When working as a psychologist specializing in pregnancy and childbirth, I recommended gathering ten birth stories from friends and acquaintances--those stories pretty much prepared an individual better than any book. I've always loved stories, and now my primary vocation is to elicit and honor one's story and the resulting inner authority and evolution.
Even while practicing straightforward primary care, patients/clients wanted to tell their stories--they brought in journal entries, biographies--one even wrote a screenplay of her life and asked me to read it. These spontaneous healing impulses were part of my inspiration to become a coach.
Yes, a specialty called narrative medicine exists--usually a master's degree that can be combined with other medical degrees. Kudos, I support narrative medicine. Unfortunately, narrative medicine was lacking in my medical training and institutions. If narrative medicine becomes incorporated into mainstream medicine in my lifetime, I will be glad--I will dance a jig! For now, I practice, support, and endorse story-telling from the fringe.
My books--memoirs, are examples of story-telling; hearing or reading others' stories inspires one's own biography to come alive, illuminate where one has been, and make clear where to go next. Stories inspire planting seeds in one's future.
I've made a list here of some of the stories from the Blog page. So far, I haven't figured out how to make this list directly on the blog page--one of those web-design snafus that I'm sure is simple if I knew what to do!
Even while practicing straightforward primary care, patients/clients wanted to tell their stories--they brought in journal entries, biographies--one even wrote a screenplay of her life and asked me to read it. These spontaneous healing impulses were part of my inspiration to become a coach.
Yes, a specialty called narrative medicine exists--usually a master's degree that can be combined with other medical degrees. Kudos, I support narrative medicine. Unfortunately, narrative medicine was lacking in my medical training and institutions. If narrative medicine becomes incorporated into mainstream medicine in my lifetime, I will be glad--I will dance a jig! For now, I practice, support, and endorse story-telling from the fringe.
My books--memoirs, are examples of story-telling; hearing or reading others' stories inspires one's own biography to come alive, illuminate where one has been, and make clear where to go next. Stories inspire planting seeds in one's future.
I've made a list here of some of the stories from the Blog page. So far, I haven't figured out how to make this list directly on the blog page--one of those web-design snafus that I'm sure is simple if I knew what to do!