Monthly Archive January 2012
Posted January 30th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Top News. Southwestern College Santa Fe Board of Advisors Southwestern College has a truly remarkable Board of Advisors. At a small graduate institution in a small-ish town, I knew we would never find the diversity of voices and experience we needed to help guide our school toward the greatest possible inclusivity. Indeed, the Higher Learning Commission, who…
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Posted January 30th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under Internship in Peru, The Heart of the Matter, Top News. Update from SWC Interns in Maras, Peru We have been continuing with our jewelry making theme, by using colored cords to make macrame necklaces and bracelets. We also have colorful beads available, which accent nicely with the cords. We are hoping this project well help as we transition into crochet. Most of the children…
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Posted January 30th, 2012 by Dru_Phoenix & filed under Mindfulness, Notes From Dru Phoenix, Admissions. One of the mindfulness sessions I do each week is focused on Energy Management. After I received my graduate degree so many years ago, I received additional training in intuitive skills and energy management and healing. The more I explored this area of study the more I realized how much the training would benefit counselors…
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Posted January 28th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Practical Questions & Answers About SWC, Counseling & Art Therapy, Top News. What is Therapy, or Psychotherapy, or Counseling? The DIfference Between Waves & Water Oh, man, why do I ask such complicated questions?!?!~~ Well, people experience distress in life. Emotional, and psychological distress, often accompanied by physical or somatic “symptoms.” Sometimes it is more like spiritual distress, or existential distress. It can vary. At any…
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Posted January 28th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Paintsplash - Art Therapy, Practical Questions & Answers About SWC, Counseling & Art Therapy. What is Art Therapy? Well, we could start off with “What is Therapy?”, but that will be a whole separate blog piece. Let’s assume here that we “know” what “Therapy” is. We have a tendency to think that Art Therapy uses “symbols” rather than “words”, as in “Talk Therapy.” I want to remind us…
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Posted January 24th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan. The Poetics of Psychology: Is it OK to Diagnose and Treat Things That Don’t Exist? Sometimes metaphors are woven so tightly into the fabric of our everyday practice and being (like right there—“Practice and Being as a woven cloth”) that we cannot even “see” (metaphor) them. Just such an issue relates to, and resides…
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Posted January 24th, 2012 by Magdalena Karlick & filed under Art Gallery, Paintsplash - Art Therapy, Student Reflections and Updates, Top News. 10" x 18", handmade paper When I use my black ink pen (Micron or Staedtler) and thick handmade paper, I delve into an unconscious movement. I start with a feeling, a knowing that I need to create, and I move from there. I never know what will come from the image that I am creating. In…
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Posted January 24th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Top News. OK, so here is a great metaphor life serves up, hidden on the menu of the mundane, on the daily dashboard of consciousness… Woke up yesterday to a dead battery. (Hmm, how did I attract that one...?) So the day before, I noticed a LIGHT on in the car, that middle light, over your…
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Posted January 23rd, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Top News. My Dog, Teresa de Avila, and Jesus Have a Lot in Common: Lessons for Graduate Students in Counseling & Art Therapy in Nine Chapters. Chapter One. I have a wall full of degrees, certificates and honors, a collection that outstrips by a mile anything Barney has to show for what would be the equivalent…
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Posted January 20th, 2012 by Dru_Phoenix & filed under Notes From Dru Phoenix, Admissions. Co-Creators in the Classroom at Southwestern College I am teaching Career and Life Development this quarter. It is a second year course and many state boards require it for licensing. The class is a good size – 11 people, with a nice mix of ages. I really enjoy the opportunity to teach here because of…
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Posted January 20th, 2012 by Webb Garrison & filed under Top News, WebbSight: Reflections from the Dean. Somewhere off the branch of a maple, A spiderweb detatched itself with the wind And floated up, glistening gently in the sun. The spider must begin anew...…
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Posted January 19th, 2012 by Dru_Phoenix & filed under Mindfulness, Notes From Dru Phoenix, Admissions. In one of the mindfulness sessions last week an image appeared that I considered to be helpful. My session was sandwiched within a “very busy” day and I hoped that the session would bring me to a calmer place. During a session, when I see images or have thoughts I will typically just gently…
