therapies comes from years of clinical and philosophical studies combined with your natural gifts. Will CognitiveOS Hypnosis become a main stream therapy?

My work defines the new way of healing by managing minds and spirits. It works because the conditions in our society are ready for it. People want to have control over their bodies and mind instead of the other way around.

Imagine that you are riding a horse that is out of control. You need that horse in order to travel your life’s journey; how would you feel? Would you feel afraid, depressed, confused, angry, even hate for the horse? In order to keep you in the saddle and to keep the animal going you might come up with all types of harsh or kind strategies or follow foolish advice. Perhaps you would drug the horse or tire it with endless exercise. What a nightmare! Well, this is the battle most western people are enduring daily.

Imagine the opposite situation. You know and love your horse. Your horse is well trained and responds with joy to all your commands and requests. How would you feel? You would feel happy, safe, relaxed and empowered, knowing that your journey will be efficient, enjoyable and successful.

After a century of preparations we are now ready for the big change. The era of the Aquarius, characterized by the newly balanced male/female mind allows us to take advantage of all the efforts and achievements and learn from the mistakes made by past generations during the “revolution of the mind” and the “new age” movements. We are finally ready to move to the next level, to reassess our priorities, to identify ourselves with our spirit and to allow our spirit to take full control over body and mind. The CognitiveOS is a universal and natural concept that will spread fast and will be taught in schools.

What about mind altering substances like Prozac, alcohol, drugs?

We all have the tools to achieve a powerful life and to defeat addictions, depression, pain and confusion. We all are powerful spirits driving perfect and intelligent mind/body robotics. We need to face our issues and work hard to allow the change to take place by taking charge and learning how to control and trust our tools of life. Life is a gift of God and it is our duty and responsibility to capitalize on each and every moment.

CognitiveOS Hypnosis Institute of California
6322 De Longpre Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028
http://www.bosurgi.net
info@CognitiveOS.com

What constitutes consciousness? Where does it reside? Is it strictly personal – or also transpersonal? Is there actually a “collective unconscious”? What happens to consciousness when we die? And perhaps most intriguing, why do we have this phenomenon at all?

Consciousness has only become a serious field of study in the scientific community within the past 20 years, though it represents a perennial focus of philosophical and theological inquiry. To define the term itself has proven difficult, alternately having been equated with a wakeful state, attention, spirituality, self-awareness. Others have gone further, suggesting awareness beyond the self, and capacity for experience. Generally, the concept is divided into two categories: phenomenal consciousness, concerning our actual experience of that which occurs in space and time, and access consciousness, the processes within us which act on these experiences.

The formal study of consciousness has resulted in more questions than answers thus far. Scientists cite two key areas of research problems: a category of “easy” ones (still considered quite difficult to adequately address) and the so-called “hard problem of consciousness”.

First, the “easy” problems, called such because one has “only” to determine the mechanisms involved, concern the basic functions of consciousness: how we discriminate among sensory stimuli, integrate information from varied sources to control behavior, verbalize our inner states. While these questions haven’t yet been answered, we assume that science will one day be able to do so.

The “hard problem of consciousness”, however, a phrase coined by the philosopher David Chalmers, is this: why do we have these qualitative phenomenological experiences in the first place? “How” is easy to decipher, relative to “why”.

Three further sets of questions have been presented within the scientific community: To what extent are humans – and other creatures, and even plants – conscious? At what point in individual human development does consciousness begin? And, can machines ever achieve a conscious state?

There are several elements critical to the understanding of consciousness: subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive a relationship between oneself and one’s environment. We each have our own, inherently felt experience of this phenomenon, with a corresponding innate sense of understanding, even if we can’t verbalize what we ‘know’. When anyone proposes to discuss the nature of consciousness, then, or new scientific findings are presented, each person – scientist or not, specialist in this field or otherwise, tends to have opinions formulated on personal experience. That is: we each carry our own unique model of consciousness.

EEG and other measures of brain waves have been used to understand brain response in various states of consciousness, and in turn, electrical stimulation to areas of the brain can produce these states. Some have concluded as a result that consciousness resides entirely within the brain, with no particular “seat” but rather diffuse, the various regions triggering one another dynamically. For others, however, this doesn’t definitively rule out consciousness elsewhere in the body. It has been proposed that, even if the phenomenon of consciousness occurs in the various regions of the brain in interrelated processes, the remainder of the central nervous system (CNS) may also be involved, including not only the brain and brain stem but the spinal cord with its autonomic nervous system (ANS) as well as the ‘body brains’ of the various nerve plexi, most notably the celiac (solar) plexus — where we have the phenomenon of ‘gut instinct’.

Another question that must be raised: if we can deliberately alter our state of consciousness, through processes such as meditation, trance, self-hypnosis or biofeedback, what part of our consciousness is affecting our state of consciousness? Is it simply our cerebrum acting on our brain stem, or something more? At some point, consciousness begins to look quite fragmented, or perhaps mimics a feedback loop of sorts. As Descartes so famously said, “Cogito, ergo sum” – “I think [am thinking], therefore I am.”

