(Working Women) - Charmayne, a Spiritual Counselor

This week I bring you Charmayne, who identifies professionally as a spiritual counselor. She recently completed her PhD and runs her own practice. Charmayne and I attended U. Puget Sound together where we both studied Psychology. Not that I would ever choose favorites (I basically just did by saying that), but I LOVE this interview because it totally makes me want to, 1) learn more about her specific academic and clinical training, her approach to clients, her experiences at various schools and retreats, and the fields of metaphysics and psychology in general, and, 2) hire Charmayne as my therapist and healer. Maybe she does Skype sessions?? Read on to learn more about her work in a non-mainstream helping profession, or check out some informative links, first ...

For more about Charmayne and her path to this profession, read her "About" page on her website at this link.

To pre-answer your questions about "spiritual guidance," read her eloquent description here.

Information about energy healing such as noetic field therapy and reconnective healing can be found here.
 

Bio info - who are you, how old are you, where are you from, where do you live, what's your living/family situation, what are your hobbies, etc. Essentially, what's your story?

My name is Charmayne and I’m 32 years old. I’m originally from New Mexico but currently live in the Bay Area. I’m in the middle of some big life changes after having just completed my PhD, so I’m looking at relocating to Santa Fe or the Pacific Northwest in the very near future. In the meantime, I am living the nomadic life, seeing clients, traveling, and beginning my first book.


What is your current job/profession? What path did you take to get there? Any required schooling or training?

I call myself a spiritual counselor. Essentially, I do work that is similar to therapy but takes into account the deeper dimensions of life. I help to facilitate deep healing work while teaching people how to create more joy and happiness in their everyday lives. It is basically therapy on steroids. I use lots of powerful modalities like self-forgiveness work and changing core beliefs so that people see big changes in a short amount of time.

Originally, I had planned to be a traditional therapist or counselor. But while I was doing my Masters degree in Counseling, I became very frustrated that a lot of what we were being taught didn’t seem to be all that useful in actually helping people feel better. It seemed to help a bit, but it seemed to me that therapy was stuck in the mind and while it might promote more self-awareness, something else was needed to truly heal old patterns. So, I began studying alternative modalities including somatic psychology, reconnective healing, and energy healing. The turning point was when I attended a Mystery School in Santa Fe, NM and I learned a modality called Noetic Field Therapy. I felt as though I found exactly what I had been searching for. In NFT, we work with the body and spirit to produce real changes that go beyond the mind and analyzing mental patterns. I became a practitioner and have been doing that for nearly a decade. My practice has evolved so that now I’m a hybrid coach/counselor/intuitive. The combination lets me use traditional modalities when they are appropriate, but I also get to go above and beyond and use modalities that I know are incredibly powerful because they helped me in my own healing process.

So currently, I see private clients and I am also adjunct faculty at Sofia University, where I just received my PhD. I’m also beginning a book based on my doctoral research, which was on spiritual intelligence in adolescence.


What are the pros and cons of your current position?

I love what I do because it changes people’s lives so quickly and I get to work with people across the world. It is incredibly satisfying to help people heal anxiety, depression, angst, and lack of self-worth because I know first-hand how miserable it is to be suffering from all of those issues. To help people heal the way my own teachers and mentors helped me, fills me with such joy that it brings tears to my eyes. I want people to be happy.

The cons are that my profession is still very new (though actually it is quite ancient) and people don’t understand what I do. It is also difficult for me to describe since it feels like being in a liminal space when I am with clients. Every session is different and somehow or other, magic seems to happen.

Walk us through a typical day, week, or month ...

A typical day involves waking up, having a leisurely morning where I make breakfast, answer emails, and either take a walk in nature or do pilates. I have lunch and then get to work seeing clients or head to class to teach. Evenings were previously spent working on dissertation, but now that that is complete, I’m trying to relearn what it is like to have fun, which will probably involve art classes and dancing. Because what I do is very energetically demanding, I can only see about 4 clients a day and need the rest of the time to recuperate.


What is something about your job that other people might not know or expect?

I think my entire job is something people do not know or expect. What I do is considered “alternative,” yet, like I stated about, it is quite ancient. In my opinion, Western psychology can only go so far. Psychologists and therapists may help people modify their lives so they are easier, but deep down, people are not taught how to really really live with deep joy and satisfaction. Life is supposed to be fun. We are supposed to laugh A LOT! And often we are taught to work hard, produce, and fit into societal molds instead. Each of us has our own unique calling and gifts and if we don’t listen to that call, misery ensues. I like to let people know that they can listen to that calling and while it may be scary, they will be ok.

What other jobs could you work with your education/training/experience?

I can teach, work as a consultant in organizations, write, research, be a traditional therapist, lead workshops and retreats. I will probably do several of these over the course of my career.


Do you anticipate making any career changes in the next 5 to 10 years?

I anticipate expanding my practice and starting to teach workshops and lead retreats. My dream is to start leading retreats in Mexico and Italy. I also hope to do more fun writing (not academic, which is not fun writing).


If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?

Hmmmm…I almost went into photography instead of psychology. There is part of me that still aches to be an artist or dancer. For now I will satisfy those longings with some hip-hop dancing and drawing classes.


If someone else was interested in your job, what piece of advice would you give them?
Do it!  Take the risk. What I do isn’t well-known but things are changing quickly. We need more people in the field so that talking about spiritual issues is normalized. What I do is still greatly maligned in many people’s minds, though it is some of the most powerful and transformative work out there. The more people who join this profession, the closer we will find ourselves to a tipping point where helping people to authentically heal is the norm and not the exception..

How do you balance work life and home life?

I live alone so this isn’t too much of an issue. I’m lucky to have lots of free time to recover and rebalance. I seriously wonder how wives and mothers make it all work and I tip my hat to all of you out there who are trying to be so many things to so many people. You women are amazing!!


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