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Rates and Policies:
Sample
Client Agreement
Ayurvedic psychotherapy consists of the
application of Ayurvedic assessment, worldview,
and advice to psychological and spiritual
difficulties, including self-confidence and
self-worth issues, relationship trauma, poor
boundary formation, lack of personal dharma
(vocation), and existential alienation.
The guiding principle is the wonderment of
prakriti: how nature unfolds, and the degree to
which the individual harmonizes with its
ever-changing rhythms and textures.
Unlike longer-term western psychotherapy in
which the therapeutic relationship itself
becomes a central focus of healing and model of relating
that strives to ripple out
through the rest of life, the Ayurvedic
10-visit protocol focuses on a specific set of
mental-constitution concerns and actively applies
a variety of perspectives and techniques
involving all layers of experience to
gently approach the root of disturbance.
Variety in technique is key, because we hold
that depression, rage, and dissociation have
physiological bases, roots in daily habit, and
are associated with distinct sensory inputs and
traceable to particular spiritual (evolutionary)
blockages.
For example, whereas conventional
talk-therapy might take many weeks to uncover
the narrative content that underlies chronic
anxiety, and then to apply cognitive or Socratic
methods to aid in its release, Ayurvedic
psychotherapy would immediately focus on
pacifying vata dosha through all avenues:
- bringing warmth and moisture to the body
through diet, herbs, and hygiene
- increasing contact with earth element
through oil massage, scents, restorative
postures, resolving of constipation if this is
an issue, and a turning of the mind away from
abstraction and towards sensory delight
- rebuilding sources of maternal energy in
the life
- establishing regularity in daily regime
- deepening sleep
Through this process, which is educational and practical in nature, the
narrative content of anxiety often begins to
change on its own, following the lead of the
body's relaxation. At the very least, once
the holistic cues that frame anxiety are
pacified (how it is being expressed), the
content (why it is there) can be clearly and
safely accessed. Central to this tradition
is the understanding that the anxiety is serving
a protective purpose, and if we can provide
palpable protection through other means --
namely, the invocation of the healing qualities
of the world that surrounds us -- the cognitive
basis for the anxiety begins to dissolve.
The Ayurvedic psychotherapist merely allows the
inherent harmony of the natural world to become
the central cue and encouragement for renewed
relationship.
But while Ayurvedic psychotherapy most
commonly works from the elements up, it can also
work from the 'top down', in a manner of
speaking. Deep-seated psychological trauma
will generally have an identifiable karmic root,
for example, a persistent relationship pattern
that one has seen oneself enact throughout the
life and seems powerless to stop. Such
fixed karma, as understood by the Jyotisa
tradition (East Indian astrology), will be
clearly visible in the natal chart -- reflected
in the astronomical influences filling the sky
at the moment of your birth. When this is
the case, deeper contemplative, devotional, and
community service activities can be most
effective.
A poorly-placed Sun in the birth chart, for
example, can reflect such diverse conditions
(arising together or at different times in the
life-story) as an ill father or broken
relationship with the father, tendency to
migraine, difficulty in getting the career to
shine, and struggles with self-confidence.
This panorama of issues can all be ameliorated
together by strengthening the relationship to
all things solar -- through daily observance of
the sunrise and sunset, a renewal of paternal
energy, the invigoration of digestion on
physical and mental levels, reconciliation with
authority, and public service. Mantra
recitation is a traditional technique as well,
but one that is difficult to apply in this
culture, and so it is only used with those who
are comfortable with it.
These two modes of healing -- from the bones
up to the emotions, and from the sky down to the
heart, call to mind a central truth of the Vedic
tradition: yat pinde tat brahmande --
which means "as above, so below". Whether
we work from the bones, dissolving fear with
soup and oil, or from the stars, resolving rage
through meditation on the moon, we see and
honour the whole person's return to full
relationship.
Rates and policies:
- 10 one-hour weekly
sessions, consecutive: $700 plus gst
-
sessions may be
cancelled up to 48 hours in advance for a
refund, less an administrative fee of $15.
-
it is
preferable that fees be paid
online,
as RYA has limited office staff -- it is better to
keep the money out of the consultation process
Click here
to pay online.
Therapist/Client Agreement
The following sample
agreement (which is tailored to suit each
individual circumstance) will help to give a
sense of how this 10-week work unfolds.
Ayurvedic
Psychotherapy Agreement
Between ________, client
(“you”) and therapist (“I”)
Format: 10 weeks, 1
hour visits, Thursdays are recommended
Goal:
To provide safe and compassionate space for the
exposition and digestion of experience, towards
the development of sattvic witnessing that can
understand the unfolding of action and see its
underlying grace.
Method:
You can share whatever feels ripe for inquiry.
I’ll reflect what I hear to help develop the
internal witness, to help make unseen patterns
seen, and to examine frictions in self-image and
cognition. When appropriate, I will ask leading
questions to deepen inquiry, according to your
willingness. Once we have cooked a particular
theme in this way, I may offer some commentary
upon the matter from the Vidya traditions of
Ayurveda, Jyotish, and Yoga, in accordance with
my training, experience, and intuition. This
commentary is not meant to frame or limit our
dialogue, but to provide an ancient holistic
image of order, upon or against which we may see
your unique truth emerge. There may be
contemplative homework assigned, and there may
be ongoing Ayurvedic protocol suggestions.
Responsibilities:
I will hold safe space in full
confidentiality and use my training and insight
to the best of my ability to witness and honour
your life. You will use this time and space to
let clarity unfold at its own pace.
Signed:
___________________
[client]
___________________
[therapist]
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