I have met over the years dozens of mediocre therapists who, driven by theory, intellect and techniques, appear to need more therapy than their clients. And I have met a few who have really inspired me to pursue my own creativity and resourcefulness. These eclectic, inspired, integrative and intuitive therapists seem to be driven from a deeper knowledge of themselves and the human condition. They seem to create value just by being themselves and seem to resonate in an energy field that bristles with a richness and depth that cannot be easily described or advertised.
These same people, though they are professional therapists and are in it for the long term – and sometimes for many years – I’ve noticed, still haven’t really separated their message from their ego. Let me explain.

The ego, fragile thing that it is, the bit of us that is wounded and vulnerable and defends ourselves mostly inappropriately by false grandeur or fearful retreat, causes us to believe that if we were to tell anybody about our insight and intuition that we might be accused of being arrogant. So as a result, we keep ourselves small, doing our little bit to change the world in our own little way. We may earn a small but sustainable income, and our ego convinces us that we are not worth any more.

Meanwhile, the technicians, academicians and intellectuals, who speak the currency and language of society, ego driven and in their earthbound consciousness, group together and publish their papers, journals and books knowing that they are competing in a game, the rules of which are very well established. How much real human value is created by this head driven, chest beating is another question and yet they will command the respect and financial reward that is due to them. We know that no sooner has one medical classification of mental health surfaced, than of course there’ll be another so called mental health disorder. And in all this there is still one great deception, the real truth of which hasn’t yet reached Jo Public: that is, there is as yet, no evidence that brain chemistry is the cause of mental health issues.

That the medical model of health and wellbeing is still valid, was challenged just recently by the British Psychological Society which stated there was a lot more going on than the medical model could really continue to claim. Dr Lucy Johnstone, clinical psychologist, is quoted as saying: “There is now overwhelming evidence that people break down as a result of a complex mix of social and psychological circumstances – bereavement and loss, poverty and discrimination, trauma and abuse.” I would argue the finer point of spiritual dislocation – all of the above cause us to question who we are and what we are doing here.

Nevertheless, it’s interesting, isn’t it? Any one of those mediocre, let along those highly intuitive, heart-driven and insightful therapists could have told you that one hundred times over. But so driven is our understanding of the scientific causes of poor mental health, with all of its cudos, superficiality, acceptability and rigour, that learned society has almost entirely overlooked this very human and meaningful perspective. And why? Because it doesn’t attract funding? Because it cannot be scientifically evidenced? When did science gain the pseudo religious authority that it has?

I found myself in a meeting in London a month or two ago listening to Sarah Lloyd-Hughes talk about how to be as compelling as a TED speaker. She asked us to spend all of 30 seconds preparing to talk from the heart for 2 mintues about our core message and what we were here to achieve. As I spoke, I realised that I had been sitting on my message for fear of being marginalised or sidelined by respectable society. I had allowed my poor fragile ego to stop the transmission of a truly powerful message the message being not so much a missive as a demonstration of who I am. The capacity to stand tall and own the space I stand in without fear of rejection or judgement. Chastened I hurried home to start my book, revamp my website and share my insights with my inspired supervisee colleagues.

Knowing we do not have to edit ourselves and that our very existence is worth more than we could have ever imagined has been a revelation, a truism and a humbling experience. This is the new paradigm that we so desperately need to replace the current soulless assessment of spiritual distress. I’d love to share more with you in one of my mentorship groups. We meet this Friday 24th in Great Dunmow. You’ll find more details on the home page.