Living with Mental Illness: Practical and Spiritual Dimensions of Speaking Up (Hybrid)

We are not just our diagnoses. But keeping silent about our mental health identities, particularly when we are in positions of power and visibility, can conspire with mental health stigma and a culture that sees mental illness as deficiency and weakness. When we open up about our mental health stories, it allows us to have more nuanced conversations about other aspects of ourselves and our communities -- and it can help heal splits between psyche and spirit. In this dialogue, we will reflect on how we understand our mental health stories to interact with our spiritual and social stories about ourselves and our cultures, and how talking about them can be empowering.

Ginger Clarkson is a Buddhist chaplain, a community dharma leader of Insight Meditation Houston, and a board-certified music therapist and a fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery. She trains psychotherapists internationally in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music. Her publications include A Silent Cure: Transforming Pre-Verbal Trauma Through Meditation, I Dreamed I Was Normal: A Music Therapist’s Journey Through the Realms of Autism, and Spiritual Dimensions of Guided Imagery and Music.

Sean Fitzpatrick, PhD LPC, holds master's degrees in religious studies (Rice University) and clinical psychology (University of Houston Clear Lake) and received his doctorate in psychology through Saybrook University's program in Jungian studies. Sean is a psychotherapist in private practice and has been employed at The Jung Center since 1997. His book, The Ethical Imagination Exploring Fantasy and Desire in Analytical Psychology, is available in The Jung Center bookstore. His research interests also include the intersection of psychology and spirituality and vicarious trauma and the selfcare needs of helping professionals and social service providers. He is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum and serves on the boards of the Houston Museum District Association and the Network of Behavioral Health Providers. His local and national teaching schedule can be found at his website http://sfitzpatrick.com .

This program is being offered both IN-PERSON and ONLINE. Please select how you will attend when registering. Recordings will be distributed to registered participants only, and will not be available for individual purchase.

All times are CT. Please contact onlinelearning@junghouston.org with any questions.

Please register early. Programs with four or fewer participants are subject to cancellation, 48 hours prior to their start.

*The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (TBHEC) has stopped pre-certifying ANY Continuing Education or Professional Development for mental health providers. The Jung Center cannot guarantee that the programs we provide will qualify for continuing education or Professional Development, nor can any other agency. The Jung Center uses high educational standards when selecting to designate events as "potentially appropriate for CEs", and in evaluating the outcomes of our educational services, and we believe them to meet the requirements of state licensing bodies. To find out more about the TBHEC changes to Continuing Education and Professional Development, click here.