Where Has All the ENCHANTMENT Gone? Long Time Passing

I thought you might enjoy reading a professional article I prepared several years ago. It is just as current today and really speaks to a tragedy in our health care system that we must all try to combat. I am trying to explain some of the problems of managed care which penetrate much more deeply than out pocketbooks. These problems penetrate our minds, bodies and spirits! I am eager to hear from you, as always.

Those of us who became clinicians 15, 20, 25 and 30 years ago did so because we had a mission. Each in his or her own fashion had a reason for becoming a clinician that tapped into a need to be of service to humanity, dedicated to utilizing skills that stressed talking and listening as an art/science. We served internships, wrote dissertations and gladly entered what we saw as a 'healing' profession.

In fact, we achieved what I refer to as THE ENCHANTED SELF (i.e. Achieving Positive states of being that are a reflection of each person's uniqueness). Each was able to utilize the uniqueness of one's personal history, and talents, serving the public in a meaningful and skilled manner.

As private as the treatment room had been, most can look back on those early years, as years of collegial support and understanding. Whether one became an ego-psychologist, a behaviorist, or a family therapist, each of us knew the mentoring, and the success that went with each discipline. We were able to achieve some form of enchantment within the treatment room, offering our clients the best of ourselves, psychologically supported by our colleagues and society at large. We were confident to encourage our clients to stay for the appropriate length of treatment, comfortable making clinical judgments and enthused about learning new techniques and clinical skills. We offset our sleepless nights and anxieties around difficult clients, with elation and moments of pure joy, as we saw clients grow and heal.

Those days seem long gone. Now we are in an era of disenchantment. By that I mean we suffer the emotional and financial devastation of Managed Care. Whether a clinician chooses to practice within Managed Care or not, he or she is not protected from disenchantment. Disenchantment is all around.

The public does not respect or understand the art/science of psychotherapy as they used to. Nor are the younger clinicians trained and mentored professionally to the standards that we took for granted.

Clients come into psychotherapy, often with lowered expectations as to what therapy is, motivated primarily by their pocketbook or their Managed Care's pocketbook. They expect cures within 4, 6 or 8 sessions. After all, that is what their plan offers. They are led to believe that a few sessions are an adequate number of contact hours with a therapist. They expect miracles while no longer having a cursory understanding of what talking therapy is all about. They, like most of America , want a quick fix, and they want it now! Of course, this can not be! Nothing good happens overnight.

Giving ourselves a genuine dose of positive regard, beginning to acknowledge our talents, strengths, coping skills and lost potential; learning how to negotiate, react and act; and finally finding pleasure and replenishment in all the right places are universal necessities to living a life of meaning and purpose.

As we find ourselves as "mental health providers" in a state of disenchantment, how can we utilize what we know about human potential to offset our own emotional and spiritual malaise? We know from the study of human potential that optimism and hope are extremely important factors in staying well both physically and emotionally. How can we hold on to these capacities within ourselves? How can we at the same time fight Managed Care? In my book, THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy, I discuss how important our own histories are. Each of us has accumulated many memories. Our memory banks are unique to ourselves and hold within them, the potential for hope and optimism. Let me explain.

Only you can review your life's history. Rather than looking for dysfunctional aspects of your past, search out and discover moments when you displayed talents, strengths and/or wonderful coping skills. Only you can review your life, discovering and recognizing the moments when you were filled with the potential for growth and success even if you were stymied. Now is a golden opportunity to look through your past and recognize these wondrous moments.

Perhaps as a child you excelled at playing chess or tennis. Perhaps you were the child that brought home and nurtured abandoned birds and animals. Perhaps you longed to study the piano but there was no money and you could not take lessons. Yet even now you may remember the longing you had to play, or, perhaps to fend off feelings of anxiety in a quarreling fancily, you developed marvelous organizational skills. Were you the adolescent that displayed leadership skills, becoming president of the junior high school student council? Or were you the child that loved to dance or write poetry or just sit and daydream? You, who have guided so many others in finding their paths, can take the time to review your own history to find what is most positive about yourself.

Once you have begun to review and itemize your talents, strengths, coping skills and potential you are well on your way to bringing enchantment back into your life. Even during these dark days of Managed Care you can utilize your own enchantment in several fashions. You may discover in reviewing your past that you have much more potential to help in the fight for Managed Care then you thought was possible. Directing yourself to be a clearer and stronger warrior in the battle will in and of itself decrease anxiety and lessen the likelihood of depression. We all know that from what we advise our clients.

If a review of your past makes clear that you are not cleared to be a warrior in this battle, you can still access long forgotten talents and pleasures which can make your life more fulfilling. Perhaps it is time to take up tennis again. After all, you may have a few more open hours. Perhaps it is time to join a writer's group or offer volunteer services on the local first aid squad. Perhaps it is time to finally make those plans for a walking or biking tour next summer and use extra hours to strengthen those old leg muscles. In reviewing your talents you may discover new avenues to provide mental health services to your local community.

