05/SUMM
Professor: Gerry Allen...
Directed Study Description.
This is a specialized directed study for interested graduate counseling majors that provides a knowledge base for integrating wholistic practices and therapies in the counseling process. With the growing interest in wholistic health care, there is a need for mental health counselors to be familiar with alternative therapies that might complement and enhance more traditional counseling practices. This wholistic, body, mind, and spirit integrated approach focuses on nutrition and dietary considerations, physical exercise, Eastern philosophies and practices, personality assessment tools, various massage therapies, and other approaches of interest to study participants.
These alternative approaches include: various forms of massage therapy (Swedish, Acupressure, Shiatsu,
Myofascial, release, Reiki, Johrei, Pranic healing, and Craniosacral massage); aroma, music, humor, herbal, color, and movement (dance) therapies; yoga principles and practices; Ayurvedic principles and living; meditation; spiritual practices; ritual; and expressive art therapy.
We will meet during the first week of the Summer Term and discuss how you propose to do this study.
We will have four or so participants. You might select to work collectively or more independently.
However you decide, I will work closely with you to help ensure you maximize the learning from this study.
For sure, I want the study to result in a major paper that discusses wholistic health in some detail. That discussion will form the foundation of the paper and the directed study. The discussion will particularly present discussion from the literature about the relationship between body, mind, and spirit, and the implications to mental health. Participants, if working collectively, can add sections to the foundation paper, specifically addressing the potential benefits and implications of some of the alternative approaches mentioned above. In this regard, you can collaborate so that everyone is not writing about the same thing. I encourage visiting alternative practitioners, such as the Omaha Healing Arts Center.
We can discuss possibilities at our first meeting.
The importance of whole (no pun intended) food diets (good nutrition) and exercise are also issues that must be addressed in the foundation paper. Here I would expect discussion related to issues of depression, anxiety, stress, etc., and implications regarding diet and exercise. Again, the foundation paper can be supplemented with discussions of yoga, meditation, sauna and water therapy, elixirs and herbal teas, alternative medicine, bodywork, and other alternative therapies.
Other thoughts:
 Importance of art, music, dance, sacred ceremonies, dinners, community gatherings and more.
____________________________________________________________________________________
COU 699 Alternative Approaches Summer Term 2005 Doane College Page No. 1

 Issues of environment --- All together creating a restful and healing environment - therapeutic and relaxing treatment room. For example, enjoy some of Mannheim Steamroller's most atmospheric music while taking a massage. Hear a spring forest or a Midwestern thunderstorm all in 5.1 surround sound, with designed lighting, exotic décor and therapy table or Panasonic massage chair. Does this sound like a safe place?
 Utilization of the Meyers-Brigg or Enneagram, both tools for understanding our personalities.
 Interdisciplinary and “inter-professional” conversations…Referral, collaboration, consultation.
 Positive thinking/living
An important goal is for students gain an understanding of what is available that may complement their counseling efforts.
This directed study will not be a cakewalk, but an effort to learn as much as we can about strategies that you might utilize in helping people have better lives. In this regard, be prepared to really come into this study ready to work, learn, share, and gain new understandings about possibilities.
Peace.
____________________________________________________________________________________
COU 699 Alternative Approaches Summer Term 2005 Doane College Page No. 2