It is early spring in Southern New Jersey. I have tended to the soil in my organic garden, mapped out my strategy for the growing season and planted my first seeds. Some lettuce planted last fall survived the winter in a cold frame. I will have a very early crop this year. My peas have already popped out of the ground. At times, I reach a meditative state of mind in my garden, silent, listening to sounds of nature, observing the surreal world of tiny insects.
NJASERVIC has also survived the winter. We now have an elected executive board officially taking office July 1, 2000. On June 24th, at 10:30 am, we will have our first official meeting. Every member is invited to attend. We will plan our strategy and “plant some seeds” for the growth of our association.
As your acting president, I attended the ACA World Conference in Washington DC. ASERVIC treated me to a state branch president’s luncheon. We exchanged information. The other states were impressed that New Jersey has a Home Page on the Internet. Have you been to visit? I was given a “white paper on Spirituality which is now part of our web site. I am pleased with the early development of our page and invite your comments, and most certainly, ideas, for additions and improvements. The Internet is rapidly becoming the means of preferred communication and offers an opportunity to communicate with a huge audience in a most cost effective manner.Counselors are communicators. We are professional listeners and offer counsel to help improve the mental health of those we encounter. When we are effective, we and our clients grow. Our professional association exists to help us communicate with each other. When our association is effective, we expand our opportunities for growth.
In closing, I must report that “Someone Else” retired and left our association. This creates a void that will be hard to fill. Since the inception of this association, this wonderful person was looked up to for inspiration. Whenever a job needed to be done, a meeting needed to be attended, a letter needed to be written, a newsletter article needed to be composed, a chair needed to be filled, one name seemed to jump off everyone’s lips. Let “Someone Else” do it!
More than ever, we need your active participation to help this association promote professional counseling. Well-planted seeds in well-tended soil, promise a bountiful harvest. And remember, we just can’t depend on “Someone Else” any longer.
--Mike LazarchickPhylis Philipson, past president of NJASERVIC finalized her duties on the national ASERVIC Board after serving for three years. At the ACA Conference in Washington DC, she received an award of recognition for her service. Dr. Philipson was appointed Committee Chair for National Membership for the 2000-2001 term by Virginia Sykes, national president-elect.
At the Conference, the Board of Directors voted to increase national dues and to maintain the policy that an ASERVIC member must also be a member of ACA. Dr. Philipson also reported that Pennsylvania was granted a charter as a new state division.
Looking for ideas to support your beliefs and establish a firm lifestyle for the millennium? Consult with Paul and Sarah Edwards on their web site: www.paulandsarah.com
Wally Amos (founder of Uncle Wally’s Muffin Company) preaches that “no strong desire goes unfilled.” Reach him at his web site: www.vicky.com/wallyamos.
Fear
Fear is conquered by action.
When we challenge our fears,
we defeat them.
When we grapple with our difficulties,
they lose their hold upon us.
When we dare to face
the things which scare us,
we open the door to freedom.
We who espouse the principles that form the basis for the existence of NJASERVIC are in the midst of a unique struggle - a balancing act between the individual member’s specific faith imprints and the desire to be accepting of a generic spirituality independent of any established religion or canon of beliefs. Read that again! On a continuum representing the extreme of a specific belief system on the one end and a complete understanding, tolerance, and outright acceptance of a spirituality that encompasses every known belief system on the other end, our association’s tendency to be so accepting appears to have the effect of discouraging or denying specific belief systems.
As a challenge to the membership, I invite discussion and debate! I seek those members who are loyal to the faith emanating from their own religious roots, to come forth and share with the rest of us what it is that lies in the core of your faith system. I am afraid that, in an attempt to be so all-encompassing in our spirituality, we are throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water. There is value to every specific belief system. If we can understand and accept the beauty of each individual’s faith without compromise, then we have no worry that we will offend. There will be no need to tread as on egg shells because my faith is markedly different from yours. In the Christian Scriptures, Jesus remarks aptly: “There are many mansions in my Father’s house!” --Vincent Poisella
I have the privilege of becoming your president-elect. I would like our organization to become a dynamic one -- searching, becoming and sharing. For starters, let’s use the pages of our newsletter to share our spiritual journeys, identify what sources of inspiration promote this journey and how we utilize this inspiration in working with clients.
May I introduce myself? I have been in private practice for twenty-five years, starting first as a family therapist/social worker at an adolescent drop-in center for disaffected youth. My orientation is psychodynamic, humanistic, existential, Jungian, and holistic. My spiritual journey started when I was very young, troubled by people from different religions suspicious of one another, claiming to know the whole truth and treating each other with disrespect. Since religion was supposed to make one a better person, I was puzzled by this contradiction. Thus began my search for a common ground of understanding and respect. My journey has tapped into many wisdom traditions -my Jewish roots, Christianity, Ethical Culture, Native American, Buddhist, and other Eastern teachings.
I see spirituality as a large umbrella, one that includes many belief systems, encompassing religion, but at the same time, transcending religion. John Dewey’s definition of spirituality suggests guiding one’s life by an ideal that offers direction, purpose, and a depth of meaning in daily living. A similar definition is cited in the current issue of the Journal of Counseling and Development (Spring 2000), “Assessment of Spirituality in Counseling” adding, “a balanced appreciation of material values, an altruistic attitude toward others, a vision for the betterment of the world, and a serious awareness of the tragic side of life” (Stanard, Sandhu and Painter). I number among my friends many who are deeply spiritual, but yet do not necessarily embrace organized religion. Whatever people’s belief system, I believe in the worth and dignity of all peoples, that each person is sacred, a work of art.
One recent book that has inspired me is, Beyond Religion: 8 Alternative Paths to the Sacred, by David Elkins Ph.D, both a minister and a clinical psychologist. His eight paths include the feminine, the arts, the body, psychology, mythology, nature, relationships and dark nights of the soul. I have also found of value his essay on “Spirituality and Psychotherapy,” appearing in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, in which he views the process of psychotherapy as “soul healing.” This connects pointedly with Freud’s original intention of the ego as soul. His work was grieviously mistranslated from the German and set us on a faulty path these many years. This is elegantly explained and interpreted in Bruno Bettleheim’s, Freud and Man’s Soul.
My personal spiritual path involves study, dialogue, meditation, t’ai chi, as well as volunteer activities in social justice issues and tutoring in the public schools. Please share with us: what books inspire you and why. How does this promote your work with clients. To what spiritual path does this bring you. Let’s dialogue, learn and inspire one another. --E. Betty Levin
https://www.angelfire.com/nj/counseling/njaservic.html
President Michael Lazarchick (609) 825-8003 (w)
mlazarch@dol.state.nj.us
Pres-Elect E. Betty Levin (973) 763-1035
Past Pres Phylis Philipson (732) 494-0825
drphilipson@hotmail.com
Editor Vincent Poisella (973) 398-5477 (h)
vtpoisella @yahoo.com
(Editor’s Note: This newsletter is being sent to each member via regular mail. Those who would rather receive it only through the web site should inform me of such by contacting me directly through my e-mail. And thus a transition begins....)
Links
Insight & Reflections Home
NJASERVIC Home
NJCA Home