Remember, whatever way you go, you will find yourself most successful if you are utilizing your own specific talents, and coping skills. You will soon find that you are able to expand your horizons and have a more positive sense of yourself. You will be back on the road to enchantment.

About The Author

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein , originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF®, a method of bringing delight and meaning into everyday living, invites you to view her new line of ENCHANTED WOMAN products, downloadable e-books, and free gifts at http://www.enchantedself.com. Chat with others in Dr. Holstein's e-group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/encself/join, and sign up for her fre e e-group at www.enchantedself.com. Order her book, THE ENCHANTED SELF: A Positive Therapy, or the CD-rom or tape version and her book RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT: The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, or the ED-rom version, at http://www.enchantedself.com/ordering/ordering.htm.

encself@aol.com

---

Practice Being Like a Child

Remember the master teacher once said 2000 years ago, "Unless you can become like little children, your chances are zero, you haven't got a prayer." A major... Read More

Have You Voted Today

Huh? You're probably wondering when this article was written, and probably thinking that this article is about a recent election. Well, it is and, it isn't.Webster's Dictionary... Read More

Misplaced Allegiance

Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 23, 2003I am male, 30, married for seven years. I have two small children. The past several years... Read More

Succeed by Whistling While You Work

Mark Twain (1835-1910) believed that having fun is important if you want to be successful."The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation."Mark Twain must have... Read More

Brilliant Autumn: Reaping a Bounteous Harvest

"But if in your thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons, And let today embrace the past with remembrance... Read More

Whose Decision

Direct Answers - Column for the week of May 5, 2003I'm very disturbed these days, and if it continues, I might get mad soon. I am 28.... Read More

Experiences in My Life Prompted Me to Never Give Up

Many people think that their life is a disaster that for some reason they cannot go on, they allow depression to creep in and continually give themselves... Read More

Computers and Internet: Inspiring Us to Create

The Internet is sometimes criticized (usually by parents who think their kids need to be outdoors more often) as leading people to be sitting in front of... Read More

Charge Your Imagination (3)

As we progress into the year, it is necessary for professionals to really put their Imagination to work as they plot strategies for business excellence this year.... Read More

Fashionably Late

Direct Answers - Column for the week of January 6, 2003What can a couple say and do when they have been late in getting wedding thank yous... Read More

How To Be Secure In An Insecure World

Most of us believe that our happiness and security are dependent upon our relationships, work, income and the external events that take place in our lives. When... Read More

Tsunami

This article was channelled through me by an entity called Joseth (My name for the creator)Good morning Roy, good morning JosethRoy? Your world is going through a... Read More

Motivation and Inspiration: Illusions 101

Q: I was wondering if you could recommend any books on motivation and change that are fun to read and that aren't all rah rah, if you... Read More

Patience - The Antidote for Stress

Why is it so difficult to hold steadfast to a commitment to the very thing we desire? I'm sure you've had the experience of challenging your client... Read More

Do You Have a Vision?

You must absolutely have a vision, or a dream, for your life. Your dream is what will cause you to jump out of bed in the morning... Read More

The Essence Of Freedom

Life is too hard and too risky in the eyes of many. By contrast, others are such proponents of a virile existence, demanding great courage and giving... Read More

Play It Forward --Living A Life Youve Always Wanted!

What would your life be like if you lived each event backwards? If you knew what was coming in your life next how would you react?John Eldredge... Read More

4 Abundant Ways To Add FIRE To Your Passion!

How many times have you found yourself dreaming you were more passionate?What makes certain people so passionate? How come they seem to be on-fire for their cause?... Read More

Two Drops Of Water

Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 17, 2002My problem is that I am falling in love. My friend and I are both 23. He... Read More

Make Mistakes! Its Okay - Really!

When you fall, do you get right back up? Do you learn from your mistake and move on? Or do you kick yourself so hard in the... Read More

Fear No Evil - How To Avoid Worry And Fear

"Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for Thou art with me."Do these words have meaning for... Read More

The True and Magnificent Power of Giving

You've probably heard of the popular saying "It's better to give than to receive." But do you actually know what hidden power lies within this magnanimous act... Read More

It Wont Happen Again

Have you or do you know someone who has been abused or been involved in an abusive relationship? What is your definition of abuse? All of us... Read More

What Movies Can Teach You About Meaningful Coincidences (Use Them to Get What You Want)

When you have your dream clear in your mind and you go after it in the right way, the universe will send you miraculous help through meaningful... Read More

A Faux Pas Is A Mistake In A Tuxedo

Everyone who is anybody has a hobby or at least entertains the idea. Hobbies range from sports to crafts to reading and even traveling. Some hobbies don't... Read More

How to Put the Sizzle Back in Your Relationship with These Seven Goal Setting Tools

Goal Setting and Relationships?That is not as weird as it may sound. Consider the following definition of a goal: "A goal is a future incidence or event... Read More