Many people are curious about how our holistic wellness center developed.
What you will find above everything else is an atmosphere of warmth, respect and engagement in the process of
meeting you on an important journey. Whatever resources we may be able to bring to that journey,
the direction and sense of purpose that emerges will always be uniquely yours. Please feel free to
contact us at any time for more information or about our services.
As a psychologist I am very interested in the process by which we create our individual and
collective "reality" because those beliefs have a powerful impact on what we think is "possible".
It soon became clear to me that there was a great deal about the process of healing that remained to be understood
and that the most promising directions would be found "inside the person" and "outside the box".
The following history reflects some of the background that went into shaping our current approaches to wellness,
what we call the "Whole Person Approach"
I am a psychologist originally trained in traditional approaches to psychotherapy and assessment. My interest has
always been in the area of innovation and early in my training (1977-79) I explored approaches like Gestalt Therapy
and Hypnotherapy. Following an internship at a Veterans hospital (1984-85), I found myself working extensively in the
area of trauma and stress related disorders. I relocated to State College (1991) and developed a more structured
hypnotic approach to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
in connection with a clinical research project at Pennsylvania State University (Stress and Anxiety Disorders Institute).
Hypnotic work is very powerful and often seems to evoke changes that are as much spiritual as psychological in nature. Clients
learn to listen to their own inner voice which can be remarkable in it's ability to reveal past experiences and help consolidate
new inner strengths.
As I continued to work with severe cases of abuse I began to notice that some clients had tremendous
difficulty achieving and incorporating any sense of inner stability. Their lives seemed to revolve around
a state of constant upheaval with swings of emotional reactivity that put enormous strain on everyone
around them.
They knew their fears were in their head but could not turn off the cycle of distress that took over
automatically. Hypnotic interventions were useful but needed to be reinforced constantly or an
undercurrent of instability would again resurface.
In 1994 a friend gave me a copy of a book called Hearing Equals Behavior by Guy Berard M.D.
This book discussed an approach called Auditory Integration Training (AIT) which had been used
extensively with autism, learning disorders and depression.
I was particularly interested in Berard's comments about the link between hypersensitivity at certain frequencies and patterns of long term
depression. Berard found that individuals with depression sometimes had a particular pattern of
sensitivity in their hearing. When he corrected this pattern, using a ten day procedure for re-educating
the auditory system, their depression resolved. I referred several depressed clients for hearing tests and
discovered that they showed exactly the patterns Berard had talked about. We then proceeded with
the Auditory Integration Training and dramatic changes soon became apparent. I became trained as an
Auditory Integration Training (AIT) provider shortly thereafter.
The experience with AIT was pivotal in several ways. After seeing the results in a number of cases I
could no longer discard the idea that physiological factors have a direct impact on psychological
conditions. Some clients going through AIT seemed to be traveling back psychologically through time.
As layer after layer of old sensation and perceptual distortion lifted their outlook would transform. Not
only would their depression resolve, often they would become active and make other changes in their life.
By releasing the perceptual stuck points the AIT appeared to produce a kind of internal awakening for
these clients.
At the same time it became clear that AIT was not a panacea. The most seriously disturbed clients often
became acutely overwhelmed during AIT as if their system couldn't handle the amount of material that
was surfacing. I began researching a bit more and discovered a simple sound and light machine that
entrained the brain with patterns of pulsating light. Once again the effect on several clients was striking
with sudden improvement in mood, energy and concentration. Other more advanced systems recorded
brain activity and stimulated the brain using a algorithm based the client's own EEG activity and I saw
even greater stabilization and clinical improvement.
The key to spontaneous improvement seemed to be related to how closely one could identify neuronal
impasses in the system and then gently stimulate the brain to correct it's faulty programming. The specific
technique these therapies used differed but a common theme often emerged. Once increased flexibility
was reintroduced into the psycho physiological system a natural process of stabilization and self discovery
emerged. Results often seemed miraculous from the perspective of traditional approaches.
My involvement with AIT also expanded the field of my professional interest to the areas
of autism, ADD/ADHD and the spectrum of neuropsychological disorders.