Further, if the complete CNS, including the ANS, then why not the PNS, or peripheral nervous system? We understand that the role of the PNS is essentially one of motor function. However, we cannot say for certain that consciousness is not also conveyed by these neural pathways. Indeed, consciousness as we know it may well represent a matrix that is conducted by the entire nervous system – and perhaps even the vascular and / or lymphatic systems as well. Chinese philosophy and medical theory might conceive of consciousness as qi, a nonphysical dynamic substance conveyed by a system of vessels that closely overlays the nervous system as we know it today.

Transpersonal psychology is the study and application of those experiences which seem to take one beyond individual consciousness, to a connection with or as a conduit of a consciousness greater than one’s own experience. Mystical or transcendent as well as near-death experiences provide examples, as does the vast range in states of consciousness. Both transpersonal psychology and physics in the form of quantum mechanics potentially take the concept of consciousness one step further, in terms of interstructural communication at the subatomic level, even at great distances. Carl Jung conceptualized a “collective unconscious”, a matrix of consciousness shared by all members of the human species past, present, and future, which would seem to be supported by the quantum model. Mystical traditions such as Sufism or Shamanism have explored consciousness extending beyond the physical body in ways that science has not yet begun to understand. In general, Asian conceptualizations in this area view ordinary consciousness as limited and narrow, and propose various practices to expand consciousness into something much greater than one’s personal experience of it, toward a goal of enlightenment.

Without even delving into the vast philosophical realm, it is apparent that the concept of consciousness is quite complex, raising more questions than providing answers. There is no denying its existence, for at its core, it is what animates the living and is absent in the dead. But its structure, location, and far more, its very function remain a mystery.

As T.H. Huxley famously said in 1866, “How it is that anything so remarkable as a state of consciousness comes about as a result of irritating nervous tissue, is just as unaccountable as the appearance of the Djin when Aladdin rubbed his lamp.”

Dr Anne Hilty is an health psychologist with a transpersonal orientation; she has a clinical practice in integrative psychotherapy which is additionally influenced by classical Chinese medicine, somatic psychology, and Asian shamanic traditions. Located in the Central district of Hong Kong, she can be contacted at: annehilty at gmail dot com.

Does psychology as an import from Western culture adequately explain Eastern behavior? Are all human brains and thus, development, cognition, and behavioral patterns essentially alike? Are its methods of therapy appropriate or displaced? Are the goals for outcome similar regardless of geography, or must they be modified to reflect the values of the dominant culture? And perhaps most of all: is the overlay of a Western model of the mind effecting change on the cultural psyche of the East?

Psychology as a scientific study has the pathology-driven Western medical model at its foundation, overlaid by the values of ancient Greece, such as individuation, self-control, and self-efficacy. The cultures of Asia have at their core the values of ancient China, such as hierarchy, moral development, achievement, and social responsibility, and a non-dualistic medical system that is based on principles of balance and harmony. Some, such as Richard Nisbett in The Geography of Thought,argue that these phenomenally diverse core systems result in very different processes of cognition. In the West, cognitive process is one of logic, critical analysis, and direct, rational thought, in which the universe is conceptualized as the sum of its parts which can further be categorized, and is generally termed Analytic Cognition. In the East, cognition is abstract, paradoxical, circular and indirect, the universe a web of infinite connections; this is known as Holistic Cognition. If cognition and constructs of illness are phenomenally different, how can the same model for human behavior and development adequately apply to both?

One’s sense of self is also quite differently defined in these two disparate regions of the world: either sociocentric or egocentric. In the former, which describes the cultures in Asia, one’s concept of self is formed within the social context, and defined by it at any given moment; a sense of selfhood requires social connectedness. In the Western world, the egocentric model is dominant; each person’s sense of self is considered autonomous and unique, individuated, and largely consistent regardless of context. Thus, while a primary goal of psychology in Western society is one of self-development, in an Asian setting it would be one of self-transcendence toward enlightenment.

The process of psychotherapy depends upon the orientation of the individual. In Western societies, this is one of dispositionism, in which the internal disposition of the person is the primary consideration. In the East, however, the orientation is one of interactionism, in which the presence of complex causalities is assumed and the focus is on relationships and reactions between persons or the person and the surrounding environment. Of course, neither of these orientations stands alone, but both are present in each setting; however, one takes clear precedent over the other. In each, the approach of psychotherapy would be rather obviously different, in focusing either on internal processes such as self-esteem or internal locus of control, or on relationships, methods and patterns of relating, and one’s place in the grand scheme of society.

Creativity is another area in which these regions of the world differ greatly. While novelty isn’t well suited to Eastern cultures, and can feel threatening to the overall social cohesiveness, it’s inherent in Western modes of thinking and behavior, and deemed crucial to problem-solving. In the West, time and one’s developmental processes are conceived of as linear and finite with a beginning and an end; thus, innovation and breaking with tradition are required to effect change, and to grow. In the East, however, development consists of successive reconfigurations and is dynamic, involving reinterpretation and new uses of tradition rather than a break with it. The spiral, not the line, is a more accurate image of progress, whether personal or societal. Creativity is both a by-product and a necessary component of the former model, while of minimal use in the latter.

