From Emergency to Emergence – The Soul Journey

Declan Hammond will be speaking on the topic “From Emergency to Emergence – The Soul Journey” at the upcoming Critical Voices Network conference organised at University College Cork this November. We’ll update the exact time of his talk when it is confirmed. More information about the talk and the conference below.

 

From Emergency to Emergence – The Soul Journey:

Many mental or emotional health issues that have been pathologised in the conventional medical model would be viewed as the soul calling for initiation into a deeper state of emergence in traditional indigenous cultures. States of mind such as vision seeing, voice hearing etc are considered to be gifts and seen as windows into a non-ordinary reality. Supported by a skillful practitioner with respect and compassion these can be transformed from terrifying, dissociative experiences into life-changing initiations into the soul’s wisdom.

In order to truly meet and support another in these moments of mental, emotional or spiritual crisis, the traditional practitioner must have been initiated themselves, i.e. have engaged with and found respect and compassion for his or her own challenges of the psyche.

Respect for the soul and its challenges need to be central to the treatment of patients struggling in this area. A reductionist model of medicine that considers these issues to be “delusionary” or “neurotic” does its patients a great disservice.

From his extensive practice in this field, Declan will present a number of case histories demonstrating the potential of working in the field of “Soul Medicine”. He will share some skills and tools that he has found useful in this journey and about the importance of being a “wounded healer”.

 

‘CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON AND BEYOND THE THERAPY INDUSTRY’

11 AND 12 NOVEMBER 2015

 

SCHOOL OF APPLIED SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCHOOL OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK, IRELAND

 

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

CRITICAL VOICES NETWORK IRELAND

                                            

‘Talking’ therapies have become increasingly central in dealing with all aspects of human life. This trend is now generally referred to as the ‘therapy industry’ (Moloney, 2013).

This conference, now in its 7^th year, aims to explore and debate critical perspectives on:

 

–      The value of talking therapies

–      The politics of the therapy industry

–      Talking therapies as another expert system

–      Other ways (beyond therapies) to support people in distress

 

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

  

Wilma Boevink is an experiential expert, who works as a social scientist at the Trimbos-Institute, the Netherlands. She is a former Professor of Recovery and founder of Tree (towards Recovery, Empowerment and Experiential Expertise). Currently finishing her thesis on recovery, empowerment and experiential expertise.	Lucy Johnstone is a consultant clinical psychologist, author of ‘Users and abusers of psychiatry’,co-editor of ‘Formulation in psychology and psychotherapy: making sense of people’s problems’ and ‘A straight-talking guide to psychiatric diagnosis’, along with a number of other critical texts on mental health theory and practice. She is currently based in a mental health service in South Wales.
Jacqui Dillon is a respected speaker, writer and activist, who has lectured and published worldwide on trauma, psychosis, dissociation and recovery. Jacqui is the national Chair of the Hearing Voices Network in England, Honorary Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health, Durham University and Visiting Research Fellow at The Centre for Community Mental Health, Birmingham City University.	Malcolm Garland is a consultant psychiatrist in Dublin.  His team tries to incorporate novel and alternative approaches, including a minimal medication approach and an ethos fostering individuation, not dependence. He is concerned with the slow uptake of a non-“bio” approach by psychiatry, but understands the pressure teams are under to keep people “safe” and the conflicts this creates. He thinks psychiatrists may soon be on the “endangered species” list…
Rory Doody is a Recovery Development Advocate. He is a voice hearer and engages with his own mental health as often as he breathes! Plagued by inner questions like “who does this serve?” he enquires in the different areas of his work, involving education, case work, service and policy developments, structural change, and good intentions. As a ‘poacher turned game keeper’ with 20+ years of service user history, this question also serves as a check against his own personal motives.	Dina (Konstantina) Poursanidou is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, based at the Service User Research Enterprise; Dina has used mental health services since 2008; Member of Asylum, the magazine for democratic psychiatry; integrates an interest in the socio-cultural determinants of distress and socio-political action on the one hand, with an interest in the human subject at a more intimate and individual level on the other.

 

 

The Conference organisers are Harry Gijbels, Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery, and Lydia Sapouna, School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Ireland.   

The event is free to attend but you must book your place in advance.

Enquiries to h.gijbels@ucc.ie or l.sapouna@ucc.ie.