One last time…

This will be our last blog post, and I can honestly say that this has been an okay experience. I think I really may invest some time in a personal blog. We would like to thank everyone who read our posts and left lovely comments. We just wanna leave you with one last cool holistic topic. So without further delay lets jump in.

So last week, we discussed finding a career and/or job using holistic approaches.   This week for the last blog post I think it would be beneficial to talk holistic counseling and what it actually means.  When I think of holistic counseling I think positive thoughts maybe because of the new wave in our society but I think it is time for some facts and some information.

Holistic counseling is an approach which helps clients to heal by taking the entire human being (mind, body & soul) and their life experiences into consideration for assessment and treatment purposes.  When I first read this I thought about the roots of positive psychology and how it used some eastern ideologies (nurturing the mind, body and soul).

Holistic therapists want you to see each of the components work together, so it can lead to self-awareness, higher esteem and self-acceptance (that is exactly what we want because we want to be positive 🙂 ).

Acceptance is a huge factor in this type of therapy. HUGE.  Holistic therapists work less to help individuals to change and more to help them accept the present moment…. wow, Incredible.  Once acceptance is achieved clients let go of their resistance and become more relaxed and release any fears that were holding them back (well begin to it really is a whole process).

    ” A holistic therapy offers treatment that includes talk therapy, self-awareness, insight into psychological patterns, verbal and emotional expression, and also includes healing that addresses the body, such as nutritional awareness, herbal, homeopathic knowledge, body awareness, yoga and qi gong movement, integrated with meditation and deep relaxation to bring awareness of one’s spiritual life energy, aliveness and essence.” – Earth light foundation

A lot of the concepts really reminds me of my positive psychology class and what we learned this semester. Which was focusing on the strengths rather than your weakness and the good in the world. This semester we also talked about self-awareness and how we can achieve that through mindfulness.

I think holistic therapy is really mindfulness and positive psychology. With that being said I think it is good that we tap into our higher selves and take time for ourselves every once and a while. I believe holistic approaches allows us to do that, and I hope our blog inspired you in someway to research more. As always the link is below and the song of the week!

Latorre, M. A. (2000). A holistic view of psychotherapy: Connecting mind, body, and spirit. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 36(2), 67-68.

http://www.earthlightfoundation.com/Holistic_Psychology.html

Song of the week:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6P4jI8t-0I

As always take care of yourself and each other!

Graduation….

 

 

Greetings, Allena, here! With graduation coming I have been lowkey (scratch that) HIGHKEY freaking out. What am I going to do with a BA in psychology. Do not get me wrong I love my major and I would never change it. I am going to grad school but in the mean time your girl needs some money. So, recently I learned that you can go to a holistic field with a BA in psychology…. now I do not know what kind of jobs are out there. I just saw it on a powerpoint in my experimental class (shoutout to Dr. Noel). But it really inspired me to look up holistic careers … but the blog post is not about holistic careers instead I read an article called:

“Enriching careers and lives: introducing a positive, holistic, and narrative career counseling method that bridges theory and practice. ”  by Jelena Zikic & Mark Franklin.

The article talks about finding a career using positive psychology and holistic approaches. I will provide a link at the end of the blog.. But I thought there was some interesting points I could share with everyone that really helped me begin my path to finding a job before grad school and using a cool a little less stressful approach.

• The authors used a unique holistic career counseling method of practice that builds on current theoretical approaches such as constructivism and the narrative or storied approach while focusing on positive psychology (yayyyyyyyyyy!!!)
• The CC method is a unique example of
  a positive psychology approach because of its strong emphasis on empowering clients and focusing their understanding on their strengths and assets.
• The CC method aims to reframe career obstacles and negative experiences as opportunities and learning
  experiences that could be used in finding more positive career choices. ( don’t worry I got the model in this post too 😀 )
• First, Career Cycle method’s unique emphasis on positive psychology is based on supporting ways clients can attract, rather than seek, career and life enrichment possibilities.
• Second, it frames these possibilities as positive statements of what clients desire, rather than barriers and careers obstacles.

Soooo you’re probably like  “sooooo what?”  does this have to do with holistic in any way and getting me through this thing called life… Well the CC method focuses on the context of contemporary careers foster a holistic way of thinking about life-changing careers, that is not commonly found in today’s counseling practices.  (Which really supports those that are in the arts!).

Also, The CC method places strong emphasis on generating positive affect through storytelling, identifying strengths, recalling moments of feeling proud, and drawing on “perceived accomplishments” (Zikic & Franklin, 2010).

The goal of the method is to shift the focus away from the emphasis on career obstacles and anxiety. Towards developing a positive, holistic mind-set with more self-awareness, receptivity and observation of the internal and external environment.

“The CC method as a narrative and holistic approach uses positive psychology and draws on other relevant theories and modalities to empower clients so they can take greater control of their careers and give fuller expression to who they are and how they want to be in the world”  (Zikic & Franklin, 2010).