It’s often said that psychology with its concepts of mental illness and health is, or was until recently, taboo in Asian cultures, and the mentally ill stigmatized and marginalized as a source of family shame. While the latter has been true at one time or another in all societies, East and West, it’s an oversimplification of the Eastern conception of health. In classical Chinese medicine, which springs primarily from Taoism with influences of Buddhism and Confucianism, health is inclusive of all aspects – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social – and conceived of as a state of harmony and balance, illnesses termed as ‘patterns of disharmony’. These patterns include symptoms from all aspects of the person. Never having adopted a Cartesian duality of mind and body, Asian cultures thus never conceived of mental illness as a distinction. This too represents a profound dissonance in the Eastern and Western conceptions of and treatment approaches for mental health. Further, various Asian philosophies view the universe, and the person as a microcosm of same, as being in a continual process of change and impermanence, while Western psychology deems the self and the personality to be largely fixed at an early age, with a sense of continuity throughout one’s life.

As the Western, largely American, model of mental health and illness has made its way to Asia, scholars have begun questioning its universal applicability. Geoffrey Blowers, an assistant dean of psychology at Hong Kong University, is one who has written and presented on this subject. Some Asian models of psychology have emerged, based upon the philosophical constructs which have strongly influenced Asian societies and individual psyches. One such example is Buddhist psychology, developed primarily in Japan and other parts of Asia. It differs profoundly from that of the West in several ways, notably in lacking a fixed concept of self but rather one in a constant state of flux; the path to enlightenment is transpersonal, one of moving beyond a sense of personhood and of the self. Some aspects of Buddhism, in particular the concept and practice of “mindfulness”, have been widely adopted within Western psychotherapeutic practices as well. Hybrid models of psychology are also being attempted, and one promising model is Chinese Taoist Cognitive Psychology. Mental health as viewed from a Taoist perspective, another of the pillars of Asian mentality, include a transcendence from self and secularity, the dynamic revertism of nature, integration with the law of nature, and ultimately a high level of transformation and transcendence.

In contrast, a recent article in the New York Times, “The Americanization of Mental Illness” [08 January 2010], identified growing trends in Asia toward not only the Western model of conceptualizing, diagnosing, and treating mental illnesses, but in the incidence of the disease patterns themselves. As an example, eating disorders were unheard of in Asia until recently, and are now fast on the rise, as are schizophrenia and several personality disorders. The concepts behind these disorders are very much a product of Western cultural values and beliefs, yet are appearing now throughout Asia. While mental disorders as conceived of in the West were largely somatized in Asian cultures, this is changing rapidly. And, with increased exposure not only to Western ideals but conceptualizations of mental illness, the manifestation of such illnesses is undergoing substantial change. Along with this, an increasing dependence not only on a pathological model but on pharmacological treatment is widely seen. A growing body of scholars protests this trend, arguing that mental health and illness have never been conceived of in the same way throughout cultures, and that this represents profound cultural alteration.

The argument can be made that science, in the form of western psychology just as in western forms of medicine before it, has made great progress in understanding human illness and treatment. Thus, a conclusion might be drawn that Asian societies would do well to adopt these methods. But a simple adoption of a system which is in many ways antithetical to that of the culture is inadequate at best. It can equally be said that Eastern philosophical systems have contributed greatly to the understanding of human behavior and, in particular, to that of consciousness. More consideration, and more care in its application, is needed, with great cultural sensitivity, and an integration of models is an obvious outcome.

Dr Anne Hilty is an health psychologist with a transpersonal orientation; she has a clinical practice in integrative psychotherapy which is additionally influenced by classical Chinese medicine, somatic psychology, and Asian shamanic traditions. Located in the Central district of Hong Kong, she can be contacted at: annehilty at gmail dot com.

Integrative Psychotherapy is defined in three ways: (1) a blend of psycho-therapeutic approaches based on each client’s uniqueness; (2) an approach that considers the best of both Eastern and Western models of mental health; and, (3) a combination of psychological and somato-energetic therapies for the goal of mental and emotional well-being. Further, the whole person is considered, not only mental and emotional aspects but also physical, spiritual, and social components plus the transpersonal realm. This model is well supported by evidence-based healthcare practices and brings together therapeutic models and methodologies from both ends of the mind-body continuum in order to assist in the restoration of a state of balance.

Integrative Psychotherapy indeed represents the very balance that it’s meant to facilitate. Western psychology is in union with the Eastern Taoist principles of mental health as evidenced in classical Chinese medicine. Meditative and breathing practices – mindfulness – are drawn from Buddhism, and cognitive-behavioral methods from science. Health psychology and its focus on mental-emotional aspects of physical health and illness are combined with transpersonal psychology and an emphasis on consciousness beyond the individual. “Power therapies” are used to treat trauma response, with nutritional approaches and therapeutic exercise to support them.

Physical…mental…emotional…spiritual…metaphysical. Logical-analytical thinking out of ancient Greece coupled with abstract-holistic cognition of ancient China. Yin-within-Yang-within-Yin-within…. And, ‘psyche’ interprets as ’soul’ and relates to ‘pneuma’, meaning ‘breath’.