It didn't take long to
learn that these conditions are the subject of great controversy in our society with considerable
conflict between allopathic and alternative approaches. The traditional medical approach viewed
these conditions as a disease and responded with drugs. Many children experienced negative side
effects from these drugs both physically and psychologically but these reactions were generally
ignored. Underlying factors in society that might have a role in causing or maintaining the conditions
were also ignored. Specifically epidemiological information that suggested the aspects of our modern
lifestyle were increasing the incidence of autism and attention related problems were dismissed in the
mainstream literature.
Alternative therapies talked about Autism and ADD/ADHD in terms of functional patterns that could be corrected
without drugs. These approaches worked to normalize conditions within the body and exercise the body's
capacity to alter it's own internal set points. They had no negative side effects and sometimes resulted
in dramatic improvement for the children involved. Alternative health care professional also talked about
environmental issues like vaccine reactions, heavy metal toxicity and food allergies. Once again these
approaches sought to restore the body's natural ability to heal and had a dramatic positive effect with
some children. The dedication of parents with developmentally challenged children touched me deeply
and I became determined to pull together the best resources available.
The debate between "alternative" and "mainstream" approaches to
mysterious and crippling conditions in our society is also very evident with respect to Lyme Disease
and the array of immune system disorders, such as Chronic Fatigue Symptom and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
These conditions have a dramatic impact on the cognitive and emotional functioning of the individual and
strike the most creative and productive members of society. The incidence of mysterious infections is
growing rapidly in our society and traditional medical approaches are largely at a loss with regards to
providing effective remedies. Individuals with these conditions often seek psychological therapy to
cope with depression and are frequently on psycho tropic medication. Alternative health
practitioners have made important strides in addressing these conditions and point to a range
of physical and emotional factors that must be addressed if a client is to truly regain a sense
of wellness. An excellent discussion of the complex issues involved in the treatment of these immune
system diseases is made by Dietrich Klinghardt MD, Ph.D.; Lyme Disease A Look Beyond Antibiotics.
We have recently incorporated important aspects of Dr. Klinghardt's approach with Klinghardt Matrix
Therapy which is discussed in the modalities section.
The debate over medicine and healing highlights broader issues about what we believe is "true"
and how these beliefs come to be accepted. A careful review of historical information from the first three
decades of the 20 th century suggests that the fundamental premises of "traditional medicine"
were shaped by economic and political forces that favor the use of medication over techniques to stimulate
health naturally. To read a brief history of controversies surrounding the early development of the Medical
Model and the thinking behind Alternative Healing you may click on the following link
Reference Section.
The process of exploration that ensued from that time has continued for the past ten years. This web site is
in some respect a chronicle of that journey. From relatively straightforward applications in the areas of
biofeedback I moved into approaches that gave the body/mind more of the raw materials necessary to
restore function (Hyperbaric Oxygen, HEG) and increasingly subtle forms of energy to restore the
body's internal communication (Ondamed and SCENAR). In developing a center we also moved
into the area of body work and intensive interactive programs that mobilize cognitive and
emotional resources through movement and multisensory techniques.
Recently we have begun to explore technologies that integrate aspects
of quantum physic and probabilistic mathematics to understand how to activate the brain on a whole
different level. In June of 2005 we traveled to St. Petersburg Russia to be trained in an innovative
system called Strannik (also called Virtual Scanning) that uses precisely determined patterns of light
to produce dramatic changes in health and psychological functioning. The direction behind all of
these approaches is surprising similar and points to the importance of psycho-emotional forces as
the key element in the creation of either health or "disease". A conceptual foundation
behind this approaches is presented in the reference section of this web site.
Reference Section
We are also exploring technical innovations that focus the power of human
intention to bring about this type of regenerative change on both a physical and psychological level. The
work of Marcel Vogel is very seminal in this area and we are exploring several technologies that
amplify the effect of healing intention on the mind/body.
As part of our ongoing commitment to exploring the frontier of healing phenomena we traveled as a
practice to Brazil in January of 2005 to experience first hand work being done at two well known
clinics Centro Busca Vida and Casa de Dom Ignacio. The latter is the center organized around
the work of Joao de Deus who is internationally known as a psychic healer. We have been very
impressed with this work and plan to continue training in approaches that increase the natural ability
within each person to facilitate the healing process.
