Where Has All the ENCHANTMENT Gone? Long Time Passing
I thought you might enjoy reading a professional article I prepared several years ago. It is just as current today and really speaks to a tragedy in our health care system that we must all try to combat. I am trying to explain some of the problems of managed care which penetrate much more deeply than out pocketbooks. These problems penetrate our minds, bodies and spirits! I am eager to hear from you, as always.
Those of us who became clinicians 15, 20, 25 and 30 years ago did so because we had a mission. Each in his or her own fashion had a reason for becoming a clinician that tapped into a need to be of service to humanity, dedicated to utilizing skills that stressed talking and listening as an art/science. We served internships, wrote dissertations and gladly entered what we saw as a 'healing' profession.
In fact, we achieved what I refer to as THE ENCHANTED SELF (i.e. Achieving Positive states of being that are a reflection of each person's uniqueness). Each was able to utilize the uniqueness of one's personal history, and talents, serving the public in a meaningful and skilled manner.
As private as the treatment room had been, most can look back on those early years, as years of collegial support and understanding. Whether one became an ego-psychologist, a behaviorist, or a family therapist, each of us knew the mentoring, and the success that went with each discipline. We were able to achieve some form of enchantment within the treatment room, offering our clients the best of ourselves, psychologically supported by our colleagues and society at large. We were confident to encourage our clients to stay for the appropriate length of treatment, comfortable making clinical judgments and enthused about learning new techniques and clinical skills. We offset our sleepless nights and anxieties around difficult clients, with elation and moments of pure joy, as we saw clients grow and heal.
Those days seem long gone. Now we are in an era of disenchantment. By that I mean we suffer the emotional and financial devastation of Managed Care. Whether a clinician chooses to practice within Managed Care or not, he or she is not protected from disenchantment. Disenchantment is all around.
The public does not respect or understand the art/science of psychotherapy as they used to. Nor are the younger clinicians trained and mentored professionally to the standards that we took for granted.
Clients come into psychotherapy, often with lowered expectations as to what therapy is, motivated primarily by their pocketbook or their Managed Care's pocketbook. They expect cures within 4, 6 or 8 sessions. After all, that is what their plan offers. They are led to believe that a few sessions are an adequate number of contact hours with a therapist. They expect miracles while no longer having a cursory understanding of what talking therapy is all about. They, like most of America , want a quick fix, and they want it now! Of course, this can not be! Nothing good happens overnight.
Giving ourselves a genuine dose of positive regard, beginning to acknowledge our talents, strengths, coping skills and lost potential; learning how to negotiate, react and act; and finally finding pleasure and replenishment in all the right places are universal necessities to living a life of meaning and purpose.
As we find ourselves as "mental health providers" in a state of disenchantment, how can we utilize what we know about human potential to offset our own emotional and spiritual malaise? We know from the study of human potential that optimism and hope are extremely important factors in staying well both physically and emotionally. How can we hold on to these capacities within ourselves? How can we at the same time fight Managed Care? In my book, THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy, I discuss how important our own histories are. Each of us has accumulated many memories. Our memory banks are unique to ourselves and hold within them, the potential for hope and optimism. Let me explain.
Only you can review your life's history. Rather than looking for dysfunctional aspects of your past, search out and discover moments when you displayed talents, strengths and/or wonderful coping skills. Only you can review your life, discovering and recognizing the moments when you were filled with the potential for growth and success even if you were stymied. Now is a golden opportunity to look through your past and recognize these wondrous moments.
Perhaps as a child you excelled at playing chess or tennis. Perhaps you were the child that brought home and nurtured abandoned birds and animals. Perhaps you longed to study the piano but there was no money and you could not take lessons. Yet even now you may remember the longing you had to play, or, perhaps to fend off feelings of anxiety in a quarreling fancily, you developed marvelous organizational skills. Were you the adolescent that displayed leadership skills, becoming president of the junior high school student council? Or were you the child that loved to dance or write poetry or just sit and daydream? You, who have guided so many others in finding their paths, can take the time to review your own history to find what is most positive about yourself.