One of the least understood areas of medical science is that of the human mind, and in particular, emotions. We know that there is cellular memory, that tissue can reflect and even contain emotional content, that fluid levels can fluctuate according to mood, that one can control certain bodily processes by mental focus, and that the celiac (solar) plexus represents a ‘body-brain’. And more. We are not people who have bodies; we are our bodies, every bit as much as the mind that we call ‘Self’. We can’t separate the two. Western philosophy and science made a terrible mistake in doing so, and recently some measure of reintegration has been attempted; in the East, this distinction was never made. Western scientific thinking has also brought great progress to our understanding of human behavior, while the contribution of Eastern philosophies is unquestionable.

Transpersonal Psychology, which emerged 40 years ago, focuses on health and human potential. Spiritual and metaphysical aspects are reintroduced into the study of the mind, and the physical body is equally considered. It integrates the philosophies of Carl Jung and analytical psychology, Abraham Maslow and humanistic psychology, and Eastern philosophies and practices. In so doing, it includes pre-personal, personal, and transpersonal [transcendent] realms of human cognition and experience.

The disease model of Western medicine and psychology is not utilized. Rather, a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual approach is taken, and frameworks such as harmony / disharmony, balance / imbalance, disintegration / reintegration, and fragmentation / wholeness serve to define the human condition. Human development is pursued equally in intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social realms as well as creative expression. It posits a ’superconscious’ in addition to a subconscious, and the study and exploration of multiple states of consciousness is prioritized. Mystical experience and shamanic healing methods are also considered.

It’s easy to see how this approach to Western psychology is respectful of and strives to include Eastern philosophies, and its premise of balance as the interpretation of health is closely aligned with that of classical Chinese medicine. Practices such as Mindfulness and Breathwork, meditation, and somatic and energetic therapies are included, and the psychology of the body is honored. The primary focus of transpersonal psychology is the realization of our ultimate potential.

It’s time to put the pieces back together. Psyche and Soma… East and West. This is Integrative Psychotherapy.

Dr Anne Hilty is an health psychologist with a transpersonal orientation; she has a clinical practice in integrative psychotherapy which is additionally influenced by classical Chinese medicine, somatic psychology, and Asian shamanic traditions. Located in the Central district of Hong Kong, she can be contacted at: annehilty at gmail dot com.

We all know about intelligence: the kind measured by IQ (and Mensa) tests. A measurement of verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematic skills, this appears on first consideration to be an accurate portrait of intellect. Howard Gardner, a psychologist at Harvard, theorized (and popularized) the concept of “multiple intelligences” during the past two decades, a theory which highlights types of intelligence beyond this measure: musical, kinetic, visual-spatial, and more. While critics suggest that some of these so-called “intelligences” are actually talents, Gardner counters with the proposal that if they are, so are the abilities one might have in the original concept of intelligence – that is, if we are musically talented (rather than having a high musical intellect), then we are also verbally or mathematically talented. The concepts are parallel.

Daniel Goleman, a psychologist at Rutgers and visiting professor at Harvard, developed two aspects of Gardner’s theory – intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences – into what he refers to as emotional intelligence. His book by the same name, published in 1995, was a best-seller for nearly two years. His earliest work was in the field of meditation, and he directs a center dedicated to the study of meditation’s effects on emotional intelligence. Currently, he is working on a concept he calls, social intelligence.

Many scientists are now studying the concept of emotional intelligence, and it is applied to business, education, politics, and many other settings. Unlike the traditional IQ, which is more or less static throughout one’s life, emotional intelligence can be improved with training.

Emotional intelligence [EI] is both innate and learned. Often, the distinction is made between emotional intelligence, which a person has to some degree or another from birth, and emotional quotient [EQ], which is measurable and includes learned skills. Emotional intelligence is given many definitions, but one that I particularly like is: “the innate potential to feel, use, communicate, recognize, remember, describe, identify, learn from, manage, understand and explain emotions” [Steve Hein].

Synonyms for the concept of emotional intelligence might be: emotional sensitivity, emotional memory, emotional processing and problem-solving ability, or emotional learning ability.

There is a generally accepted, 4-branch model of emotional intelligence: emotional perception, (for example, identifying emotions in faces, music, stories), emotional facilitation of thought (such as, relating emotions to other mental sensations, and using emotion in reason and problem-solving), emotional understanding (solving emotional problems – knowing how various emotions are similar or opposite to one another, and what relations they convey), and emotional management (understanding the social implications of one’s emotions and having the ability to regulate them in oneself and in others).

A simpler and more direct version is this: (1) accurately identify emotions; (2) use emotions to help you think; (3) understand what causes emotions; and, (4) manage to stay open to these emotions in order to experience the wisdom of our feelings.

Our brains have three primary regions: the neocortex, by which all cognition occurs; the brain stem, the concern of which is primal, reflexive functions designed for survival (such as breathing and heartbeat); and, the limbic system. The latter, also called the “paleo-mammalian brain”, is what we know to be our emotional center. The brain developed in the primordial human, and develops in each fetus, from the brain stem upward, based on importance for survival; as the limbic system develops after the brain stem and before the neocortex, it may actually be more important to our survival than our conscious thought processes.

There’s a saying in biomedicine: “That to which we give attention grows.” The human species has emphasized the abilities of the neocortex for millenia, and the neocortex in present-day humans is vastly larger and more well-developed than that of our ancestors. However, the limbic system is under-developed, and the argument can be made that we would do well to place more emphasis upon this aspect of our intellect.