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Posted January 14th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Top News. The Oversoul of My New Psychopathology Class: The Universe Is So Interesting This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “The Oversoul”( from 1841) just kind of takes your breath away, and you could reflect on it for the rest of your life and maybe not get yourself around the idea completely… “We live in…
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Posted January 14th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Paintsplash - Art Therapy, Practical Questions & Answers About SWC, Counseling & Art Therapy, Top News. Can I Get a Job in Art Therapy? Yes. That is the short answer. Southwestern College has hundreds of alumni who are out in the world working as Art Therapists. There are thousands more from other schools as well. (Yes, believe it or not, there are people who choose to study Art…
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Posted January 13th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Top News. Four-Legged Friends, Feathered and Furry Friends: A Call to Photo Action At Southwestern College, we recognize that we are all supported in many ways by friends and family. At another level, we know that we are supported by spirit, by the collective, and by our ancestors. But there are some relatively unheralded beings that…
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Posted January 12th, 2012 by Dru_Phoenix & filed under Notes From Dru Phoenix, Admissions, Paintsplash - Art Therapy. I am taking this class right now and enjoying reading the two texts on the topic. I suppose everyone has to swim in theory in these studies wherever they are, but I am relieved that we can do experientially based work in the classroom. Most importantly, I am glad we are doing art. Genograms are…
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Posted January 10th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under The Heart of the Matter, Top News. They say the glaciers are melting from global warming I say it is from neglect We have forgotten to live as if everything mattered Did you remember the Greenland Icecap in your prayers this morning? When you trekked to the source of the Ganges and immersed yourself in the glacial waters of…
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Posted January 8th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Top News. Ways to Help Southwestern College, Even on a Low Budget: A Call for Action Many students, alumni, and friends of Southwestern College would be happy to donate to the school financially, but are not currently in a great position to do so. If this is true for you, let me give you some thoughts on how…
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Posted January 5th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Practical Questions & Answers About SWC, Counseling & Art Therapy, Top News. “Why Should I Sign Up for a Certificate Program?” Southwestern College offers six Professional Certificates, and plenty of other places offer other ones, so this post is not really about SWC, it is about Professional Certificates. Here are some thoughts on the subject: First, I don’t need to tell anyone that it…
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Posted January 4th, 2012 by swcblog & filed under The Heart of the Matter, Top News. In August of 2011, I presented a 1 ½ hour talk on compassion fatigue in animal care work to about 35 people at the New Mexico State Humane Conference in Albuquerque. Soon after I returned to Ohio for my Internship, I got an e-mail from the sponsoring shelter in ABQ, asking when I could come…
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Posted January 4th, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Practical Questions & Answers About SWC, Counseling & Art Therapy, Top News. “Should I Get a Ph.D. in Psychology?” Part 2 Several more points came to mind after posting my original piece. 1. There are OTHER Ph.D.’s and Ed.D.’s to pursue. I get asked about Psychology, personally, so I focused on that degree. You can get an Ed.D. (typically) in Counselor Education, and any number of…
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Posted January 3rd, 2012 by Dru_Phoenix & filed under Notes From Dru Phoenix, Admissions, Paintsplash - Art Therapy. We have just traversed the holiday season; a time for celebration and joy. It was a peaceful and happy time for me, but I also had some really sad moments, and I know of others as well who were sad due to the loss of a loved one. It is harder to cope with grief…
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Posted January 3rd, 2012 by Jim Nolan & filed under New Thoughts from President Nolan, Practical Questions & Answers About SWC, Counseling & Art Therapy, Top News. "Should I get a Ph.D.in Psychology?" I get asked this question 19 times a year. The answer is never the same. Everything depends on who you are, what your situation is, and what your goals and values are. Nineteen Ways of Looking at a Doctorate: There are some jobs you simply are…
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