Deborah Merchant invites you to discover
Who you are, living connected to Life, existing as Whole, aligning your world with what fulfills you!
Welcome to TheVitalPsyche
My Calling
My calling is to support you in getting access to your own wisdom, from which to live a life you know is possible. Fundamentally, it is also vital to help you build your capacity to trust yourself. I use the term ‘mentor’, which is like being a sherpa, an expert guide in certain areas of life. I will guide you by having you examine what you crave in each area you bring up, what you observe, what that creates and has what you are after have a lasting life-enhancing presence or embodiment. This journey will be unique for each person.
Mentoring is not about telling you what to do or just giving advice. Sometimes serving you requires providing some education or helping you find resources. Most often, I will ask questions to guide you into attuning to your own inner knowing, and to discover what is resonant for you. This process leaves you empowered, increasingly able to engage successfully in your own life.
I have trained in helping people restore their lives from traumatic stress as part of accomplishing a doctoral degree, and I am preparing to be licensed as a therapist. I’m certified to mentor the use of a writing practice which helps develop thinking that can help take you past trauma-based thinking. Trauma-based thinking comes either from traumatic events and/or from many aspects of Western culture which are based in fear and separation. In addition, I have also been certified as a Spiritual Emergence coach. Many people these days are experiencing expansions in their awareness in many ways, and I can provide some support (not therapy) in that process. Should you need a therapist for a deep level of emergence or emergency, spiritual or otherwise, I can provide an excellent resource to find a licensed therapist trained to assist you at this level.
Serving as a mentor also is not therapy. The expert guidance I provided is a different level than that provided by a therapist. I have the training of a therapist, but have not yet completed licensure, so I cannot provide therapy at this time. I can, however, help you discover if you should seek therapy, then how to find a therapist who is a good match for you.
My Approach
At the core of my work with clients is knowing you are innately whole, with conditions or events in the way of living your wholeness to its fullest.
From my training, examples of how we might work together include: having you focus on your strengths and what is working well in your life to move past blockages you experience. We might explore how you assign meaning to aspects of your life, often based on beliefs you have, and what cognitive distortions you may have (thought patterns that don’t quite add up). From there, we could investigate how to adjust and construct new beliefs or thought patterns that may serve you better in aligning with your values and goals. You become consciously aware that you have a lot more power in designing/constructing your world than you previously realized. In addition, I may offer assistance in finding or inventing solutions to better design your life or resolve the concern you brought to the conversation. Together we weave all this into the fulfillment of your success - success as defined by you.
Since I am a Spiritual Emergence coach, that could be another area of conversation: providing education and support in any awakening or emerging consciousness you are experiencing.
And finally, I mentor people in learning a writing practice which, at its core, develops your mind beyond the fear-based conditioning of Western society. This writing practice is much more than journaling. It has value in reducing stress, getting to know your authentic self, and accessing constructive, life-enhancing expressions leading to the fulfillment you seek.
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My Services
Currently I offer one-on-one conversations in these areas of expertise:
- supporting changes in your identity from various life events
- mentoring to learn the writing practice called creation exercises.
- spiritual emergence - this can be an individual conversation or
a group setting, but will still most likely be via zoom at this
time.
- personal development
- communication skills
- Contact me today at thevitalpsyche@gmail.com to learn more about how I can help you achieve your goals or schedule below.