Typically, I would wait until next month to publish a new post but something gloriously  and spectacularly "odd" has come to my attention!

I am presently diligently slaving away on this weekend's research paper for my online course in Human Development (MCC 521) at Bellevue University www.bellevue.edu which deals with the topic of special counseling needs for gifted and talented adolescents. While I am online accumulating my list of references, I am blown away when I suddenly and unexpectedly come across the following article:

 http://www.nagc.org/uploadedFiles/PHP/PHP_Back_Issues/2006%20June%20PHP.pdf

At the risk of self-inducing my own genuine crisis of "IMPOSTER SYNDROME" (a whole other topic in and of itself to be featured in a future blog), I am compelled to reveal to my readers that, on my honor, the article authored by Sherry Stahl Bragg (2006) was, indeed, written by none other than me...myself...and I!

Although I no longer go by Sherry S. Bragg, I can assure my readers that I absolutely did write the article and that I own the original hard-copy magazine.  I was pleasantly shocked and surprised to find that the article I wrote actually exists online and that I can site my own self as author in a related research paper!

But...how can I actually prove it since I now go by a different (legal) name?  How will I deal with potential accusations of mistaken identity, forgery, plagiarism, and/or dissociative identity syndrome?  Hmmm....?

I invite you all to begin by reading the Author's Note (under the caption, "Recommended Resources) on page 30 and leave it to you to decide.

Please, be my guest!


Bragg, S. S. (2006). The tao of solo parenting gifted children. Parenting for High Potential.

            June, 2006. (14-30). Retrieved on January 8, 2014, from http://www.nagc.org/uploadedFiles/PHP/PHP_Back_Issues/2006%20June%20PHP.pdf

The topic of this week's assignment for my clinical counseling course in the "Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy" is "Postmodern Approaches".  When I think of post-modernism in terms of psychology, I think of it as being analogous to quantum physics as opposed to classical, Newtonian physics.  Most of us learned how the universe and everything around us is structured from our exposure to Newtonian mechanics, otherwise known as classical physics. From the Newtonian perspective, everything is predictable; nothing happens randomly, or by chance.  Logic and mathematics can explain everything and once we understand how the most basic processes in the universe work, we can make predictions about bigger events.

Newtonian mechanics posits that the world is made of matter and the forces acting on them. All matter can be divided into smaller and smaller particles. The construct of "particle theory" evolved because all matter and energy are made up of tiny subatomic particles.  According to classical physics, reality is only what we can perceive, or manage to perceive, through our five sensory channels. If anything is beyond this level of perception, it simply does not exist!

Drum roll...and enter post-modern, post-Newtonian, “new age”, Quantum Theory, which posits that, at the core, everything is not just about matter and the forces acting upon it; it is all about energy and the energetic field. Experiments in the field of quantum mechanics suggest that the electrons orbiting around a nucleus of an atom can exist simultaneously as a possible particle or an energy wave. There is no fixed path in which electrons orbit around a nucleus. An electron can randomly jump from one energy level (orbital, shell) to another energy level, without actually moving through the space in between. It just changes its energy state without a logical, gradual progression through the space in between.  Quantum theory further suggests that electrons exist as “electron clouds” around a nucleus in various orbitals and shells, such that any single electron can exist simultaneously in more than one place!

Extrapolating on quantum theory suggests that everything in the universe exists in the form of pure potential or possibilities. Observation collapses the possibilities into a reality. So, if there is no observation, there is no reality. (Sort of like the riddle I heard as a child, “If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody to hear it, does it make a noise?”)  According to the quantum field, everything exists because we observe it (the so-called "observer effect”). 

We are all energy beings. The essence of our existence has both a physical shape with matter that occupies space, as well as an energetic vibrational frequency.  Because we are all energy beings, we are all connected at the core and we all exist and vibrate in the same energy field. Our energetic vibrational frequencies may be different because so we have all had distinctly different life experiences, nature/nurture, etc., but the energetic core of us is the same. And at the core of energy, there is no matter, only pure possibilities!

I am not a physicist. My scientific knowledge stems more from my education in the fields of chemistry and physiology since I was trained as a nurse. I grew dissatisfied and disillusioned with the medical profession while working as a nurse and subsequently became a Licensed Massage Therapist and Reiki Master as a way to practice healing arts and facilitate energy healing for others. Once I discovered quantum theory as the basis for energy healing, my whole worldview, philosophy, and perspective on life suddenly shifted!  I am still exploring and learning more about the concept of energy healing and firmly believe that Energy Medicine will be the wave of the 21st century and beyond. 

I am now enrolled in a Master’s in Clinical Counseling program at Bellevue University www.bellevue.edu preparatory to entering my second career as a Licensed Professional Counselor.  My goal is to integrate quantum theory principles to help my clients make sense of challenging relationships and help them to discover infinite possibilities and multiple solutions to their problems.

Statements from publications such as, "The Secret" (Byrne, 2006) admonish us to “change the way we look at things (change our individual perception) and the things we look at (circumstances and problems, for example) will change” also parallel the post-modern Solution Focused Brief Therapy approach which recommends “changing the doing and viewing of the perceived problem changes the problem” (O’Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 2003).  This also provides a framework for counselors and therapists who may be seeking collaborative solutions for clients “stuck” in old behavioral patterns.