This is also culturally based: in Asia, for example, great emphasis is placed upon social harmony and, therefore, emotional intelligence. Connectedness is highly valued, and emotional resonance with one another the basis of society. In Korea, where I made my home for five years, this is called nunchi, “the subtle art of listening and gauging another’s mood” [Hilty, Streetwise in Seoul]. It is such a powerful phenomenon that Korean people feel their thoughts might be able to be read by one another, and they keep their emotions well in check. It’s also one of the cultural difficulties between Koreans and non-Asian foreigners who have no awareness of or experience with this idea.

In our brains, the amygdala is a part of the limbic system that responds quickly and dramatically to perceived threat. Designed to protect the human from harm in a world of constant physical stress, it is now somewhat obsolete in that, except for those in war zones for example, most of us are living in a “complex, symbolic reality with symbolic threats” [Goleman]. The amygdala communicates directly with the pre-frontal cortex [PFC], the “executive center” of the brain which scans all possible intellectual input for this “perceived threat” and then controls, through the left PFC in particular, the over-reaction that the amygdala would otherwise generate. Of course, many other parts of the brain also contribute to emotional intellect.

Scientists have also hypothesized and are studying the possibility of mirror neurons in humans, which are known to exist in primates; these neurons elicit a mirror image of what another organism is doing, feeling, or intending, to synchronize interaction. It seems that human brains interact as a social brain network, attuning and regulating themselves to the circuitry of one another.

The circuitry between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed until one’s mid-20s, so when it comes to emotional regulation, we must teach – and be patient with – youth. All neural circuitry is malleable, able to continue to be altered and developed throughout a person’s life, a quality which is called neuroplasticity. There are many ways to develop our Emotional Quotient, from tools of self-awareness such as mindfulness to a variety of meditative practices which science has shown to strengthen the left prefrontal cortex. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills are the four areas in which the development of EQ focuses.

It’s imperative for our own growth and development, as individuals and as societies, that we learn the wisdom of our emotions – necessary for decision-making and for creating a more benevolent and interconnected world.

How’s your emotional intelligence? Would you qualify for a “high EQ society”? For a free test of your own emotional intelligence, I recommend this site: http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=1121.

Dr Anne Hilty is an health psychologist with a transpersonal orientation; she has a clinical practice in integrative psychotherapy which is additionally influenced by classical Chinese medicine, somatic psychology, and Asian shamanic traditions. Located in the Central district of Hong Kong, she can be contacted at: annehilty at gmail dot com.

A variety of methods were used to help the supervisee develop counseling skills, case conceptualization, her ability to self evaluate, and professional role development. Along with monitoring and evaluating, advising and instructing, I tried to support her and her professional growth and to share my experiences with clients, including mistakes I made.

We worked on developing treatment plans as she needed this skill for her work in the agencies. We went to the bookstore and she purchased one of the excellent treatment planning guides, and I helped her walk through choosing the long-term goals, short-term objectives, and therapeutic interventions. She was resistant to this process because of her postmodern orientation, but as I helped her see that she could choose the goals, objectives, and interventions that she was comfortable with and disregard the others, she became more open to the process. I reviewed her charts throughout our work and am happy to report she developed the ability to write good treatment plans.

Each week she would self-report on cases about which she had questions, and I would attempt to help her conceptualize the case. I helped her with the DSM-IV which she also was adverse to due to her theoretical orientation, but I persisted in helping her understand the efficacy of starting with the descriptive indicators to formulate a case. I used supportive teaching interventions, working to increase her self-confidence at knowing who was sitting in the room with her.

We roleplayed working with one of her conduct disordered teens, trying out different interventions and watching some of them fall flat. I gave her clinical articles on working with antisocial personality disorders, and on how to know which therapies are effective with which clients. I had her research DBT on the Internet. I gave her advice on professional development when she had questions about whether or not to develop her bilingual skills (yes!).

We discussed countertransference and the some of the supervisee’s family of origin issues. At one point, she became demoralized, questioning if she was even cut out to be a therapist, and I highlighted her strengths and normalized this as part of the process. Her use of self was restricted as she tried to turn herself into Michael White, and I attempted to help her understand that she would develop her own way of being a therapist based on her authentic self, including her background as an educator. Unfortunately, her interpretation of postmodern therapy left her alienated from herself as she did not believe in psychotherapy as psychoeducation. I shared research with her that psychoeducation is the preferred treatment for certain populations, e.g. anger management clients. I also had to use confrontation to encourage her to try harder with the court ordered boys and not just shrug and wait until her time was up.

© 2010 Catherine Auman

Catherine Auman, MFT is a CAMFT Certified Supervisor and psychotherapist with over 25 years experience based in Los Angeles, Calfornia. She has advanced training in both traditional and alternative methodologies based on ancient traditions and wisdom teachings. Visit her online at http://www.catherineauman.com.

When it came time to assess my supervisee, I focused on her diagnostic and treatment planning skills, her theoretical basis, the stage of her professional development and skill level, and her interpersonal style:

The supervisee had many of the characteristics expected at the novice level: confusion between textbook knowledge and practical application, insecurity about the “doingness” of therapy, and lack of therapeutic techniques and case management skills for a variety of issues. She needed to become comfortable with client sessions, learn how to conduct an intake, take session notes, and how to present a case. She didn’t know how to identify when a client might have an Axis II diagnosis, and as novices often do, tended to under-diagnose. She needed to learn to research issues online or elsewhere.

