Thanks, Kermit, for a kindly response.
My psychological training, such as it is, comprises the following: (For those who have read this before, please excuse).
I spent 14 years as a recreation therapist in three different psychiatric facilities. First was the Nassau County Medical Center on Long Island for seven years. There I worked with a wide range of psychiatric disorders, but mostly schizophrenia and depression.
Next was a two-year stint at the Northport VA, where I encountered most of my PTSD folks.
Third, I spent four years at St Peter's Hospital in Olympia, WA, which had the only psych beds in northern Cooper County. There I had the majority of my exposure to personality disorders, such as Identity Disorders brought about by long-term sexual abuse, especially child molestation and rape. Olympia, WA is a nexus for women who experience these kinds of abuse.
Lastly, I was a psychotherapist in two different family and child counseling centers for a total of one year. My last six months was spent in a residential facility for teen-aged men who had been arrested as sexual predators. Nice guys, actually, when you get past some of the more troubling behaviors. I wrote a novel about my experiences at this facility, called: The Men of Honor of Unity House, and it follows the efforts of my team and I as we worked to bring these young men into a healthier and happier state of being. One of my main treatment goals was to teach these guys how to ask a young woman to the prom even when they are legally required to disclose their past offenses to the girl and her parents (!). Those episodes went a lot easier than most would think, as the parents were very forgiving and understanding in the main. The book is serialized and is posted at the Mountain News.
My academic background includes a BA in biology from Hofstra and a MA in Recreation from CUNY.
But perhaps the most important element of my psych knowledge is my own personal psychotherapy, as it is for most working clinicians. I've had over 800 individual sessions at last count.
Nevertheless, I consider my 25 years studying with Ramtha the Enlightened One, here in Yelm, WA, to be the most significant contribution to my understanding of the human condition.
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