http://www.madinamerica.com/2014/12/depression-serotonin/
Click on the link for this useful article – and thanks to Mad in America, and Monica Cassani at http://www.beyondmeds.com for steering us to this.
The writer does not herself any more use or find useful the language of ‘mental health’ or that of the psychiatric model…and has abandoned the terms ‘depression’ and ‘mental illness’ (save for tagging purposes, for accessibility of information). However, we find a strong resonance between our work at this service and Kelly’s conclusion, especially what she says about growth, uncertainty and wonder. The conception of process/therapeutic work from a place of compassionate curiosity:-
‘There are times in our evolution as a cultural species when we need to unlearn what we think we know. We have to move out of the comfort of certainty and into the freeing light of uncertainty. It is from this space of acknowledged unknowing that we can truly grow. From my vantage point, this growth will encompass a sense of wonder – both a curiosity about what symptoms of mental illness may be telling us about our physiology and spirit, as well as a sense of humbled awe at all that we do not yet have the tools to appreciate. For this reason, honoring our co-evolution with the natural world, and sending the body a signal of safety through movement, diet, meditation, and environmental detoxification represents our most primal and most powerful tool for healing.’
We would add to her closing list one key word: relationship. The natural world, meditation, movement, diet, detoxification, creativity, spiritual practice….these and many other paths may lead us into holistic and therapeutic connection within our own beings. It is through this, and through the connections we are able to make with each other from that place, that we find healing, growth and well-being.
Palace Gate Counselling Service, Exeter
Palace Gate Counselling Service Blog 