My supervisee was very much in awe of skill and technique that had taken twenty years to develop and measured herself against that. She wanted to be able to do Narrative Therapy as well as Michael White with all her clients, and when this didn’t happen, blamed herself. I worked with her to broaden her view and be able to honor the personal strengths she brings to the therapy setting, such as her previous career as an educator.

On the plus side, my supervisee had a very pleasant, engaging demeanor and self-presentation that helped her establish a good bond with most clients. She has an innate sense of how to help, and good clinical instincts.

The specific goals I had for the supervisee were at times different than the goals she had for herself:

The supervisee identified her goals as: to become comfortable with the intake process, to know how to recognize and deal with a crisis, to have confidence when sitting with a client, and to “learn something about treatment planning although we don’t call it that.” She said she might have transference issues during supervision due to growing up with a highly critical authority figure. During the course of our work together, it became apparent that she also had the goal of being able to do Narrative Therapy as well as Michael White (while still in her traineeship).

My goals were: to help her develop counseling skills, to learn the rudiments of case conceptualization, to increase her professional role development and her ability to self evaluate. I also wanted for her to learn the benefits of an eclectic approach, to be able to enjoy this beginning stage and “not knowing,” that she honor the particular strengths that she brings to therapy, i.e. her background as a teacher, instead of trying to eradicate it. I wanted to help her be easy on herself for her learning curve, and to understand that she may someday be as good a clinician as Michael White, in not less than fifteen years time.

© 2010 Catherine Auman

Catherine Auman, MFT is a CAMFT Certified Supervisor and psychotherapist with over 25 years experience based in Los Angeles, Calfornia. She has advanced training in both traditional and alternative methodologies based on ancient traditions and wisdom teachings. Visit her online at http://www.catherineauman.com

The methods used for evaluation were self-report, record review, and self-evaluation. I had the supervisee complete several written evaluations of her progress in acquiring clinical skills and of the supervisory experience.

The supervisee gained a great deal during the time I knew her. She became increasingly comfortable with diagnosis, treatment planning, case management, legal and ethical issues, and note taking. She understood the dictum “First do no harm” and was careful and alert to issues of client safety. She exhibited a good sense of how to help, and bonded well with most clients. She developed in her ability to observe interactions, choose and implement interventions, and assess their effectiveness. She began to learn to identity personality disorders and devise treatment strategies for working with them.

The supervisee struggled with non-postmodern strategies. She was resistant to treatment planning and documentation (as are most therapists) and had unrealistic expectations of progress. She will need to increase her willingness to be confrontive with patients and not strive to be liked at all times.

She was being taught by her supervisor at school to learn one theory completely and only later to venture into other theoretical work, and this clashed with my viewpoint. We agreed to disagree, and I helped her develop in the ways I have outlined above.

I had some good feedback about this, although it came from the supervisee somewhat grudgingly. One day she told me she realized she couldn’t use Narrative Therapy with all clients because, “Sometimes the clients think the narrative questioning is just being weird. They don’t like it.” Then one day toward the end, she came in very proud to tell me she had done the best in her class on the Mock Orals and “Thank you, that was directly due to the work you did with me that the other students didn’t get.”

Her parting comment to me was, however, “You’re modern,” said like it was an insult. I felt like I was just not hip enough, even though I had never cared before.

I enjoyed the supervisory experience and see my major strengths as a supervisor as my breadth of experience and love of mentoring. Perhaps my biggest weakness is that I enjoy taking over and formulating and theorizing a bit too much, instead of encouraging the supervisee to do it. I will watch for this in the future.

© 2010 Catherine Auman

Catherine Auman, MFT is a CAMFT Certified Supervisor and psychotherapist based in Los Angeles, Calfornia. She has advanced training in both traditional and alternative methodologies based on ancient traditions and wisdom teachings. Visit her online at http://www.catherineauman.com

Maria Montessori was born in the town of Chiaravalle (province of Ancona, Italy) in 1870. She became the first female physician in Italy upon her graduation from medical school in 1896. Then, she was chosen to represent Italy at two different woman’s conferences, in Berlin in 1896 and in London in 1900.

Her clinical observations led her to analyze how children learn, and she concluded that they build themselves from what they find in their environment. Shifting her focus from the body to the mind, she returned to the university in 1901, this time to study psychology and philosophy. In 1904, she was made a professor of anthropology at the University of Rome.

Maria Montessori is known as a developer of Montessori approach based on a child psychology. It can be established only through the method of external observation. We must renounce all idea of making any record of internal states, which can be revealed only by the introspection of the subject himself. Her intention was to keep in touch with the researches of others, but to make herself independent of them, proceeding to work without preconceptions of any kind. She confirmed that “all methods of experimental psychology may be reduced to one, namely, carefully recorded observation of the subject”. Treating of children must necessarily intervene the study of development. Discipline is another very important part of Montessori approach and it must come through liberty. She calls an individual disciplined when he is master of himself, and can regulate his own conduct when it shall be necessary to follow some rule of life.

