Many of those who are drawn to my work, or appear in my world arrive with an archetypal split.
A divide between who they are and who they know they could be, the latter usually involves a more magical, prosperous, generous, loving, and creative identity than the life they have found themselves living.
The split likely emerged long ago as a response to life, a circumstance, or a situation- regardless, it is a constant reminder that nudges them to seek out more. Unfortunately, the soul does not speak as candidly and prompts through feelings, the sort of emotions we often ignore or suppress.
Some of them suffer from addictive behaviors, self-sabotage, creative insecurity, procrastination, and a myriad of other symptoms robbing them of joy, freedom, connection, and vitality. They can’t start what they want or can’t stop what they no longer want.
These are forms of ‘soul-sickness’, when an aspect of self has splintered off during a time when the ego could not hold the emotional burden placed upon the individual. I call these experiences ‘impactful moments”. The result of impact can be the splitting of an aspect of the psyche, it then becomes an autonomous self-identifying with characteristics or traits draining life, energy, and vibrancy from the individual.
The key is not necessarily more therapy, it’s usually not ‘more’ of anything actually….I find it is really about what is ‘less’.
Less mental energy, less stimulation, and less burdens of the heart.
People who suffer from fragmentation and soul-sickness have a variety of potential symptoms. Some have forgotten how to wander, wonder, and imagine…all crucial components to living a soulful and creative life.
Wonder feeds the CEO, wandering reminds the leader how to lead, imagining invokes solutions and resolutions for the problem solvers. Wondering is not for the faint of heart but for those who seek a quality life filled with the depths of soulful living.
The Greek word psyche (sp. psykhe) means “healing of the soul” and therapeia ‘curing’. The original purpose of psychotherapy was to tend to the soul. Soul tending does not specifically point to any particular religion or spiritual practice.
Tending to the soul is learning how to receive the desires, ideas, messages, and visual components delivered through the soma psyche connection- body and mind. Following the silver threads woven through daily life.
In my work, we evaluate the state of the soul with a depth-psychological and imaginal approach, exploring the creative potential of the psyche. The psyche reflects aspects of self sometimes squashed by the senex (old man/crone) and trying to shut down the peur (young child). This occurs instinctively and is rooted in modernity at large, dictating how one should live- in a perpetual state of hustle and consumption.
Soul- sickness reflects opportunities for healing and redistributing the archetypal split into creative power. We do this by exploring and integrating the unloved parts, abandoned dreams, and stagnant ways of being. It is the work of the depths, for those who are comfortable in the light yet fear their own underworld….together we rappel into the caverns and learn to honor the sacred, tender whispers of the soul.
This need not be about trauma or reliving the horrific nature of one’s past, it’s quite the opposite, reorienting the psyche to a mode of understanding from a place of wholeness, not pain, struggle, suffering, or shame.
Clients who participate in this work are expected to keep a journal and write out their dreams. There will be homework and exercises offered, nothing changes until we do. This mentoring is for those who are willing to lead themselves in addition to Melissa’s safe, supportive guidance and direction.
I work specifically with actors/actresses, writers, authors, artists, and entrepreneurs who feel stuck, stagnant, or caught in the grip of a cycle and seek to expand their capacity for a greater and more soulful way of living and creating.
Mentoring of this type involves 11 sessions that must all be completed within 12 weeks for the best results. There is an interview process, and I only accept a limited amount of clients for this type of work.