Once you have begun to review and itemize your talents, strengths, coping skills and potential you are well on your way to bringing enchantment back into your life. Even during these dark days of Managed Care you can utilize your own enchantment in several fashions. You may discover in reviewing your past that you have much more potential to help in the fight for Managed Care then you thought was possible. Directing yourself to be a clearer and stronger warrior in the battle will in and of itself decrease anxiety and lessen the likelihood of depression. We all know that from what we advise our clients.
If a review of your past makes clear that you are not cleared to be a warrior in this battle, you can still access long forgotten talents and pleasures which can make your life more fulfilling. Perhaps it is time to take up tennis again. After all, you may have a few more open hours. Perhaps it is time to join a writer's group or offer volunteer services on the local first aid squad. Perhaps it is time to finally make those plans for a walking or biking tour next summer and use extra hours to strengthen those old leg muscles. In reviewing your talents you may discover new avenues to provide mental health services to your local community.
Remember, whatever way you go, you will find yourself most successful if you are utilizing your own specific talents, and coping skills. You will soon find that you are able to expand your horizons and have a more positive sense of yourself. You will be back on the road to enchantment.
About The Author
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein , originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF®, a method of bringing delight and meaning into everyday living, invites you to view her new line of ENCHANTED WOMAN products, downloadable e-books, and free gifts at http://www.enchantedself.com. Chat with others in Dr. Holstein's e-group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/encself/join, and sign up for her fre e e-group at www.enchantedself.com. Order her book, THE ENCHANTED SELF: A Positive Therapy, or the CD-rom or tape version and her book RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT: The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, or the ED-rom version, at http://www.enchantedself.com/ordering/ordering.htm.
 Google News Updated : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:51:32 GMT Manatee dies before reaching Florida - South Coast Today
South Coast Today - By AARON GOUVEIA and KC MYERS EAST DENNIS - After a dramatic rescue Saturday morning, a wayward manatee known affectionately as Dennis died Sunday with just one hour before he reached SeaWorld in Florida. Manatee almost gave them the slip Cape Cod Manatee Dies on Way Back to Florida Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:14:57 GMT Doubling of Vitamin D for Children Is Urged - New York Times
New York Times - By AP CHICAGO (AP) - The country’s leading group of pediatricians is recommending that children receive double the usually suggested amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it might help prevent serious diseases. Pediatricians double vitamin D recommendations Pediatricians double vitamin D recommendations Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:45:16 GMT Alaska ethics probe says Palin abused her power - Reuters
Reuters - By Caren Bohan CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (Reuters) - An Alaska ethics inquiry found on Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin, the US Republican vice presidential candidate, abused her authority by pressuring subordinates to fire a state trooper involved in a feud with ... Palin: Bad Guys vs. Good Guys Palin talks economic worries in Appalachian Ohio Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:10:53 GMT UPDATE 1-Tropical Storm Nana forms in Atlantic - Reuters
Reuters - MIAMI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Nana, the 14th of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed on Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Caribbean islands, the US National Hurricane Center said. Tropical Storm Nana forms in Atlantic Tropical Storm Nana Forms Over Eastern Atlantic Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:29:57 GMT Television Review | 'My Own Worst Enemy' - New York Times
New York Times - By ALESSANDRA STANLEY Most people sometimes wake up on the wrong side of bed. The hero of “My Own Worst Enemy” on NBC wakes up on the wrong side of his brain. 'Worst Enemy' Just Isn't Bourne-Again Bond Spy-vs.-normal-guy premise of 'Worst Enemy' doesn't work Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:54:37 GMT Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony renew vows along with Carlos Beltran ... - New York Daily News