Such a concept of active discipline is not easy to comprehend or to apply. But it contains a great educational principle, very different from the old-time absolute and undiscussed coercion to immobility.

What about lessons in school?
In Montessori method the lesson corresponds to an experiment. The more fully the teacher is acquainted with the methods of experimental psychology, the better will she understand how to give the lesson. In the first days of the school the children do not learn the idea of collective order; this idea follows and comes as a result of those disciplinary exercises through which the child learns to discern between good and evil. The lessons are individual, and brevity must be one of their chief characteristics. Another characteristic quality of the lesson in the is its simplicity. It must be stripped of all that is not absolute truth. The teacher must not lose herself in vain words. The carefully chosen words must be the most simple it is possible to find, and must refer to the truth. The third quality of the lesson is its objectivity. The lesson must be presented in such a way that the personality of the teacher shall disappear. There shall remain in evidence only the object to which she wishes to call the attention of the child.

Montessori approach is also based on exercises of practical life such as personal cleanliness, intellectual exercises (objective lessons interrupted by short rest periods;nomenclature, sense exercises), gymnastics (ordinary movements done gracefully, normal position of the body, walking, marching in line, salutations, movements for attention, placing of objects gracefully), free games, directed games (if possible, in the open air), manual work (clay modeling, design, etc.), collective gymnastics and songs, and exercises to develop forethought – caring for the plants and animals.

In order to protect the child’s development, especially in neighborhoods where standards of child hygiene are not yet prevalent in the home, it would be well if a large part of the child’s diet could be entrusted to the Montessori school. It is well known today that the diet must be adapted to the physical nature of the child. The diet of little children must be rich in fats and sugar: the first for reserve matter and the second for plastic tissue. In fact, sugar is a stimulant to tissues in the process of formation. As for the form of preparation, it is well that the alimentary substances should always be minced, because the child has not yet the capacity for completely masticating the food, and his stomach is still incapable of fulfilling the function of mincing food matter. Consequently, soups and meat balls should constitute the ordinary form of dish for the child’s table.

There are many crucial parts of Montessori method that I will try to explain on my own website, and in the other articles. Montessori method as every other method has some positive and negative sides that other
psychologists are researching.

http://parenthomecareer.webs.com

Parent with experience
http://parenthomecareer.webs.com

Abstract:

In this paper I want to review the investigations from the Citizens Committee for Human Rights in Mental Health. It is this organisation in the United States and other countries that have consistently brought the dangers of psychiatry to the attention of the general public who by and large are the victims of a marriage between pharmaceutical companies and their paid distributors of lethal drugs, psychiatrists. This alliance has been based on the greed for money, profits and kudos all in the name of a science that as one leading authority called – “hokum”

Introduction: A Short History

The history of psychiatry is strewn with the deaths; torture and misadventure that would make any sane person wonder why it has been allowed to continue to practice this black art for so long. Of course the anti-psychiatry movement has been around for almost as long as the profession itself. How did this all begin? You have to go back to the days of the asylums that grew up in the early part of the 1800’s particularly in England and the USA. These places were no more than prisons for the mad, those souls that could not function within the societies norms that dictated how one should act and behave. The head of the asylums was a medical doctor, the first psychiatrist. This man caged the mentally ill in cells, with no heating, little food but rotten scraps and in order to cure them of their madness the inmates were tortured by flogging, burning, immersion in water and many other inhumane acts called treatment. The down fall of the asylums started in England with the York Retreat a Quaker run institute for the mentally ill run on very different lines from the asylums that were government institutions. In the York retreat the inmates were given jobs to perform, were helped by keeping simple rules and rewarded for following them.

They received humane treatment that would lead them to God and sanity. While the York retreat had some success it was still based on control of the mad. Later as the years went by and the 19th century ended the rise of the huge mental hospitals arrived. Psychiatry had new weapons to defeat the mentally ill, this time with brain surgery called lobotomies, hydro-treatment, fire hoses to spray patients with forced jets of water, wet blanket wrapping, where patients would be bound in wet sheets on a bed unable to move for hours, insulin injections, to cause artificial brain seizures and of course electric convulsive therapy – shocking patients with bolts of electricity in order to numb the brain into not remembering why they had problems in the first place. As the 21st century arrived the cost of these hospitals became so burdensome to governments they closed them down and in their stead introduced “care in the community” which ironically did not care at all and most mental health patients became homeless and the new beggars in our streets. It was not until the early 1900’s that finally Freud introduced his “talking cure” a humane way to try and understand the plight of the mentally disturbed and a way of giving them insight and a possible cure. Of course you had to have money for this treatment much as you do today.

Psychoanalysis is for those who can pay the price. As the century blossomed so did Freud’s theory which was to become many types of therapy from behaviourism, cognitive, transactional and many more variegation of his original idea. In fact without Freud there would be no modern psychology as we know it. From about 1960 a new ear for psychiatry emerged. All those barbaric treatments that never worked were about to be replaced, not by another type of institutions but by a chemical straightjacket that came from the pharmaceutical industry. Now drugs were the new form of treatment, suddenly the lowly carer of the insane, and the psychiatrist could become a real doctor and prescribe psychopharmecutical drugs to all. So an era of drug pushing began, where new mental disorders were manufactured in order to sell more drugs. Early in the century Krapelin invented a small book called the DSM (diagnostic statistical manual of mental illness) in this book he gave lists of mental symptoms that if added up in one person lead to a label for their problem, such as depression, anxiety, mania, hysteria, homosexuality, immoral behaviour and much more. As the years went by the profession of psychiatry kept adding to this book and inventing new labels in order to match a drug to manage it.

