Rescuing Psychotherapy - Month I

Orphans really do brim over with opposite viewpoints. The idea behind Sierra Agape Center for Soul-Tending is to make it simple for people to talk through the problems of life with a person who isn't wedded to any kind of outcome; for example, winning your love or becoming your best friend or your savior. The idea is that you call up and say, 'I need some help,' and you get it. You don't need to qualify or state-funded medical benefits or worry about whether your insurance will cover it, in fact, insurance isn't accepted. The likelihood is (if you are like many people who seek counseling) that your problems won't really fall into a disease category, but if insurance is billed, you will be required to have an illness and I would have to fit you into a disease category. The idea behind Sierra Agape Center is to give you improved and broader vision so you can see how much sense it makes that you are depressed, anxious, angry addicted given your history and given the culture in which you live. Which doesn't mean you should just accept how you feel and move on; it means that you can learn to see yourself and make friends with yourself or possibly even fall in love with yourself, warts and all, in a way that does not categorize you as "ill" or "diseased."

And you pay for these kinds of services based upon what you can afford, by donation, much in the same way you donate to any source of spiritual nourishment. I seriously question whether tax dollars should be allocated toward providing counseling and/or addiction services for people. I wonder if perhaps communities who value the availability of such services need to support them to the degree that it is a problem in their community.

Not many people these days can afford to pay a therapist $80-$250.00 per 50 minute hour for counseling. For many people, therapy drops very low n the priority list when finances are tight and when finances are tight, the need for counseling increases because of all the stress associated with being financially strapped. Why does mental health counseling drop on the priority list while maintaining medical insurance for physical problems tends to stay at the top?

Part of the reason for Sierra Agape Center's existence is to explore the parity issue between mental health and physical health which has always been a struggle. Does psychotherapy really belong in the medical model? Problems of the soul cannot easily be quantified or measured in terms of cause an effect relationships as problems with the physical body can be measured.

The relentlessly faithful orphan imagines a place where all the archetypes spanning the human psyche are welcome. She imagines a kitchen where meals can be prepared and offered to anyone who is hungry. She imagines a place where people can find shelter from the assault and battery of a culture enamored with financial success and consumerism, a place to find rest and feel valued for the stories they carry from past history and to express how their stories have colored and shaped their lives. She imagines a place where potentential is measured by the breadth of a smile or the courage to explore.

This orphan girl wants to cultivate the idea that soul-tending doesn't have to be science and that psychotherapy is a different kind of medicine.