New York Daily News - BY DAVE GOLDINER Just four years after saying "I do," Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony reportedly secretly renewed their vows in Las Vegas Sunday - and they had company at the altar. Inside Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony's Renewal Ceremony J.Lo’s vows not staying in Vegas Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:39:55 GMT Worth the trouble - Boston Herald Boston Herald - By Dan Duggan As Red Sox [team stats] fans shook out the cobwebs yesterday morning after yet another marathon postseason game, it would have been easy to forget some of the positive developments from the Sox’ 9-8, 11-inning loss to Tampa Bay in Game 2 ... Video: Tampa Bay Wins Slugfest on Sacrifice Fly Rays win respect, too Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:12:18 GMT Legitimate Work From Home Jobs |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Is a grudge-laden heart sabotaging your success in business and... Read More I am an Angel artist on a passionate spiritual journey... Read More The outer conditions of a person's life will always be... Read More Nowadays the majority of people live in very large cities.... Read More I love to watch people at airports, malls and even... Read More The New Year has not started out very well for... Read More There is much said in the word "integrity"! According to... Read More I work in a factory, and we have supervisors who... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 22,... Read More Rejection! Who hasn't experienced the horrible feeling of being rejected?... Read More BONZA BOTTLER DAY is any day when the date and... Read More Isn't that an appealing title? How to Have an Effortless... Read More The world is perfect the way it is. The world... Read More You Can Overcome panic attacks and anxiety! That is great... Read More Those of you, who can fathom yourselves welcoming and enjoying... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of January 27,... Read More When people talk about enrichment, they are usually thinking of... Read More Yes you got it. You read it correctly. We're not... Read More Why do we wait so long, before we start thinking... Read More It is not very often that I have an issue... Read More Why 'you are special'?Why and how does it matter?Things you... Read More I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take... Read More Notes are very powerful. They express your thanks, encouragement, sympathy,... Read More 1. Breakfast in Bed.Imagine a lavish breakfast arrives brimming over... Read More How come, as women, we always second-guess ourselves? Are we... Read More
Adsense
websites
What Forgiveness Is Not
What an Artist Experiences When Working With the Angels
How You Can Change Your Destiny
How to Overcome Loneliness
He Who Laughs...Lasts---Where Has All The Laughter Gone?
I Hate My Computer and Other Inspirational Thoughts
Why Integrity!
Rocking The Boat
Justice Delayed
How To Deal With Rejection
Are YOU Ready for Bonza Bottler Day?
How To Have An Effortless Life
A Perfect World in the Making
7 Strategies to Overcoming Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Change
On Track
Win Your Own Lotto
Anything That?s Worth Doing, Is Worth Doing Poorly
Why Does it Take So Long to Slow Down
War, Disasters and All is Well
Why You Are Special and Why Does It Matter
Joy in Perseverance
The Power of Notes
5 Simple Tips On Using Your Senses
Trusting Yourself and Others
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
My Favorite Movies Journal
The movies--what a wonderful way to spend an afternoon! I... Read More
Tsunami
This article was channelled through me by an entity called... Read More
You Can Quickly And Easily Solve Your Problems
Today I just wanted to write you a quick note... Read More
Living Authentically in a Masked World
Humanity seems to be the only species that never seems... Read More
Trust the Lord and Go to The Hole
This is my new favorite quote. Now to understand it... Read More
Persistency - Element In Reality
One of the keys to being successful in anything you... Read More
Getting Unstuck
According to the Buddhists, between January 29 and February 12... Read More
The Dead
Direct Answers - Column for the week of February 9,... Read More
Making Commitments of Love and Courage
There is a story about a little girl who suffered... Read More
Inspirations: Even More Things Ive Noticed Along the Way So Far
Some people live in and talk about the past so... Read More
Inspiration From Jack Dempsey
I really like Jack Dempsey's great one liner: "A champion... Read More
A Bad Move
Direct Answers - Column for the week of April 7,... Read More
Product Testing
Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 24,... Read More
Brilliance in Balance
"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else;... Read More
Small Steps, Great Strides
Sacred space, sacred timeBelieve in your personal power, retrieve if... Read More
Healing The Abandonment Wounds
I have counseled individuals, couples, families and business partners for... Read More
The Most Important Investment You Can Make For Your Old Age - And No, Its Not Money!
When I was twenty-two, I was befriended by a woman... Read More
Night of the Living Dead
For many people, life has become as dull and despairing... Read More
Care And Maintenance Of The Human Hard Drive
The human brain is very much like a hard drive.... Read More
Two Drops Of Water
Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 17,... Read More
What Footsie Taught Us!
We have just inherited a rag, tag and bobtail of... Read More
My Lost Immortality
Oh my God, I'm not immortal anymore! What happened? Where's... Read More
Realistic Living
" The fountain of content must spring up in the... Read More
Anything That?s Worth Doing, Is Worth Doing Poorly
Yes you got it. You read it correctly. We're not... Read More
Walking on a Path of Life
We set out walking along a route where one foot... Read More
Inspirational |