For my purposes as a future psychotherapist, quantum theory can be distilled down to two outstanding characteristics: (1) energy can exist in more than one place at a time and (2) the influence of the “observer effect” cannot be underestimated.  Applying this concept to post-modern psychological theory, we understand that: (1) things are not polarized as either black or white; multiple solutions can be generated for any given problem and (2) the very act of observing or viewing the perceived problem changes the problem. 

Applying post-modern quantum theory to the field of counseling provides a scientific basis for allowing the therapist to help the client discover infinite possibilities from which he/she can co-create multiple new realities!

References:

Byrne, R. (2006). The secret. New York: Atria Books.

O’Hanlon, W. & Weiner-Davis, M. (2003). In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy (Rev.                     ed.). New York: W. W. Norton  & Company, Inc.

Vibrations of the Overqualified and Underemployed

January 5, 2014

I decided to start this blog as a result of my frustration due to the fact that I have spent the last ten years of my life in a race to get qualified and professionally certified, only to wind up "overqualified" and "underemployed". You see, in the last ten years, I have earned a Bachelor's degree, a Master of Arts in School Psychology, a Master of Science in Educational Psychology, and a license as a Massage and Bodywork Therapist (for good measure).

I was a full-time doctoral student while raising four of my seven children (ranging in age from 8-20) as a single mom. Prior to this, I was an official, pioneering HOME SCHOOL MOM (circa 1988) teaching all seven of my children at home while attending night school to finish my undergraduate degree. Prior to this, I was employed as a pediatric office nurse (LPN). After finishing my Bachelor's degree in human growth and development, I got so excited about sharing the wealth of knowledge I had attained during my fifteen years of home schooling special needs students, I thought perhaps my experience would allow me to have a greater impact on the world as an educator than I could as a nurse. So, I applied and was accepted to a graduate program in School Psychology.  Everything was going along swimmingly until I suddenly found myself as a single mom and sole supporter of four of my seven children. Although I was unable to complete my internship, I did manage to complete my Master of Arts degree which looked good on my resume but, without a license, did nothing for me as far as getting a job.

So, I started working as a K-12 substitute teacher for three different public school systems, all at the same time. At one point, I subbed all day, and worked retail all night. When I left the classroom at 3:00 PM, I went directly to my second job at the Sears jewelry department and cat-napped in my car at the Sears parking lot from 3:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon before beginning my shift from 5:00 to 10:00 PM. I would get home around 10:30, hit the rack by 11:30 PM, and then be up at the crack of dawn the next morning ready to supervise a class full of  30+ kids.

In case you are wondering about the root cause of my predicament, it is because I hadn't been able to find one single, full-time job with income substantial enough to permit me to pay off my student loans. I stayed in school, legitimately working toward college degrees, in order to maintain deferment status on my school loans. Consequently, I have spent the better part of the last decade working two jobs as sole provider for my family while continuing my post-graduate education.  When I finally landed a job as an adjunct professor of undergraduate psychology, developmental psychology, and health psychology, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, but after two years of long hours and little pay, I started thinking...if only I had a job as an RN...then at least I would be making a paycheck decent enough to pay off my school loans!

After successfully completing an LPN refresher course, I felt honored to be accepted into the Associate Degree Nursing program at the same community college where I was also teaching as an adjunct professor.  It was really tough juggling my full-time nursing course work, labs and hospital clinicals during the day while also teaching or grading papers every evening. After successfully completing four of five semesters in the RN program, I backed off on everything else in my life (including my job) in order to achieve my goal of graduating from the ADN/RN program...but this was not to be. My dismissal from the RN program in the spring of 2013, with only one more course left to graduate, was the most devastating experience of my entire life.  I was told by the nursing administration, "you just need more time; come back next year".  Well, OK, that would have been fine if it weren't for the fact that I am already 61 years old!  Unfortunately, I no longer have the luxury of devoting another year of my life to being an unemployed, full-time nursing student!!!

Fast forward to the present. I am presently enrolled in my second semester of a Master of Science in Clinical Counseling online degree program with the goal of becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor. I am now able to work full time while completing my degree. I thought it would be no big deal getting a job with my background and experience, but after ten months of applying for employment as a Qualified Mental Health Professional, every position I apply for demands that I have either one year of full-time work experience with a mental health agency or...guess what...? A license as a Registered Nurse!

Well, at least I have a part time job and shouldn't complain.  I enjoy my current work environment and get along well with my fellow coworkers in my present position as a substitute teacher for an early childhood development program.  I love the kids and believe I excel at nurturing young minds, helping them to develop social skills, and engaging them in creative problem solving, specifically as it relates to conflict resolution. However, I long to be doing work that utilizes all the tools in my skill-set instead of work I could have done with a high school diploma or an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education.  

Alas, guess who is trying to figure out if it's possible for me to pick up that "one remaining course" to become an RN so that I can work as a QMHP, so that I can be gainfully employed, so that I can afford to pay off my graduate degree "debt rags"?