Movements Vol. III

At the celebratory Interdisciplinary Two-Day Event for AKMA’s 60th anniversary, we opened the question of the seminar’s goal in an open process. The sequence of groups serves as our compass:
“I need a seminar oriented toward life, one that moves away from labels and an exclusive focus on diagnostic models, which will help me connect with people and not with diagnoses; to see the person and not the disorder. I need a seminar that will explore the socio-political, familial, and cultural contexts contributing to what is ultimately expressed as a mental disorder, one that allows space for both the therapist’s perspective and the individual’s lived experience, which will foster the creation of fruitful, supportive relationships among colleagues, equipping us for a more ‘holistic’ view.”

In such a process, my personal story is crucial. My own story will honor the trauma of the person I encounter. To achieve this, I need to undergo a personal revolution, where I, with faith, hope, trust in myself, and safety in the relationship, can be myself. I need a seminar where stories will be heard, where sharing takes place, within a framework of trust, so that I can take my time, connect with myself, my difficult truths, and with meaning. Beyond diagnoses, man resides.

However, the person also has boundaries. I need to be able to recognize my limits, where my resilience ends, how I stand as a professional in relation to symptoms, and how these enter the relationship. I’m talking about a seminar that will discuss boundaries, because life is ruthless and calls me to find my desires, not to hide behind my ego, but also not to fall into an unconditional offering. I need a seminar that will help me love and accept myself so that I can cultivate love and acceptance for the other, the patient.

The above needs care. And care can be provided through some supervisory process that will take care of the therapist while simultaneously building a type of community. Others are important, and they can help me take responsibility. I need a seminar to take responsibility, not to avoid it because “psychopathology” often offers an excuse to dispose of a person.

In the end, I need vision, network, persistence, and relationship orientation to go through the chaos and endure within the symptom until I learn my strengths. After all, don’t I, as a mental health professional, have longings? Perhaps I too, as a professional, need to speak about my own madness?