We Know More Than We Understand

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, a community north of Los Angeles. I am an only child and was adopted at five weeks old. When I was eleven or twelve, I read “The Psychology of CG Jung” by Jolande Jacobi. And thus began my interest in depth psychology. A seed was planted. I moved to New Orleans in 1977, where I finally “grew up” and finished my undergraduate degree. Here I attended my first Intensive Journal Workshop. This became a daily practice along with meditation. In 1979, I also met my partner, Lee.

In 1983, we moved to San Diego, and I completed the Community-Based Block Program in Counselor Education through San Diego State University. This particular program appealed to me, as its focus was on diversity, multiculturalism, and community-based work. I did do community-based work, serving the chronically mentally ill, the homeless, the dually diagnosed, persons with HIV and AIDS, and youth who were wards of the court. Since 1999, I have been in private practice. My cosmology has evolved, moving away from childhood Catholicism and towards Buddhism and non-dualistic thought. I now understand spirituality as a sense of meaning and purpose. Through the years, I have facilitated and organized workshops and retreats for both clients and friends. A future dream is to have my own workshop space that may be a part of an intentional living community. I hope to devise workshops that will include meditation, journaling, Internal Family Systems’ Parts work, psychodrama, and dreamwork.