Today we have the DSM IV version with the next one almost completed as number V. Over the years it has discovered all sorts of new ways to classify human emotions as being mentally ill. Bipolar disorders, ADHD in children, PTSD for soldiers (shell shock of WW1) and many others. While these labels may have some usefulness and have been recognised as genuine problems for a few people, now of course according to psychiatry we are all mentally ill, if not at this moment but in our lifetime. So they divide populations into existing clients of drugs and potential clients of drugs. Today mental health is not a profession, not even a scientific medical branch but simply a marketing arm of the pharmaceutical industry that pays millions of dollars annually to keep the myth of mental illness alive and expanding.

The Evidence;

Here I would like to list some facts that speak for themselves.

• 100 million people worldwide are on psychotropic drugs
• In addition to crippling scores of people daily, every month psychiatric drugs kill an estimated 3,000 worldwide.
• 70% of all psychiatrics drugs are prescribed by general physicians.
• 374 mental disorders are listed; almost all with out a single scientific test to prove they actually exist biologically.
• Psychiatric drugs in 1966 were 44 but by today that has risen to over 180.
• The top five drugs gross more money than half the world’s nations.
• Drugs make over a third of a trillion dollars a year.
• 20 million children around the world are prescribed psychiatric drugs (USA 9 million alone). Most under 5 years old for non-scientific problems.
• Every 75 seconds someone is involuntarily committed a mental institution in the US alone.
• Electric shock therapy is still in use even though it causes memory loss and has little long term benefit to the patients. This is straight forward abuse of Human Rights.

All the above were researched by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights and backed worldwide by some of the most eminent psychiatrists and psychologists today.

The long list above is only the tip of the psychiatric abuse saga. It is a profession based on money and more money. Most drugs in the market are only tested for less than eight weeks in clinical trials before being given FDA approval by a panel of psychiatrists paid for by the very drug companies they are supposed to be regulating. Not a single medical drug on the market today is free of side effects which of course are the real effects of taking dangerous drugs for often fictisous mental illnesses. You cannot solve a life issue my masking it with drugs and expecting to feel better. The issue is still there – so you have to take the drugs for a lifetime in order to never think about your real problems. Of course with the side effects of one drug you are prescribed many others all to combat each others effects – so most people with a diagnosis of mental problems end up on a cocktail of drugs for life. It is amazing the amount of money people spend to chemically anesthetise themselves when a tiny proportion of that cost could be spent seeing a counsellor, psychologist and therapist and actually dealing with their issues and never having to take a drug in the fist place.

Conclusions

Psychiatry, disables, kills and creates drug addicts. Simple really when you add up the costs to society. Do they still have a place in modern medicine at all? Well yes, they could concentrate on helping severely disturbed people with understanding, kindness even when they may have to assert some control over that individual for a short time. However for the vast majority of patients taking psychotropic drugs they could stop them tomorrow (or at least phase them out to minimise withdrawal effects) and start going to see a therapist. I would recommend a counsellor skilled in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for depression and anxiety, Transactional Analysis for parenting, communications skills, stress at work and many other day to day issues that require some practical skills insight. For personality problems with anger, emotional turmoil, long term unhappiness and dysfunction then a psychoanalyst would be perhaps your choice. Most psychologists who treat patients in counselling are Eclectic this means they borrow from many styles of theory and practice to use the most appropriate approach based on each clients needs. The list is endless but any therapy that helps you to become stable, responsible for your own actions and gives you the insight into choices is better by far than a life time of drugs and unhappiness.

If you feel the need – go see a therapist today – find out how to get away from dispensed drugs and start to find a purpose in life again.

References:

Citizens Commission on Human Rights – 2009 – Psychiatric Violations of Human Rights
DVD Making a killing – Exposure of Drug Companies links to Psychiatry

DSM-IV Statistical Manual of Mental Illness – Version 4

R. Gross (1996) – Psychology – Theory of Mind and Behaviour – refs to historical notes. Hodder and Stoughton Publications (Words 1622)

Dr. Stephen Myler is from Leicester in England, an industrial town in the Midlands of the United Kingdom. He holds a B.Sc (Honours) in Psychology from the UKs Open University the largest in the UK; he also has an M.Sc and Ph.D in Psychology from Knightsbridge University in Denmark. In addition to this Stephen holds many diplomas and awards in a variety of academic areas including journalism, finance, teaching and advanced therapy for mental health. Stephen has as a Professor of Psychology many years teaching experience in colleges and universities in England and China to post 16 young adults, instructing in psychology, sociology, English, marketing and business. He has been fortunate to travel extensively from Australia to Africa to the United Sates, South America, Borneo, most of Europe and Russia. Stephens favourite hobby is the study of primates and likes to play badminton. He believes that students who enjoy classes with humour and enthusiasm from the teacher always come back eager to learn more.