A guest post by Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.

If the name, Linda Buzzell, sounds familiar to you, it’s no surprise—particularly if you are moved as I am by the growing ecological crisis that is unfolding around us. Linda Buzzell, MA, LMFT, PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) has been a psychotherapist for more than 30 years and has specialized in ecopsychology and ecotherapy since 2000. She co-edited the 2009 Sierra Club Books anthology, Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind. From my perspective, Linda is a true pioneer in the field, with a wonderful gift for sharing her passion for the planet in a multitude of ways that appeal to a broad audience.

In addition to writing regularly for Huffington Post, Linda generously shares her time to do interviews and events that illustrate the value (and, arguably, the imperative) of reconnecting with the natural world. Linda recently joined me as a panelist for an online event, “Earth, Climate, Dreams” sponsored by Depth Psychology Alliance, and she is leading an upcoming weekend workshop, Ecotherapy: Nature Reconnection as a Powerful, Transformational Healing Practice, at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, May 13-15, 2016.

Linda recently sat down with me to answer a few questions about the power of ecotherapy:

An interview with Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Alumn Sarette Zecharia, Ph.D.

Please tell us about your professional life since you graduated from Pacifica.

When I graduated from Pacifica in 2000, I had moved to Scottsdale Arizona. I did my post doc through the Superior Court of Arizona in the Probation Department. From there I went into private practice and continued to explore more alternative methods to help empower patients to truly value themselves and shine as vibrant divine beings. Through the years, I have also partnered with various clinics to ensure an integrative approach to care and have focused heavily on working with chronic pain at a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level. On the side, I have taught as adjunct faculty at various universities and lectured prolifically on topics in my expertise, bringing awareness and empowerment to attendees to find their way.

A guest post by Dr. Jim Broderick

During the most recent Pacifica Introduction Day, applicants were asking why Pacifica decided to develop a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. For me the answer was easy. Having been at Pacifica for nine years, I have been impressed that Pacifica is always looking for ways to innovate - to be current in developments in psychology and depth psychology.

Applicants were pleased to learn that Pacifica had reached out to national scholars for consultation and support to evaluate current trends in clinical psychology, which led to the development of the Psy.D. Program.

An interview with Psy.D. Clinical Psychology Alumna Johanna Hays, Psy.D.

I received my BA in Psychology from California State University Northridge in 2007, and completed my MA in Counseling Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2009.

I completed my doctoral degree from Pacifica in December 2013 and conducted my research on the integration of Somatic Experiencing® with psychodynamic psychotherapy. Concurrent with my doctoral studies, I completed the three-year Somatic Experiencing® certification and currently have a private practice in which I integrate both SE and hypnotherapy together to work with individuals who experience symptoms of trauma and pain.

I attended the Hypnotherapy Motivation Institute in 2005 prior to beginning my graduate studies, and it was this connection to the unconscious and the power of image and story that resonated with me at Pacifica.

An interview with Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Alumnus Doug Henry, Ph.D.

What was your work path, following graduation from Pacifica?

I went to work full-time for four years in the inpatient psychiatric unit at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where I did evaluations, group, individual, and family therapy, was also in private practice in SB, and did training and consulting work with the SBPD (Hostage) Negotiation Team and the CIT – Crisis Intervention Team of the SBPD as well.

After working with acute patients, I was eager for a change. While locked inpatient hospital work is terrific training - you really see crises so often that you are less likely to be shocked or flustered over time - it is difficult and even unhealthy, for many psychologists, to sustain this for long periods. My next position was as lead assessor for Santa Barbara County department of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Services (ADMHS), in the Calle Real Adult Outpatient Clinic. Upon licensure in California I was promoted becoming fluent in managing teams of mental health professionals. This too was a tremendously valuable experience: I gained insight how to be effective in an environment where clinicians are overloaded by the number of patients seeking services and the scope of their needs. As we all know, this is characteristic of the majority of the behavioral health systems in the U.S., particularly public systems.

A guest post by Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.

Dr. Pat Katsky is a Jungian Analyst and core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and she has been a therapist for thirty years. When Pat sat down with me in a recent interview, our conversation focused on the idea that some of the most psychologically healing experiences come from the natural world, a theme derived from an upcoming certificate program, “Dreaming the Earth: Earthing the Dream” starting April 15, 2016.

Pat mused on how in the last million or so years of history, humans have always needed nature and did not feel separate from it. But with the industrial revolution and the development of society as we know it, we have lost the connectedness. It has become something we do for vacation, she observes, then we return to jobs and daily life where nature is distant.

A guest post by Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.

Depth Psychology is often associated with “soul.” Many great thinkers in the field have shared some important thoughts on the topic, and perhaps none more so than psychologist and author, Thomas Moore, whose best-selling book, Care of the Soul, is one of the most recognized and appreciated works on the topic. Thomas Moore is speaking at the upcoming Climates of Change conference in celebration of Pacifica’s 40th anniversary in April 2016.

When I sat down recently with Thomas to discuss the topic of soul and spirituality, my first request was that he elaborate on the difference between spirit and soul. Moore’s understanding of the topic is rooted firmly in the past, going back to some of the earliest teachers of soul. While he explained his perception of the difference between spirit and soul in some detail, what struck me is that soul thrives on the “holy” and that there is a “non-human” dimension to it.

A guest post by Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.

When I met Chris Hedges online for our recent interview together, I could see why Pacifica Graduate Institute invited him to speak at their milestone 40^th anniversary celebration conference, Climates of Change and the Therapy of Ideas, which takes place April 21-24, 2016, in Santa Barbara, CA.

As a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Hedges carries with him nearly two decades of experience reporting from war-torn countries like Yugoslavia, El Salvador, and also Gaza and South Sudan. In this capacity, he has witnessed the decline and disintegration of multiple societies, a perspective which has surely influenced his capacity regard the decline and potential destruction of our own modern culture that seems severely out of order.

A guest post by Frank McMillan

Nature is always right.  By repeated experiment, nature is now proven to be non-local.  According to quantum physicist Henry Stapp, non-locality is the most profound discovery of science.  Read that again.  Not simply an interesting finding or significant advance, but the most profound discovery in the history of science.  The reigning materialist paradigm that has dominated Western culture for three centuries is empirically dethroned as a complete explanation of reality.  More than seventy-five years after reductionism’s funeral in the labs of Bohr and Planck, Nature magazine printed its obituary last fall in an article entitled, “Quantum physics: Death by experiment for local realism.”  Wow.  To quote rock godfather Chuck Berry, “Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news.”

Somebody refuses to listen, however.  I’m looking at you, Academia.

How do you take your ideas and turn them into successful businesses and/or tangible projects?

If you have ever struggled with the “what, how and why” of your path in life, then we invite you to the upcoming workshop Your Story Accelerator: Bring Your Story to Life and Put Your Ideas into Action with Dr. Thyonne Gordon.