Balance of Body, Mind and Spirit: a lifetime to Achieve or Not?! Is there such a thing as too much Therapy?

Of late I have been presented with the idea of the spiritual journey as a means of healing. While I fully agree with this notion, my question is: At what point does the spiritual journeyer truly come to a state of healing? Is it supposed to take a lifetime or are we able to find the balance of body, mind and spirit at some mature point in our lives and assist others to do the same from a healthy perspective. Is there some point where the seeker can exit the “client” role where they need to fix themselves and enter the place of being a balanced seeker who can enjoy being in a state of healing and still continue their personal growth on their spiritual journey?

As you can imagine, working as a Spiritualist Medium/ Psychic Advisor I meet a lot of people who are in a constant state of feeling “damaged”. By this I mean they are constantly in therapy and seem to see themselves as addicted, broken or needing fixing in some way. They seem to flit from this modality and that modality, this practitioner or that practitioner but they never seem to find the answers they are hungering for and hunting after. Is there such a thing as therapy overload? And is the real issue that these folks are hiding behind the “I am damaged” thinking so they can avoid experiencing life in all its hues both positive and negative? Are these people in therapy as a way of doing emotional bypass?

Now as the reader, you might think I am talking about clients of mine but this is not the case. Most of my clients do seem to be able to find their balance while most of the people in a chronic state of feeling “damaged” tend to be other New Age parishioners that I have met as a professional in my field. While it might be quite natural that these people who are in self-discovery to want to help others in some way, I really wonder if it is healthy for such folks go into alternative counseling work when they are in the constant state of feeling damaged. At what point does the constant attitude of feeling being feeling “damaged” emotionally, spiritually and psychologically as a practitioner become unhealthy and just plain bad for potential clients?

I am not saying that seeking out various methods of therapy is bad thing and certainly other methods aside from psychic readings such as soul coaching, past life regression therapies or channeling sessions are very helpful to some folks. I am the first to say try something out and see if it resonates with your own spirit. I am also the first to look at the psychic industry and say there are lots of people feeding on the misfortune of wounded souls who are looking to them for help and that is totally wrong. I am simply asking at what point does therapy lose its value and become an addition?

Sadly, I do see a disturbing trend in the New Age/Alternative healing and counseling circles, which is where those in the position of counselor are wounded healers and projecting their own issues onto their clients without even realizing it. While it can be useful to encourage clients to explore different methods of self-discovery through various forms of counseling, at what point does the person learn what the life lessons are and get on with the business of living life?

For example, I go to my doctor when I am ill. I am presented with a diagnosis and options for dealing with the symptoms and the underlying conditions that are causing the symptoms. It is not up to the doctor to fix me although there may be some medical procedure that the doctor does that will help and that is required. My health is my business and it is up to me to take an active role in it. And having said that if I am constantly going to doctors then there is a continued problem that needs to be resolved and once I resolve it I get on with life and hopefully put preventative measures into place so that I do not constantly need a doctor’s care.

I suppose I see counseling spiritual or otherwise in the same light. In my opinion, the goal of counseling is a tool that helps the client to get on with his or her life. It should not become a lifestyle in itself ala counseling for counseling sake. At what point can the client make the choice as to how much is too much when the counselor they are using seems to be thoroughly out of balance? Seems to me that most clients look to their counselor as a guide as to how they might fix their lives. Most people who are in counseling are in the place of being lost souls. They tend to emulate the ideas, attitudes and behaviors of the counselor until they start to feel more centered in themselves.

But what if the counselor is all over the place spiritually, emotionally, energetically and psychologically? How can these practitioners successfully aid clients/seekers in finding a personal balance of body mind and spirit when it seems their own life is way out of whack? How can they provide a forum for clients to find balance when they themselves unable to find or maintain their own balance of body mind and spirit? I am not sure I have the answers but these are serious questions that need to be answered by us as professionals who present ourselves as therapists, channels, psychics, coaches and spiritual directors with the credentials to facilitate others in their spiritual growth and life choices. Sadly, I see to many practitioners who go into the field to fix themselves to the detriment of their future clients.

While no counselor is perfect there are some key red flags for the seeker when choosing a professional no matter what modality they specialize in.

1. Does the counselor know when they are out of their depth and know the process for referral to other necessary alternative and mainstream mental health and medical/counseling services? Or do they just continue the counseling relationship well after it has become dysfunctional?
2. Does the practitioner maintain strict confidentiality unless the client is seen to be a danger to himself/herself and others? Or does the practitioner divulge personal details from sessions without thinking or when it suits their agenda even if it is inappropriate? While the client my not know this for sure they can get a feeling for it based on what kind of information this practitioner shares with them about others in the session.
3. Does the counselor have proper boundaries when it comes to practitioner/client relationship? For example do they maintain professional relationships with their clients or do all their clients somehow become personal friends of the practititioner and the boundaries become muddied? If your counselor is too chatty with you and divulging personal details about other clients to you as a “friend” you can bet your personal stuff is not kept in strict confidence no matter what the practitioner might say to the contrary.
4. Does the practitioner have enough grounded experience in their chosen modality and can they provide real resources to show what their methods/ teachings and spiritual assumptions and judgments are grounded on or is it just imaginative psychobabble and New Age fluff that is considered to be by most people to be substandard pop psych?

How you as the reader answer the above questions for yourself as the client will tell you if your potential counselor is sound or not. It is up to the client to be proactive in the counseling process and in choosing your practitioner. Be observant and if something does not sit right with you then do not ignore it. Likely where there is smoke there is fire.

How can New Age/Alternative counseling practitioners expect modalities such as psychic readings, soul coaching, past life regression therapies or channeling sessions etc. to be part of the mainstream when too many of the current New Age therapies and the practitioners who provide them are seen as “flakey, ungrounded, or unstable” by the vast majority of the public? If nothing else, even if practitioners do not agree with the mainstream view of the work they do; they have to ask themselves the hard question as to why the New Age healing, counseling and therapies and the practitioners involved with them are viewed as suspect y other professionals and the public at this time. What is it we need to do to change this perception? While I do not profess to have the answers I do think these are just some of the questions we must ask ourselves if we make a living in the psychic industry and the New Age field because I am sure the clients will be asking even if we don’t.

Perhaps it is up to the professional organizations and the colleges that are certifying alternative therapy professionals to also ask these hard questions and more thoroughly screen those who apply to their programs and organizations. Whatever the future holds for these New Age counseling modalities that seem to be the latest craze, there will come a point where accountability measures and certain standards must be put in place and practitioners will have to meet and exceed these benchmarks of responsible care in order to be considered reputable by the public whether they like it or not.