I really dig this article because it gave me a little confidence and a path to follow to look for a job. The article has a lot of other goodies as well. I know it is not like last week post that focuses on daily tasks and mindfulness.  But hey! you can use mindfulness and mediation to think about what you want to accomplish in life because you know what? You can do it! For those into crystals and would like to have a crystal to accompany you on this career journey I recommend a crystal that deals with the root charka (cleansing and balancing).  (Jasper, smoky quartz, &hematite).

Okay now, Lets wrap this up!!! below I have provided the picture of the CC method and I will hit you up with the article link alongside the song of the week or month. Remember there is a better you waiting for you!

References:
Amit, A., & Sagiv, L. (2013). The preferensort: A holistic instrument for career counseling. Journal Of Career Assessment, 21(2), 249-264. doi:10.1177/1069072712471301

• Article link
• Let’s go crazy-Prince

 

 

CC method model

Until next time friends, remember to take care of yourself and each other!

-Allena

Good Daily Habits

Listen to this!!

In order for someone to start living a more holistic and mindful life they need to start changing the way they think. Its really easy to get “lost in the sauce” with everyday minor annoyances or responsibilities. BUT, those things are always going to be there so you need to try to change the way that you let them effect YOU.

 Where do I begin?

Start where you start every day, in your bed waking up. Try to get yourself on a regular sleep schedule. Force yourself to wake up at 6:30 (trust me, i know that is early) just for a week straight. You find that watching the sunrise is amazing. Or, actually having a whole morning to yourself before you have to go to work/class/etc. makes you feel so in control of your day. A morning routine like getting up early, drinking coffee, making yourself breakfast, or listening to music/podcasts, will change your whole day.

Importance of Morning Routines

Daily Holistic Habits

1. Practice objectiveness and mindfulness.

Sometimes it is hard to see things unbiased in our own lives but yes it is possible. Try to see things from other peoples perspectives before you just determine if its good or bad. Even playing the devils advocate a little to challenge yourself can lead you to thinking more objectively.

2. Eat good food.

Yes, it is okay sometimes to eat pizza and watch Netflix all night, BUT eventually you will see those effects on your body. Eating good leads to feeling good. Most people skip breakfast but if you incorporate that into your morning routine it will put your whole eating schedule right on track. Its better to cook at home because you know exactly where your food is coming from and whats going into it. Also, it might not feel like it at times but groceries are so much cheaper than eating out for most meals. Also, DRINK LOTS OF WATER!

3. Focus on positive relationships.

Everyone in their life has a relationship that they stress over, whether they like it or not. You may not be able to completely drop the person that you have a stressful relationship with (for example, family member/coworker), however; you can change the way that you perceive this person. Rather than holding grudges or letting them get under your skin just take a deep breath and let it go. Understanding that you cant control all things or people in your life

4. Get out of the matrix.

It’s so freeing to run an errand without your phone. Yes, its a little weird at first but so nice once you get used to it. Its so easy to waste time looking at the screen in front of you, that you forget all that you’re missing. Turn the phone off, put it in a drawer. Buy a radio and just clean your house, or organize your room, or even just do some homework or read a book. Find time to be alone…and i mean really alone not where hundreds of people can talk to you over your phone. Just sit still and listen. Focus on your breathing. Focus on YOU.

For more healthy habits click HERE

 

 

Greetings,

What does holistic mean and how can you start living a better life?

Thanks for joining us!

Good Vibrations- The beach boys Song of the day

Greetings to all, Allena here co-blogger for holisticsammy. So you are probably wondering… who is holisticsammy and what is holistic sammy? All these questions… I feel you and I am here to walk you through it (Yoda voice). HolisticSammy is a blog for me and Britt’s positive psychology class (shoutout to Dr. Lunsford).  We are going to be talking about holistic approaches and how it applies to psychology especially the field of positive psychology.

We want to provide Posts that will help you get you through the day.  “Why is your blog named holistic sammy tho?” ( valley girl voice). Well our school mascot is named Sammy and we thought it was cute.

Holistic means the dictionary defines holistic as:

“characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease.”

So you’re probably like confused after reading that… what it basically means is not only caring for the person internal organs and body. But also their well-being. We looking at all of you, to make sure you are okay.  (We gotchu!)

“Allena, how does it apply to psychology?”

Well let me help you,.. psychology is the study of the mind. So we are going to combine the two factors and look at the positives. To help you in this journey called life.

There is research on holistic psychology… Reductionism and holism But I want to talk about some key points from the article, that I believe that are important before you decide to go on this journey with us.  The article also talks about reductionist which is breaking down human behavior in smaller parts. Which makes me think of our charkas and how it breaks down into 7 levels. : Crown, third eye, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacaral and root. ( We will definitely talk about these charkas levels in a future blog post so stay tuned! )

Holistic Psychology

• Holism refers to any approach that emphasizes the whole rather than their constituent parts. In other words ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. Qualitative methods of the humanistic approach reflect a holistic position. Social psychology also takes a holistic view (Saul McLeod).
• There are examples of Holistic psychology that really surprised me: Humanistic psychology, social psychology, psychoanalysis, abnormal psychology, and perception psychology.

This blog post was just an introduction to what we’re going to be discussing and I hope you are excited like we are.

References:

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Reductionism and holism. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/reductionism-holism.html

Until Next time, take care of yourself somebody loves you!

 

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton